MILFORD – Beginning in the 1840s, the Hutchinson Family Singers were the most popular and influential family singing group in the country. They spread their messages of abolition, temperance, equal rights, voting rights for women and African Americans, and health care and prison reform across the country using their unique singing style.

Historians credit them with bringing the message of abolition to more people than all the contemporary speakers. Musicians credit them with creating a new form of American concert music, a style different from the then-popular European singers, and used until the advent of modern technology.

But few people in Milford have ever heard of them.

The Hutchinson Family Singers Memorial Project Group is trying to change that. Their goal is a life-size bronze sculpture to be placed at the entrance to Keyes Memorial Field.

The group’s co-chairmen, Marcia Nelson and Charlie Annand, described the project.

The Historical Society presented a program on the Hutchinsons in 2019, Annand said. She was one of the speakers “and a lot of people got interested. A committee was formed and then COVID hit.”

“We were amazed so few people in Milford had ever heard of them,” Nelson added.

That type of project was new to both of them,” Annand said. “None of us had every done this before. We had to go to Board of Selectmen to get permission to put up a statue. They were interested. A warrant article was put on the ballot to establish a trust fund where people could make donations, which passed easily.

They were approached by Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area in Devans, Mass. “They helped us develop the brochure and gave us a lot of valuable information on community involvement,” Annand said.

Two members have established a website, and the group has visited some Milford organizations seeking support, and plan to present their story to more of them

Although many members of the large Hutchinson family were singers and musicians over the next two decades, the committee is focusing on the quartet of Judson, Abby, John and Asa who were most prominent between 1843 and 1849, traveling throughout the country with their messasge. They became friendly with Frederick Douglas and traveled with him to England where they were also popular.

Annand said they started looking for a sculpture and contacted the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline. Sculptor John M. Weidman, co-founder and co-director of the Institute was interested and developed a sketch of four life-sized figures in bronze on a base of Milford granite..

Estimated cost of the project is about $400,000.

“Now we will really start fund-raising,” Annand said.

They have prepared a history of the Hutchinson family which is available with the brochure.

Jesse and Mary Hutchinson were married in 1800 and had 16 children, 13 of whom reached adulthood. All of them were musical, but three, Judson, John and Asa, dreamed of becoming famous. They started performing in the Lynn, Mass., in 1841, but it wasn’t until their 12-year-old sister Abby joined them that they realized they needed her “sublime and sweet” voice.

In addition, Judson and John played the violin, and Asa a cello or bass viol.

Their most famous songs, composed by older brother Jesse, were “Get Off The Track” and “The Old Granite State. Versions of both can be found on YouTube.

The committee’s goals are to preserve the legacy of the Hutchinsons; foster civic pride by celebrating the achievements of local citizens, make a beautiful and inspiring addition to Keyes Memorial Park, and promote education in American History and the struggle to end slavery. They would like to have more local history included in the school curriculum.

Although they are members of the Milford Historical Society, this is a separate project.

More information can be found at hutchinsonfamilysingers.org, and on Facebook at Hutchinson Family Singers Memorial Project.

Donations, by check only, can be sent to Hutchinson Family Singers Trust Fund, Town of Milford, c/o Trustees of the Trust Fund, 1 Union Square, Milford, NH 03055.