Katherine Hughes (activist)

Katherine Angelina Hughes (November 12, 1876 – April 26, 1925) was a Canadian journalist, author, archivist, and political activist. She founded the Catholic Indian Association in 1901 and was the secretary of the Catholic Women's League of Canada. She was the first provincial archivist for Alberta.

Katherine Hughes
Born
Katherine Angelina Hughes

(1876-11-12)November 12, 1876
Emerald Junction, Prince Edward Island
DiedApril 26, 1925(1925-04-26) (aged 48)
The Bronx, New York
NationalityCanadian
Other namesCaitlín Ní Aodha[1]
Occupationjournalist, writer, political activist
Known forfirst provincial archivist of Alberta, journalism of the 1904 St. Louis World Fair, Irish activism
Notable work
Father Lacombe, the black-robe voyageur

Early life and education

Hughes was born on November 12, 1876,[1] in Emerald, Prince Edward Island,[2] [lower-alpha 1] to John Wellington Hughes, the owner of a livery yard and shop, and Annie Laurie O'Brien. Her family was Irish Catholic.[5] She had four siblings, two brothers, P. A. Hughes and Mark Hughes, and two sisters, Mrs. Robert H. Kenll and Mrs. James O'Regan.[3][6] Cornelius O'Brien, an uncle of Hughes', was the archbishop of Halifax from 1883 to 1906.[1]

She received her education in Charlottetown,[4] at the Notre Dame Convent and the Prince of Wales College, graduating in 1892 with a first-class teacher's license.[1]

Career

Teaching

Little is known about Hughes' early career, but she is believed to have been a Catholic missionary to Canadian Indians in the late 19th century.[5] She became a teacher at the Akwesasne Reserve in summer 1899,[1] and founded the Catholic Indian Association in 1901.[7] Hughes was hired for her teaching position by the Department of Indian Affairs and had an annual salary of $300.[8] She ended her position as a teacher at Akwesasne in 1902 to become a writer.[5] She taught a class of 47 students, though rates absenteeism were high. Hughes also founded the Catholic Indian Association, an organization that helped graduated students find employment outside the reserve.[9]

Writing and journalism

Hughes declared that she planned to be a professional writer in 1902, after retiring from her teaching at Akwesasne.[5] Hughes had stories published in Catholic World and the Prince Edward Island Magazine.[1] She helped establish the Canadian Women's Press Club in 1904,[1] serving as its vice-president from 1909.[3] Hughes also became the recording secretary for the Canadian Women's Press Club. According to Kit Coleman, Hughes produced the best reportage of the organization's trip to Western Canada.[9] She worked for The Montreal Daily Star from 1903 to 1906,[5] covering the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.[10] In 1906, she switched to the Edmonton Bulletin, covering the Alberta Legislature for this paper.[11]

Hughes' first published book was a biography of her uncle entitled Archbishop O'Brien: Man and Churchman. The book was translated into various languages, and was favourably reviewed by The New York Times.[9] Her biography of Albert Lacombe, entitled Father Lacombe, the black-robe voyageur, was published in 1911.[1][12]

Hughes participated in the Women's Canadian Club of Edmonton in the early 20th century.[1] She was the secretary of the Catholic Women's League of Canada.[13]

Alberta

In 1902, using stage coach, canoe, and boats, Hughes traveled alone through the Peace River and Athabasca districts of northern Alberta, acquiring artifacts for the Alberta archives.[14] She became the first provincial archivist for Alberta in 1908, while residing in Edmonton.[2] Shortly after leaving this position, she began working for Alberta Premier Alexander Rutherford, also working for his successor Arthur Sifton.[2] As a provincial archivist, she earned an annual salary of $1,000. Hughes was also chosen by Sifton to be his principal secretary, but she never formally received the title. Hughes was the first woman in Canada to hold this position.[15]

Work for Irish independence

Hughes moved to London, England, to gain employment as secretary to John Reid, who was Alberta's first Agent General. In 1913, she was working in his Charing Cross offices. It is thought that the catalyst for Hughes' beliefs was a trip she took to Ireland in 1914.[16] (At the time, the Home Rule crisis was at its zenith.)[17]:219 When Hughes had left London, she was considered a home-ruler that supported limited self-government for Ireland; on her return, she supported the goals of Sinn Féin. Ó Siadhal has theorized that Hughes views may have started to shift before her visit to Ireland, as she had met members of the Gaelic League and other Irish expatriate organizations while living in London. However, he also believes that her trip to Ireland was a definitive experience, exposing her to the harsh reality of Ireland's social and economic conditions. Hughes eventually adopted the Irish equivalent of her name: Caitlín Ní Aodha. She described her own ideological journey as being from "Canadian imperialist to Irish – a proper Irish person." Hughes believed that the British government would never be fair with Irish aspirations.[16]

Hughes principal task was recruitment of immigrants to Alberta. After losing her faith in the British empire itself, Hughes' recruitment efforts were more scarce. Hughes also opposed Canada's entry into World War I, which further impeded her recruitment efforts.[18] Hughes received a commission to write William Van Horne's biography. She returned to Canada in autumn 1915 to begin this assignment. Two events complicated her situation: Van Horne had died in September 1915 and the Easter Rising occurred in 1916. After the uprising, Hughes had a renewed zeal for Irish independence and promoted Irish self-determination while writing Van Horne's biography. By 1918, Hughes had lectured in every Canadian province and in several U.S. states. Hughes wrote about her views in Ireland, an 85-page book that was published in 1917.[19]

