Home > Carnegie Center > Arizona Women's Hall of Fame > Inductees > Hughes, Josephine Brawley
Josephine Brawley Hughes
1839 – 1926
Inducted in 1990
Used by permission from the Arizona Historical Society
"Mrs. Hughes was one of the few pioneer women in the territory who
left a lasting impression both in the minds of the citizens and the character
of the community." -- Tombstone Epitaph, April 24,
1926
Throughout her life, Josephine Brawley Hughes was a formidable woman
in defense of the causes she believed were right. The protection of the
home and its values were of primary importance to her, but she also championed
education, religion, temperance, and women's right to vote. In all her
quests, she showed pluck in the face of danger, determination, and a strong
will.
One of six children, she was born as Elizabeth Josephine Brawley on December
22, 1839, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She dropped her first name
later in life. Her parents, John R. Brawley and Sarah Haskins, were longtime
residents of Pennsylvania. Her father, a prosperous farmer and lawyer,
had influential connections, giving Josephine an early introduction to
the ways of the political game. She attended a rural school, several miles
away from her home, and then studied at Edinboro State Normal School.
Upon graduation, Josephine taught for two years in public schools. While
attending Edinboro, she met Louis C. Hughes who was studying law at her
father's law office and working at the local newspaper. They were married
in July of 1869. Two years later, the effects of a wound received during
the Civil War combined with overwork forced Louis to seek the warmer climate
of Arizona, where his brothers Samuel and Thomas had gone many years before.
In Tucson, he opened a law office and within a year had saved enough money
to bring Josephine and their newborn child Gertrude to his new home.
Josephine traveled by rail to San Francisco, by boat to San Diego, and
the last five hundred miles by stage to Tucson. Due to danger from Apaches
on this part of the journey, the young mother carried a loaded rifle at
her side while holding Gertrude in her arms. During the rough ride, there
was constant fear that the rifle might accidentally discharge. At one point,
the baby flew out of the lurching stage. Josephine climbed out, retrieved
her baby who had landed unhurt in soft sand, and yelled to the driver to
continue as she climbed back on.
Once in Tucson, Josephine set about "civilizing" her sparse
adobe house. The only light available was a burning rag in a sauce of grease.
She immediately had her parents ship her some candle molds, and soon candies
illuminated her house and her neighbors. To further improve living conditions,
she installed a cistern (possibly the first in Arizona), laid a carpet
in her parlor, made colorful paper fly brushes to use at the dining table,
and kept chickens in her yard to help control insects. Several years after
setting up house in the desert, she even planted a grass lawn.
The Hughes family extended the hospitality of their home to many important
visitors. During the Apache wars of the mid 1880s, General George Crook
was their guest. In 1886, General Nelson Miles also frequented their home,
planning ventures against the Indians. In the meantime, the Hughes family
grew. Son John was born in 1874, followed in 1877 by another daughter,
Josephine. Unfortunately, the youngest baby died in 1879, shortly before
her second birthday. Mrs. Hughes refused to let her daughter be buried
in the town cemetery as coyotes regularly dug up the bodies. Instead, she
interred the infant in the Hughes's front yard, planting a rose bush at
the head and foot of the grave.
Shortly after her arrival in Tucson, Josephine was called upon to use
her teaching abilities. At this time, boys and girls were taught separately.
In 1871 a public school for boys opened, but girls either had to attend
the school at the Sisters of St. Joseph convent or be taught at home. In
1872, Louis had been appointed probate judge, thus acquiring the position
of county school supervisor. Upon establishing a public school for girls,
Josephine became the teacher using a classroom in the Pioneer Brewery building
at Levin's Park. When she resigned in April of 1873 because of failing
health, Arizona Governor Anson P. K. Safford ordered the hiring of permanent
teachers, who arrived the following October.
In managing her household, Josephine followed firmly held ideals of how
life should be led. To her, preserving the home as the center of religious
and moral values was important above all else. She was so outspoken in
defense of her beliefs that she alienated her in-laws and some Tucsonans.
