Hutchins, Alfred S. (1823–1894)

Alfred Sloan Hutchins was one of the first three ordained Sabbatarian Adventist ministers, early Adventist administrator, and author of numerous articles in church periodicals.

Early Life

Alfred Sloan Hutchins was born in West Fairlee, Vermont, on August 21, 1823, to Amasa (1793-1869) and Amy née Godfrey (1794-1836) Hutchins.¹ He joined the Freewill Baptist Church when he was fourteen years old. At the age of twenty-three, he began preaching. Shortly thereafter, he was ordained as a Baptist minister.

Conversion to Adventism

Hutchins used to pass Washington Morse’s factory on Sundays and rebuke Washington Morse, a Seventh-day Adventist, for Sunday labor. Their conversations gradually turned to Bible studies until in 1851 the “clear, conclusive, and overwhelming” arguments convicted Hutchins' heart.² In his first published report in the Review, Hutchins wrote about the miraculous healing of Emeline Rice from tuberculosis after she was anointed.³ He rejoiced in his newfound faith “in the present truth” which brought great joy and peace:

I now rejoice in his blessed name that I have been taken from the dismal, gloomy, miry swamp of Babylon, and that my feet have been planted and established upon the last message of mercy to man. O, how great the change effected in my religious sentiments! How changed my feelings—how much more enrapturing my prospect of heaven! Indeed a new world of reflection and meditation seems presented to the mind. When I read my Bible it appears like a new revelation from God, for many parts of it, once dark and hard to be understood, I am now able to comprehend.⁴

He added: “It is a matter of the deepest consolation to me, that the light is now shining so brightly upon the third angel’s message.”⁵ In 1853 Alfred along with J. N. Andrews and C. W. Sperry were the first ordained as Sabbatarian Adventist ministers by Joseph Baker and James White.⁶ In 1854 he pled with believers to avoid vain traditions.⁷ He shared:

The remnant in these latter days 

Will triumph sure; give God the praise! 

They of the beast refuse the mark, 

They keep God’s law, they have the Ark.⁸

Work as an Adventist Minister and Administrator

On October 10, 1855, Alfred married Esther M. Barrows (1834-1860). Her parents, Jesse (1805-1884) and Lydia née Locke (1810-1863) Barrows were Millerites who accepted the seventh-day Sabbath from Joseph Bates about 1849. Esther grew up in a Baptist home and after her marriage traveled with her husband as a ministry team “laboring by every effort, by prayer, and holy living, and fervent exhortation” to share the news about Christ’s soon return. As she suffered from tuberculosis, Esther expressed her faith in the “blessed hope” which was “above all other hopes” and “made plain the word of God.”⁹ Tragically, Esther died while on a preaching tour at age 26 some 70 miles from home.¹⁰

Alfred afterward wrote an article, “A Word to the Afflicted,” reflecting on his sorrow that was part of the “purifying process” in preparation of Christ’s soon return.¹¹ Tragedy could strike at any time, Alfred warned Adventist young people. He utilized the disaster at Pemberton Mill on January 10, 1860, one of the worst industrial accidents that crushed or burned alive between 88 to 145 workers and injured many more.¹² Alfred contended that such tragedies reminded believers of the impending judgment which this incident was but “a faint and feeble comparison.” He urged people to heed this warning to find “refuge from the gathering storm” by obeying the Savior.¹³

Alfred traveled extensively preaching, but of particular note were his ventures into Canada.¹⁴ In an 1860 trip, he participated in an Advent Conference in Melbourne, Canada East [Quebec] held October 6-7. Miles Grant was holding conflicting meetings, and this led to a public debate with Grant. He claimed that the debate “was favorable for the cause of truth rather than against it” even as he acknowledged Grant also “claimed a most successful triumph.” Alfred afterward stayed another week with the believers and ordained Derrick T. Evans (1827-?). Evans was the first Sabbatarian Adventist Canadian to serve as a full-time minister.¹⁵

On August 18, 1861, Alfred married his first wife’s sister, Abigail D. Barrows (1835-1902).¹⁶ After his marriage, Alfred urged others to follow James White’s advice to observe carefully the seventh-day Sabbath. He thought it proper to commence and close the Sabbath with family devotions.¹⁷ Alfred was also an enthusiastic early adopter of Sabbath School. He believed this was an opportunity that Adventist young people should prize and utilize to learn the word of God. He added: “Every verse of scripture you commit to memory, and every lesson you learn and recite well, and retain the instruction received, is more valuable than gold.”¹⁸ He encouraged Adventist youth to strive to memorize forty to fifty Bible verses per week.¹⁹ In 1875 he became the president of the Vermont Conference and headed the tract society.

