Dabney (Daybury) O. Butler was born around 1823 in Louisa County, Virginia. He moved to Albemarle County and is recorded on the special census of free Blacks of 1833. He next moved with his family to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he married Susan Ann Evans on December 24, 1846. The couple had at least six children together: Elbridge, born around 1849; Charles, born around 1851; Walter, born around 1853; John, born around 1855; Samuel, born around 1860; Ellen, born around 1868.

On February 24, 1864, Butler enlisted in Company E of the 27th USCT Infantry Regiment as a private in Chillicothe. He was mustered in at Camp Delaware, on March 8. According to his service records, he was a 43-year old laborer, with black hair, eyes, and complexion, who stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall. The 27th saw service during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, before being transferred in December to North Carolina. In January 1865, it took part in the capture of Fort Fisher, a Confederate stronghold guarding Wilmington. Butler mustered out with the rest of his regiment at Smithville on September 21, 1865.

After the war, Butler returned to Chillicothe where he lived out the rest of his days working as a brick mason. Both he and his wife received pensions from the federal government. Butler died around 1892 in Chillicothe, two years prior to his wife. Both are buried in the city’s Grandview Cemetery.