Dr. James Laughlin Hughes (1846-1935)

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The Sash Our Forefathers Wore

​James Hughes was born February 20th, 1846 near Bowmanville, Ontario to parents John Hughes and Caroline Laughlin.  The Hughes family were originally of Welsh origin however they had emigrated from Ireland in 1845.

James was the older brother of Sir Sam Hughes.

James attended the Normal School of Toronto and graduated in 1866.  When he was twenty years old he became the head master of the Frankford school where he remained for eight months.  On his twenty-first birthday he became a teacher in the Provincial Model School in Toronto.  He remained in the Model school for seven years, finishing as the Principal.

In 1874, James was appointed Chief Inspector of Schools for the city of Toronto, which position he held until his retirement in 1913.

James was one of the best known men in educational circles in both Canada and the United States; his writings on different lines of educational work were well known to teachers in both countries.

He was the author of several works, including "Froebel's Educational Laws," "Dickens as an Educator," "Mistakes in Teaching," and "British and Canadian Histories." In 1878 Inspector Hughes taught the first lesson in the Chautauqua course.

He married Adaline Augusta Marean, who was born in Maine, New York, in 1849, daughter of Chester and Arvilla Marean. She graduated from the Albany, New York Normal school in 1871, and from the Kraus-Boelte school, New York City, June 18, 1876.

In the 1890 provincial election, James was defeated as the Equal Rights candidate in the Peel constituency.

Mrs. Hughes also involved in education; she was president of the World's Kindergarten Congress at the World s Fair, Chicago, 1893, president of the International Kindergarten Union in 1905-6, and 1906-7, and president of the Household Economic Association of Canada. She was key in the introduction of kindergarten to Toronto.

They had four children:

• Helen M., a graduate of the Chicago Normal School, and of the University of Toronto (1900), with the degree of B.A., who became a teacher in the schools of New York City;
• Bertha, educated in the Toronto public and high schools and the School of Expression of Toronto;
• Laura Caroline was a graduate of the KrausBoelte school, New York City, class 1906 ; and
• James Chester, who studied engineering at the University of Toronto (class of 1909).

Throughout James' life he was active in the Loyal Orange Association (County Master of Toronto from 1887 to 1888), the Methodist church and Toronto athletic organizations. 

James passed away on January 3rd, 1935 in Toronto.

With information from the Canadian Encyclopedia, WikiTree​

James Laughlin Hughes

​Published in the Aylmer Express Newspaper on Jan 31, 1918.