Biography

Spurgeon was born in 1894 in a cabin near Bryson City, North Carolina. He was the 6th child, 4th son, of Franklin Pierce and Mary Lythinthe Tabor Hutchins, born when she was 34 years old and "Frank" was 36. He was named for Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a noted 19th Century English preacher.

His father contracted "consumption" (tuberculosis) and died in January, 1899, before his 40th birthday. Spurgeon was not yet 4 years old. His mother and oldest brother worked the farm for a while but had to abandon the effort. The work was too strenuous for a 14 year old boy and 39 year old woman with 6 children. As a result, Mary placed Spurgeon and his brothers James Alfred and John Henry in the Baptist Orphanage (later called Mills Home) in Thomasville, North Carolina, in 1900 before his 5th birthday. Spurgeon often spoke fondly of Miss Sallie McCracken who was a caretaker at the orphanage. He acquired the nickname "Spiggin" at the orphanage. Where Mary L. and the girls, Amanda Jane and Lydia Elizabeth lived after the home place was sold is not known.

Spurgeon and his brothers received primary and secondary education at the orphanage. Later, at the age of 15 and based on his superior intelligence he matriculated at Mars Hill College despite having no financial resources available to him. He attended two terms at Mars Hill, leaving after the Spring Term of 1910 just as he turned 17 years of age.

During his time at the orphanage, Spurgeon worked in a print shop. After leaving Mars Hill, he found work in a print shop in Ducktown, TN, where his older brother Lee was working. For a while they lived together in a boarding. Having learned of the Government Printing Office in Washington, DC, Spurgeon decided (in 1911, at the age of 17) to seek work there. While en route to Washington from Tennessee, he stopped over in Raleigh, NC, in September to visit his brother, John, who was living and working there. He so enjoyed Raleigh that he found employment and remained in Raleigh until his death.

Spurgeon worked at various printing establishments in Raleigh, including Edwards and Broughton, the Raleigh Times, the News and Observer, and eventually at Bynum Printing Company. In 1928 he started a small printing business, but the timing was ill-fated. The Great Depression caused him to lose his business and most of his assets. During his career as a printer, Spurgeon became a journeyman linotype operator and joined the International Typographical Union, Chapter 53, and was a member for more than 40 years. During World War I, he was turned down for the draft because he was underweight, a condition caused by early childhood malnutrition endured at the orphanage. As the Great Depression waned, Spurgeon found employment at Bynum Printing Company on West Hargett Street. He gained the reputation of being the premier linotype operator in Raleigh, although he refused the accolade, deferring to others.

In 1920, he met Healy Baker, a Raleigh girl who also worked in a print shop. They married September 23, 1922, in Raleigh in the home of Reverend Charles Maddrey, a noted Baptist minister. Their first child was born July 5, 1924, followed by the births of eight more children over the next 18 years.

They lived in various homes in Raleigh (Holt Avenue, now Holden Street, and Wake Forest Road) until losses caused by the Great Depression caused them to rent property owned by the Catholic Orphanage outside Raleigh in Nazareth township, South of the NC State University campus off Avent Ferry Road. Over time, the area was annexed into Raleigh and is now near the heart of the city. Spurgeon used skills acquired tending gardens at the orphanage to raise a garden and livestock . . . chickens, pigs and a cow. This, and occasional days of work at local print shops, brought the family through the Depression. A set of twins, James and John, were born at home at the Nazareth farm.

In 1933, Healy and Spurgeon moved to 527 N. East Street in Raleigh where the family-photo lived until December 1965, almost 2 years after his death. The last 3 children were born while they lived on East Street. The house stands (as of 2025) near the north-most boundary of the original plat for the city, laid out in 1795. It is less than a mile from both the Governor's Mansion and the State Capitol.

Biography

Early in her life, Healy's family moved from the Holly Springs Community in Wake County to Raleigh, where they resided on South Wilmington Street near the downtown business district. Little is known of her early years, except her schooling was limited to the third or fourth grade at Centennial School in Raleigh.

