Born on 24 January 1810 at Hibbaldstone, Lincolnshire, England, the son of John Butters and his wife Sarah. Entered the ministry in 1833 and was sent as a missionary to Van Diemen's Land. There for 16 years, firstly as a chaplain to the convicts at Port Arthur. Later at Hobart; Ross; and Launceston. He married on 22 March 1842 at the Wesleyan Church, Melville Street, Hobart, V.D.L., to Jane Middleton Waterhouse, daughter of the Rev. John Waterhouse, Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions in Australia and Polynesia. Arrived at Melbourne on 21 March 1850 per "Shamrock" from Launceston and spent a great deal of his time and efforts ministering to the gold seekers over the next few years. Appointed to Adelaide, South Australia (1855-62). Returned briefly to Melbourne but retired as a supernumary in 1863 and returned to live in the Brixton area of London. Continued to preach and involve himself in church affairs there for the next 24 years. His wife died in 1872 in London. Minister at the Brixton Hill Chapel and living at 43 Upper Tulse Hill, Lambeth, Surrey, England in the 1881 census. Died on 10 October 1887 at London, England.

[marriage certificate; Methodist Conference Minutes (1888); Australian Dictionary of Biography (Vol. 3)]

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