William Clark Hughes (January 31, 1868 – August 29, 1930) was an American

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who served from 1926 to 1928 as the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He represented

Bossier Parish Bossier Parish ( ; french: Paroisse de Bossier) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 116,979, and 128,746 in 2020. The parish seat is Benton. The principal city is ...

in the lower house of the legislature from 1904 until his accidental death in 1930. Hughes was born in the Rocky Mount community of Bossier Parish to William Josiah Hughes (1837-1921), a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, and the former Mary Ann Clark (1843-1923). His home in Rocky Mount remained in the family until 1972, when it was donated to the Bossier Restoration Foundation. In 1995, the house was relocated to Benton, the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of Bossier Parish government. There the Hughes House sets in Benton Square near the Bossier Parish School Board office. Hughes and his first wife, Lula Dubois Hughes (1869-1899), had three daughters: Mary Virginia (born and died 1894), Martha "Mattie" L. Hughes Dowdell (1895-1970), and Margery Hughes O'Kelley (1896-1973). Hughes later married Annie Oliver, who was born 1882 in Giles County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. They had one daughter, Annie Elizabeth Hughes Hale Tucker, who was born in 1906 in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

, Louisiana. Hughes' legislative service traversed the administrations of seven

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

from Newton C. Blanchard to

Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

He was Speaker of the House under Long's short-term predecessor,

Oramel H. Simpson Oramel Hinckley Simpson (March 20, 1870 – November 17, 1932) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He became the 39th Governor of Louisiana in 1926, upon the death of his predecessor, Henry L. Fuqua. He was defeatedhe r ...

; in Louisiana despite the presumed

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

between the executive and legislative branches, the governor handpicks the Speaker. Long chose his lieutenant,

John B. Fournet John Baptiste Fournet (July 27, 1895 – June 3, 1984) was an American attorney and politician who served as Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1932 to 1935, and a justice of the Louisiana ...

, a freshman member from Jeff Davis Parish in southwestern Louisiana, who later became the long-term Chief Justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orlea ...

. Hughes operated the Kingston Plantation in the Bossier Parish community known as Hughes Spur, presumably named for Hughes' father. In 1930, at the age of sixty-two and still serving in the legislature, he was struck dead by touching a metal

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

which had been electrically charged in a lightning storm. He had intended to use the cistern to fight a lightning-induced fire on his farm. Hughes is interred at the Rocky Mount Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, William Clark 1868 births 1930 deaths Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from Bossier Parish, Louisiana Farmers from Louisiana Deaths from lightning strikes