My Genealogy Hound

DR. P. DAVIS HUGHES, one of the solid, reliable and representative farmers of Rose Township, Johnson County, Mo., now makes his home on section 36, township 45, range 28. He was born in Jackson County, Tenn., on the 30th of March, 1831, and is a son of Harrison I. and Mary (Quarles) Hughes, both of whom were natives of Bedford County, Va., where they were reared and married, removing to Tennessee in 1821. The father was born August 25, 1778, while the mother’s birth occurred on the 12th of January, 1783, and their wedding was celebrated January 19, 1808. They became the parents of nine children, eight sons and one daughter, all but one of whom lived to rear families of their own. Our subject is the youngest of the family, and has but one brother now living, H. Y. Hughes, of Warrensburg, Mo. The great-grandfather, Blackmore Hughes, came from Scotland to America, locating in Bedford County, Va., where he married Prudence Harrison, a cousin of William Henry Harrison, President of the United States. Their son John, who was born in 1740, was the grandfather of the Doctor.

The father of our subject was a carpenter by trade, but also owned a farm, on which the boyhood days of Dr. Hughes were passed. As his father died in 1846, when the Doctor was but fourteen years of age, he had not much chance of obtaining an education. Later he attended Alpine College, in Overton County, Tenn., where John L. Beveridge, who afterward became Governor of Illinois, was Principal, and his wife was one of the teachers. He remained in that school for three years, taking up the study of algebra, surveying, Latin, Greek and French. After leaving school he began to read medicine, in 1850, under the direction of Dr. Hazzard, of Huntington, Carroll County, Tenn., with whom he remained for two years. He also took a course of lectures at the Nashville Medical College, from which he was graduated in the Class of ‘54, and began practice in the neighborhood of his old home, living on a farm with his mother until 1858, when he came to Chilhowee Township, Johnson County, Mo. Here he and his brother, H. Y. Hughes, purchased a stock of general merchandise and established a country store, but the Doctor still engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. They were doing a good business until the 18th of October, 1861, when their store was raided by Lane and his freebooters of Kansas, who destroyed their stock and left the brother barefooted.

In June, 1861, our subject joined Company A, of Missouri Confederate Infantry, serving under Capt. Hal Myers and Col. Searcy for six months, during which time he participated in the battles of Little Blue and Carthage, Mo. He was taken sick at Neosho, Newton County, receiving his discharge in December, 1861, at Osceola, but he remained with the army that winter.

On the 1st of April, 1862, Dr. Hughes was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Jane Cocke, of Rose Hill Township, Johnson County, and to them have been born ten children, nine of whom are still living. Mary C., born March 14, 1863, wedded A. W. Jones, a farmer of Rose Hill Township, and they have four sons; John, born May 27, 1864, lives in Chilhowee Township, Johnson County, and by his marriage has become the father of three sons; Laura Belle, born December 3, 1866, married S. A. Kem, a resident of El Reno, Okla., and they have one son; Baxter, born December 17, 1869, is still at home; Ella J., born September 24, 1871, married T. R. Howerton, of Rose Hill Township, and has two daughters; Annie Lee, born December 14, 1873, Eva Davis, born April 19, 1877, and Harvey E., born July 16, 1879, are still with their parents; Stella M., born September 17, 1881, died December 11, 1885; and Lena M., born August 31, 1884, completes the family. The children have all received good educational advantages and are highly respected in the communities where they reside.

After his marriage the Doctor did not locate permanently until 1864, but spent a portion of the time in Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. In that year, however, he returned to Johnson County and resumed the practice of medicine in the neighborhood where he now lives. This he followed until 1867, but now never engages in practice except when called upon to doctor a neighbor. In 1863 he purchased eighty acres of land at $2 per acre, which he still owns, but has added to that tract until he now has two hundred and ten acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. At the close of the war he had nothing, but by his own industry and perseverance he now has a comfortable competence.

The father of the Doctor was formerly a Whig in politics, but later became a Democrat, and our subject has followed in his political footsteps, being a supporter of the Democratic party, and cast his first vote for Franklin Pierce. He served as Clerk and Treasurer when the county was under township organization, and for twenty-one years acted as School Director, being a member of the board when the first schoolhouse was erected in the district. Mrs. Hughes and some of the children hold membership with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as did also the parents of the Doctor, the father serving as Elder for many years. Our subject is not connected with any religious organization, but gives his support to all, having aided in the erection of many of the churches of the county. He is one of the honored citizens of Johnson County, and has many warm friends throughout this portion of the state.