Thomas Hurst Hughes (January 10, 1769 – November 10, 1839) was a U.S. Representative from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Biography

Born in the Cold Spring section of

Lower Township, New Jersey Lower Township is a township in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which covers the entire county for statistical purposes. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's po ...

, on January 10, 1769; he attended the public schools. He moved to Cape May City in 1800 and engaged in the mercantile business; in 1816 he built

Congress Hall Congress Hall, located in Philadelphia at the intersection of Chestnut and 6th Streets, served as the seat of the United States Congress from December 6, 1790, to May 14, 1800. During Congress Hall's duration as the capitol of the United State ...

, which he managed for many years; he also served as

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 ...

of Cape May County from 1801 to 1804. Hughes was a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

from 1805 to 1807, in 1809, 1812, and 1813; and a member of the

New Jersey Legislative Council The New Jersey Legislative Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776 until it was replaced by the New Jersey Senate under the Constitution of 1844. History The Legislative Council replaced ...

(now the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

) from 1819 to 1823 and in 1824 and 1825.

Congress

He was elected as an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

candidate to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses, serving in office from March 4, 1829 to March 3, 1833. As he was not a candidate for renomination in 1832.

After Congress

He resumed the hotel business, dying in Cold Spring on November 10, 1839. His interment is in the Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery.

Sources

1769 births 1839 deaths People from Lower Township, New Jersey Politicians from Cape May County, New Jersey People of colonial New Jersey American people of Welsh descent Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Members of the New Jersey Legislative Council New Jersey sheriffs Burials at Cold Spring Presbyterian Church National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey {{NewJersey-politician-stub