Hughson Family History
Since 1970 I have been interested in learning more about our family history. My late grandparents,Reta and Dayton Hughson, and I sat at their kitchen table and talked about the oral history of our family. Basically our Kingston Ontario grandfather (George Hughson) moved his family from their 80 acre dairy farm to a farm in the Catawba community(see census records)near Braymer Missouri in 1872. They took a train to Breckenridge and enroute a pickpocket stole some of their money. From these discussions I began my research. I learned that we are a member of the McDonald Clan. Most people say we are Scotch. Since people moved around the name is claimed by people also of Welsh backgrounds. Thomas Hughson believes it is Irish and has some good research done.Another person claims it is from the Shetlands. In 1998 I received a phone call from Cecil and Sheila Hughson who own the Camera Centre in Lerwick Shetland Islands and we had dinner a couple of times.I had the opportunity to listen to his band Da Fustra and the blazing bass you hear iwhen this page starts is his. They told me there are 70 families on the Shetlands so in July 2000 my Uncle Robert Hughson and my daughter Elizabeth Hughson and I went to Lerwick and it was fantastic to meet alot of Hughsons. Elizabeth wrote a nice story about our trip,including pictures. Since researching the name Hughson I learned that we have lots of family around. There is a great resource for checking family in the Shetlands.My young cousin Shawn Hughson has been working on this project also. Here is what we know about our family so far:
3 children,Rachel,Joshua,Elizabeth
father: Berlyn Dean Hughson, died 1992,Independence Missouri,buried Phares Cemetary
4 children,Bonnie,Dean,James,Janice
grandfather,Dayton Hughson,died Braymer Missouri,buried Phares Cemetery,Braymer
4 children, Robert,Dean,Gerald,Carolyn Sue
great-grandfather, Alfred Wesley Hughson,died Braymer Missouri
birthdate May 10,1860, death 1942
birthdate October 3,1810,died 1878
Great-great-great Grandfather David Hughson
Birth 13 NOV 1789 -- , Vermont?, New York?, United States
Death 13 NOV 1833 -- , Storrington Tshp, Ontario, Canada
Great-great-great-great Grandfather
Caleb Hughson Birth 21 MAY 1766 , Dutchess Co, New York, United States
Great-great-great-great-great Grandfather
Thomas Lieutenant b.1740 - Fredericksburg, Dutchess Co, New York
Great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather
George Thomas Hughson c.1717 - Philipsburgh, , New York, United States
great-great-great-great-great-great-great-Grandfather
Thomas Jr.Hughson b.1695 - Dobbs Ferry, Westchester Co, New York, United States
great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-Grandfather
Thomas Hughson, married to Maria Dobbs b.1670 - Croton, , , England
(I believe he was The Earl Of Warwick or was acting like he was) note web page at
We would be interested in what you know.
Contact me.
Dean Hughson, cell phone 480-225-1211
FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH HUGHSON TIES (done by Debbie Hughson)
DISTINGUISHED ANCESTORS:
IDA SAXTON - wife of President William McKinley [1. Thomas Hughson/Maria Dobbs 2.
Thomas Hughson/Christina Neythaber 3. George Hughson/ Susannah 4. Nathaniel Hughson/ Rebecca Land 5. Nathaniel Hughson Jr./Hannah Ashbaugh. The Ashbaugh/Saxton line 1. Johannes Ashbaugh/Catharine Mercklin 2. Hannah Ashbaugh (a different Hannah)/James Saxton 3. John Saxton/Margaret Laird 4. James Asbury Saxton/Catherine Dewalt 5. Ida Saxton]
Ida was born 8 June 1847 in Canton, Ohio. She married William McKinley 25 June 1871. William was the 25th President of the United States. William died 14 September 1901 in Buffalo, NY, from a bullet wound. Ida died 28 May 1907.
JOSEPH SAXTON - (same above until John Saxton/Margaret Laird. Joseph was the brother of John Saxton, grandfather of Ida Saxton) Joseph was born March 22, 1799 in Huntington, PA. Accomplishments: (Claim to fame) inventor.
