FRANCIS BLAKE HUTCHINSON

Dr. Hutchinson married Alice Hughes May 2, 1867 in the Parish of Bushey, England. Settling in Manchester, England, he practiced there until he came to the United States and settled in Colorado with his wife and young family. He had a farm north of Denver, and it was there that his wife died while giving birth to their fifth child. After the death of his wife, Dr. Hutchinson married Emma Herzogg, who had accompanied the family from England as the children's nurse and companion.

The family's next move was to Hawaii and they arrived in Honolulu July 31, 1874 aboard the "C.D. Murray" from San Francisco. On the passenger list only the initials F.L. and P.G. are given for the boys. Mary is listed as the oldest daughter, Grace and Enid are the younger girls. Due to the similarity of names, Dr. Hutchinson was often confused with Dr. Ferdinand W. Hutchison, a Scotchman [ie. Scotsman], who practiced in Hawaii from 1850 to 1875 and then left to settle in Australia.

Locating on Kauai, Dr. Hutchinson was in practice there until he moved to Honolulu in July 1875. In September he was appointed port physician and physician for the Insane Asylum, both posts having been held previously by Dr. George Trousseau who resigned to move to Kona and raise sheep. Dr. Hutchinson also took over Dr. Trousseau's private practice. About the same time he received an appointment to the Board of Health. In July, 1879, he was selected assistant physician at the Queen's Hospital, a position he held until he left the Islands.

In the smallpox epidemic of 1881 Dr. Hutchinson was in charge of the hospital located on the reef, but in March of that year he resigned and was replaced by Dr. Charles T. Rodgers. There seems to be little doubt that his resignation was due to the controversy then raging over the treatment, or lack of it, being accorded patients. Minister of the Interior, J.O. Carter, insisted that when, as president of the Board of Health, he consulted with Doctors Robert McKibbin, Nathaniel Emerson, and Hutchinson they advised him to let the epidemic run its course and thus burn itself out more quickly even though such action might result in many more deaths. In the "Advertiser" for March 4, 1882, the three doctors denied that they advocated such a course. In any event, Dr. Hutchinson did resign.

During his years in the Islands, Dr. Hutchinson was the first president of the Athletic Association, organized in 1882, and seems to have been a member of the Library and Reading Room Association since he made a speech at the formal opening on March 19, 1881. While in Hawaii, the doctor became a naturalized citizen. Dr. and Mrs. Hutchinson were active socially and were named in the guest list of such events as the banquet given by his ministers to King Kalakaua before his trip around the world and the ball given by the Maile Social Club in honor of the officers of the Russian fleet then in port.

On June 11, 1882, Dr. Hutchinson and his family left the Islands bound for Wellington, New Zealand. Upon his arrival in New Zealand, he registered as a Doctor of Medicine and practiced in Wellington for several years. While there, he was a member of the Wellington Philosophical Society and served as Vice President in 1886. About 1888 he moved his family to the Taranaki district of New Zealand and was one of the pioneer farmers in a newly opened area at Tarata, 14 miles from Inglewood, where he is listed as having been a surgeon and a Justice of the Peace. In 1895 Dr. Hutchinson was licensed as a Lay Preacher in the Anglican Church in the Parish of New Plymouth, not far from Inglewood. After farming in this "bush area" for about ten years, he returned to Wellington for a short time before retiring to New Plymouth.

In the early 1900s, Dr. Hutchinson contracted tuberculosis, and, with his wife, left New Zealand for her homeland, Switzerland. On September 15, 1910, he died at Lugano, Switzerland, at the age of 72. *

Dr. Hutchinson's obituary appearing in a Wellington newspaper had this to say about the doctor:

He was a strong advocate of physical culture and was a well-read man and an entertaining speaker. Botany was also a favorite study, while amateur photography placed him with few equals in new Zealand.

*A citizen of Switzerland noticed Dr. Hutchinson's gravesite when he used to visit the village cemetery with his grandmother. Now an adult, he found Dr. Hutchinson's information on our website, and forwarded a picture of the monument, located in the cemetery of Lamone, Canton of Ticino, to the Mamiya Medical Heritage Center.

Photo

Dr. Hutchinson's gravesite

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