John Edward Hutton

John Edward Hutton (March 28, 1828 – December 28, 1893) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. He was born in Polk County, Tennessee, on March 28, 1828. In 1831 he moved with his parents to Troy, Missouri, then a small but growing community in Lincoln County on the Missouri frontier. He attended the common schools, receiving a basic formal education typical of rural Missouri in the antebellum period.

As a young man, Hutton taught school while simultaneously studying medicine, reflecting both his commitment to education and his ambition to enter a learned profession. He pursued formal medical training by attending lectures at Pope’s Medical College in St. Louis, Missouri, one of the principal medical institutions in the state at the time. After completing his studies, he was graduated in medicine and, in 1860, began the practice of medicine in Warrenton, Missouri, in Warren County.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hutton entered the Union Army. He was commissioned colonel of the Fifty-ninth Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, a unit organized for Federal service from Missouri, a border state with divided loyalties. His service as a colonel placed him in a position of significant responsibility during the latter stages of the conflict, overseeing the organization, discipline, and operations of his regiment in support of the Union cause.

During and following his military service, Hutton broadened his professional pursuits by studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1864 and commenced the practice of law in Warrenton, Missouri, thereby adding a legal career to his background in medicine and military service. In 1865 he moved to Mexico, Missouri, in Audrain County, where he continued to practice law. In 1873 he expanded his activities into journalism and political advocacy by becoming the owner and publisher of the Intelligencer, a Democratic newspaper, which he used as a platform to support Democratic Party positions and to influence public opinion in his region.

Hutton’s prominence in local affairs and his alignment with the Democratic Party led to his election to the United States House of Representatives. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1889, as a Representative from Missouri. During his two terms in Congress, he participated in the legislative work of the House at a time when issues such as tariff policy, veterans’ affairs, and economic development were central to national debate. He chose not to be a candidate for renomination in 1888, thereby concluding his congressional service after four years.

After leaving Congress, Hutton returned to private life in Mexico, Missouri. He resumed his activities as a physician and also continued to engage in the practice of law, maintaining the dual professional roles that had characterized much of his career. He remained a respected figure in his community, known for his service as a doctor, lawyer, newspaper publisher, and former Union officer and Congressman.

John Edward Hutton died in Mexico, Missouri, on December 28, 1893. He was interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Mexico, Missouri, where his grave marks the resting place of a nineteenth-century Missourian who combined careers in medicine, law, journalism, military service, and national politics.