Queer Places:
Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori, Via Senese, 184, 50124 Firenze FI
Jeannette Ridgeway Buttles (July 20, 1859 - March 30, 1946), who used Janet for most of her adult life and was affectionately known as Nettie by her friends, was born on
July 20, 1859, in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, USA, as the daughter of Albert Barnes Buttles and Mary Elizabeth Ridgeway Buttles. Growing up in Ohio with her sister
Mary Neil Buttles, Jeanette trained as an artist and later embarked on a remarkable life of international travel, scholarship,
and public service. She joined her aunt, Emma B. Andrews, and the wealthy American excavator Theodore M. Davis for a number of seasons traveling and excavating along the Nile in Egypt, immersing herself among the
prominent scholars and archaeologists of the era. Drawing from this profound experience, she authored The Queens of Egypt, published in London by A. Constable & Co. in 1908,
which detailed the lives of powerful women pharaohs and featured an introduction by renowned French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero. After her extensive travels along the Nile,
she settled in Florence, Italy, living the rest of her life alongside her sister Mary. Deeply dedicated to their new home, the two sisters were awarded the Silver Medal of
Merit in Italy in 1929 in recognition of their extensive charity work in public health. Jeanette passed away on March 30, 1946, at the age of 86 in Florence, and was laid to
rest at the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori.
Historical and archival records specific to Jeanette Buttles do not document any explicit same-sex romantic partnerships or formal affiliations with queer advocacy
networks. However, her life as an independent, unmarried woman traveling extensively in archaeological expeditions alongside figures like Emma B. Andrews, followed by a
lifelong domestic partnership with her sister Mary in the vibrant expatriate community of Florence, mirrors the autonomous lifestyle shared by many prominent
turn-of-the-century women and figures within historical networks of women's partnerships.
References:
- Buttles, Janet R. The Queens of Egypt. London: A. Constable & Co., 1908.
- Ancestry.com genealogical records and family trees ("US Girls Honored; Janet and Mary Buttles", "Jeanette Ridgeway Buttles").
- The Emma B. Andrews Diary project and related digital archival resources.
- Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori, Florence, Italy (Burial records and contributor data via Find A Grave / Jolene Buttolph).
Support this project
This website is a passion project researched, developed, and funded entirely by me. If you find the content valuable and would like to help support the ongoing research and hosting costs, any contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for keeping this independent resource alive!
My books on Amazon: Elisa Rolle's books
BACK TO HOME PAGE