John M Hutchinson was born about 1810, somewhere between New Jersey and new York, to Samuel Hutchinson and Rachel Mount. John married Rebecca Hansell October 19, 1834 in Hunterdon County, probably in Trenton, New Jersey. The early boundaries of Trenton (then Hunterdon County) and Burlington County were both in “Trenton” with Hunterdon County on the north bank of the Assanpink and Burlington on the south side. This creek is only 10 feet wide. There were large families of Hutchinsons living opposite of Trenton across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. They moved back and forth continuously by the ferries.
John and Rebecca moved to jersey co, Illinois sometime around 1837, with Rebecca's father joining them. In 1876 Isaac (Rebecca's uncle) gave an account of his trip and reasons for settling in Illinois that sheds some light on how and why the Hansell, Hutchinson and Sunderland families came to Illinois from New Jersey.
“In the year of 1844, living in the State of New York, near the city of Rochester, Monroe County, I determined to go west. The great break down of 1837 in New York had extended westward and in 1840 had reached the Mississippi, and the great valley felt the terrible financial shock throughout the length and breath of the then great prospective country. We finally started, the first day by railroad, running to Columbus, eighty miles. That was doing well. At this place our trucks were run down into the water, the different sections of the boat floated, and were gathered together and fastened firmly, and made one good canal boat. Now to the feet of the Alleghany Mountains, and then to be hauled up on an inclined plane, our boat being parted in different sections again. On we went, seven days, and we were at Pittsburgh. Here was a number of boats, good steamboats, wanting freight and passengers for St. Louis. It was seven weeks since I left Rochester. Almost constant traveling, and trying to travel had brought me to the land of promise. We got onto the rise of land about four miles south of Jerseyville, where we could see the little town. It was not much to look at four miles off, but the fine prairie, so rich, so beautiful, grand and enchanting. I broke out with feelings of great emotion and gratitude to God for what my eyes beheld, for I had never looked upon so grand a sight before. There was considerable farming done near the town, and still great, beautiful prairies lay out with hundreds of cattle feeding them, and they were worth about five to ten dollars per acre, and no sale, no money, no confidence. The prices of produce were as you might have a chance to trade something for something else."
John was a shoemaker, continuing this occupation in Illinois, at least for a while. John Hutchinson had a shoe shop in the Red Corner at Jerseyville. The Red Corner was built in 1841 and a Josh Corbett had a shoe shop there, followed by John Hutchinson.
John and Rebecca had five children, with only three surviving to adulthood:
William Henry
Virginia "Jenny"
James Llewellyn
Emma (died as infant)
Anna May (died as infant)
William Henry Hutchinson was born Jan 7, 1836 in Trenton, NJ to John and Rebecca. He married Elizabeth Sarah O'Leary Oct 3, 1858 in Havana, Mason County, Illinois. At age 16, William began learning the trade of blacksmithing, which he did for 8 years in Jerseyville, IL.
William served in the Civil War from May 1861 to June 1864. He enlisted on May 29, 1861 as a private and mustered into Company K, 17th Illinois Infantry. On the Muster Roll William was described has having black hair, brown eyes, a married blacksmith living at Bath, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (conflicts with other data). He served in this unit for three years.
William Henry in his Civil War uniform
William’s 17th Infantry unit saw service in the following battles:
Battle at Frederickstown, Missouri on 21 October 1861
Battle at Fort Donelson, Tennessee on 13 February 1862
Battle at Fort Donelson, Tennessee on 15 February 1862
Battle at Shiloh, Tennessee on 06 April 1862
Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 22 May 1863
Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 27 May 1863
Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 28 May 1863
Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 04 June 1863
Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 25 July 1863
Battle on 05 February 1864
William was mustered out of the 17th on June 4, 1864. He wasn’t home very long, he enlisted in Company I, 144th Illinois Infantry on October 4, 1864. The Captain of Company I was J. D. Moore, William was the Second Lieutenant. William’s son James L. joined this unit in 1865. This regiment was organized at Alton, in the autumn of 1864, as a one-year regiment. (2) It was mustered into the service on October 21. In January 1865, four companies were sent to St. Louis, where their term of service was spent, the other six companies remaining on guard duty at Alton. The regiment was mustered out July 14, 1865.
William must have returned to Jersey County fairly soon after 1870. He was listed in the 1872 Jersey County Atlas where he stated that he was born in Trenton, New Jersey, came to Jersey County in 1842. He was a blacksmith, residing at Township 8-13. He was mentioned in the local newspaper, involved in the manufacture of plows: “Fieldon. Our enterprising blacksmiths, Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Roth, are busily engaged in the manufacture of plows. Both have all they can do, as their plows sell readily and give general satisfaction.”
