Butler Funeral Home Records

• 1964 (Creation)

5.8 linear feet housed in 14 Hollinger boxes

Butler Funeral Home was the first black-owned funeral home in the city of Flint. It first opened its doors in 1932 as Robinson & Chandler Funeral Home by owners Charles H. Robinson and Robert C. Chandler at the address 3115 St. John St. With the death of both Robinson and Chandler in 1956, the funeral home came under the ownership of Robinson’s widow, Ailene R. Butler.

Robinson & Chandler Funeral Home was renamed Butler Funeral Home in 1957. Likely due to the looming land acquisitions by the State of Michigan for the construction of I-475, Butler Funeral Home moved out of the St. John St. building and relocated 2 miles northwest to address 4915 N. Saginaw St. in 1964. In 1970, Butler Funeral Home relocated 1.5 miles West to 906 W. Park Blvd, replacing the Lenczycki Funeral Home that previously occupied the property. Butler Funeral Home remained at this location until its closure in 1986. In 1987 the property was purchased, renovated and reopened as Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home which remains at this location as of the date of this finding aid.

Fourteen box collection with two different sets of boxes, a numbered set and lettered set. The collection’s first eleven boxes are numbered and individual files in these boxes are listed alphabetically by surname of the deceased. The boxes are listed in the order as follows: 1-57, 58-119, 120-178, 179-193, 225-280, 281-304, 305-348, 349-383, 394-440, 441-482, 483-507.

The collection’s additional three boxes are listed by letters: A-H, J-M, N-Z. Individual files are listed in these boxes alphabetically by surname of the deceased along with their date of death. Files in this collection include various documents necessary for funeral services and burial: Obituaries published by Butler Funeral Home, funeral home receipts/billing for services offered, obituaries written by family of the deceased for the funeral home to produce funeral programs, funeral notice order forms for publication in the Flint Journal obituary section, death certificates, funeral memorial service cards/programs produced by Butler Funeral Home. Consistent features in each file are funeral home internal purchase orders and invoices, newspaper clippings of obituaries, copies of life insurance policies, correspondence in cases of non-payment between the funeral home director/owner Ailene R. Butler and clients. Some files also contain I.D. or insurance cards of the deceased and photographs provided for reproduction on funeral programs.

Past practices described the contents of this collection individually. Each item received an object ID number and was treated as a distinct artifact. Records have been reunited, but their original order may have been lost.

Restrictions exist due to personal identifiable information. The Archivist must approve request to ensure confidentiality. Contact the Collections Department and the Archivist to arrange use for research at collections@sloanlongway.org or (810) 237-3421.

Collection solely consists of paper documents housed in individual archival file folders. Files are housed in full sized Hollinger boxes. Specific files may contain photographs and I.D. cards.

Restrictions exist due to personal identifiable information in files. Reproductions allowed upon approval from archivist. Archivist will take appropriate action to ensure the information remains confidential. Reproductions are done and charged in accordance with Sloan Museum Archives Fee Service Policy.

• English

This collection was donated to the Sloan Museum on July 5, 1994.

None.

Object ID 1994.83.1

Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd edition

Michael Laskowski, June 27, 2023

Rachel Stock, MLIS, Archivist
January 25, 2025 (Access to Memory)

• Funerals
• Black History
• Business

• Flint, Michigan
• Genesee County, Michigan

• Robinson, Charles H (Subject)
• Chandler, Robert C. (Subject)
• Butler, Ailene R. (Subject)
• Leach, Dr. J. Leonidas (Subject)