Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. (April 14, 1830 – June 29, 1906) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as the 15th

governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

from 1885 to 1889. He previously served as an officer of the Confederate States Army in the Western and

Trans-Mississippi Trans-Mississippi was a common name of the geographic area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century. The area included Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and many other territories. The term "Tr ...

theaters of the American Civil War.

Early life and education

Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. was born in Smith County, Tennessee, the son of Simon P. Hughes and Mary Hubbard Hughes. Hughes Sr., originally from Prince Edward County, Virginia, was a farmer,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and a member of the Tennessee legislature from 1842–1843, Mary Hubbard was a native of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. In 1842, Mary Hughes died and the family moved to Bowie County, Texas. Hughes Sr. died in Texas in 1844, making Hughes at orphan at the age of fourteen. Hughes moved to Arkansas in December 1849, and was educated at Sylvan Academy and Clinton College in Tennessee. In 1853, Hughes was elected sheriff of Monroe County, Arkansas and served for two years. Hughes was admitted to the bar in Arkansas in 1857, and started private practice in

Clarendon, Arkansas Clarendon is a city in, and the county seat of, Monroe County, Arkansas, Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Arkansas Delta, the city's position on the White River (Arkansas), White River at the mouth of the Cache River (Arkansas ...

. During the American Civil War, he was elected captain in the 23d Arkansas Infantry of the Confederate States Army rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Later in the war, following a reorganization of the 23d Arkansas, Hughes enlisted as a private in Charles L. Morgan's Independent Texas Cavalry unit.

Political career

Following the war, Hughes served in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

from 1866 to 1867, and was a delegate to the 1874 Arkansas constitutional convention. He was elected to the post of Arkansas Attorney General and served from 1874 to 1877. He was elected

, being sworn-in, in January 1885. He was reelected in 1886. During his terms, public executions were abolished in Arkansas and the sale of liquor was restricted. In 1889, he was elected to the Arkansas supreme court as an associate justice and served in that capacity for sixteen years.

Death

Hughes died in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is buried in historic Mount Holly Cemetery at Little Rock.

References

External links

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Simon Pollard Hughes Jr.
at the National Governors Association
Simon Pollard Hughes Jr.
at The Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Simon Pollard 1830 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Arkansas Attorneys General Arkansas Democrats Arkansas lawyers Arkansas sheriffs Arkansas Whigs Clinton College (Tennessee) Confederate States Army officers Democratic National Committee people Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Governors of Arkansas Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives People from Monroe County, Arkansas People from Smith County, Tennessee People of Arkansas in the American Civil War