DOROTHY DAY-CATHOLIC WORKER COLLECTION
CHARLES M. BUTTERWORTH PAPERS, 1927-1978

Biographical Note

Charles Melcher Butterworth was born on December 29, 1926, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After service in the Navy, he entered Lehigh
University, where he was active in the United World Federalists chapter, graduating in 1950. He received a law degree from Harvard University
the following year. Butterworth joined the New York Catholic Worker community in 1956, assisting in the operation of St. Joseph’s House of
Hospitality and Peter Maurin Catholic Worker Farm. He left in 1964 to return to Philadelphia and the practice of law. In addition to his work as
a public defender, he was active in the antiwar movement, serving as executive secretary of the local chapter of Clergy and Laymen Concerned
about Vietnam and editor of the Peace Calendar. Charles Butterworth died on February 2, 1978 of leukemia, after a brief illness.


Scope and Content

The Charles M. Butterworth Papers contain correspondence and writings documenting his public activities and private life. Included are letters
from Dorothy Day, files on the antiwar groups with which he was involved, journals, and manuscripts.

 

DD-CW

Series W-13

Series
Box
Folder
Folder Title
W-13
1
1
Academic Records, 1946-1950, 1973, 1977 
W-13
1
2
Catholic Worker Notebook and Notes, 1960-1962, undated
W-13
1
-
Correspondence, Private
W-13
1
3
Carroll, Ellsworth (Frank), 1959-1965
W-13
1
4
Day, Dorothy, 1956-1976, undated
W-13
1
5
Family Correspondence, 1956-1977, undated
W-13
1
6-7
General Correspondence, 1949, 1955-1978, undated
W-13
Dreams (descriptions), 1977
W-13
8
Ecclesiastical Documents, 1927, 1942, 1955
W-13
9
Funeral and Condolences, 1978
W-13
3
1-3
Journals, 1959-1977
W-13
1
10 
Law Practice, 1953-1954, 1964-1977

DD-CW
Series W-13

Series
Box
Folder
Folder Title
W-13
Manuscripts, 1953, 1966, undated (including a lengthy critique by Zachariah Chafee of the first draft of a law school paper)
W-13
2
Miscellaneous Records, 1953-ca. 1977, undated
W-13
3
Notes, 1965-1968, undated
W-13
2
-
Pacifism and Conscientious Objection
W-13
2
3
Arrest for Aiding Deserter from Army, 1959
W-13
2
4
Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, Philadelphia Chapter (CMB executive secretary), 1967
W-13
2
5
Committee to End War Crimes in Vietnam, 1970
W-13
2
6
Peace Activities, 1965-1972
W-13
2
7
Philadelphia Peace Center (CMB editor of the Peace Calendar), 1965-1971
W-13
2
8
    Tax Resistance, 1967-1978
W-13
3
5
Self-Evaluations, 1964-1965, 1972-1973, 1977, undated
 W-13
3
Vows (Private), 1958-1962