Hopedale History January 15, 2005 No. 30 The Dutcher Family I heard from a couple of readers who found a sentence in the January 1 story a bit confusing.  It read, “Abbie was the daughter of Adin Ballou and his first wife.”  I guess it would have been clearer if it had read, “Abbie was the daughter of Adin Ballou and Adin’s first wife.”  No, that wouldn’t work either.  Let’s try this.  On the seventeenth of January, 1822, Adin married Abby Sayles. (There was an attempt to arrest him that day, but I’ll save that story for another time.)  Adin and Abby had a daughter who was named Abbie.  Abby (the mother, not to be confused with Abbie, the daughter) died in 1828.  A year later, Adin married Lucy Hunt.  Ballou had one son with Abby and two with Lucy.  In February 1833, two sons died of scarlet fever.  He had high hopes for the third son, Adin Augustus, to become a leader in the Hopedale Community, but in February 1852, while a student at Bridgewater Normal School, he died of typhoid fever.                                                  <><><><><><><><><><> I’ve recently added five letters by and/or to, members of the General Draper family.  You can see them at:    http://www.hope1842.com/letHastingstoGenD.html                                                  <><><><><><><><><><> The story below on the Dutcher family is from an article on a meeting of the Hopedale Community Historical Society, printed in the Milford News.                     Paper on Dutcher Family Given at Hopedale Meeting Hopedale – President Peter Hackett presided at the meeting of the Hopedale Community Historical Society last night.  There was a large attendance of members and guests.  Mrs. Roy Cutter was named director three years.  The speaker of the evening was Mrs. Fred B. Sweet.  Her topic was, The Dutcher Family. Mrs. Sweet traced the history of the family from 1742 when three Dutcher brothers migrated from Holland to this country.  Warren W. Dutcher, Sr. settled in Shaftsbury, Vt. with his brother Eli.  Eli was a Baptist minister and with his brother Warren W., perfected the famous Dutcher temple.  Warren W. settled in Hopedale in 1856 and continued the manufacture of temples in connection with Ebenezer D. and George Draper as managing agent at home and they as selling agents abroad.  His son, Frank J. Dutcher, also possessed of unusual inventive ability and served as treasurer, secretary and president of the Draper Company. He [Frank] was decorated by the Belgian government for his contribution to foreign trade, He married Miss Martha M. Grimwood of Pawtucket in 1877 and they built their home on Adin Street, which is the present site of the Oakledge Manor.  Their children were Warren W., now deceased, Mrs. E. Carlton Hammond of Auburndale and Mrs. William Walker of Wellesley. Mr. Dutcher served as school committee member many years and was instrumental in the development of the town parklands.  He also served as superintendent of the Unitarian Sunday school and was a member of the Republican town committee. Mrs. Sweet’s paper was the last to be presented on the general theme of the year, that of families and individuals who had an important part in the development and early history of the town.  The speaker at the May 23 meeting will be school superintendent Donald S. Dow, whose topic will be Hopedale Schools of Yesteryear. Milford Daily News, April 26 (year not given)            More on the Dutcher Family            Hopedale History Ezine Menu              HOME    .