John Butler was a businessman and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He represented Halifax County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1762 to 1772.

Probably born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Butler came to Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 in 1749 by way of Long Island, New York. He built the Great Pontack Inn in Halifax. Butler acted as agent for the English firm Watson

Brook Watson

Sir Brook Watson, 1st Baronet was a British merchant, soldier, and later Lord Mayor of London, perhaps most famous as the subject of Watson and the Shark , a painting by John Singleton Copley which depicted a shark attack on Watson as a boy, as a result of which he lost his right leg below the...

 and Rashleigh, and Joshua Mauger, who operated distilleries. In 1772, he was named to the Nova Scotia Council. In 1774, he was named justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and a lieutenant-colonel for the militia, later becoming a full colonel. In 1776, with others, he forced the recall of governor Francis Legge

Francis Legge

Francis Legge , was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776....

. Butler left Nova Scotia around 1781 and died in England at Martock

Martock

Martock is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels north west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one mile south of the village, and Bower Hinton, which is located at the western end of the...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

shire.