The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1896-04-13
THE HUTCHINSON FAMILY.
1t Numbered Sixteen Brothers and Sisters
and All Were Musical.

1t Numbered Sixteen Brothers and Sisters
and All Were Musical.
John w. Hutchinson, one of the IA
nous Hutchinson family of singers
forty years ago, was among those who
attended the celebration of Mrs. Eliza
beth Cady Stanton's S0th birthday in
New York last week, says the Mail and
Express He was pioneer in aboli-
ton work, and he and his band of sweet
singers went up and down the land
exalting ''the fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood of man" Mr.. Hutch
inson makes an interesting statement
about the old tunes: II think my sing
ing commenced when I was in the era
die. My mother sung to me so sweetly
that have followed music ever since
We all sung, but the older children had
to help on the farm, and they did not do
so much of It. We were big family
My mother was 83 when she died. She
was married when she was Is and
brought up sixteen children. There
was David, Noah, Andrew, Zephaniah,
Caleb and Joshua, who were twins
they carried the grapes in bible times,
you know-Jesse, Benjamin, Judson,
Rhody, John, Asa and Abby, with three
children who died before they were
grown. We younger ones, Judson, Asa,
Abby and | formed the quartette, and
RhOdy, who had a very sweet voice,
went with us when we sung near home
Abby was the last of the family to go.
She died three years ago I'm alone,
sung Mr.. Hutchinson, illustrating his
words with a song after fashion of his
own. ''We all went into psalmody," he
began again. 1--WE were brought into
| the Baptist church early. My father
and uncle put up the first Baptist
church in the little town in New Hamp
shire, where was born. We had been
singing around in the neighborhood for
some time and in the church. I sung
| in the choir there when l was Z years
! old. l was always dreaming of giving
big, concerts and making great deal Of
money. l remember the last district
school / ever attended. 1t closed after
five weeks session. Father told us
younger boys that when school was
over we must look out for ourselves.
| 1t grieved him, but it was necessary.
| That was in 1841, and father hitched
the old mare to the sleigh and we drove
fifty miles to Lynn for our first concert.
Judson wrote the heading to our bills.
| 1t read:
| when foreigners approach our shores,
| You welcome them with open doors.
! Now we have come to seek our lot,
Shall native talent be forgot?"
81 met an old man recently who was
there at the time and quoted the old
bill to me-" Mr.. Hutchinson tells many
interesting stories of those first efforts
when there was profit sometimes of 6
cents and sometimes of shilling to di-
vide. Then when a fugitive slave
came to Boston the quartet became in
terested in the anti-slavery work.
Later Mr. Hutchinson espoused the
woman-suffrage cause and joined the
army of white ribboners. He had
worked with William Lloyd Garrison,
Frederick Douglass and Neal Dow. He
has sung at thousands of concerts in
the United States and England He
| has seen great changes in the land be
| loves so WE'LL II wanted to go up
! long time ago." he said, quantity, "but
| 1 have to stay until the millennium"