Early life and education

James was born October 12, 1805 in Prince Edward County, Virginia

Prince Edward County, Virginia

Prince Edward County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,368. Its county seat is Farmville.-Formation and County Seats:...

 to Simon Hughes and Betsy Colman Bigger. He was raised just outside Farmville

Farmville, Virginia

Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County....

 near Hampden-Sydney. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...

 as a youth until he moved to Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 where he studied law under the guidance of William Wirt (Attorney General)

William Wirt (Attorney General)

William Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...

.

Ohio and Minnesota

He moved to Jackson County, Ohio

Jackson County, Ohio

Jackson County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 33,225. Its county seat is Jackson and is named for Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 who was subsequently elected President of the United States....

 in 1835 until 1849, publishing successively the Jackson Standard and the Meigs County Telegram, both Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 papers. He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 in 1836 - 1838, and served as Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in the local militia. He met and married Elizabeth Mather in Jackson County, Ohio, September 4, 1838. Elizabeth was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut

Brooklyn, Connecticut

Brooklyn is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,173 at the 2000 census. The town center village is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...

 April 27, 1816. She was the daughter of Eleazer Mather and L. Williams and a direct descendant of Rev. Richard Mather

Richard Mather

Richard Mather , was a Puritan clergyman in colonial Boston, Massachusetts. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston divines.-Biography:...

.

A book published about the history of Jackson County, Ohio

Jackson County, Ohio

Jackson County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 33,225. Its county seat is Jackson and is named for Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 who was subsequently elected President of the United States....

 lists him along with his brother in-law William Mather as one of the three most important individuals to come from the county. The book also lists James as the first Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 which is inaccurate. He was actually sent to St. Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 in 1849 as a Whig agent by President Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

. He brought with him the first printing press and outfit in that city, and established the Minnesota Chronicle, which subsequently united with the Register; the first number bears the date June 1, 1849. In November of the same year he sold his interest in the Chronicle and Register and removed to Hudson, Wisconsin

Hudson, Wisconsin

Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 18,937, making it the principal and largest city of the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area . The Hudson area however had a population of 39,713...

 where he established the St. Croix Banner the first paper printed and issued in the St. Croix valley.

Wisconsin

While living in Hudson, Wisconsin he raised his family of 12 children with his wife and ran the newspaper until a fire destroyed everything. In 1851 he was picked to join the Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 Ticket as Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

 and lost in a close election. As an attorney in Wisconsin he practiced law at State and Federal Courts, and once he presented a case in front of the U.S Supreme Court. Four of his sons (Eleazer, George R., James, and Edwin) served in the Union Army during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

On August 11, 1873 James Hughes died of natural causes. His legacy still lives on in the Hudson Star-Observer newspaper according to editor and historian Willis Miller.

Sources

• http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/hughes.html#01F0GAUHF

• Book: Mid-West Pioneers: Fifty Years in the Northwest

Col. James Hughes Pages (CHAPTER VI. page 146, HUDSON CITY. page 155, BIOGRAPHICAL. page 165)