Fred G. Hughes

Frederick G. Hughes (March 30, 1837 – September 16, 1911) was an American miner, gambler, and politician. He was elected to five terms in the Council (upper house) of the Arizona Territorial Legislature, serving as President of the Council on three occasions. Hughes' political career came to an end when it was discovered he was embezzling funds from the Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society. His life ended when he was struck by lightning.

Background Hughes was born on March 30, 1837, in Cheltenham, England. He immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was five. Hughes was educated in New York City public schools. In 1853, he journeyed to San Francisco, California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama.

In California, Hughes worked as a miner near Placerville, California. He moved to the Washoe region of Utah Territory for a brief time in 1860. While there he fought in the Paiute War. Hughes returned to California before the end of 1860.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Hughes joined the California Column. During his service, he passed through what would become Arizona before continuing to the Rio Grande valley. There he was for a time alcalde of San Martial, New Mexico Territory. Hughes relocated to Arizona as part of a military escort assigned to protect the territorial officials for the newly created Arizona Territory. When the party of officials were delayed, the escort proceeded from Fort Craig to the new territory without them on October 23, 1863. On December 18, 1863, Hughes was assigned to a unit of 12 men left to guard supplies at San Francisco Springs, a site near the present day city of Flagstaff. From there he proceeded to Fort Whipple, arriving on March 1, 1864.

Hughes moved to southern Arizona in 1876 when he began placer mining in the Santa Rita Mountains. His findings during the effort led to creation of the Greaterville mining district and for the rest of his life he prospected the area on a regular basis. Further investigation determined roughly $2,000 was missing from the historical society's accounts and that Hughes had lost the money while gambling. Hughes was believed to have fled to Mexico. From there he went to California, where he was arrested in the town of Randsburg and extradited back to Arizona in January 1898. Two of his friends paid back the missing Board of Supervisors funds, but Hughes still faced charges involving the missing historical society money. When the matter came to trial in March 1898, Hughes pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges. He was sentenced to 5 years at Yuma Territorial Prison but was paroled on December 25, 1900.

Hughes died in Greaterville, Arizona, on September 16, 1911, when he was struck by a lightning bolt. He was survived by his second wife, seven daughters, and three sons. Hughes was buried in Tucson's Holy Hope Cemetery.