Hughes, Herbert

Herbert Hughes

Early Life

Herbert Arthur Hughes was born on April 19, 1900, in New York City, the son of Walter Charles Hughes and Mary M. McNeil. By 1910, he was living in Rye, New York, where he was raised in a large family that became well established in the community, residing on Redfield Street and participating in the town’s growing suburban life.

He was educated in the Rye public school system and later attended New York University. As a young man, he entered the workforce as a clerk in New York City, including employment with Pease & Ellerman at 340 Madison Avenue, placing him within the commercial and financial environment that drew many Rye residents into the city.

World War I Service

Hughes registered for military service on September 12, 1918, in Westchester County, New York, and entered the United States Army on October 1, 1918, during the final weeks of the war. He was assigned to the Student Army Training Corps at University Heights in New York City, a program designed to combine academic instruction with military training in preparation for potential officer or technical service.

He later attended officer training at Camp Lee in Virginia. His service occurred during the closing phase of the conflict, and following the Armistice of November 11, 1918, which ended active fighting on the Western Front, the program was rapidly discontinued as the Army demobilized.

Hughes did not serve overseas and was not engaged in combat. He was honorably discharged on November 23, 1918.

Life After Service

Following his military service, Hughes returned to civilian life and built a successful career in real estate and finance. He became chief appraiser for the Union Dime Savings Bank in New York City, a position he held for many years before retiring in 1965. His work placed him within the professional sphere of property valuation and banking during a period of sustained regional development.

He later resided in Hartsdale, New York, where he lived for twenty-eight years, having previously maintained ties to Rye. He was a member of the Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale and belonged to the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, reflecting both his professional standing and civic involvement.

Herbert Arthur Hughes died on October 23, 1968, at White Plains Hospital at the age of sixty-eight.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Wray Hughes; his daughters, Miss Pamela Hughes of Hartsdale and Mrs. Joseph Huth of Voorheesville, New York; his sisters, Miss Marion Hughes of Rye and Mrs. William Darraugh of Port Chester; his brothers, Walter E. Hughes of East Farmingdale, Long Island, and Charles E. Hughes of Lancaster, South Carolina; and three grandchildren.