Joseph was born 22 March 1799 in Huntington, PA. He learned the trade of watch making (he was a silversmith and according to The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans Joseph was a very brilliant mechanical genius). He made a printing press on which he put out a small newspaper. In 1817 Joseph moved to Philadelphia where he continued with the art of watch making. He invented a machine that made the making of wheels for clocks and watches easier. Along with another man, he constructed a clock which illustrated the movement of the planets. Joseph made the town clock placed in the belfry of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He invented and made the machinery of the US Mint at Philadelphia and perfected the medal-ruling machines used at the US Mint.
Joseph lived in England for a time and was offered the directorship of the printing machinery of the Bank of England, but declined. When he returned to the United States in 1837, he became the curator of the standard weighing apparatus of the US Mint in Philadelphia. He supervised the construction of standard balances, weights and measurers for the branch mints and assay offices of the government.
Joseph invented the electric clock located in the department of weights and measures in Washington, DC. Among the many inventions attributed to Joseph was an automatic machine used for measuring the height of the tides; a machine for determining the temperature of the deep sea and an immersed hydrometer.
DR. CHARLES HENRY LAND (thru Nathaniel Hughson and Rebecca Land) he was known as the "Father of porcelain dental art". He held many patents on dental processes as well as for incandescent grates and furnaces.
His daughter Evangeline Lodge Land married Charles Augusta Lindbergh, a Congressman from Minnesota. Their son was:
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, pilot, inventor, author and environmentalist. Charles was born 4 February 1902, in Detroit, Michigan.
After he studied mechanical engineering for two years at the University of Wisconsin, he left school in 1922 and enrolled in flight school. After buying a war surplus training plane in 1923 he began working as a barnstormer (a traveling stunt flier). He completed his army flight training in 1925. He then began working as an airmail pilot and became the chief pilot for the route between St. Louis and Chicago. Charles is perhaps best known for being the first airplane pilot to make and complete a nonstop solo flight from Roosevelt Field, NY, across the Atlantic (3,600 miles in 33 ½ hours) to Le Bourget Field, near Paris, France (in the plane named Spirit of St. Louis). Charles returned to America a national hero and he received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts.
In 1927 Charles made a nonstop solo flight from Washington, DC, to Mexico City where he met and fell in love with Anne Morrow (daughter of The US Ambassador to Mexico). They married in 1929 and Anne became an accomplished copilot and navigator. She made a series of flights with her husband in the 1930s, when Charles was a technical advisor to two airlines. In one of the most publicized crimes in American history, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., (20-months of age) was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. Because of all of the publicity surrounding this tragic incident, the Lindbergh's moved to England for an extended period of time. Charles and Anne later had five more children: Jon, Land, Anne, Scott, and Reeve.
Lindbergh's stand on America remaining neutral at the beginning of W.W.II and his being impressed by German military power; earned him a good deal of criticism especially from President Franklin D. Roosevelt when Charles accepted a decoration from Germany at a state dinner in 1938. Lindbergh supported the American effort after America's entrance into the War by working as a consultant for the Ford Motor Company and the United Aircraft Company. After the War, Lindbergh continued as a consultant to Pan American and to the US Department of Defense. Because of his efforts, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him to the rank of Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserves in 1954.
Charles and Anne both won acclaim as authors. They lived a quiet life in Connecticut and Hawaii. Charles won a Pulitzer prize for his autobiography, The Spirit of St. Louis. He also published an article with Dr. Alexis Carrel about their research that led to the development of the artificial heart. Charles died from lymphatic cancer (in Hawaii) 26 August 1974. Anne returned to CT, where she spent the most of the next 25 years; she died 7 February 2001, at the age of 94.
DR. EDWIN LAND (again thru Nathaniel Hughson and Rebecca Land) was the only son of Harry and Martha Land, born 7 May 1909 in Bridgeport, CT and died 1 March 1991. He was an inventor, scientist and founder of the Polaroid Corporation. He developed many types of cameras and the highly specialized films associated with them. He developed "night-vision" techniques for the military. Edwin holds over 500 patents. One such patent is on the instant color film process. He developed polarized sunglasses. In 1934, he patented polarized light filters which help eliminate glare and reflections on glass and other surfaces (in 1937 Edwin founded the Polaroid Corporation to manufacture these filters). In wartime he developed infrared polarized and night vision goggles, camera lenses that led to the development of the specialized equipment in the Lockheed U2 planes for stereographic photographs. Edwin also helped to design the plane itself.
