Joseph Barcalow Hughes
Joseph Barcalow Hughes, auditor of Butler County, was born November 12, 1848, on his father's farm in Liberty Township, in this county. He is the son of Micajah Hughes, president of the First National Bank, and grandson of Elijah Hughes, a native of Baltimore County, Maryland. The family emigrated to this county from Maryland about the close of the War of 1812, and settled in their present neighborhood, in which they have ever since resided. They are noted for their good, practical common sense, industry, sobriety and sterling honesty, and, as a consequence, have accumulated large estates, and are considered among the first families of Butler County.
Micajah Hughes was married more than fifty years ago to Phebe Freeman Cassidy, a native of the county, a lady whose good sense and good judgment have contributed in no small degree to her hasband's prosperity. This long and happy union has been blessed by ten children, of whom Joseph is the sixth.
Reared upon a farm, he grew up with all the advantages of out-door life and physical exercise; attending district school until he had attained such proficiency that an advanced school became necessary to develop the intellect which nature bestowed so profusely upon him. For this purpose he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and afterwards, to acquire a business education, he went to a commercial college at Dayton, Ohio, at both which seats of learning he showed himself a young man of excellent memory, quick perception, good judgment, and sound understanding.
He was married November 12, 1868, to Miss Mary Davis, daughter of Almon Davis, a wealthy farmer of Liberty Township. Mrs. Hughes was born in April, 1848. She is a lady of culture and refinement, and is one in every way fitted to make home attractive and happy. One child, Gordon Taylor, a bright, intelligent boy now twelve years old, has been given them to bless their union. Mr. Hughes engaged in farming with fair success until 1875, when desiring to furnish his boy with better facilities for education, and being himself of an enterprising commercial and manufacturing disposition which farming did not gratify, he moved to Hamilton and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1881, when he sold out to his brothers. While engaged in business his attention was directed to the subject of manufacturing the beautiful ware known as Wedgewood, large quantities of which are imported from England and sold in this country, and he became impressed with the belief, after investigation, that it could successfully be manufactured in America.
Acting upon this belief, he with others organized the Royal Pottery Company, of which he was elected president, about three years ago, for the manufacture of this ware. The necessary buildings and machinery were constructed, skilled workmen were brought direct from England to start the enterprise, and the problem was successfully solved by turning out goods equal to the best imported from Europe, thus demonstrating what American enterprise and skill can accomplish when led by intelligence and good judgment. Since Mr. Hughes's election to his present position, he has disposed of all his interest in the company, as well as other outside business, that he may devote his whole time and attention to the duties of the office to which the people have elected him; but as a manufacturer and a merchant, his good judgment, thorough methods, and fair dealings procured him a fair share of success, and the respect of all with whom he dealt.
From his earliest youth he has taken an earnest interest in politics, allying himself with the Democratic party, being a true disciple of the teachings of Jefferson, Jackson, Madison, and the other great founders of that party. He is thoroughly democratic in his principles, is opposed to all monopolies and to all legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, or to any thing tending towards monarchy, absolutism, or aristocracy.
For years he has been a hard worker in the ranks of his party, acting as committeeman in his township, attending conventions, and helping worthy friends to public positions, but not until the Hancock campaign in 1880 was he put forward as a leader by his admirers, who began about that time to estimate the man at his true value.
At the Morrow convention in 1880, which nominated General Ward for Congress, he was selected by the delegation from his county to second the nomination, which he did in a neat and appropriate speech, being the first time he had attempted the difficult task of speaking in public. During the political campaign of that year he spoke at various points in the county, discussing the political questions of the day in a manner that showed a thorough knowledge of the subject, to the gratification and, we may add, surprise of his friends, and with credit to himself.
In the campaign of 1881 he contributed greatly to the success of his party by his writings to the Daily Democrat, in a manner that shows him to be a good writer as well as a good speaker, and his abilities as a political strategist are recognized by his being made chairman of the county executive committee of this county. As a speaker he is thoroughly honest and sincere in his utterances, and therefore impresses himself upon his hearers; his sentences go direct to the point, and convince by their directness rather than by their eloquence. As a writer he is forcible, fair, and direct; but if occasion require, he can be pungent and sarcastic, covering the object of his attack with ridicule, in which respect he is much more effective as a writer than speaker.
It is reasonable to suppose that the public would look to such a man as one well calculated to fill a public office with credit to himself and with honor to them, and therefore when he was nominated by his party by an overwhelming majority, and triumphantly elected to the office of auditor of this county, in the Fall of 1881, it was no more than was to be expected in recognition of his abilities and reward for political services.
He entered upon the discharge of the duties of his responsible position in November, 1881, to serve for three years. In the discharge of those duties it is safe to predict, from the integrity displayed by him in the past, that the interests of the public will be properly guarded, and that the laws governing his official acts will be honestly and faithfully executed. He is a man of incorruptible honesty and unflinching honor, possessing that conscientious regard for the sanctity of an oath that insures its faithful observance. He is a Knight Templar, is a past Chancellor Commander in the Knights of Pythias, and a valued member of other orders with which he is associated. With his natural shrewdness, industry, and ambition, we predict for him a future that will place him in the front ranks as a citizen, a politician, an officer, and a thoroughly cultured, upright gentleman.
From A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County Ohio, With Illustrations and Sketches of its Representative Men and Pioneers, Western Biographical Publishing Company, Cincinnati Ohio, 1882.