Wells A. Hutchins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's11th district | |
| In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | Valentine B. Horton |
| Succeeded by | Hezekiah S. Bundy |
| Member of theOhio House of Representatives from theScioto County district | |
| In office January 5, 1852 – January 1, 1854 | |
| Preceded by | Oscar F. Moore |
| Succeeded by | Samuel J. Huston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wells Andrews Hutchins (1818-10-08)October 8, 1818 Hartford, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 1895(1895-01-25) (aged 76) Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Greenlawn Cemetery, Portsmouth |
| Political party | Whig Democratic |
| Spouse | Cornelia Robinson |
Wells Andrews Hutchins (October 8, 1818 – January 25, 1895) was an American lawyer and politician who served as aU.S. Representative fromOhio during theAmerican Civil War.
Born inHartford, Ohio, Hutchins was a first cousin to future congressmanJohn Hutchins. He attended public schools and then taught school. He later studied law and wasadmitted to the bar in 1841. He commenced practice inWarren, Ohio.
In 1842, Hutchins moved toPortsmouth, Ohio, where he served as a member of the State house of representatives in 1852 and 1853. He was aWhig while in Portsmouth.[1] He was the city solicitor from 1857 to 1861. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1860 to theThirty-seventh Congress. During the early part of theCivil War, he was the United Statesprovost marshal for the state of Ohio in 1862.
Hutchins was elected as aDemocrat to theThirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865). AWar Democrat,[2] he supportedAbraham Lincoln's agenda at critical moments. Hutchins called the proclamation Lincoln issued on September 15, 1863 under the authority of theHabeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1863 "necessary" in order to defeat the rebellion.[3] He was one of only 16 Democrats in theHouse of Representatives who joined with theRepublicans and voted to ratify theThirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on January 31, 1865. That amendment abolishedslavery in the United States.[4] By doing so, he became one of a group who had "defied their party discipline, and had deliberately and with unfaltering faith marched to their political death",[5] according toabolitionist CongressmanJames Mitchell Ashley.
He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1864 for reelection to theThirty-ninth Congress, and again in 1880 to theForty-seventh Congress.
On February 23, 1843, Hutchins married Cornelia Robinson of Portsmouth.[1]
Hutchins resumed the practice of law in Portsmouth. He died there January 25, 1895, and was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery. He died of kidney disease.[1]
A Congressman loosely based on him is portrayed by actorWalton Goggins in the2012 filmLincoln.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's 11th congressional district March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | Succeeded by |