In 1947 Edwin developed the first instant cameras, these cameras took only black and white photos and they developed in about a minute. In 1963 he introduced a color film that developed inside the camera in under 50 seconds. By 1972, Edwin had improved on this system so that the camera took color pictures and they developed outside of the camera. This process allowed another picture immediately to be taken immediately.
Edwin was a master at giving people what they wanted at prices that they could afford. In 1957, Harvard awarded him an honorary doctorate. He also had received about 20 honorary doctorates from other universities. "Din" as he was called, left Harvard while a freshman in the class of 1926 and intensified his studies at the New York Public Library.
Edwin retired as president of Polaroid in 1975 and retired as chairman of the board in 1982.
Footnotes:
1. Robert A. Sobieszek, "Land, Edwin Herbert," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www./wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/311260, January 7, 2002.
2. F. W. Campbell, "Dr. Edwin H. Land," Rowland Institute for Science, http://www.rowland.org/land/ May 16, 2001.
DAVID BUSHNELL (Thomas Hughson, William, John, John, James, Alfred, Frederick William/ Susan Bushnell, David is from Susan's direct ancestral line) Inventor, "father of the submarine."
David Bushnell was born in 1742, in Saybrook, CT. David was a farmer and when he was 29 his father died. He then sold the family farm and went to Yale University to study science. He graduated from Yale University in 1775. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, David invented and built "the Turtle." The Turtle (named the Turtle because David had made it from two hollowed-out wooden slabs that looked like large turtle shells), the first submarine in American naval history to be used in combat was built in 1776 and tested in the Connecticut River. The Turtle was a one-man, hand propelled wooden submarine boat, (shaped like a walnut standing on end) designed to transport an underwater bomb with a time delayed, flintlock detonator to an enemy vessel and attach it to that vessel. The Turtle measured about 7.5 feet in length and was 6 feet wide. The hull contained enough air for the operator to remain submerged for 30 minutes. The sub was made of oak reinforced with iron bands and equipped with a mine that was to be attached to the hull of an enemy ship. The plan was to have the Turtle make an underwater approach to a British warship, attach a charge of gunpowder to the ship's hull by a screw device operated from inside the Turtle and then leave the area before the charge exploded. David trained his brother, Ezra, as the operator of the Turtle. Ezra and David readied the Turtle for action against the British, but Ezra became ill with fever and the night before the mission, he died. David had to train another person to accomplish the mission.
On the night of September 6/7, 1776; the Turtle was launched to place a bomb on the British flagship, HMS Eagle. The Eagle was a 64 gun frigate moored in New York harbor off of the island that now is occupied by the Statue of Liberty. The intent of Bushnell was to drive the British fleet out of New York harbor by either sinking or disabling a ship. After failing on two attempts to attach the bomb, the Turtle was propelled away, but was seen and chased. The bomb was released into the water and it caused a very large explosion. The Turtle failed to destroy its target, but it did make the British move the fleet. David spent the remainder of the War designing mines for the army. General George Washington gave David a commission in the engineers, where David rose to the rank of Captain and commanded the US Army Corps of Engineers stationed at West Point.
David went to France after the Revolution to try and sell his submarine designs, but he had no luck. By 1795 David had come back to America and settled in Warrenton, GA, going by the name Dr. Bush. He practiced medicine for the last 20 years of his life, as well as teaching religion and science at Warrenton Academy giving the rest of his life to teaching and healing.
The Connecticut River Museum in Essex, CT owns the only working, full-scale model of David Bushnell's Turtle.
Footnotes:
1. John H. Lienhard, "Bush-Bushnell" http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi638.htm, January 8, 2002.
2. World Submarine Invitational, "David Bushnell" http://intergate.hte.com/subrace/bushnell.html, January 8, 2002.
3. Connecticut River Museum, "David Bushnell's American Turtle"http://www.ctrivermusuem.org/turtle.htm, December 16, 2001.
