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John McCutcheon (1842-1926) was born in Ireland and arrived in British Columbia in 1862. For two years he farmed at Comox on Vancouver Island. His sense of adventure soon drew him away from the farming life. He worked for a short while with the Collin's Overland Telegraph Company, that was constructing a telegraph to Europe by way of Canada, Alaska and Siberia. However, when a cable was successfully laid across the Atlantic Ocean these plans were abandoned. McCutcheon found himself on the Skeena River in charge of the Collin's Overland Telegraph Company's supplies. He next worked for Western Union Telegraph Company in Bellingham, Washington, transferring to Chilliwack in 1867 where he continued to work as a telegraph operator.
In 1870, he married South African born Caroline Mercy Morey (1854-1926), daughter of a Royal Engineer.. She arrived in British Columbia in 1859 with her parents. The couple resided on their farm for the next 35 years and had four children.
McCutcheon served as the first Postmaster at Chilliwack from 1872 to 1874, the first Reeve of the Township of Chilliwack in 1873 and was one of the first Wardens of St. Thomas' Anglican Church.
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