Robert M. Hutchinson, born September 8, 1858, in Henderson County, Illinois, became a prominent figure in South Dakota’s business and political landscape. After moving to Douglas County in 1882, he established a successful farming operation before transitioning to business in Delmont, dealing in grain, livestock, and agricultural supplies. A dedicated Democrat, Hutchinson served in the South Dakota legislature, first elected in 1898 and re-elected in 1902. He also held local roles, including on the village council and school board. In 1896, he married Etta M. Culler, and they had two sons, Earl and Ray.
Robert M. Hutchinson, of Delmont, Douglas County, one of the able and popular members of the legislature of the state, is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born in Henderson County, on the 8th of September, 1858, a son of Benjamin and Anna B. (Moore) Hutchinson, to whom were born six children, namely: John M., who resides in Charles Mix County, South Dakota; James G., who is a resident of Delmont, this state; Robert M., who is the immediate subject of this review; Sarah E., who is the wife of Elmer F. Whitney, of Delmont; George W., who died at the age of nineteen years; and Thomas H., of Delmont. The father of the subject was born in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1821, and his death occurred on the 26th of June, 1896. As a boy of twelve years he removed with his parents to the military tract in Henderson County, Illinois, where he was reared and educated, eventually becoming the owner of the old homestead farm, where he resided for the long period of sixty-three years, until his death. It was his wish that some of the heirs should purchase the homestead so that it might remain permanently in the possession of the family, and his second wife now resides on the farm. The mother of the subject died in 1869, and his father later married Mrs. Anna (Evans) Grant, and they became the parents of two children, Benjamin Ralph, who has charge of the old home farm, and Anna M., who is the wife of Charles Smith, of Benton County, Iowa.
Robert M. Hutchinson was reared on the homestead farm in Illinois, while he received his educational training in the public schools. In 1880 he rented land and began farming on his own responsibility, and in the following year his father came to South Dakota to look up locations for his sons, finally entering three claims in the bottom lands near Delmont, Douglas County, the same being the most arable and valuable land in this section of the state. In the spring of 1882 our subject, in company with his two brothers and their sister, came to South Dakota and each of the brothers located on the claim selected for him by his father. Robert M. devoted himself with characteristic energy and judgment to the improvement and cultivation of his fine farm, which he has developed into one of the most valuable in the county, and there he continued to reside until the autumn of 1891, when he removed to Delmont, where he became associated with Henry S. Wilson in the handling of grain and livestock, as well as coal, flour, and agricultural machinery. This partnership continued about one year, and Mr. Hutchinson then entered into a partnership association with James M. Doyle, in the buying and shipping of stock, and they now control an extensive and profitable business in this line, being numbered among the enterprising and representative business men of this locality and having the highest reputation for reliability and honorable methods in all transactions.
In politics Mr. Hutchinson is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in whose cause he has been an active and effective worker. In the autumn of 1898, he was elected to serve his district as a representative in the state legislature, in which his course fully justified the choice of the voters of the district, and in the autumn election of 1902 he again appeared as the candidate of his party for the same office, in which he is serving at the present time. He has been signally prospered in his business affairs and is now the owner of five quarter sections of as fine bottom land as the state affords. Seven hundred acres of the same being under cultivation and the balance utilized for pasturage. He is a member of the village council of Delmont and for several years also served as a member of the board of education. He and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in the community, they enjoy the high regard of all who know them. It is the intention of Mr. Hutchinson to remove in the near future to Pierson, Iowa, but he will still retain his landed interests in South Dakota, to whose development and splendid progress he has so materially contributed.
On the 23d of February, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hutchinson to Miss Etta M. Culler, of Delmont, and they are the parents of two children, Earl C. and Ray H.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.