[taken from Chapter 4 Manx Worthies, A.W.Moore, 1901]

JOHN McHUTCHIN (b. 1788, d. 1847),

son of Gilbert McHutchin, a Scotsman, and Miss Dawson, a Manxwoman, was born in Peel. He studied law with Thomas Stowell, clerk of the rolls, and his ability was so marked and his progress so rapid that Lieutenant-Governor Smelt appointed him his secretary before he had finished his student's career. His next appointment was that of High-Bailiff of Douglas, being made deemster in 1821, and clerk of the rolls in the following year. In 1841, he was a member of a commission which reported that Castle Rushen was not suitable for a jail. Though a very able lawyer, perhaps his greatest claim to distinction is the fact that during the long and bitter dispute between the Duke of Atholl and the Keys, he was the only person who held the entire confidence of both sides, so that his services as a mediator were very valuable.+

+Information from Sir James Gell we may note that it was in his office that Sir James received the early training which so greatly contributed to his profound knowledge of Manx law.