At some point before her marriage she worked variously in the bindery of a local print shop and at Royster Candy store on Fayetteville Street. A son, Vermont Connecticut Royster, of the Royster family would later be the editor of the Wall Street Journal for many years. Whether Healy met Spurgeon Hutchins, her future husband, at the candy store or the print shop is uncertain. During her early years, she developed a close and long friendship with Bessie Hood who was like a second mother to Healy’s large family . . . 6 boys and 3 girls who gave her 17 grandchildren. So close was Healy and Bessie's friendship that Bessie's children were like siblings to Healy's kids.

After marriage, Healy and Spurgeon maintained a modest household, keeping house variously on Holt Avenue (now Holden Street) and Wake Forest road in Raleigh. Spurgeon started a small print shop of his own in 1928, but the stock market crash the following year and the Great Depression drove them to move "to the country", a small place with cow, pigs, chickens and a vegetable garden. They managed to survive the "bad times" in that manner. The country place was in the Nazareth community near (or on the property of) the Catholic Orphanage and the Dix Hill mental Hospital in southwest Raleigh, South of Western Boulevard. The three oldest boys (Bill, Charles and Frank) attended Boylan Heights School for several years.

Healy disliked living so far out with no transportation to accommodate shopping and other family needs. The family moved back into town locating a house at 527 N. East Street where they remained more than 30 years. All the siblings completed elementary school at Murphey School on N. Person Street. All but Nancy and Robert finished high school at Hugh Morson High School on E. Hargett St. It was changed to junior high in the mid-fifties so Nancy and Robert finished high school at Needham Broughton High School on W. Peace St.

As her children grew and matured, Healy did her best to meet the individual needs of each one, having the unique ability to make each feel special or her favorite "for a season". She was a wonderful and spirited "Mama" to her children. She somehow managed to feed and clothe all of her brood through the lean depression years, seeing to it that each attended school regularly and was well behaved. All her children completed high school. One son, Frank, earned a degree from NC State University and two sons, Charles and Robert, earned degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, despite meager family funds.

Healy did not work outside the home except for rare occasions when she worked part time after her children were grown. As an outgoing, intelligent woman, she considered raising her nine offspring her calling in , spending time at their schools serving in the PTA and as a grade mother. In the late 1950s she was a founding member and active participant in the Oakwood Garden club. She helped the club beautify and improve the neighborhood.

After her husband, Spurgeon, died in 1964, her youngest son, Robert and wife, Dottie, moved in to care for and support Healy. Her second son, Charles, died a year later. A year afterward, they moved into a comfortable home on Ashby Place in the Brentwood neighborhood in Raleigh.

Robert and Dottie moved to make their own home about 5 years later. A strong woman throughout her , Healy suffered in her declining years from crippling arthritis that caused her to be bedridden at home. In 1982 she moved to a full care facility and lived there until her death, March 11, 1984.

Biography

Bill was born July 5, 1924, in Raleigh, NC, the first of what would be nine children of Spurgeon and Healy Hutchins. He was named for his maternal grandfather, William David Baker, and his father, Spurgeon Hutchins.

Bill lived his entire life in Raleigh. He attended Boylan Heights and Murphey elementary schools and Hugh Morson High School.

As a youth, Bill was involved in varied activities. For example, he gathered imperfect baby chicks from the waste bins of Raleigh Hatchery and brought them home to 527 N. East St. The result was a backyard that constantly had chickens running about. They roosted in the pecan trees. He also caught pigeons on the grounds of the State Capitol and brought them home. The birds that survived ultimately populated the neighborhood, even become a nuisance to some. He also formed a sandlot baseball team with neighbor boys dubbed the East Street Tigers. These are but a few examples of his activities.

After school, Bill was hired by Raleigh Tractor and Truck Company, the local Farmall Tractor and International truck dealer. He worked in the parts department. There he developed his prodigious memory. Folks said that he knew from memory the catalog numbers for more than a 1000 parts for the equipment. Bill worked for "Raleigh Tractor" for more than 40 years, ending his career calling on public school bus garages throughout Eastern North Carolina that who ran International school bus fleets to fill their parts needs. He never met a stranger nor forgot a name.

