William Parker Dutton
Constitutional Convention. Born: October 1, 1817, Charlestown, New Hampshire. Married: Lucinda J. Blood, July 14, 1835. Died:
Born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, on October 1, 1817, William P. Dutton was the son and grandson of "William Dutton," both prosperous New England farmers. The younger Dutton married Lucinda J. Blood on July 14, 1835, and started farming for himself. They removed to Illinois in 1844, settling first in Kane and then De Kalb counties, before moving on to Kansas the first of March 1857, settling in Stanton Township, Lykins (later Miami) County. According to the Kansas volume of the U.S. Biographical Dictionary, Dutton traveled to Kansas early in 1856 intending to make an anti-free-state report to his Democratic Party friends back in Illinois. "But the outrages which he witnessed against the free-state men made him their fast friend, and he returned denouncing the conduct of the 'border-ruffians' as infamous, and proclaiming himself a free-state man." In March 1858 he was elected county treasurer and in July 1859 with B. F. Simpson represented the county at the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention. The Duttons engaged in farming until 1861, when they moved to Paola and pursued various business opportunities until 1873; he was elected sheriff of Miami County twice in the early 1860s. Dutton then returned to Illinois and farming for a short time before moving back to Paola in 1876 as general agent for the Thornwire Hedge Company of Chicago. 26
Entry: Dutton, William Parker
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2011
Date Modified: January 2013
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
