Simon P. Hughes (1830-1906) served as Governor of Arkansas from
1885-1889. Hughes was born in Smith County, Tennessee, on April 14, 1830.
Educated in Tennessee, Hughes was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1857 and
practiced law in Clarendon, Arkansas. During the Civil War, he enlisted and was
commissioned as a captain, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Hughes
first entered politics in 1853 as sheriff of Monroe County, where he served for
two years. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1866 to
1867, was a delegate to the 1874 Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and
Arkansas' attorney general from 1874 to 1877. On September 1, 1884, Hughes was
elected Governor of Arkansas. He later served on the Arkansas Supreme Court for
16 years before his death in 1906.
James
Phillip Eagle (1837-1904) served as Governor of Arkansas from 1889-1893. Eagle
was born in Maury County, Tennessee, on August 10, 1837. His family moved to
Arkansas where James was educated in the county schools. He served as sheriff
of Prairie County before the Civil War. During the Civil War, Eagle enlisted as
a private, and rose later to the rank of colonel. He served as a member of the
Arkansas Legislature, serving from 1873 to 1878, and in 1885, he served as
speaker of the house. Eagle was nominated by the Democratic State Convention
for governor in 1888, and was elected in September. He was reelected to a
second term in 1890. During his tenure, he advocated reform in the state
penitentiary system, supported a progressive policy on immigration, and
endorsed liberal support for education. In 1902, he was elected president of
the Southern Baptist Convention, and twice was reelected. Governor James P.
Eagle died of heart failure on December 19, 1904, in Little Rock and is buried
at Little Rock's Mount Holly Cemetery. Conditions Governing Access
This collection contains a letterbook of outgoing correspondence
by Simon P. Hughes and James P. Eagle between 1888 and 1889.
·
1888-1889: Letterbook, outgoing
correspondence of Simon P. Hughes and James P. Eagle (Box 1)
