“A southern entrepreneur – Hiram Hutchison.”
A decade ago, I was introduced to the extraordinary accomplishments of Mr. Hiram Hutchison, born in York County, S.C., on the banks of the Catawba River. Reading his father’s probate, one learns that their home was full of manuscripts. I would dare say, one of the largest private libraries in S.C. during the early 19th century and it wouldn’t surprise anyone, that Hiram was exposed to all of his father’s books. Hiram like his siblings was indeed highly educated and worshiped at the historic Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. He must have been extremely smart and very ambitious, he didn’t stay at home too long. As a young man, he was making his mark in the business world, and one account shows he was operating a store in Newberry, S.C., and lending money to prominent citizens. By the
late 1820s he may have also owned a store in Columbia. Broad River barge-master, Mr. William Kelly purchased goods from him in 1828, the location is marked, Columbia, S.C.
The best information on Mr. Hutchison was compiled by Un. of S.C. Professor – Lacy K. Ford, Jr., and is available by clicking on the #1 History Thread. Tracing the extremely diverse activities of Mr. Hutchison is simply impossible without having a decade or more to exclusively devote to this one man’s life. To put it in a nutshell, he was born on the banks of the Catawba River, opened businesses in the S.C. midlands, became a Clerk at the State Bank of Cheraw, became the principle at the State Bank of Hamberg, S.C., regularly worked with two of South Carolina’s most important entrepreneurs; John Springs, III of Fort Mill and William Gregg who started the textile industry in S.C. His involvement with John Springs of Fort Mill, in helping secure the Charlotte and Augusta Railroad line, to transport goods across upcountry, S.C. was one of his most important achievements.
Having invested wisely in stocks, railroads, banks, and other commodities, Mr. Hutchison and his wife, left S.C. in the 1850s to begin a new era in the City of New York, N.Y. There he continued overseeing his financial investments and lived a life of unqualified luxury. Following a trip to Europe, he died leaving a massive fortune which would only be settled by the courts following the Civil War.
To read more about Mr. Hutchison, simply click on the two History Threads and following his story. Have you selected your favorite R&R pages – members are doing so?
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 2.16.17