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- He immigrated with one brother. He was a Justice for the Peace in Middlesex Co., NJ.
This couple had 13 children, 5 boys and 8 girls.
His father may be Robert Hutchinson, a Scots-Irish immigrant who landed in 1685.
Richard Hutchinson, the pre-eminent researcher for this family, found and recorded the gravesite for Richard and Ann Hutchinson. I've included here excerpts from his narrative about the location of the gravesite; I'd refer the reader to his site for the full narrative.
"The following story appeared in the Village Record, of Hightstown, New Jersey, dated 20 Nov 1857:
"Mr. Editor: On the farm now owned by Isaac Goldy, near Milford, about 2 1/2 miles from Hightstown, there is an ancient burial ground, wherein several of the old owners of the soil thereabout found the last resting place of their earthly remains. From a tombstone in that place I copy the following, verbatim et literatu: "Sacred to the Memory of Ann Hutchinson, Relict of Wm Hutchinson Esqr. departed this Life Jany. 4th 1801. Aged 101 years 9 Months and seven days. She was mother of 13 children, and Grand Mother and great grand mother, & great great Grand Mother of 375 Persons.
"By applying the rule of compound subtraction, or more properly subtraction of denominate numbers, and making allowance for the difference between Old and New Style, we perceive that she was born on the 17th day of March 1699, and consequently lived in three different centuries, i.e. she was born on the 17th, lived through the whole 18th, and died in the 19th century. A very lengthy article might be written upon the times, the scenes, and changes through which she passed, and which she witnessed; but those conversant with history can fill up the great space of her life with general incidents to suit themselves. I will only mention a few facts in connection with her history, and that of her family. She was the wife of Wm. Hutchinson, Esq, a Justice of the Peace under the crown and government of England. This William Hutchinson took up from the government all the land bounded easterly by or near the Earl of Perth's Patent, (at the corner of the farm now owned by Mr. Wesley Sill,) and bounded northerly by Rocky Brook, and extending westerly to at or about the farm now owned by Thomas Mount, (son of Hiram Mount, dec'd); and extending southerly also to the Ely tract, (a tract of 1500 acres taken up by John Ely, my great grandfather,) at or about the property now owned by Abijah J. Chamberlin. You will perceive then, Mr. Editor, that your office, and all of Hightstown south of Rocky Brook, stands on the tract of this old lady's husband. [ . . . ] J.J.E. [Joseph J. Ely]"
Richard Hutchinson then adds another letter:
"In the Village Record on the following week of the 27th Nov 1857, a response to the above article was made by a great-grandson, Daniel P. Hutchinson, of William & Ann:
"Mr. editor - Having noticed an article in your paper of the 20th inst., relative to the history of William and Ann Hutchinson, their burial place, and descendants, and thinking it may be interesting to some of your readers who may have lost the knowledge of their ancestors, I ask your indulgence while I speak of some matters connected with these things.
"William Hutchinson and one of his brothers came from England to this county early in the 18th century. The maiden name of his wife Ann, was Simpson. Their family of children, thirteen in number, as is recorded on Ann Hutchinson's tombstone, consisted of five boys and eight girls. From these branches have sprung numerous families, bearing the name of Tindall in the neighborhood of Hamilton Square; English and Laird in Englishtown; Ely, Wilson, Moore, Taylor, and others, of this vicinity; Kannan [Kinnan], Bennett and others, of New Brunswick. The marriages into families of these names took place about one century ago. With later generations come in the names of Cubberly, Dey, Moore, Taylor, James, Hartman, and many others down to the present time, and now beside hundreds of Hutchinsons in this vicinity, these descendants may be found in almost every resident name among us. Although the date of the woman's birth reaches back a period of about one hundred and sixty years, and her descendants are numbered in the thousands, yet if she were living to-day in your borough, she might receive daily visits from a grand-daughter who is now in the middle age of life, while in other branches of the family she might look upon children with a string of greats too long for any but a clear-headed person to mention.
"In the old burying ground alluded to, this host may look upon the final resting place of their time-honored ancestors- their first parents of this western world. But it would be a sad sight to many, for the plough has already broken the sod over many graves of this ancient burial place, and unless steps be speedily taken, there will soon be left no mark to designate the sacred spot where these first breakers of the soil rest.
"I would ask if some plan may not be devised by which the remaining graves shall be religiously protected, so that future generations may read this headstone. We presume the present owner of the land would sell the lot to the descendants for a trifling amount - That such graves should be thoughtlessly trampled upon seems to us a burning shame; and from the personal knowledge we have of many of the descendants, we believe that a sufficient amount of money could be raised to do it in a permanent manner. D.P.H. [Daniel P. Hutchinson]"
Richard Hutchinson continues, about this gravesite:
"Today, this ancient cemetery still exists off of Cedarville Road but with only the two existing stones of Ann (Simpson) Hutchinson and her husband William plus pieces of other fieldstones used as grave markers. I'm afraid that nothing was done after the above article to preserve it and nothing has been done since. Recently, many members of the community thought that site had been protected by East Windsor Township due to the work of the East Windsor Township Preservation Commission several years ago. This was work in which I participated to a limited degree and even received written thanks from the Commission for helping preserve the site. However, after many years, I was among the many surprised residents who found out through various news articles in the local Hightstown, New Jersey papers that this ancient burial ground was not protected and had not been so protected as had been proclaimed by the Commission. After having found this gravesite, many years ago, I have walked through the fields to the site and tended to this ancient cemetery each November in an attempt to keep it open. I have planted numerous bulbs near the stones and have even introduced it to my grandson, aged 5, who would help me. This is the oldest known cemetery, with existing stones, in East Windsor Township and it should be protected from further destruction. The blade of the farmer's plow in the field currently passes over those two remaining burials while the farm nearby uses the site as a place to discard various materials. It would be a worthy project of the Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society to clean it up, put a fence around it, and try to gain the proper preservation of the site for the future generations. It would be a great project for the Society to complete the job that the East Windsor Township Preservation Commission failed to finish.
"William is buried in field to the right of the big bend in the road from Etra to Roosevelt, after leaving Etra, by Feldsher Road. The two trees in the field to the right mark the spot of these two graves.
"I found unauthored notes & material on the Hutchinson family in the New Jersey Historical Society in 1980s in an uncataloged cardboard box. I was given access to this material that appeared to have been given to the Society from a family. It contained newspaper clips, notes, and many pages of handwritten family sheets. I believe that this material MAY have come from Elmer Tindall Hutchinson, who was an officer of the Society and a well known author and historian. In this material, was information on the William and Ann (Simpson) Hutchinson family, which indicated that an Isaac Hutchinson of Three Hills Run, NJ, had the family record material on William and Ann." [1]
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