Joseph Chappell Hutcheson, Sr. (May 18, 1842 – May 25, 1924), was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

politician and a Democratic member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Biography

Hutcheson was born near

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). ...

on May 18, 1842. He attended the local schools, and graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 1861. He enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

for the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, joining the 21st Virginia Infantry Regiment as a private. He served throughout the war and rose to the rank of captain as commander of Company E, 14th Virginia Infantry. After the war Hutcheson attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

, from which he graduated in 1866. He moved to

Anderson, Texas Anderson is a city and county seat of Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 193 as of the 2020 census. The town and its surroundings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Anderson Historic District. Th ...

, was admitted to the bar, and began to practice. In 1874 Hutcheson moved to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where he continued to practice law. A Democrat, he served in the

in 1880. In 1892 he was elected to represent

Texas's 1st congressional district Texas' 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives serves the northeastern portion of the state of Texas. As of the 2000 Census, the 1st district contained 651,619 people. It consists largely of three small East ...

in the United States House of Representatives, and he was reelected in 1894. Hutcheson served in the 53rd and 54th Congresses, (March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1897). He did not run for reelection in 1896, and resumed the practice of law in Houston. Hutcheson died at his summer home on Signal Mountain, near

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

on May 25, 1924. He was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. His son, Joseph Chappell Hutcheson, Jr., was a

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...

and a federal judge. A grandson,

Thad Hutcheson Thaddeus Thomson Hutcheson (October 29, 1915 – August 3, 1986), was a Republican attorney in his native Houston, who was an early figure in the movement to establish a competitive two-party system in the U.S. state of Texas. Background Bor ...

, also a Houston lawyer, was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate in the 1957

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

for United States Senator, and was defeated by Democrat

Ralph Yarborough Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate from 1957 to 1971 and was a leader of the progressive wing of his p ...

. Thad Hutcheson also served as chairman of the Texas

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutcheson, Sr., Joesph Chappell 1842 births 1924 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Texas lawyers People from Mecklenburg County, Virginia Military personnel from Houston Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Randolph–Macon College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American lawyers