Everette Butler Family – Fort Fincastle / Palmdale

I was three years old when my uncle, Everette Butler, and his wife, the former Gregoria Monge (Aunt Goyita) came home from Spain with their infant daughter, Maria.  I remember that we were at the Butler family homestead on Market Street and I was leaning against Aunt Goyita’s knee playing with the baby on her lap.  Uncle Everette purchased the property on which he built his first home from Aunt Jessie Caroline McSweeney, my grandmother’s sister, who lived next door.    The house was built by Melchoir Francis.  After Uncle Everette and Aunt Goyita moved to their Fort Fincastle home I often stopped there on my way home from Mrs. Smith’s school to play with Maria and Clarissa, or my other cousins Calliope and Annette Thompson whose lived next door with Aunt Jessie.

Although Mother always instructed me to return directly home from school, I invariably stopped to play and Allan would come to collect me in the late afternoon and ride home with me sitting on the cross bar of his top of the line three-speed bicycle.  I got a spanking on a few occasions but soon forgot and continued socializing on my way home from school.

Aunt Goyita did beautiful handwork and she embroidered the pretty little pink dress that I wore as flower girl in my cousin Roy Butler and his wife Freda’s wedding that was held at Our Lady’s Church.

Uncle Everette enrolled in the Hotel Training School at the Dundas Civic Centre and he subsequently went to work at the Montagu Beach Hotel, where he met a wealthy German industrialist who together with his Spanish wife (the Lewines), vacationed in The Bahamas frequently.   The course of Uncle Everette’s life changed when he accepted the Lewines’ offer to join their employ in Germany.  So, as Terry states, her father became not only the Butler in residence (Mr. Butler, the butler), but he was also the English Language tutor for the three Lewine sons.   And thus began Uncle Everette’s twelve year sojourn in Europe – firstly for three years in Germany beginning in 1933 and then after 1936, nine years in Spain.

The rise of Hitler in Germany caused the Lewines to leave that country and relocate to their summer home in San Sebastian, Spain, and they eventually established their main residence in Madrid.  This was where Uncle Everette met Aunt Goyita when she came to work in the Madrid residence as the family seamstress.  At the end of the Spanish Civil war and then the Second World War, Uncle Everette returned to The Bahamas with his wife and infant daughter, Maria, the first of their six children.   Aunt Goyita recounted the story about the rampant segregation they encountered on their journey to The Bahamas when travelling by train in Philadelphia.  She took her seat with baby in her arms and when her husband went to take his seat, he was directed to the back of the carriage.  When Aunt Goyita asked why, she was told that “Negroes” had to sit in the back, whereupon she responded, “Well, if he’s Negro, I’m Negro too!” and she followed her husband to the back of the train.

Upon his return home Uncle Everette worked as Maitre’d at the Royal Victoria Hotel.  As his family grew they moved to Palmdale in 1955 at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Madeira Street where Maria’s daughter Tanya and her husband Todd now have their dental practice.  Maria’s first husband was Ian Mortemore and their elder daughter, Elena is a lawyer.  Both Elena and her husband James work in the banking industry. Maria subsequently married Bernard Taylor.  Clarissa married David Honnett and they and their two daughters Jacqueline and Nadia and their families live in Calgary, Canada. Uncle Everette’s other children are Carlos, Teresa (Terry), Margaret (Maggie) and Carmina.  Maria, Maggie and Carmina are bankers and Terry, was a Civil servant and former Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister.

© Copyright Rosemary C. Hanna 2013