William Hughes (politician, 1872)

William Hughes

William Hughes (born April 3, 1872 in Drogheda , Ireland , †  January 30, 1918 in Trenton , New Jersey ) was an Irish- American politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of New Jersey in both chambers of Congress .

As a young boy, William Hughes and his parents emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1880, where the family settled in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended the public school there and worked as a teenager in a silk mill. After studying shorthand at Columbia Business College in Paterson, he got a job as a stenographer in New York City . He later worked as a court clerk in Paterson. During the Spanish-American War he served as a private in the US Army .

After retiring from the military, Hughes embarked on a legal career. He studied law , was inducted into the bar in 1900, and began practicing in Paterson. Two years later he ran successfully for his first public office: He became a member of the House of Representatives of the United States , where he represented the 6th  Congressional constituency of New Jersey between March 4, 1903 and March 3, 1905. When he tried for re-election he failed because of the Republican Henry C. Allen , but after two years he managed to return to Congress, in which he remained until September 12, 1912 after being re-elected several times.

That day, he resigned pending appeal to the Court of Common Pleas in Passaic County . He held this office until 1913 and resigned after he was elected US Senator . From March 4, 1913, Hughes sat again in Congress and served, among other things, as chairman of the committee to control the expenditure of the Navy Department . He died before the end of his term on January 30, 1918 in Trenton and was buried in Paterson.

Web links

• William Hughes in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• William Hughes in the database of Find a Grave (English)