Power of Attorney of Colonel John Butler for Robert Hamilton and Robert Addison, January 4,1797

John Butler (1728-1796) was originally from Connecticut but settled with his family in the Mohawk valley of New York around 1742. His father was a Captain in the British army and well acquainted with William Johnson (superintendent of Northern Indians). Butler impressed Johnson with his aptitude for Indian languages and diplomacy. He began to work with Johnson in 1755, and received several promotions in the department, until his apparent retirement in the early 1770s. At the onset of the Revolutionary War in 1775, Butler relocated to Canada to join the British forces, settling in Niagara. During the War, Butler was instrumental in maintaining the alliance with the Indians. After the War, Butler became prominent in local affairs in Niagara, but failed to secure any important offices when the province of Upper Canada was formed in 1792. In an effort to recoup some of the financial losses his family suffered during the War, Butler illegally attempted to supply trade goods to the Indian department with his son Andrew, his nephew Walter Butler Sheehan, and Samuel Street, a Niagara merchant.

A Power of Attorney of Colonel John Butler for Robert Hamilton and Robert Addison, dated January 4, 1797. In the document, Hamilton and Addison, (who were executors of Butler’s estate), appoint Samuel Street, attorney, to “ask, demand, collect and receive all and every…sum of money now due and owing to [the] estate”. The document is signed by Robert Hamilton and Robert Addison. A six page list is attached to the document by a seal in the top left corner. The document is entitled “Alphabetical list of debts due to the late co-partnership of Street & Butler, December 24, 1796”.