John B. Hitchings

{{short description|American shoe manufacturer and politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|image =

|imagesize =

| name = John B. Hitchings

| birth_date = March 6, 1815

| birth_place = Saugus, Massachusetts

| death_date = November 17, 1887 (aged 72){{cite web |title=John B Hitchings |url=https://billiongraves.com/grave/John-B-Hitchings/37297584 |website=BillionGraves.com |publisher=BillionGraves.com |access-date=12 May 2022}}

| death_place = Saugus, Massachusetts

|restingplace = Riverside Cemetery
Saugus, Massachusetts

| nationality =

| website =

| occupation = Shoe manufacturer

| residence =

| party = Democratic

| spouse = Zeruiah J. Sweetser (1840-1878; her death)

| alma_mater =

| title = Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for Saugus

| term_start = 1853

| term_end = 1853

| predecessor = George H. Sweetser

| successor = Samuel Hawkes

| relations = Benjamin Hitchings Jr. (brother)
Otis M. Hitchings (brother)
Charles S. Hitchings (son)

}}

John Ballard Hitchings (March 6, 1815 – November 17, 1887) was an American shoe manufacturer and politician.

Hitchings was born on March 6, 1815, to Benjamin and Jane Hitchings.{{cite web |title=Saugus Births Haigh - Howlett |url=https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Saugus/aBirthsH.shtml |website=Vital Records of Saugus, MA to the end of the year 1849 |publisher=The Massachusetts Vital Records Project |access-date=12 May 2022}} His father was a shoemaker and Hitchings and his brother Otis eventually joined their father as partners.{{cite book |last1=Atherton |first1=Horace H. |title=History of Saugus, Massachusetts |date=1915 |publisher=Citizens Committee of the Saugus Board of Trade |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=550-AAAAYAAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}} On May 17, 1840, Hitchings married Zeruiah J. Sweetser, daughter of Charles and Nancy Mansfield Sweetser.{{cite web |title=Saugus Marriages: Hall - Howlett |url=https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Saugus/aMarriagesH.shtml |website=Vital Records of Saugus, MA to the end of the year 1849 |publisher=The Massachusetts Vital Records Project |access-date=12 May 2022}} Hitchings held various offices in the town of Saugus, Massachusetts and was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1853.{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=E. P. |title=Sketch of Saugus |journal=The Bay State Monthly |date=1885 |volume=2 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it8XAQAAIAAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}}