In 1880 William and Elizabeth and their family were living in Fidelity Township. William listed himself as a farmer and claimed he was born in Pennsylvania. All of their children were still living at home. Their last child, Minerva “Minnie,” had been born just the year before (My husband's Great Grandmother.) In 1881 he was reported ill, but improving, and had purchased a C. C. Greene gun for $100. In 1882 he traveled to New York to visit his brother, James L. There is a family story that William would always wait up for his children to come home, sitting in a straight back chair next to the door and not go to bed until the last child was home. His favorite saying was “It’s nine o’clock, time all honest men were in bed, the rogues are a’travlin.” He spent a lot of time at Horseshoe Lake, probably fishing.
William Hutchinson and Elizabeth O'Leary Hutchinson
By November 1883 William was offering his eighty-acre farm, twenty acres of timber and a cottage on a lot in Burke’s addition to Jerseyville for sale or exchange. The family was residing on the farm. There is a family story that William did poorly financially, his brother James having to ‘bail him out,’ including purchasing homes for William and his family twice. Supposedly William was a gambler and lost the first house due to gambling debt. James L. purchased a second house for William and put the house in his wife Elizabeth’s name.
By July 1890, William applied for a pension based on his Civil War service. He claimed he was unable to earn a living due to asthma and catarrh in his head. The medical statement in March 1891 said that William reported first developing asthma about seven years ago (1884), continuing at times ever since. He currently had to sit up at night and had not been able to lie in a bed for two years, growing worse all the time. About the same time he noticed the catarrh of the head that continues. His disability was total. William was five feet seven inches tall; weighing 130 pounds, age 55 years. His pension was $12 per month until 1907, when it increased to $15 per month. In 2003 dollars this income would have been about $234 and $293, respectively. Perhaps William had some additional source of income, and/or his children contributed to his support, and/or his brother James helped him out financially.
On August 17, 1909, William committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The newspaper attributed this to his difficulties with asthma, but he could also have been despondent, if he was still gambling and/or dealing with financial problems due to his inability to work. For years, his great grand daughter, Dorothy, had the revolver he used. She sold it at auction, refusing to let any family members purchase it.
“William Hutchison committed suicide by shooting himself through the right temple with a 32 caliber Hopins and Allen revolver at his home on East Arch Street on Tuesday evening Aug. 17th. He had eaten his supper as usual that evening. He then went out in the yard and sat under the trees with his wife. About 7:30 pm he went into the house and about five minutes later Mrs. Hutchison went to the home of her daughter, Mrs. Geo Stoeckel across the street, and asked them if they had heard a shot not thinking that the report of the gun came from their home. A few minutes later Mrs. John Luckey, who resides in the country, daughter of Mr. Hutchison, came in and found her father sitting in a chair. She spoke to him but received no answer. She said to her husband I guess that father is asleep. She then started to the home of her sister, Mrs. Stoeckel, and met her mother and sister coming across the street. They entered the house and found Mr. Hutchinson sitting in his rocking chair with the revolver in his hand and a wound in his right temple. They sent for Mr. A. H. Simonds, who telephoned for the coroner, Dr. A. S. Hunt. Mr. Hutchison has been a sufferer from asthma for more than 23 years which was the direct cause of his committing the rash act. He was 73 years old and has resided in Jersey county for 70 years. Dr. A. S. Hunt held an inquest that evening and the jury returned a verdict of suicide.”
In 1910 Elizabeth was a 67-year-old widow, still living on East Arch St., renting her home. This time she stated that her mother was born in Germany, father in Ireland. She said she had been the mother of 8 children, 8 still living. In the same house were a Penhold Keener and his wife. Elizabeth was probably taking in boarders for income. In her later years Elizabeth was almost bald and wore a black lace stocking or handkerchief on her head. Elizabeth died on December 21, 1917 at her home on Arch St. and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.
James Lewellyn Hutchinson was born Nov 18, 1846 to John Hutchinson and Rebecca Hansell. He married Vivenne Watt in 1879.
At an early age he became interested in the circus. As a boy, he managed a circus held in the barn behind Wagoner and McDow's meat shop in Jerseyville. When P. T. Barnum came to Jerseyville in 1869, he hired Jems to sell his book 'Life of P.T. Barnum' in the circus tent during performances, being paid a whole $2.50 per month. When Shorty had sold the entire lot of books, which Barnum had given up hope of selling, Barnum was impressed enough to give him a job with his circus. He held many positions, including a booking agent. By 1870 Shorty had struck out on his own, working for various other circuses.
