George Edwin Butler was co-superintendent of public instruction of Sampson County, N.C., and lawyer of Clinton, N.C.; trustee of the University of North Carolina; director of the Bank of Clinton; member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1905; member of the Republican State Executive Committee; delegate to several Republican national conventions; and unsuccessful candidate for several offices, including state attorney general, U.S. Senator, Superior Court judge, and Supreme Court Judge. The collection includes correspondence, notes, printed material, and other items of Geo. E. Butler, relating primarily to his political career, including his campaign for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate in 1930 and his attempts to secure appointment as judge of the U.S. Court of Claims in 1929, the Federal Power Commission in 1930, clerk of federal court in 1932, and federal receiver for failed banks in 1932. Other files relate to the North Carolina Bar Association, 1925-1926; public education in North Carolina, 1922; and criminal prosecution resulting from the failure of the Bank of Clinton, 1929-1932. A series of general political material, 1924-1939, reflects Butler's involvement in Republican Party organization and politics as well as his concern with federal and national political activities. The collection contains material relating to Charles A. Jonas, Isaac M. Meekins, Marion Butler, H. Brownlow Jackson, W. Giles Mebane, and Jake F. Newell, among others.
