Francis Wade Hughes

Francis Wade Hughes (August 10, 1817 – October 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 8th district from 1843 to 1844. He served as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1853 and as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1853 to 1855. Although pro-Union, he was tarred as a secessionist "traitor" in the press during the 1862 elections, ending his political career. During the 1870s, he was the chief prosecutor in the Molly Maguires trials.

Francis Wade Hughes
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
March 14, 1853 – January 17, 1855
GovernorWilliam Bigler
Preceded byJames Campbell
Succeeded byThomas E. Franklin
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In office
January 21, 1852 – March 14, 1853
Preceded byAlexander L. Russell
Succeeded byCharles Alexander Black
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate, 8th district
In office
1843–1844
Preceded byJames Mathers
Succeeded byHenry C. Eyer
Personal details
Born(1817-08-20)August 20, 1817
Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, US
DiedOctober 22, 1885(1885-10-22) (aged 68)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Silliman
OccupationLawyer, politician

Early life and education

Hughes was born the fifth and youngest child of John Hughes and Hannah Bartholomew. He studied law in Pottsville, Schuylkill County and Philadelphia. He was admitted to the bar of Schuylkill County in 1837.[1]

Career

He was appointed Deputy Attorney General[Note 1] of the county in 1839. He would resign three times and be reappointed over the next eleven years.[2]

Hughes was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate for the 8th district and served from 1843 to 1844. In 1852 he was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth, which he resigned in 1853 to become Attorney General.

As chairman of the 1862 Democratic State Committee, Hughes was singled out for vilification. His family ties in the Confederacy were played up, and worse, a draft resolution he authored (but never introduced) for the 1860 convention, suggesting Pennsylvania might secede, was attacked. Hughes was forced to resign, and never returned to politics.[3][4][5]

In 1876 he was the chief prosecutor in the Molly Maguires cases. He had previously never prosecuted homicide cases and frequently defended with success those facing capital punishment.[2]

Personal life

He married Sarah Silliman, of Pottsville, in 1839.[2]

Notes
  1. Today called District Attorney.

References

Citations
  1. Roberts 1904, p. 286.
  2. Roberts 1904, p. 287.
  3. Shankman 1971.
  4. Broadwater 2008.
  5. Bulik 2014.

Bibliography
  • Broadwater, Robert P. (2008). Did Lincoln and the Republican Party Create the Civil War?: An Argument. McFarland. ISBN 9780786433612.
  • Bulik, Mark (2014). The Sons of Molly Maguire: The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780823262243.
  • Roberts, Ellwood (1904). Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. Montgomery County: T. S. Benham.
  • Shankman, Arnold (July 1971). "Francis W. Hughes and the 1862 Pennsylvania Election". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 95 (3): 383–393. JSTOR 20090572.
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