1902.--John W. Hutchinson, the last survivor
of the famous old concert-giving Hutchinson family, which
was especially prominent in anti-bellum times, received many
congratulations to-day on the occasion of his eighty-first birthday,
Mr. Hutchinson enjoys good health and is about to start on a new
singing and speaking crusade through the South, this time against the
sale and us of cigarettes. Mr. Hutchinson made a few remarks to the
friends who had called upon him, in the course of which he said: 'I
never spent a more enjoyable birthday than this, except upon the
occasion of my seventy-fifth, which I spent in New York and was
tendered a reception by the American Temperance union, of which I was
the organizer. Of course you will want me to sing to you, and I
think I will sing my favorite song, which I wrote myself. It is "The
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." I have written a great
many songs, among them "The Blue and the Gray," "Good old Days of
Yore," and some others that I cannot remember now. I sang the "Blue
and the Gray" in Atlanta six years ago, at the time of the exposition
there, and McKinley was there. I had the pleasure of saying a few
words at that time about woman's suffrage. I wrote the first song
about woman's suffrage and called it "Good Times for Women." This is
the 11,667th concert which I have taken part in.'"

The venerable singer is reputed to be quite wealthy. A few years ago
one of the children thought the old man was becoming entirely too
liberal in the distribution of his wealth, and brought an action in
the New York courts requesting the appointment of a guardian to
his estate. The white-haired musician appeared in court without an
attorney, and when the case was about to be disposed of made a request
of the judge, which was granted, that he might be sworn. After Mr.
Hutchinson had made his statement to the court the judge asked a few
questions. "How is your memory?" said the judge. "Memory," replied the
old man. "I remember the flavor of the milk at the maternal fountain."
The judge concluded that Mr. Hutchinson was fully capable of managing
his own affairs.

* * * * *

Concert hall, built in 1857 by J.W. McClung, had room for 400 or 500
people, but it was somewhat inaccessible on account of its being in
the basement of the building and was not very much in demand. Horatio
Seymour made a great speech to the Douglas wing of the Democracy in
the hall