Bill met Hildred Ruffin from Wilson, North Carolina, a student at a local business college who roomed with Lizzie and Bill Gatling on E. Jones St. Lizzie was his mother's sister (his aunt) and Bill Gatling her husband. After a courtship, Hildred and Bill were married in April, 1945. He did not serve in World War II due to a childhood accident that damaged his skull disqualifying him for military service.

Bill and Hildred had two children: a daughter, Patricia Anne, called Pat, and a son, William Spurgeon, Jr., called Billy. They had one grandchild, Billy's daughter, APril Lee. Bill was devoted to his maternal grandmother, Velma "Velzie" Baker (later married to O. G. Davis), and spent much time at her home.

Biography

Charles Baker Hutchins was born May 30, 1926, the second child and second son to his parents. His first name, Charles, was from his father's name (Charles Haddon Spurgeon Hutchins) and his middle name was from his mother's maiden name, Baker.

Charles attended elementary school at both Boylan Heights and Murphey Schools in Raleigh. He graduated from Hugh Morson High School in May, 1944. He was an excellent student throughout his 12 years. Charles enjoyed excellent health throughout his school years and never missed a single day in 12 years. In his high school years he worked at the Palace Theater on W. Martin Street in Raleigh. While in high school Charles developed an interest in choral music, becoming a baritone soloist of note who sang with both the school and church choirs. Charles was well and favorably remembered decades later by 2 of his teachers, Alice Wood who taught music and Nancy Beddingfield Shore who taught biology.

The world was at war in May, 1944. Charles was drafted into the US Army after graduating from high school. He had just turned 18 years old. He received basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, becoming an infantry rifleman. Charles entered service with a good friend from high school, Walt Napowsa, and served with him throughout his time in the Army. After finishing basic training, Charles deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned as a replacement in the 45th Infantry Division "Thunderbirds". He served in Germany in the Munich area and was among troops who were present at the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. He saw - and later reported the stench as being horrific - the horrors of that camp at first hand, before his 19th birthday. He added the combat wreath decoration to his infantry rifleman's badge while serving in Germany. The war in Europe ended soon after, and Charles returned to the US. He was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Troops there were expecting to become part of the invasion of Japan, but the Pacific war ended in August, 1945. Charles was then reassigned to Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, NC, and mustered out of service from there.

After his service, Charles returned to live at "527" with his parents and siblings. Combat service took a physical and emotional toll on Charles. From early life Charles had an even-temper and calm demeanor, but after his military service he was prone to sudden outbursts of anger. He spent the year after being demobilized among friends frequenting the drugstore hangouts on Fayetteville St., especially the Eckerds Drug Store. He chose to take advantage of the GI Bill and entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in September of 1946. The GI Bill caused enrollment to surge beyond the University's dorm room capacity; so Charles commuted from Raleigh to Chapel Hill daily by Trailways bus. He eventually found housing on campus and lived in Battle Dormitory (later known as Battle-Vance-Pettigrew) where he roomed across the hall from Andy Griffith later to become a noted television and movie star. Andy roomed with a good friend of Charles' from high school, Riley Johnson.

After attending classes year-round, Charles earned a bachelors degree in accounting in 1950. He found employment with Manning Motor Company in Plymouth, NC, where he lived for the following 15 years until his untimely death at age 38 due to melanoma. Charles became active in civic and social life in Plymouth, making many friends. He was an active Mason (32nd degree) and Shriner as well as active in the Jaycees and in the Christian Church where be became choir director. Charles was well-liked and respected in the community resulting in his being elected a Justice of the Peace. He planned to study law with a local law firm, but those plans were halted by his illness and early demise. While in Plymouth, Charles met and was companion to Lorena Snell; but they never married.

Charles learned of his illness after Thanksgiving, 1964, and died January 11, 1965, at Mary Elizabeth Hospital in Raleigh. His brother, Frank, was with him at the time of his passing. His funeral was with full Masonic Burial Rites conducted by his Masonic Lodge from Plymouth. A large number of friends from Plymouth attended his funeral in Raleigh.

Biography

Biography

Biography

Biography

Biography

Biography

Biography