Joseph Collier Hutcheson (July 23, 1906 – February 14, 1972) was a Virginia lawyer and member of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

representing Brunswick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg Counties as a state Senator from 1958 until months before his death in 1972. A member of the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

, Hutcheson opposed racial integration and was active in the

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

vowed by U.S. Senator

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that becam ...

after the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

''.

Early and family life

Hutcheson was born in

Boydton, Virginia Boydton is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, and it is near Kerr Lake. Geography Boydton is located at (36.667997, −78.389001). ...

to Herbert Farrar Hutcheson (1869-1934, the clerk of the Mecklenburg County and a former state delegate as well as farmer and justice of the peace) and his wife, the former Mary Young. Joseph was named after his grandfather, a substantial landowner and justice of the peace, but who failed his one attempt at election to the Virginia General Assembly. Three of his six brothers also became lawyers. After graduating from Boydton High School, Hutcheson attended the

Virginia Episcopal School Virginia Episcopal School (VES) is a private, co-educational college preparatory, boarding and day school for students in grades 9 - 12, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. The school was first conceived in 1906 by the Reverend Rober ...

in Lynchburg, then went to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

. He received an undergraduate degree, then a law degree in 1930, having passed the Virginia bar exam the previous year. He never married. Hutcheson served in the U.S. Navy in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and then the U.S. Naval Reserve. One branch of the family moved to Houston, Texas after the American Civil War, so he is related to Judge

Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Joseph Chappell Hutcheson, Sr. (May 18, 1842 – May 25, 1924), was a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives. Biography Hutcheson was born near Boydton, V ...

Political career

Upon returning from his wartime service, Hutcheson was elected mayor of

Lawrenceville, Virginia Lawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,438 at the 2010 census. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County. In colonial times, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswoo ...

, and served from September 1, 1946, until December 31, 1947. In 1947, he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for

Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This rural county is known as one of the claimants to be the namesake of Brunswick stew. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts ...

, and served for a decade, including a term as president of the Commonwealth's Attorney Association. When

Albertis Harrison Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. (January 11, 1907 – January 23, 1995) was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party associated with Virginia's Byrd Organization, he was the List of Governo ...

was elected Attorney General, Hutcheson ran for the vacant seat and was elected and re-elected three times. This was a part-time position, and he also had a private legal practice with Larry N. Jones. However, his district's boundaries and number changed, both as a result of the

controversy engulfing Virginia, as well as reapportionments necessitated by census changes, the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

and U.S. Supreme Court decisions (especially

Davis v. Mann ''Davis v. Mann'', 377 U.S. 678 (1964), was a United States Supreme Court which was one of a series of cases decided in 1964 that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population. David J. Mays and Robert McIlwaine a ...

in 1963). In 1957 and 1961, District 7 encompassed Brunswick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg Counties. For the 1965 election, the city of

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

and Dinwiddie County were added to the district and Lunenberg county moved into the 4th senatorial district. Major restructuring after the 1970 census for the 1971 elections moved Petersburg into the 16th district and Dinwiddie county into the 15th district; Brunswick, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg counties were combined with Amelia, Cumberland, Powhatan and Chesterfield Counties as the 17th District. James T. Edmunds of

Kenbridge, Virginia Kenbridge is a town in Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,257 at the 2010 census. It is in a tobacco farming area. The area is home to noted folk artist Eldridge Bagley. The town is home to the Lunenburg Girls’ Soft ...

defeated him in the 1971 Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election, although later convicted of embezzlement and disbarred. A member of the

, Hutcheson participated in

. He served on the Boatwright Committee that sought to sanction the NAACP for ethical violations, but continued to win re-election, unlike other committee members. When defeated for re-election, he was on the steering committee of the Democratic caucus, Chairman of the Senate Fish and Game Committee, and a high-ranking member of the committees on Courts of Justice, Education, Finance, Public Instruction, Nominations and Confirmations and Privileges and Elections committees.

Death and legacy

Hutcheson died months after leaving his legislative office. His papers are held in the special collections division of the University of Virginia library.

Early and family life

Political career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading