Capt. William Hutchings Sr. was born on 6 Oct 1764 in York, York Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He appeared on the census in 1850, age 85, and 1860, age 95, in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine. He died from old age on 2 May 1866 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine and was buried on 7 May 1866 in the William Hutchings farm cemetery. He was a farmer, a lumberman and a master mariner. He was the last Revolutionary War pensioner in New England and the last, but one, in the United States.

+ + THE DOWN EAST ENTERPRISE + + July 1965

Maine's Last Revolutionary War Soldier

On the Fourth of July, just a century ago, Maine paid tribute to its last surviving Veteran of the Revolutionary War --William Hutchings of Penobscot, then 100 years old. As a boy of fifteen in 1779, He was present when American forces laid siege to Castine, then called Magabagaduce, and was forced by the British to help build the defenses at Fort George. Following destruction of the American fleet, he fled with his family to Newcastle and there enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment. At the close of the war he returned to Penobscot and engaged in farming and lumbering and the coastal trade. On July 4, 1865, on the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, William Hutchings was the guest of honor at the special celebration conducted by the city of Bangor. In the History of Castine, Penobscot and Brooksville, historian, George Augustus Wheeler, thus describes the occasion:
"A revenue cutter was detailed for his conveyance, and as he passed up the Penobscot River, the guns of Fort Knox fired a salute of welcome. The ovation, which was bestowed on the occasion, exceeded that ever before given to any person in the State. "Multitudes rushed to catch a glimpse of the old man, and the sincere and grateful plaudits which constantly greeted him as, surrounded by a guard of honor, he was escorted through the streets, constituted the marked feature of the day. His strength and power of endurance, under the excitement, were remarkable. "At the close of the oration, which was delivered by Senator Hamlin (Hannibal Hamlin, former Vice President of the United States under Abraham Lincoln), he responded at some length to a toast. "'My friends told me,' he said, 'that the effort to be here might cause my death; hut I thought that I could never die any better than by celebrating the glorious Fourth.'"
Mr. Hutchings died the following May and was buried on the farm which had been his home for most of his life. The house has long since been demolished.

excerpted from "Hugh Hutchins of Old England" by Jack Randolph Hutchins 

He was married to Mercy Wardwell in 1786 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.

Mercy Wardwell was born on 15 Oct 1770 and baptized on 6 Feb 1771 in York, York Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. She died on 6 Jun 1837 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine and was buried in the William Hutchings farm cemetery. Children were:

i. Charles Hutchins was born on 3 Oct 1786 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He died on 27 Aug 1845 in Ellsworth, Hancock Co., Maine. He was a sheriff, a teacher and a representative.
ii. Capt. Joseph Hutchins was born on 26 Jun 1788 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He died on 13 May 1819. He was killed by pirates while returning from Bermuda on the schooner "Aldebarran".
iii. William Hutchins Jr. was born on 20 Mar 1790 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.
iv. Capt. Eliakim W. Hutchings was born on 11 Jan 1792 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He was a farmer in 1850. He died on 6 Sep 1872 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine. and was buried in Hillside Cemetery, North Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
v. Mary "Molly/Polly" Hutchings was born on 15 Nov 1793 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1870 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine, age 76, living with her son Leander and his wife Phebe. She died in 1891 and was buried in Bay Cemetery, Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
vi. Tryphena Hutchings was born on 20 Oct 1795 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. She died on 16 May 1868 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine. She was married to Jeremiah Wardwell on 17 Jun 1817 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.
vii. Jesse Hutchins was born on 13 May 1798 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He was married to Peggy Grindle on 11 Apr 1821 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
viii. Mercy Hutchins was born on 27 Feb 1800 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. She died in 1892.
ix. Abigail Hutchins was born on 22 Mar 1802 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
x. Alfred M. Hutchings.
xi. Sarah Wardwell Hutchins was born on 6 Apr 1806 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.
xii. Jeremiah Hutchins was born on 11 Apr 1808 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He died on 7 Nov 1824 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
xiii. Lovinia Hutchins was born on 10 Jul 1810 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. She was married to Ebenezer Wardwell 18 Apr 1832.
xiv. Harrison Brown Hutchins was born on 22 May 1814 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts. He died on 6 Mar 1845 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Maine.
xv. Newell W. Hutchings was born on 10 Feb 1815 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.
xvi. Charlotte Norris Hutchins was born on 25 Mar 1817 in Penobscot, Hancock Co., Province of Maine, Massachusetts.

Capt. William Hutchins Sr. married second, Mary Saunders, on 22 Jun 1839.