Washington County OR Archives Biographies.....Hughes, John W. 
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com February 10, 2011, 1:04 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 866 - 868
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     JOHN W. HUGHES.  One of the best known citizens of Forest Grove, Oregon, 
is John W. Hughes, who has not only been successful as a farmer, but has also 
gained a wide reputation as a capable and dependable auctioneer, which line of 
business he has followed for over a quarter of a century throughout the 
Pacific northwest. He was born at Forest Grove and is a son of Hon. Samuel R. 
and Georgia (Reid) Hughes. His father was born in Cooper county, Missouri, 
July 5, 1835, and was a son of John W. and Susan (Williams) Hughes. The family 
was founded in this country by Mr. Hughes' great-great-great-grandfather, 
Satawhite Hughes, who came from Ireland to America prior to the Revolutionary 
war. His son, also named Satawhite Hughes, was the father of John W. Hughes, 
who was born in Tennessee. John W. and Susan Hughes were married in Missouri 
in 1833. Samuel R. Hughes attended the public schools of Missouri and when 
twenty-one years of age went to Texas, where he followed the trade of 
blacksmithing, which he had learned in St. Louis. Later he was employed as an 
engineer on Mississippi river boats and then moved to Galveston, Texas, where 
he worked for a short time in a foundry. From 1852 to 1856 he was engaged in 
the construction and operation of sugar mills, and then went to California, by 
way of the Isthmus of Panama, lured to that state by the stories of fortunes 
made in the gold fields. He mined in several of the interior counties of that 
state, but, not meeting with satisfactory success, returned to San Francisco 
and worked in a foundry for a short time. Later he was employed on coast 
survey work under Colonel Fairfield and on its completion came to Oregon, 
arriving at Portland, November 14, 1857. He worked at his trade there until 
March of the following year, when he came to Forest Grove and established a 
blacksmith shop, which he ran until 1864. He then went to the gold fields of 
Idaho, where for two years he ran an engine in a quartz mill. On his return to 
Oregon Mr. Hughes bought one hundred and sixteen acres of land adjoining 
Forest Grove, where he established his permanent home, living there until his 
death, which occurred April 5, 1898. He prospered as a farmer and added to his 
holdings until at the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred and 
eighty-six acres. In 1872 Mr. Hughes opened a hardware store, the first in 
Forest Grove, and four years later erected a store building, in which he 
carried on the business until his death, at which time he was the oldest 
merchant in this city in point of years of continuous service. He was greatly 
interested in public affairs and assisted in the organization of the Forest 
Grove Electric Light Company and the Forest Grove Cannery Company. On February 
17, 1859, Mr. Hughes was married to Miss Georgia A. Reid, who was born in 
Lincoln county, Missouri. Fred Lockley, after an interview with Mrs. Hughes, 
printed the following in the Oregon Daily Journal of September 6, 1913: "'For 
the past fifty-eight years I have lived in Forest Grove,' said Mrs. Georgia A. 
Hughes. 'My maiden name was Georgia A. Reid. My father, J. H. Reid, came with 
his family from Missouri in 1850. I was eight years old when we crossed the 
plains, so I remember the trip very distinctly. Captain Wilmot was in command 
of our train and his wife was the only one of our party who died on the trip.

     "'We stayed at Milwaukie during the winter of 1850. Next spring father 
took up his square mile of land allowed under the donation land act, nine 
miles southeast of Portland.

     "'In 1855, when I was thirteen years old, my sister and myself were sent 
to the Tualatin Academy at Forest Grove, as the Pacific University was then 
called. We boarded with Tabitha Brown, who was seventy-five years old when we 
first came to school. Mrs. Brown was a little woman physically, but in no 
other way. She was a bundle of will-power and energy. She was severe looking, 
but she had a big heart and as long as we girls minded her she was easy to get 
along with. She didn't object to good natured fun, but she was hard as ice and 
firm as iron when it came to a matter of principle and if any of the girls did 
anything mean or small she could wither them with her eye and tongue. She fell 
on the ice when she was younger and broke her hip, so she was lame and walked 
with a cane.

     "'In 1856 there was an Indian scare in Forest Grove. It was reported the 
Indians were coming to attack us. A watch was posted in the belfry of the 
college to give warning of the Indians' approach. The men went to the William 
Catching farm, a mile from town, and began to fortify it. Grandma Brown's eyes 
snapped when she heard of it. She took down her cane and she soon had the men 
at work fortifying the college instead. They dug a trench on the west side of 
the college and put up a log breastwork, but before they had completed the 
work word came that the rumor that the Indians were headed this way was 
untrue, so they quit.

     "'I went to school here for four years. When I was seventeen I got 
married to Sam Hughes, a blacksmith. He was twenty-three years old and owned 
his own shop. We started housekeeping in a three room board shack. He drove to 
Portland and bought some kitchen chairs, a table, a bed and some dishes. In 
those days young people were content to start with less than they are 
nowadays.'"

     Mrs. Hughes was a daughter of James H. and Sarah J. (Kelly) Reid, who 
brought their three children to Oregon in 1850. After farming his land here 
for many years, Mr. Reid sold out and moved to Portland, where his death 
occurred. To him and his wife were born ten children, six sons and four 
daughters. To Samuel R. and Georgia A. Hughes were born nine children, as 
follows: Ada B., the deceased wife of A. B. Todd; Eugene, deceased; Samuel G., 
of Long Beach, California; George R., deceased; John Wilbur; Elva S., deceased 
wife of W. W. Gordon; Grace, who is the wife of E. E. Larimore, of Portland; 
Georgia May, who is the wife of R. D. Cheney, of Portland; and Alice, who died 
in infancy. Mr. Hughes was a stanch republican in his political views and 
served as a member of the school board in early days. In 1896 he was elected 
to the state senate, in which body he performed valuable service. For a number 
of years he was a member of the city council and served three terms as mayor 
of Forest Grove. In 1895 he was made a regent of the Oregon Agricultural 
College, at Corvallis, and served in that capacity until his death. He was 
long a Mason and was buried with full Masonic honors. His wife was a member 
and a past worthy matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, had been a member 
of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and was a devout member of the 
Congregational church. She died July 15, 1914, respected and beloved by all 
who knew her.

     John W. Hughes received his early education in the public schools of 
Forest Grove and attended Pacific University two years. During his early life 
he devoted his attention to farming, in which he is still interested to some 
extent, owning a good farm. For many years he has followed the auctioneering 
business, in which he has specialized in pure bred livestock sales, though he 
also sells farm outfits occasionally. He has been employed as an auctioneer 
all over the western states and western Canada and has won high standing in 
his profession, due to his ability and square dealing.

     In 1891, in Forest Grove, Mr. Hughes was united in marriage to Miss Clara 
Challacombe, who was born in Kansas. To them have been born four children, as 
follows: E. C., who married Miss Beth Potwin, and resides in Forest Grove; L. 
S., engaged in the confectionery business in Forest Grove, and married Miss 
Pearl Hall, of this place; Lynne, who graduated from Pacific University in 
1928; and Grace, who is in high school. Mr. Hughes is a member of the Masonic 
order, in which he has held official position, as he has also in the Knights 
of Pythias. He has been a member of the Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce from 
the time of its organization. A capable and reliable business man, loyal and 
true in all of life's relations, he has shown himself well worthy of the 
respect which is accorded him by all who know him.

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