Later Years

In 1885, Alfred’s health began to fail, and he had to leave his work in Vermont. He traveled to the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked as a chaplain while also receiving treatment as a patient. He continued in this role for three years before returning to Vermont. He died at Essex Junction, Vermont, on June 20, 1894.²⁰ After his passing, the Vermont Conference adopted a resolution: “We lament the loss of a faithful brother, and a father to the work in Vermont.”²¹ He was buried in Irasburg, Vermont.²² His second wife, Abbie, is buried next to him.²³

Sources

Fortin, Denis. Adventism in Quebec: The Dynamics of Rural Church Growth, 1830-1910. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2004.

Hutchins, A. S. “Did You Read It?” ARH, February 2, 1860.

Hutchins, A. S. “From Bro. Hutchins.” ARH, July 8, 1852.

Hutchins, A. S. “From Bro. Hutchins.” ARH, August 19, 1852.

Hutchins, A. S. “From Bro. Hutchins.” ARH, June 9, 1853.

Hutchins, A. S. “Sabbath Schools.” The Youth’s Instructor, December 1860.

Hutchins, A. S. “Traditions.” ARH, April 11, 1854.

Obituary. ARH, July 17, 1894.

Spalding, Arthur W. Captains of the Host: First Volume of a History of Seventh-day Adventists Covering the Years 1845-1900. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1949.

“Vermont Conference Proceedings.” ARH, October 16, 1894.

Notes

1. For basic family genealogical details, see: http://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tools/tree/186699156/invitees/accept?inviteId=1cc233ed-94c3-4a78-8781-3b2fbe9036d7 [accessed 12/16/22].↩

2. Arthur W. Spalding, Captains of the Host: First Volume of a History of Seventh-day Adventists Covering the Years 1845-1900 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1949), 201.↩

3. A. S. Hutchins, “From Bro. Hutchins,” ARH, July 8, 1852, 39.↩

4. A. S. Hutchins, “From Bro. Hutchins,” ARH, August 19, 1852, 63.↩

5. A. S. Hutchins, “From Bro. Hutchins,” ARH, June 9, 1853, 15.↩

6. James White, “The Eastern Tour,” ARH, November 15, 1853, 148.↩

7. Alfred S. Hutchins, “Traditions,” ARH, April 11, 1854, 93, 94.↩

8. Alfred S. Hutchins, “Traditions,” ARH, April 11, 1854, 93, 94.↩

9. E. M. Hutchins, “Hope,” ARH, February 9, 1860, 94.↩

10. See description of her death by Stephen Pierce, ARH, June 5, 1860, 23.↩

11. A. S. Hutchins, “A Word to the Afflicted,” ARH, August 14, 1860, 102.↩

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemberton_Mill [accessed 12/16/22]↩

13. A. S. Hutchins, “The Fall of Pemberton Mills,” The Youth’s Instructor, March 1860, 24.↩

14. Denis Fortin, Adventism in Quebec: The Dynamics of Rural Church Growth, 1830-1910 (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2004), 75-77, 82-84, 95-96.↩

15. A. S. Hutchins, “Our Visit to Canada,” ARH, November 13, 1860, 205.↩

16. Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908 Database, New England Historic Genealogical Society [accessed from Ancestry.com 12/16/22].↩

17. A. S. Hutchins, “Did You Read It?” ARH, February 2, 1860, 85.↩

18. A. S. Hutchins, “Sabbath Schools,” The Youth’s Instructor, December 1860, 91.↩

19. Ibid.↩

20. Obituary, ARH, July 17, 1894, 458.↩

21. “Vermont Conference Proceedings,” ARH, October 16, 1894, 653.↩

22. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149310863/alfred-sloan-hutchins [accessed 12/16/22].↩

23. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149310957/abigail-d-hutchins [accessed 12/16/22].↩