Waldo Hutchins

Waldo Hutchins
Photographs of the Officers and Members of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York, 1867.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 12th district
In office
November 4, 1879 – March 3, 1885
Preceded byClarkson Nott Potter
Succeeded byAbraham Dowdney
Personal details
Born(1822-09-30)September 30, 1822
Brooklyn, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedFebruary 8, 1891(1891-02-08) (aged 68)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic

Waldo Hutchins (September 30, 1822 – February 8, 1891) was a New York attorney, businessman and politician. He served in the New York State Assembly and as a Member of Congress for three terms from 1879 to 1885.

Biography

Born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, Hutchins graduated from Amherst College in 1842.[1] He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1845 and commenced practice in New York City.[1]

Early political career

He served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1852.[1] From 1857 to 1869 Hutchins was a member of the Central Park board of commissioners.[1] He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867.[1]

Congress

Hutchins was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Alexander Smith.[2] He was reelected to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses and served from November 4, 1879 to March 3, 1885.[3] He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884 and resumed the practice of law in New York City.

Later career and death

In 1887, Hutchins was again appointed to New York City's Central Park Commission.[1] He served until his death in New York City on February 8, 1891.[1] He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.[4]

Legacy

In New York City's Central Park, overlooking Conservatory Water, is the Waldo Hutchins bench, a curved Concord white granite exedra outdoor bench.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] The bench is almost 4 feet (1.2 m) tall by 27 feet (8.2 m) long, and weighs several tons.[12][13] The cost of the bench was $15,000 ($330,000 in current dollar terms).[14] Its architect was Eric Gugler, and in 1932 it was executed by the Piccirilli Brothers studio, the firm that carved the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.[12]

Family

Hutchins was married to Elizabeth Ellsworth, the daughter of William Wolcott Ellsworth and granddaughter of Oliver Ellsworth.[1] They were the parents of four children—Julia Sterling (1855-1930), Augustus Schell (1856-1948), Waldo (1858-1933), and William Ellsworth (1861-1916).[1][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Annual Report: Including Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association.
  2. ^ "Waldo Hutchins, Democrat, was elected on Tuesday in the Westchester district of New York".
  3. ^ "Alumni Notes: Waldo Hutchins".
  4. ^ "Waldo Hutchins' Funeral".
  5. ^ "Waldo Hutchins Bench".
  6. ^ Carroll, Raymond (May 20, 2008). The Complete Illustrated Map and Guidebook to Central Park. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 9781402758331 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Henry Hope Reed, Sophia Duckworth (1972). Central Park; a History and a Guide
  8. ^ Andrea Kannapell (1999).The Curious New Yorker; 329 Fascinating Questions and Surprising Answers about New York City.
  9. ^ Natalie Zaman (2016). Magical Destinations of the Northeast; Sacred Sites, Occult Oddities & Magical Monuments
  10. ^ Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis, Matthew McGowan (2018). Classical New York; Discovering Greece and Rome in Gotham.
  11. ^ "Waldo Hutchins Memorial Bench|Piccirilli Brothers|Whispering Bench". centralparkinbronze.
  12. ^ a b c "Central Park Monuments - Waldo Hutchins: NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org.
  13. ^ Waldo Hutchins Bench Sundial, New York, USA, October 6, 2016.
  14. ^ Miller, Tom (October 25, 2018). "Daytonian in Manhattan: The Waldo M. Hutchins Bench - Central Park".
  15. ^ The Chapin Book of Genealogical Data.

Sources

Books

Internet

  • "Waldo Hutchins Bench". Central Park Attractions. New York, NY: Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved February 24, 2017.

Newspapers

Magazines

External sources

New York State Assembly
Preceded by New York State Assembly
Kings County, 2nd District
1852 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 12th congressional district
November 4, 1879 – March 3, 1885 		Succeeded by

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress