HUGHES, John, American Roman Catholic prelate: b. Annaloghan, County Tyrone, Ire land, 24 June 1797; d. New York, 3 Jan. 1864. His parents were poor but made sacrifices to give him the opportunity of acquiring an ele mentary education; and by his own efforts he continued his studies so that when he came with his parents to America in 1817 he was prepared for college. However, for lack of means he had to defer entering any school, and instead began work as a day laborer, in which occupa tion he continued for three years, but at 23 entered the Roman Catholic Theological Sem inary, Mount Saint Mary's, Enunitsburg, Md. As a student, his remarkable power of reason ing and his ability in argument attracted atten tion. He was ordained priest in 1826, and for a time was stationed at Bedford, Pa., from which he was transferred to Philadelphia. Here he had charge of Saint Joseph's parish and later Saint Mary's parish. In 1838 he was conse crated titular bishop of Basileopolis and ap pointed coadjutor to the bishop of New York. In 1842, after the death of Bishop Du Bois, he was made bishop of New York. In 1850 the diocese of New York became an archdiocese and on 19 July 1850 he was raised to the dignity of first archbishop of New York, which office he held until his death: He was an active and effective worker. As a speaker or writer he was ever ready to defend the Church which he represented. He was a resourceful controver sialist, a powerful preacher, and, even though he was one of the most ardent supporters of the Pope and a faithful son of Ireland, he became a strong and sincere believer in the truth and desirability of American freedom and of American institutions. He established Saint John's Orphan Asylum in Philadelphia and a number of charitable and educational in stitutions in New York. The "school question' was to him all important. One of his first undertakings was to establish a theological seminary at La Fargeville in Jefferson County, N. Y.; the distance from New York caused the abandonment of this plan, and Saint John"s College (q.v.) was founded at Fordham in
stead. In 1858 he laid the corner stone of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. In 1861, being a bold and strong supporter of the Union cause during the Civil War, he was sent by the United States government to Europe, to present the cause of the Union and counteract any adverse sentiment which might exist against the attitude of the North. His diplomatic mis sion was most successful in France, Italy and Ireland. After his return, though in feeble health, he promptly responded to official appeals to use his influence toward the breaking up of the Draft Riots (q.v.) in New York city. His remains were at first buried in Old Saint Pat rick's, Mott street, but in 1883 were transferred to the new cathedral, whose founder he was, where they were laid to rest under the sanc tuary. Of his controversial speeches the fol lowing were published: 'A Discussion of the Question, "Is the Roman Religion ... Inimical to Civil or Religious Liberty?" (Philadelphia 1836) ; 'Controversy between Rev. Messrs. Hughes and Breckenridge' (Philadelphia n.d.) ; 'The Controversy between Senator Brooks and John, Archbishop of New York, etc.' (New York 1855) ; his sermons, speeches, etc. were collected by L. Kehoe, (Complete, Works of John Hughes, Archbishop' (2 vols., New York 1866). Consult Brann, H. A., 'The Most Rev. John Hughes, First Archbishop of New York' (New York 1892) ; Farley, J. M., 'History of Saint Patrick's Cathedral' (New York 1908) • Hassard, J. R. G., 'Life of the Most Rev. John Hughes' (New York 1866) ; Meehan, T. F., 'Archbishop Hughes and the Draft Riots' (in United States Catholic Historical Society, His torical Records and Studies, Vol. I, part 2, p. 171, New York 1900) ; Shea, J. G., 'History of the Catholic Church in the United. States' (4 vols., Akron 1886-92) ; Smith, J. T., 'The Catholic Church in New York' (2 vols., New York 1905).