Joseph W. Butz was born around 1831 in Beallsville, Pennsylvania to David and Amy Butz. His father was a cider mill merchant who owned $1,200 of real estate in 1850. He grew up in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and by 1850, he was working as a clerk. He married Catherine Campbell around 1860, and their daughter Ella May was born around 1860. They lived in Frankfort, Pennsylvania, and Butz earned a living as a cabinet maker and wagon maker. By 1860, he owned $200 of personal property.
He was drafted into the Union army on July 11, 1863, and he mustered in as a private in Company D of the 61st Pennsylvania Infantry. According to his service records, he was 6 feet, 1 inch tall, with dark hair and gray eyes. The regiment took part in the Overland Campaign and the siege of Petersburg. He was discharged for disability on December 29, 1864.
Butz returned to Frankfort after the war. He applied for a federal pension in January 1865 and eventually secured one. By 1870, they owned $550 of real estate and $125 of personal property. They moved to Hanover, Pennsylvania, in the 1880s. By 1890, he was suffering from a tumor in his left side, which he claimed was the “result of [an] injury received in service.” He died in 1904.