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Eliza Ogden Butler

Other Name:
Eliza Abigail Ogden
Gender:
Female
Born:
June 29, 1803
Died:
February 2, 1878
Home Town:
Walton, NY
Marriage(s):
Charles Butler (October 10, 1825)
Biographical Notes:
Eliza Ogden Butler, daughter of Abraham and Abigail Weed Ogden of Walton, New York, was born June 29, 1803. From 1816-1818 Eliza received her education in Litchfield, Connecticut at Sarah Pierce's Female Academy. In October of 1825 Eliza married Charles Butler, a lawyer from New York, and the couple went on to have five children. They first resided in Geneva, NY until their removal to New York city in 1934 where Eliza led an active life in society and was the founder of the New York City Protestant Half Orphan Asylum. Her husband Charles was the founder of the Union Theological Seminary and gave $100,000 to New York University.
Additional Notes:
Primary sources for Eliza Ogden Butler are located in the Litchfield Female Academy collection, Series 2: Student Papers, Records, and Documents, Folders 18-23.
Education
Years at LFA:
1816-1818
Room and Board:
Boarded at Mrs. Bull's house.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Social Activist
Benevolent and Charitable Organizations:
New York City Protestant Half Orphan Asylum
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
Other:
Litchfield area family papers, 1794-1860
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
"Catalogue of the Ladies Academy in Litchfield" 1818 by J.A. Shepard (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

A "Miss Ogden" is mentioned in Myra Coleman's 1818 diary. This entry likely refers to Eliza Ogden Butler (Connecticut Historical Society - Litchfield area family papers, 1794-1860).

Eliza Ogden kept a journal while attending the Litchfield Female Academy (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 To 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).

1816 Litchfield Female Academy Catalog (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 To 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).

1817 Litchfield Female Academy Winter Session Catalogue (Vaderpoel, Emily ...
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