George W. Hughes (1823 - 1899)

Born 23 May 1823 in Rhea, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Hunton) Kennerly — married 1 Mar 1858 (to before 1870) in Washington, Arkansas, United States

Descendants

Died 29 Jan 1899 at age 75 in Tahlequah, Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States

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Biography

George was the son of Caswell Hughes and his first wife, whose name is unknown.^[1]

In 1830, when Caswell Hughes was about 33, he was married and had four children under age 10 -- two boys and two girls -- according to that year's census in Rhea Co., Tennessee.^[2] This wife was not his second wife, Paulina Seay, who would have been only 14 in 1830. (And she married John Johnson about 1832, with a son born in 1833.) However, by the 1840 census, Caswell was living with Paulina and her son, Jack Johnson.^[3] So his first wife, one son, and two daughters either died before 1840, or they separated from him.

George was about 17 when his father remarried and evidently left his household. He worked as a blacksmith and joined the Army in Rhea Co. about 1846, serving for at least a year in Mexico and New Orleans.^[4]

George later moved to Arkansas and married Hannah Hunton in 1858.^[5] Their children were Mary Blain and Frances G. "Fanny," born in 1860 and 1861.^[6][7] He and Hannah separated before 1870, and he moved to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, where he had a blacksmith shop.^[8] He married Mary Elizabeth Duncan McLaughlin, and their children were Cherokee,^[9] George McLaughlin,^[10] and Helen Duncan, born between 1870 and 1874.^[11][12] They moved to Tahlequah, Cherokee Co., Okla., before 1880,^[13] and George became an adopted Cherokee through Mary.^[14] He was the first mayor of Tahlequah, serving from 1890-1893.^[15]

George died in 1899 in Tahlequah and was buried at Tahlequah Cemetery.^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ When George's son, George M. Hughes, made his application to the Eastern Cherokee tribe, he named his grandfather as Cass Hughes: Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909. DNA matches support this.
2. ↑ Man and woman in their 20s with two girls under age 5 and two boys, ages 5-9: U.S. Census: Year: 1830; Census Place: Rhea, Tennessee; Series: M19; Roll: 175; Page: 374; Family History Library Film: 0024533. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
3. ↑ Caswell with a wife in her 20s and a young boy: U.S. Census: Year: 1840; Census Place: Meigs, Tennessee; Roll: 528; Page: 232; Family History Library Film: 0024547. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
4. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration; Washington D.C.; U.S., Compiled Military Service Records for American Volunteer Soldiers, Mexican War, 1845-1848. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013 and Black hair, hazel eyes, blacksmith, joined in Rhea Co., Tenn.: U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007
5. ↑ Marriage Records. Washington County Archives, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015
6. ↑ Blacksmith. With Hannah and daughter Mary: U.S. Census: Year: 1860; Census Place: Illinois, Washington, Arkansas; Page: 587. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7. ↑ Hannah and daughter Fanny in Texas (separated from George): U.S. Census: Year: 1870; Census Place: Precinct 2, Hays, Texas; Roll: M593_1590; Page: 221B. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration
8. ↑ He was there in 1871 and had a blacksmith shop: Advertisement for G.W. Hughes Blacksmith Shop, Cherokee Advocate 8 Jul 1871, pg. 2, Col. 7
9. ↑ Parents named on her death certificate: https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/Archives/ArchivesMvc/DeathCertificates#searchDB
10. ↑ Named in probate record of his mother's estate: Cherokee Nation; Author: Oklahoma Historical Society. Indian Archives Division. Oklahoma, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1801-2008. Oklahoma County, District and Probate Courts. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015
11. ↑ Parents on Dawes Card: Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1186, 93 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
12. ↑ https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/h/i/c/James-R-Hicks-VA/BOOK-0001/0015-0127.html#CHILD532
13. ↑ With Mary/three children in Tahlequah in 1880: The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Record Group Number: 75; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999; NARA Series Number: 7RA-07; NARA Series Title: Cherokee Census, 1880; Roll: 3
14. ↑ The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Record Group Number: 75; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999; NARA Series Number: 7RA-08; NARA Series Title: Cherokee Census, 1890
15. ↑ With children Helen and George, Jr., in Tahlequah in 1890 (Mary had died in 1881): The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Record Group Number: 75; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999; NARA Series Number: 7RA-08; NARA Series Title: Cherokee Census, 1890; Roll: 4
16. ↑ Inscription: "Member of Co B 14th USArmy War with Mexico": https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6800387/george-washington-hughes