Background
Elizabeth Josephine Brawley (she dropped her first name later in life) was born on a farm near Meadville, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1839, to John R. Brawley and Sarah Haskins.
Elizabeth Josephine Brawley (she dropped her first name later in life) was born on a farm near Meadville, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1839, to John R. Brawley and Sarah Haskins.
After graduating from Edinboro State Normal School, she was a teacher for two years in Pennsylvania public schools. While a student at Edinboro, she met Louis C. Hughes, whom she married in 1868. Josephine and the baby traveled first by rail to San Francisco, then by boat to San Diego, and finally by stagecoach to Tucson.
The family lived in an adobe home like the rest of "The Old Pueblo" (a nickname for Tucson), but it did contain the town"s first cistern.
In 1893, Louis was appointed territorial governor by President Grover Cleveland. Their son, John T., later served in the first state Senate.
The Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix has a bronze plaque in its rotunda in Josephine"s honor, placed December 16, 1926. Helped establish the first public girls" school in the Southwest.
Was the first woman public school teacher in Arizona.
Helped found the Woman"s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in Arizona. Helped found the women"s suffrage movement in Arizona. Helped to manage and operate the Arizona Daily Star newspaper.