By 1878 he was with Howe's Great London Circus, and in 1879 he had joined with the Cooper & Bailey to form Cooper, Bailey and Hutchinson's Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie, and Grand International Allied Shows. Barnum realized that he had serious competition when Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson's circus announced their elephant Hebe had given birth. This was the first captive elephant birth in the United States. Barnum decided he would do better trying to merge than compete. The managerial genius among the three owners of the Cooper, Bailey and Hutchinson circus was Bailey. Barnum offered Hutchinson a free partnership in his show if he'd persuade Bailey to combine with Barnum, and in 1880 the three reached an agreement to combine the shows under the firm name of Barnum, Bailey and Hutchinson. The result was P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show On Earth, And The Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United. It soon became known as the Barnum and London Circus.
James Lewellyn "Shorty" Hutchinson
The final chapter in Barnum’s compendious and extended personal history was inserted at the last minute, in 1883. Entitled “The Great Alliance”, the chapter tells the story of the merger of his show with another great circus, in Barnum’s characteristic style:
“My strongest competitors were the so-called “Great London Circus, Sanger’s Royal British Menagerie and Grand International Allied Shows.” Its managers, Cooper, Bailey and Hutchinson, had adopted my manner of dealing with the public, and consequently their great show grew in popularity.
On the tenth of March, 1880, while in Philadelphia, one of their large elephants, Hebe, became a mother. This was the first elephant born in captivity, and the managers so effectively advertised the fact that the public became wild with excitement over the “Baby Elephant”. Naturalists and men of science rushed in numbers to Philadelphia, examined the wonderful “little stranger” and gave glowing reports to the papers of this country and of Europe. Illustrated papers and magazines of this and foreign lands described the Baby Elephant with pen and pencil, and before it was two months old I offered the lucky proprietors one hundred thousand dollars cash for mother and baby. they gleefully rejected my offer, pleasantly told me to look to my laurels, and wisely held on to their treasure.
I found that I had at last met foemen “worthy of my steel,” and pleased to find comparatively young men with a business talent and energy approximating to my own, I met them in friendly council, and after days of negotiation we decided to join our two shows in one mammoth combination, and, sink or swim, to exhibit them for, at least, one season for one price of admission. The public were astonished at our audacity, and old showmen declared that we could never take in enough money to cover our expenses, which would be fully forty-five hundred dollars per day. My new partners, James a. Bailey and James L. Hutchinson, sagacious and practical managers, agreed with me that the experiment involved great risk, but from the time of the Jenny Lind concerts, the Great Roman Hippodrome and other expensive enterprises, I have always found the great American public appreciative and ready to respond in proportion to the sums expended for their gratification and amusement.”
James L. Hutchinson made his fortune as a circus man, from 1881 to 1887, and he retired at the end of the 1887 season. He died Sep 3, 1910 at Shelter Island, New York. The obit reads:
New York, Sept. 4 - James L. Hutchinson, formerly a partner of Phineas T. Barnum and James Bailey in the circus business, and one of the veteran circus men of the country, died at his summer home on Shelter Island, Saturday morning.
Mr. Hutchinson was born sixty-four years ago at Jerseyville, Illinois. In those days P.T. Barnum had made a great reputation as a showman and young Hutchinson was attracted toward the circus in the early '70's. After getting a common school education he worked hard, saved his money and bought an interest in a small traveling circus. He prospered and bought controlling interest in the enterprise. He made it an active rival of Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth" and Barnum though it advisable to buy him out and make him a partner in Barnum & Bailey.
Mr. Hutchinson retired from business about fifteen years ago with a considerable fortune. He built a house at Englewood, J.J. and established a summer home on Shelter Island. He was fond of golf and yachting and owned a house-boat, upon which he spent a good part of his summers.
He leaves two sons and two daughters; James L. Hutchinson Jr, and Guy Hutchinson, who was a famous quarterback on the Yale football team and was graduated in 1906; Mrs. Eugene Verdery of Augusta, Ga., and Miss Ruth Hutchinson. (From the Daily Democrat, Jerseyville, Illinois, Monday, September 5, 1910)
Vivenne, wife of James L. "Shorty" Hutchinson, died at her home in Morristown, New Jersey, April 1, 1902. Funeral was held from Collegiate Church Chapel, April 3, the Rev. Dr. Burrell officiating. She was a woman of high standing, and a worker in the church and charitable enterprises.
John Hutchinson and Rebecca Hansell are my husbands 3rd Great Grandparents.
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