In the fall of 1840, Zephaniah K. Hutchinson traveled from his home in Greenville, Bond County, Illinois, to Milford, New Hampshire, to take part in a very special event. At a family reunion, it had been suggested that the musical Hutchinsons gather together to sing for their neighbors. So Joshua and Jesse, Jr., planned a concert to be given by the entire family. Early in November, Joshua posted notices of the entertainment, which said:
The eleven Sons and two Daughters of the "Tribe of Jesse" will sing at the Baptist Meeting-house on Thanksgiving Evening at 7 o'clock.
Judson, Asa, and especially John, the three youngest brothers, may have been making plans already to become professional concert singers. The success of this Thanksgiving show was all the encouragement they needed. Meanwhile, Zephaniah went back to Illinois.
Zephaniah had been the pioneer of his generation of the Hutchinson family, removing to Illinois in 1832. According to John, "There he lived in his log cabin, cooked his own corn meal, and just subsisted." But Zephaniah was back in New Hampshire by the summer of 1836, when he married Abby Perkins (1811-1848) of Mont Vernon. Then, along with his new wife, he went home to Illinois. A detailed record of Zephaniah's travels is not available, but it appears that he journeyed between Illinois and New Hampshire at least once every three or four years.
Late in 1842 at a gathering of the Hutchinsons, it was decided that the whole family would give a short series of concerts. Again, Zephaniah was sent for. By then, the quartet of Judson, John, Asa, and Abby was just entering into a period of commercial success. This must have been the time Joshua had in mind when he wrote that Zephaniah "left a successful business in Illinois ... hoping to effect a union of the entire family, and pursue the [music] business as a profession." By the fall of 1843, members of the quartet enlisted Zephaniah as their business manager; and he served in that capacity into 1845. During those years, the group was engaged night after night; and they were singing to large, enthusiastic crowds. Zephaniah's efforts on their behalf must have contributed much to the group's success.
When the Hutchinson Family quartet made a trip to the United Kingdom in 1845, Brother Jesse took over as their business manager. Speaking of Zephaniah, John said, "He was our agent during two of the most successful years of the original quartet."
While the main group was overseas, Zephaniah and his brothers Caleb and Joshua served in both lineups of the Home Branch, which entertained successfully throughout the Northeast. Zephaniah was already well known in many of the communities where they sang, from his days as business agent for the main group.
In 1848, Zephaniah was running a store in Milford. Then on April 20th, his wife Abby died.
By 1849, Zephaniah was back at his Western home. In September he married Elizabeth Nettleton of Newport, New Hampshire; and not much later they settled permanently in Greenville, Illinois. In 1851, the unusual trio of Jesse, Judson, and John toured through the Midwest, stopping to see Zephaniah along the way. Late in life, John remembered, "[W]e bade a long farewell to Zephaniah, our brother, who had in the years before shared with us so many of our toils and triumphs." "It was our last meeting with him."
Published sources differ on whether Zephaniah Kittredge Hutchinson (1810-1853) died on April 17th or April 19th in 1853.
It must have been eerie in 1868, when John W. Hutchinson and his son Henry visited Zephaniah's old Illinois farm. Jonathan Keppler, who was then the owner, resembled Zephaniah; and according to John, "his wife was the image of my brother's wife."
-- Alan Lewis
We know little about Zephaniah's family and what became of them. His widow Elizabeth was pregnant at the time of his death. We know she went home to New Hampshire; and it seems that, later, she must have returned to Illinois.
- Mary Frances [née Hutchinson] Lockett (b. 1851), daughter of Zephaniah and Elizabeth Hutchinson, left a collection of thirty-six photographs. Do you know their whereabouts or anything else about them?
- In his various writings, John W. Hutchinson spoke occasionally of visiting with Hette [née Hutchinson] Dow (he called her Hattie). We know little more than what he wrote. Do you have information about her, her husband, and their family?
Since writing this profile, a small amount of information about Zephaniah Hutchinson, his family, and their descendants has come to light from census records and other sources. There's no time at the moment to organize and post that material. If you are interested in sharing information or have questions, please follow the contact links on this page and drop us an e-mail.
-- Alan Lewis, May 9, 2004
![[earliest Hutchinson Family publicity likeness]](http://www.oocities.org/unclesamsfarm/quartet342.jpg)
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