Captain John R. Hughes
Capitan John R. Hughes

Captain John R. Hughes

HUGHES, JOHN REYNOLDS (1855–1947). John Reynolds Hughes, Texas Ranger, was born on February 11, 1855, in Henry County, near Cambridge, Illinois, to Thomas and Jennie (Bond) Hughes. In 1865 the family moved to Dixon, Illinois, where John attended country schools sporadically. Later they moved to Mound City, Kansas. At age fourteen Hughes left home to work on a neighboring cattle ranch but soon left there for Indian Territory. He lived among the Choctaw and Osage Indians for four years before moving to the Comanche Nation in 1874; there he traded in the Fort Sill area and became friends with Quanah Parker. After six years in Indian Territory and after a brief stint as a traildriver on the Chisholm Trail, Hughes bought a farm near Liberty Hill, Travis County, Texas, and entered the horse business. In May 1886 he set out to find a band of men who had stolen horses from his and neighboring ranches, and after trailing them for several months he killed some of the thieves and captured the rest in New Mexico; he returned the horses to his neighbors. This exploit gained the attention of the Texas Rangers. Hughes was persuaded to enlist in the rangers at Georgetown, sworn in on August 10, 1887, and assigned to Company D, Frontier Battalion, at Camp Wood. He served mainly along the border between Texas and Mexico. In 1893 Hughes was a sergeant in charge of a ranger detachment at Alpine. After Texas Ranger Capt. Frank Jones was killed that year, Hughes was made captain in command of Company D in El Paso. He was later appointed senior captain, with headquarters in Austin, and on January 31, 1915, having served as a captain and ranger longer than any other man, he retired from the force. Zane Grey's novel The Lone Star Ranger (1914) is dedicated to Hughes and his Texas Rangers.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

El Paso County Medical Society Exhibit

A cabinet with actual medicine bottles and an examination chair ...

El Paso County Medical Society Exhibit

The El Paso County Medical Society (EPCMS) was established in ...

Boy with the Boot

The Boy with the Leaking Boot is a statue showing a young boy, ...

Mural Painting - El Paso, Texas

This is one of the murals from the second El Paso County ...

Rowena Sheldon

The little girl in the photograph is Rowena Sheldon. The banner ...

Esther Pickett in New Year's Costume

The image shows Esther Pickett in her New Year's costume. The ...

Mrs. Ed Krohn - 1918

The image shows Mrs. Ed Krohn in her wedding dress, ca. 1918. ...

Parade With Sgt. Maj. Robert Harman

Sgt. Maj. Robert Harman from Ft. Bliss

Sun Bowl Celebration

Sun Bowl Celebration - 1960 - 1970.

Virginia Windle - 1985

Virginia Windle, Sun Bowl Queen Nov. 28, 1985.

Sun Carnival

Sun Carnival gag shot with Bob Kolliner, vice president in ...

Honor Guard - Sun Bowl

Honor Guard during a Sun Bowl Celebration. The theme was ...

Sun Bowl Queen Constance "Neville" White

Sun Bowl Queen Constance "Neville" White pictured on a float ...

Sun Bowl Parade

The Sun Bowl Parade is on its 78th it started as holiday ...

Sun Bowl Parade

The Sun Bowl Parade is on its 78th it started as holiday ...

Sun Bowl

Theme Williamsburg ; year 1961-62 Queen Edith White ; theme and ...

Sun Queen Coronation

The Sun Queen Coronation has been part of the Sun Bowl since the ...

El Paso Sunbowl Parade

Parade Floats for Sun Bowl Queen.

Ceremony

Ceremony of ladies performing on stage.

Ceremony

Bride and Bridesmaids at ceremony photo from sometime in early ...

County Courthouse

Photo: El Paso County Courthouse 1886-1917 On January 20, ...

El Paso County Courthouse

This El Paso County Courthouse was in existence from 1917-1990, ...

El Paso County Courthouse, 1886-1917

El Paso County Courthouse, first of three at current location.

home.search_collection