She resigned from her position in London in 1917; the following year, she began working for the Irish National Bureau in Washington, D.C. Éamon de Valera chose her to be the Canadian National Organizer for the Irish Self-Determination League. In this position, she worked on secret, sensitive tasks; according to Australian historian Richard Davis, semi-secrecy of such tasks "had to be preserved to avoid deportation from countries like Australia and New Zealand".[20] In 1918, Hughes was hired by the Irish Progressive League as a propagandist.[21]

Hughes likely met Pádraic Ó Conaire through the Gaelic League. Hughes and Ó Conaire collaborated on the play The Cherry Bird.[22]

Personal life

Hughes had relationships with various men, but she never married. One of her suitors was Paul von Aueberg, who was Protestant. Aueberg's letters to Hughes survived, and indicate that the couple discussed whether children should be raised in the faith of their mother or their father.[16]

Hughes emigrated to the United States in 1905.[23] In her later years, she lived in New York City, at the home of a sister. She died on April 26, 1925,[1] at her sister's house in The Bronx, New York,[2] due to cancer. Hughes was survived by her father, two brothers, and two sisters.[6] According to Fort Edmonton Park, her work was initially "forgotten, or perhaps ignored", only being acknowledged long after her death.[2] She is the only female Irish nationalist to have an entry in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.[17]:219

Selected works
  • Archbishop O'Brien, Man and Churchman, 1906[3]
  • Father Lacombe, the blackrobe voyageur ... Illustrated., 1911
  • Bush light and shade by K.H., 1895
  • A New Year's tale of the North, 1900
  • The cherry bird : a comedy-drama in three acts, 1915 (with Pádraic Ó Conaire)
  • Ireland, studies., 1917
  • The red book of Ireland : a compilation of facts from court and press records,, 1920 (with James D Phelan)
  • Ireland, 1924

Further reading
  • Katherine Hughes: A Life and a Journey by Pádraig Ó Siadhail[13]
  • Return of The Wild Goose by Jane Ledwell[24]
  • In the Promised Land of Alberta's North, The Northern Journal of Katherine Hughes (Summer 1909), edited and introduced by Ken Kaiser and Merrily Aubrey[25]
  • Vernacular Currents in Western Canadian Historiography: The Passion and Prose of Katherine Hughes by F.G. Roe, Roy Lito and Lyle Dick[26]

Notes
  1. According to her obituary in the Times Colonist (1925) and The Winnipeg Tribune (1925), Hughes was born in Melbourne, Prince Edward Island.[3][4]
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References
  1. "Hughes, Katherine (Catherine) Angelina". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. MacKenzie, Kaltie. "Edmontonians in the Spotlight: Katherine Hughes". Fort Edmonton Park. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  3. "Canadian Woman Writer has Died - Miss Katherine Hughes was Noted Journalist and Short Story Writer". Newspapers.com. Victoria, British Columbia: Times Colonist. 28 April 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  4. "Famous Writer of Canada is Dead in N.Y., Miss Katherine Hughes, Brilliant Journalist, Writer Passes Away". Newspapers.com. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Tribune. 27 April 1925. p. 15. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. Ó Siadhail, Pádraig (2004). "Katherine Angelia Hughes". Canadian Journal of Irish Studies. 30 (1): 70–73. doi:10.2307/25515507. JSTOR 25515507.
  6. "Katherine Hughes Dies in New York - Father and Brothers of Gifted Writer Live Here". Newspapers.com. Ottawa: The Ottawa Journal. 27 April 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. Swan, Michael. "History finally recognizes Katherine Hughes". Western Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  8. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 29. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  9. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 30. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. Kay, Linda (2012). The Sweet Sixteen: The Journey That Inspired The Canadian Women's Press Club. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7735-3967-9. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  11. "Katherine Hughes dead in New York - Short story writer and journalist was native of Prince Edward Island". Newspapers.com. Montreal: The Gazette. 28 April 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  12. "Father Lacombe, the black-robe voyageur". Library of Congress. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  13. Ross, Sheila. "For God and Canada: The Early Years of the Catholic Women's League in Alberta" (PDF). University of Manitoba. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  14. "Journalist and story writer is claimed by death". Newspapers.com. Greeneville, Tennessee: The Greeneville Democrat-Sun. 28 April 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  15. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 32. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  16. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 33. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  17. Wilson, David A. (2019). "The Dictionary of Canadian Biography and the Irish Diaspora" (PDF). In Fox, Karen (ed.). ‘True Biographies of Nations?’: The Cultural Journeys of Dictionaries of National Biography. Canberra: ANU Press. pp. 209–225. ISBN 978-1-76046-275-8.
  18. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 34. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  19. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 34. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  20. Mclaughlin, Robert (2013). Irish Canadian Conflict and the Struggle for Irish Independence, 1912-1915. University of Toronto Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-4426-1097-2. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  21. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 34. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  22. Posner, Michael (2015). "Katherine Hughes: A Singular Journey". Queen's Quarterly. 122 (1): 33. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  23. "Late Miss K. Hughes". Newspapers.com. Ottawa: The Ottawa Citizen. 27 April 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  24. Cole, Sally. "Jane Ledwell explores the life of Katherine Hughes in poetry". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  25. "Alberta Records Publication Board Selections". Historical Society of Alberta. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  26. "The West and Beyond". University of Washington Press. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
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