Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

C. Sterling Hutcheson Papers, 1925-1969. Accession 32432, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Betsy Ballou Hutcheson (Mrs. C. Sterling), 8 August 1983.

Biographical/Historical Information

Charles Sterling Hutcheson (1894-1969) was born in Mecklenburg County, near Baskerville, Virginia, and was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia. He served as deputy clerk under his father from 1914 to 1918 and was admitted to the Virginia bar in August 1919. He began practicing law in Boydton with his brother, John Y. Hutcheson, and actively continued this partnership until 1944. He married Betsy Wiggins Ballou in 1927. On 3 November 1933 Hutcheson was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia upon the recommendations of United States senators Harry F. Byrd and Carter Glass. On 19 January 1944 he was nominated by President Roosevelt to be one of two federal judges for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the appointment was confirmed on 8 February. In this position he made major decisions related to school desegregation in Prince Edward County, Virginia. His official headquarters were in Richmond, and he had offices in Norfolk, Newport News, and Alexandria, Virginia. He retired from the bench on 1 September 1959 and continued to hear cases on a selective basis as senior judge. He died in Mecklenburg County, Virginia on 24 October 1969.

Active in many organizations, Hutcheson served them in various positions of responsibility. He was a member of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary from 1928 to 1933 and from 1961 to 1965, serving as rector of the college from 1962 to 1964. In this capacity he worked closely with the newly inaugurated president, Davis Y. Paschall, and was involved in the planning of the new library. He received and honorary degree from the college on 9 June 1968. A member of the Virginia State Library Board from 1961 to 1969, he served as its chairman from June 1964 to September 1969. He was a member of the executive committee of the Virginia Historical Society from 1951 to 1969. He was also a member of the Magna Carta Commission, The Civil War Centennial Commission, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was a Mason and also served for many years on the vestry of St. James' Episcopal Church in Boydton.

Scope and Content Information

Papers, 1925-1969 (bulk 1933-1969), including files related to Hutcheson's professional career as a jurist, personal files related to his interests and activities with the organizations with which he was affiliated, and papers related to genealogical, historical, and some business interest. Hutcheson maintained a large correspondence with a variety of individuals. A prolific writer with broad, public interests, he appears to have acknowledged most incoming letters, even congratulatory letters for his achievements throughout the years. Correspondents of particular interest include: Randolph W. Church, General Edwin Cox, Virginius Dabney, William B. Hill, George Humrickhouse, W. Moscoe Huntley, Davis Y. Pascall, Governor William Tuck, William J. Van Schreeven. Researchers are advised to consult relevant files in all series for a complete search of an individual's correspondence with Hutcheson.

Arrangement

Folder titles and series have been maintained whenever possible, and the large amount of loose papers, pre-1960, was interfiled in the chronological series of general correspondence because the date range of this series is earlier than the alphabetical series.

Approximately 1.5 cubic feet of newspaper clippings are microfilmed and filed as Miscellaneous Reel 1043.

This collection is organized into the following series: I. General Correspondence (chronological and alphabetical); II. Family Correspondence; III. Subject Files (Professional and Personal); IV. Writings; V. Printed Material.