Los Angeles County
Biographies
WILLIAM G. HUTCHISON
HUTCHISON,
WILLIAM G., Merchant and Manufacturer, Los Angeles, Cal.,
was born March 31, 1859, at Plymouth, Pa.,
the son of James B. Hutchison and Ann (McGuffie)
Hutchison. He married Laura Chauvin,
October 23, 1894, at Los Angeles, California.
Mr. Hutchison
attended the public schools of his native town and later, the Wyoming Seminary
of Kingston, Pa.
He left school in
1874, when fifteen years old, to work for his father, who owned the Phoenix
Coal Company of Pittston, Pa. His father sold out after two years, but he
was employed by the new firm, who still continued the business under the
original incorporated name. At the age
of nineteen he was made superintendent of the mines,
the youngest mine superintendent in the anthracite coal region. Two years later he resigned his position and
such was the esteem in which his employes (sic) held
him that they presented him with a gold watch and chain.
He was stirred by
a desire to go West, and chose Denver,
at that time in the midst of its first boom.
He was given a position by a gas fixture firm and was their accountant
for a number of years, and later in various capacities thoroughly familiarized
himself with the business.
He moved to Los
Angeles in September, 1887, and went into business for
himself. On a small scale at first, as
the town demanded, he manufactured lighting fixtures, and conducted a retail
and wholesale store. His history and
that of his business, have been a part of the growth
of the City of Los Angeles. He equipped his factory to manufacture every
variety of gas and electric fixtures and brought to Los
Angeles the most skillful of workmen and artists,
until his firm became noted for the artistic work of which it was capable. In the quantity of its yearly output, the
firm of W. G. Hutchison Company is one of the largest in the country, surpassed
only by firms in New York, Chicago
and Philadelphia; in the value of its output it has few
rivals, owing to the artistic and high-priced work demanded by the
exceptionally wealthy population of Southern California.
Mr. Hutchison is
known in his city as a man unselfishly devoted to the public good. He is a public man of the type that does not
seek paid public office, but instead assumes offices for which there is no pay
except the satisfaction derived from helping his city and its inhabitants. He has for ten years been a member of the
Merchants and Manufacturers’ Association, and on January 18, 1912 he was chosen
its president, an honor conferred on him by about fourteen hundred of the most
influential business men of Los Angeles.
This organization is one of the most powerful and efficient of its kind
in the United States. It has a membership composed of practically
every man of consequence in Los Angeles and Southern
California. It helps in the
most practical fashion, to bring legitimate industries to Los
Angeles. It
prevents the exploiting of frauds. It
has charge of the charitable demands made upon the city’s merchants. It critically examines every public project
affecting the business men, and passes upon its worthiness. As a director for a number of terms, Mr.
Hutchison has been lavish with his time and energy. His colleagues elected him to the office of
president as a surprise. He is also vice
president and director of the L. A. Convention League and a member of the
Chamber of Commerce.
His business
interests at the present time are concentrated in the W. G. Hutchison Company,
of which he is president, and the Phoenix Lighting Fixture Company, of which he
is a director.
He belongs to the
California Club, the Los Angeles Country Club, the Union League Club, Los
Angeles Athletic Club, is a Thirty-second Degree Mason and a Shriner.
Transcribed 1-24-09
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 179,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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