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Otelia Butler Mahone (August 1, 1835 – February 11, 1911) fromSmithfield, Virginia was anurse during theAmerican Civil War and the wife ofConfederateMajor GeneralWilliam Mahone, who was acivil engineer,teacher,railroad builder, andSenator in theUnited States Congress. Popularly known in Virginia as the "Hero of theBattle of the Crater" during and after the Civil War, her small-of-stature husband was nicknamed "Little Billy."An illustrious "character" in her own right, strong-willed Otelia Butler Mahone became almost as well known as her famous husband. She is credited by local legend with the naming of the towns ofWindsor,Ivor,Wakefield,Waverly andDisputanta along the famous 52-mile tangent railroad tracks (now part ofNorfolk Southern) engineered and built by her husband between the cities ofSuffolk andPetersburg. When he led the formation of theAtlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) from three trunk lines across the southern tier of Virginia in 1870, wags claimed the initials stood for "All Mine and Otelia's."
In their later years, Otelia and Little Billy Mahone settled in her mother's original hometown ofPetersburg, Virginia, where she lived as a widow for many years after his death in 1895.
Otelia Butler was the daughter of Dr.Robert Butler (1784–1853) of the town ofSmithfield inIsle of Wight County, Virginia and his second wife, the former Otelia Voinard (1803–1855), originally fromPetersburg, Virginia. The Butler family was prominent, and Dr. Butler was serving as the elected Treasurer of theCommonwealth of Virginia when he died in 1853.
She has been described in published accounts as a "lady of rare beauty with a strong, forceful personality." It was also said that young Otelia Butler came from "cultured" background.
William Mahone was of Irish-American heritage and grew up inSouthampton County, Virginia. He graduated with the Class of 1847 fromVirginia Military Institute (VMI), trained as acivil engineer. He was hired in 1853 to build theNorfolk and Petersburg Railroad (N&P), which passed through Isle of Wight County not far from the Butler's home in Smithfield.
Otelia married 29-year-old Mahone on February 8, 1855. The couple settled inNorfolk, Virginia. Later in 1855, they escaped theyellow fever epidemic which decimated a third of the population of the Norfolk-Portsmouth area by staying with his mother in Jerusalem (later renamedCourtland) in Southampton County.
Popular legend has it that Otelia and William Mahone traveled along the newly completed Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad naming stations fromIvanhoe, a book she was reading written by SirWalter Scott. From his historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names ofWindsor,Waverly andWakefield. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name ofIvor, a smallSouthampton County town. When they reached a point inPrince George County not far from the end of the line at Petersburg, the two could not agree. It is said that they invented a new word in honor of their "dispute", which is how the tiny community ofDisputanta was named. The N&P railroad was completed in 1858, and William was named its president.
When her husband became an officer in theConfederate Army, Otelia served the cause in Richmond as anurse. Small of stature at 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing only 100 pounds (45 kg), her husband was nicknamed "Little Billy". When Otelia was notified by GovernorJohn Letcher that her husband had been injured in theSecond Battle of Manassas, but had only received a "flesh wound", she replied "Now I know it is serious for William has no flesh whatsoever." Late in the War, during theSiege of Petersburg, Otelia and the children moved to Petersburg to be near him. Mahone himself became the hero of theBattle of the Crater in July, 1864, and was promoted to Major General.
Otelia and William Mahone had 13 children. However, only 3 of their children survived to adulthood, two sons, William and Robert, and a daughter, also named Otelia.
The Mahones lived in Norfolk after their marriage. Late in the Civil War, they relocated to Petersburg. They moved toLynchburg, headquarters of the newAtlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) for several years from 1869 to 1872, returning to Petersburg, where they lived the rest of their lives. Their former home on South Sycamore Street in Petersburg became part of the Petersburg Public Library. In 1874, they acquired and enlarged a house on South Market Street which was their home thereafter.
In a meeting nearAppomattox Court House about the time of the surrender, defeated Confederate GeneralRobert E. Lee urged his generals to go home and start rebuilding. In the post-war period, William Mahone redirected his attention back to his pre-war occupation, railroading, quickly rebuilding the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad. He became president of theSouth Side Railroad in late 1865, and was instrumental in combining the N&P and South Side Railroad with theVirginia and Tennessee Railroad to form theAtlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1870. Otelia and William moved toLynchburg, Virginia, headquarters of the A,M & O, whose initials were said to stand for "All Mine and Otelia's". After theFinancial Panic of 1873, the A,M & O fell behind on its bonds, and went into receivership. Mahone lost control in 1881 to northern financial interests who renamed it theNorfolk and Western Railway.
William Mahone was also active in Virginia politics for almost 30 years. He was elected to theVirginia General Assembly in 1864 while still serving in the Confederate Army. After he failed in a bid to become governor in 1877, he organizedReadjuster Party the following year. His chosen candidateWilliam E. Cameron was elected as governor, serving from 1882 to 1886. Mahone himself served in theUnited States Congress as one of Virginia's two senators from 1881 to 1887.
William Mahone died in 1895 inWashington, D.C. Otelia lived for 15 more years, and died inPetersburg, Virginia on February 11, 1911, at the age of 75 years and 6 months. They are buried inBlandford Cemetery in Petersburg.
A large portion ofU.S. Highway 460 betweenPetersburg andSuffolk parallels the 52-mile tangent line of the railroad William engineered. As the road passes through the towns he and Otelia are thought to have named, it is locally-known as General Mahone Boulevard and General Mahone Highway.