James Hughes

Who was James Hughes?

James Hughes was a United States Representative from Indiana. He was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. He attended the common schools and Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842, and commenced practice in Indiana.

Hughes served in the Mexican-American War. After the war, he was a judge of the sixth judicial circuit of Indiana from 1852 until 1856, when he resigned. He was a professor of law in Indiana University 1853-1856 before being elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress. Hughes was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress.

After leaving Congress, Hughes was appointed judge of the United States Court of Claims and served from January 18, 1860, to December 1864, when he resigned. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives 1864-1866 and a cotton agent of Treasury Department 1866-1868. He died in Wattsville, Maryland in 1873 and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana.