Mary A. Forder was born on July 15, 1851, in Indiana to William and Maria Forder. Her father was a farmer who owned $7,500 of real estate and $600 of personal property by 1860. She grew up and attended school in Washington, Indiana. She married William Hutchins around 1872, and they had at least six children: Franklin, born around 1875; Robert, born around 1876; Samuel, born around 1878; Herbert, born around 1879; Fred, born around 1882; and Walter, born around 1884.
They moved to Maywood, Minnesota, in the 1870s, and then to Mayer, Washington, in the late 1800s. By 1920, they were living in Wayside, Washington. Her husband died in 1921, and by 1930, she was living in her son Walter’s household in Wayside. She died of apoplexy in Spokane, Washington, on July 26, 1941.