Louis Cameron Hughes

Evergreen Cemetery, Tucson Arizona

Louis Cameron Hughes (May 15, 1842 - November 24, 1915) was an American politician and Governor of Arizona Territory.

Early life
Hughes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1842. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Edwards Hughes. In 1844 he went to an orphanage because his parents either died or were unable to take care of him. He grew up on a farm as an "indentured servant" to a Calvinist Farmer. After his service ended at the age of 16, he was given $15 and sent out into the world. He was also allowed to attend public school in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was a strong abolitionist and enlisted as a Private in Company A of the 101st Pennsylvania at the break of the Civil War, serving two years. He also served in Knapp's Pittsburgh Battery which defended the Capitol. After the war, he worked as a machinist and saved money so that he could attend college at Meadeville Theological School and later attend Edinburgh State Normal School. He was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and was a speaker at the International Convention of Machinists and Blacksmiths Union of America held in Cleveland, Ohio in 1868. In July, 1868 he married E. Josephine Brawley who was a member of the Women's Suffrage Movement and also a prime mover in the establishment of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Arizona.


Arizona
In 1871 Hughes came to Arizona for health reasons. He was admitted to practice law before the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court on January 17, 1873. He was a city councilman for Tucson in June, 1872 and later a county attorney on April 15, 1873. He was appointed as Attorney General of the Arizona territory, but resigned after only a year. In March, 1877 he started the Daily Bulletin, which later became the Triweekly Arizona Star, and finally the Arizona Star on June 26, 1879. He would sell his interests in the newspaper in 1907. In the 1880s he was a United States Court Commissioner and served on the board of managers for the World's Fair in Chicago in 1891. He could also be seen preaching on street corners in the 1890s since he also served in the Salvation Army in Tucson, always promoting the liberal causes of temperance, women's suffrage, Arizona Statehood, and other causes.


Governor of Arizona Territory
He became Governor of Arizona Territory on April 14, 1893. He had liberal views. He wanted to clean up the elections process because voters were being bought with alcohol. He endorsed women's suffrage, the secret ballots, and felt Most of the laws in Arizona such as laws on houses of prostitution, furnishing liquor to minors, punishing adultery, and the following of the Sabbath law were all being ignored. He wanted the establishment of a board of control for government agencies like the Territorial Prison and the Insane Asylum and also the establishment of a Board of Immigration to encourage business to come to Arizona. Irrigation and the booming lumber industry in Flagstaff was his major priority. He reduced the territorial debt and created a non-partisan board of control. Due to his liberal views, he created several enemies. As a result, he was removed from the office in 1896. He was on the Board of Regent in 1897 and eventually returned to running his newspaper, the Arizona Star. He favored joint statehood with New Mexico in 1904 and 1905. He left the Arizona Star in 1907 after a libel suit was filed against him.


Death
He died on November 24, 1915 in Tucson, Arizona. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson.

Source: Wikipedia