Ambrose Hutchison was born in Honomāʻele, Hāna, Maui, in 1856, the son of Ferdinand William Hutchison and Maria or Malie Moa, a Native Hawaiian woman.Their surname of his father is often misspelled as Hutchinson. () His father, originally from Edinburgh, was an influential politician during the reign of King Kamehameha V and served as president of the Board of Health during the early development and management of the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement. His mother died when he was young and his father left Maui for Honolulu to pursue a political career, leaving Ambrose and his siblings William and Christina in the care of their mother's relatives.
