Capt. John Hughes-Texas Ranger - El Paso, Texas
Capitan John Hughes - Guardabosques de Texas - El Paso, Texas

Capt. John Hughes-Texas Ranger - El Paso, Texas

In 1886 several horses were stolen from his and neighboring ranches. Hughes trailed the men for several months, killing some of them and capturing the rest. He returned the stolen horses to their owners. His feat gained the attention of not only the outlaws but also the Texas Rangers. In July 1887, Hughes helped Texas Ranger Ira Aten track down and kill escaped murderer Judd Roberts. In August 1887, Hughes was persuaded to join the Texas Rangers. He had risen to the rank of sergeant in Company D Frontier Battalion by 1893. When their Captain, Frank Jones, was killed in June 1893, Hughes was promoted to captain of Company D. For most of his career, Hughes served along the border of southwest Texas. In 1901, when the Frontier Battalion was abolished and the State Rangers created, John Hughes was selected as one of the four Captains of the new companies. He served until his retirement in 1915. During the 28 years he was a Ranger, Hughes dealt with a wide variety of cases including thefts at the Shafter silver mines, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, murders and even the Maher-Fitzsimmons prize fight. He was known as "the border boss." John Hughes never married. He spent his retirement years prospecting and traveling by automobile. He was also involved in the banking industry, becoming chairman of the board and largest stockholder of the Citizens Industrial Bank of Austin, but he continued to live in El Paso. In 1940 John R. Hughes received the Certificate of Valor, an award commemorating the the bravery of peace officers. He moved to Austin to live with a niece, and on 3 June 1947, after living through the end of the frontier and two world wars he committed suicide at the age of 92. He was buried in the State Cemetery in Austin, Texas.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Reference ID: 013-1983-148

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

Mayor Dee Margo & Adair Margo - 2017 - El Paso, Texas

Photograph of Dee Margo & Adair Margo - El Paso, Texas El ...

Cathedral High School, Mr. G

Cathedral High School, Mr. G"s Memorial Celebration: Mr. G’s ...

Blanche Ethel Henderson - 1906

Mother of Frances Marie Grundy who attended Douglass High School ...

El Paso & Juarez tourist map

A vintage map of two great city's El Paso and Juarez. This map ...

Bird Dogs - El Paso, Texas - 2017

Bird Dogs - El Paso, Texas - 2017 Oh how special, Gino Forti, ...

Cotton Belt - 75th Anniversary - 1952

Southern Pacific Building - El Paso, Texas -1952 Left to ...

G.M. Locomotive: St. Louis & Southwestern R.R. - 1944

G.M. Locomotive: St. Louis & Southwestern R.R. - 1944 On ...

Company E - Lecture Series - 2017

David Grabitske to the left of the image, Director of the El ...

Company E - Lecture - El Paso, Texas - 2017

Dave Gutierrez gives lecture on Company E - downtown El Paso, ...

Alex Rivas - With Dave Gutierrez - Company E - 2017

Alex Rivas from El Paso, Texas was an original member of Company ...

Alex Rivas - With Dave Gutierrez - Company E

Alex Rivas from El Paso Texas was an original member of Company ...

Mexican Border Service - 1916

ON THE BORDER For better or for worse, the National Guard was ...

Judge R.E. Thomason - 1960

Robert Ewing Thomason (May 30, 1879 – November 8, 1973) was a ...

First Steps Exhibit Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - 2017

First Steps Exhibit Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - 2017 Left to ...

Luz Ulrickson and Brother Nick Gonzalez

Luz Ulrickson and Brother Nick Gonzalez at the opening for the ...

First Steps Grand Opening - 2017

First Steps Grand Opening - 2017 Photograph of audience of ...

Raymond L. Telles, Jr. and Rene Mascarenas Miranda, 2017

Raymond L.Telles, Jr .mayor of El Paso, Texas and Rene ...

Janice Woods Windle, El Paso, TX circa 1989

Janice Woods Windle built the El Paso Community Foundation into ...

Zacchia Jabalie Ayoub, Border Tobacco

Zacchia Jabalie Ayoub came to El Paso, Texas as a 13 year old ...

Cathedral Exhibit In El Paso, Texas - 2017

Pedro Zaragoza, Giuliana Leal and Jorge I. Angulo at the grand ...

Cathedral High School and Saint Patrick's Cathedral Exhibit

Cathedral High School and Saint Patrick's Cathedral honored on ...

Cathedral High School & Saint Patrick's Cathedral - 2017

Photograph taken at the opening for First Steps - exhibit ...

Ruth Cleveland Hellums and Homer Dyche - El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas - Photograph taken at 108 Texas Street - Virden ...

home.search_collection