Nevertheless, her community recognized her as a woman of principle and
ability, fit 1875, she was appointed as the Commissioner for Arizona to
the Women's Department of the Centennial Exposition to be held in Philadelphia
the next year. The entire Hughes family traveled to Philadelphia, retracing
the route Josephine had taken a few years earlier.
In 1876, Josephine Hughes joined several other women in organizing the
first Protestant church in Arizona. Over the next couple of years,
Josephine was instrumental in raising money for a church building, which
opened in August of 1879. Even though she had worked to organize
the Protestant Church, Josephine’s religious roots were in the Methodist
Church. When Reverend George E. Adams arrived in Tucson to organize
a Methodist church, Josephine left the Presbyterians and pledged support
for Reverend Adams. She was among the first people to sign up as a member
and once again worked to raise money for a Church building. In 1881, the
Methodists opened their new brick church, which was to become a pulpit
for social reforms.
Meanwhile, her husband had entered the newspaper business. In April of
1877, Louis became a partner with Charles H. Tully in the Weekly Star,
with Hughes serving as editor. In 1879 he bought out Tully and began publishing
the paper every day, making it the first daily in the territory. Through
the Arizona Daily Star, Louis and Josephine advocated various
issues, including the complete removal of Apaches from the region to Florida
and higher education. They vigorously opposed capital punishment and gambling.
Louis, who was interested in politics, turned the paper into a democratic
journal. He wrote the editorials, but Josephine held much sway in the choice
of topics. Outwardly, she served as business manager, bookkeeper, and cashier.
One of the first issues that the Hughes' espoused in the columns of the
Star was temperance, and Josephine found ways to promote temperance in
the workplace with newspaper employees. She changed payday from Saturday
night to the first of the week; otherwise, the men spent their money on
liquor and showed up for work with hangovers.
Josephine Hughes was at the peak of her influence in the 1880s and the
early 1890s having two powerful means at her disposal to promote her causes:
her husband's office as governor and the Arizona Daily Star. Though
first lady of the territory, she remained in Tucson to run the Star.
She took over the editorial position and helped with the printing of the
paper. At the time, she was the only woman in Arizona who actively participated
in the management and control of a newspaper. Inevitably, however, Josephine's
power began to fade with her husband's removal from office in 1896 when
he loudly disagreed with President Cleveland's administration on public
land policy. In 1907 Louis Hughes sold the Star, and in 1915 he
died of pneumonia.
In 1912 Josephine saw her son John become a senator in Arizona's first
state legislature. He introduced a resolution for a constitutional amendment
to enfranchise women, paving the way for an initiative on the November
1912 ballot. The measure passed, and women in Arizona secured the vote
through the initiative measure.
A couple of years after Louis's death, Josephine moved to Hermosa Beach,
California, to live with her daughter Gertrude. In 1925 she broke her leg,
weakening her health, and she passed away on April 22, 1926.
Throughout her life, Josephine Hughes worked diligently to better humanity,
accepting any discomfort or danger to herself or anyone else for what she
deemed a worthy end. Her tactics sometimes alienated people, but with her
death, enmity towards her died. Her admirers held a memorial service in
Tucson shortly after she passed away. The speakers all praised her courage
and spirit as a pioneer in righteousness, education, and culture. Grover
C. Linn, a dean at the University of Arizona, commented that the "ideals
of Mrs. Hughes became the ideals of the Daily Star, and through the Star
she molded public opinion in the community and made her paper a strength
for righteousness."
In tribute to her work, fellow Arizonans placed a bronze tablet in the
rotunda of the state capitol building in Phoenix, the first in memory of
a woman. The inscription reads:
"In Memoriam, E. Josephine Brawley Hughes, Wife of Governor
L. C. Hughes and Mother of Hon. John T. Hughes: Mother of Methodism,
Founder of W.C.T.U. and Founder of the First Daily Newspaper in Arizona…."
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