congressman farmer politician statesman
Hughes was born in Jeffersonville, Georgia, on October 10, 1848. His parents were Daniel Greenwood and Mary Henrietta (Moore) Hughes, of South Carolina and Virginia ancestry. Daniel Hughes, a graduate of the University of Georgia in 1847, was a member of the planter aristocracy of the ante-bellum days, owning 3, 000 acres of land and 200 slaves; his father, Hayden Hughes, was also a native of Twiggs County and a planter of extensive properties.
Shortly after the close of the Civil War, Dudley Mays Hughes matriculated at the University of Georgia as a member of the class of 1871, but he did not finish the course.
Throughout his long life was primarily interested in agricultural operations and plans to improve agricultural conditions, though on several occasions he held political offices of one sort or another. He was a member of the state Senate in 1882-83, and had four terms in Congress, 1909-17. As a congressman, Hughes was principally interested in legislation designed to benefit farmers.
President Wilson appointed him to serve on a commission to study the problem of vocational education. As a result of this work, Hughes, who had become chairman of the House Committee on Education, joined with Senator Smith, of Georgia, in introducing and piloting through Congress the Smith-Hughes Bill (approved Feb. 23, 1917), since known as the Vocational Education Act. This measure has exerted a farreaching influence in the betterment of our rural civilization. Under the terms of the act, a Federal Board of Vocational Education was set up, to administer, in cooperation with the state governments, large sums in the preparation of teachers of agriculture, trades, industry, and home economics, and for the payment of salaries of teachers, supervisors, and directors in giving instruction in such vocational subjects in the schools.
Hughes's high standing as a leader of the agricultural interests in his state is further evidenced by his service as president of the State Agricultural Society (1904 - 06) and president of the Georgia Fruit Growers' Association. He was one of the leaders in the movement to create the State College of Agriculture and was a member of its board of trustees, and was a member of the board of trustees of the University of Georgia and of the Georgia State College for Women. One of the original projectors of the Macon, Dublin & Savannah Railroad, he served as its president during the period of construction. In 1904 he was commissioner-general from Georgia at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis.
Hughes was a lifelong member of the Baptist Church and was a deacon for forty years.
Hughes was married in 1873 to Mary Frances Dennard, daughter of a Houston County planter. Three children were born to them.