WINFIELD SCOTT (son of William Scott, brother of Phebe Scott who married Robert Land, Rebecca Kate Land/Nathaniel Hughson)
William Scott, father of Winfield, was a successful farmer and served in the Revolutionary War. Winfield's mother came from a wealthy Virginia family. Winfield was born in 13 June 1786 in Laurel Branch near Petersburg, VA. Both of Winfield's parents died when he was young. Winfield attended William and Mary College before he began the study of law in Petersburg. He practiced law until 1808, when he gave up law to join the US Army. He was commissioned a captain of light artillery. With the start of the War of 1812, Winfield recruited a regiment of men and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served near the Canadian border and was captured at the Battle of Queenston Heights (near Niagara Falls) but freed a month later. He was promoted to General and carried out a successful attack on Fort George. Winfield took command of Fort George and in March of 1814 he was made Brigadier General. He fought at the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. The thorough training he gave his troops paid off when his brigade pursued the British at Chippewa. At Lundy's Lane his brigade bore the brunt of the fighting. He had two different horses shot out from under him and he was severely wounded. He became a national hero, Congress and the state of Virginia awarded him medals. When the War ended he was a major general.
After the War, he studied military science in Paris and in 1825 wrote the first complete manual of military tactics in the US Army. He returned to active duty in 1832 with the Black Hawk War. Cholera broke out among his troops. Winfield was involved with the Seminole and Creek conflict in 1835, where he clashed with President Andrew Jackson. He had a role in restoring tranquility on the Canadian border in the Caroline Affair in 1838, which showed his talent for peacemaking. This talent was used again 1839, when he went to Maine during the Aroostock War. Because of his prominence as a military leader, he was made general-in-chief of the army in 1841. He earned his place in history during the Mexican War. President James Polk ordered Scott to assume command of the invasion of Mexico in November of 1846. Winfield fought with poorly equipped troops, limited reinforcements and supplies, desertions by the men and disease; but he was successful in the five-month campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. He surrounded the city of Vera Cruz and stormed the city in 1847. He lost less than 20 men. Winfield then captured Mexico City. Feuds started by ambitious subordinate officers and a hostile Polk administration towards a Whig general led to his recall to Washington, DC, and his replacement. A court of inquiry was established to investigate Gen. Scott's action in disciplining disloyal officers during the campaign. The charges against Scott were dropped and Congress voted him its thanks along with a gold medal. The Congress of 1852, passed a measure that offered Scott the rank, pay and compensation of a lieutenant general. He was the first person since George Washington to hold that rank. Winfield lost the Whig nomination for President to Taylor in 1848. In 1852, Scott was the Whig's party candidate for President, but lost to Franklin Pierce, his Democratic opponent because the Whig party was split over the slavery issue. In 1859 he again took part in a boundary dispute by going to the Washington Territory to quiet the dispute with Britain over control of San Juan Island in Puget Sound.
In late 1860, Scott pleaded with President James Buchanan, to reinforce southern forts against possible seizure. He was unsuccessful with his plea. When the Civil War began, Winfield, a southerner, refused to join the Southern forces because he believed in the Union. Winfield moved his headquarters from New York City to Washington, DC, to make it possible for him to oversee the recruitment and training of the men responsible for the Capital's defense. Scott personally commanded Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard at his inauguration. In November of 1861, Scott requested to be able to retire as he was 75 years of age. Five years later, 29 May 1866, in West Point, NY, Winfield died and was buried in the national cemetery at West Point. Scott was fondly called "Fuss and Feathers" by his troops because of his love for colorful uniforms. His reputation for patriotism and generosity generally won him the trust and loyalty of his troops. Winfield Scott has been called " the greatest American General between Washington and Lee" by many people.
Fort Scott was named for Winfield Scott who was the commander in chief of the US Army during the 1840s. In 1842, the US Army built Fort Scott to help maintain the "Permanent Indian Frontier." The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a response of the US government to the pressure of white settlers moving westward and settling on Indian land
(land set aside for the Indians being moved from east of the Mississippi River to land west of the river). The Permanent Indian Frontier was an invisible boundary line around the Indian territory that was supposedly used to separate and protect the tribes from white settlements.
Footnotes:
1. Winfield R. Gaylord, "Winfield Scott," http://www.turlane.edu/ ~latner/Scott.html, Jan 11, 2002.
2. "Fort Scott National Historical Site," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/749674, January 7, 2002.
3. Michael F. Holt, "Scott, Winfield," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www./wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/496660, January 7, 2002.
