Two Significant Early Settlers

 Samuel C. Hughes (1829–1917)

• Born in Wales, Hughes immigrated to the United States as a child and arrived in Tucson in 1858 seeking relief from tuberculosis147.

• He quickly became a leading merchant, opening a butcher shop and later expanding into cattle ranching, mining, and mercantile businesses1.

• Hughes partnered with Hiram S. Stevens, and together they formed Hughes, Stevens and Company, which became a major commercial force in Tucson1.

• He married Atanacia Santa Cruz, a local woman, and they had a large family12.

• Hughes was instrumental in founding Tucson’s first bank, served on the city council, and held positions as Pima County sheriff and treasurer12.

• He was known for philanthropy, supporting churches, schools, and charitable causes, and was a founding member of the Arizona Pioneers Historical Society1.

• Hughes was also involved in the events surrounding the Camp Grant Massacre, allegedly supplying the attackers but not participating directly1.

• His legacy is commemorated in the Sam Hughes neighborhood, a historic district in Tucson234.

Phocion Way (1827–1892)

• Born in Ohio, Way arrived in Tucson in 1858 as an employee of the Santa Rita Mining Company, traveling via the San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line68.

• He was among the earliest Anglo-Americans in Tucson, arriving when the Anglo population was only about a dozen out of 200 residents6.

• Way described Tucson as a “miserable place” due to its harsh climate and primitive conditions, especially compared to Tubac, which he found more appealing68.

• He worked as an agent and supervisor for mining operations, helping to establish infrastructure for incoming mining staff8.

• Way’s detailed journals provide valuable firsthand accounts of early Anglo experiences and the challenges faced in frontier Tucson8.

• Way recorded his observations in a journal capturing the flavor of life  in early Tucson. On arriving via Isaiah Woods’s San Antonio and San Diego Mail coach, he promptly declared in his journal, with a rather Twain-like bite, “We had heard bad reports of this town all along the route, and we were fully prepared to see a miserable place — and we were not in the least disappointed.” Way found the accommodations offered by the mail line, the dirt floor in a hot adobe station house with unglazed windows, matched his general impression of the town. He considered sleeping in the street or on the plaza, as many visitors did, but thought better of it: there were some rough characters about, like Batch, who might kill you for the contents of your pockets. He felt safer in the stables, and rolled up in his blanket there, where the ground, tempered with manure, was at least soft. The next morning, at a loss for where and how he might find a meal, he accepted an offer of breakfast with the mail line crew, who spread a greasy cloth on the ground in the corral and shared their road provisions of bacon, coffee, and bread “so hard from age that you could not bite into it.” 

These individuals exemplify the early Anglo-European influence in Tucson, contributing to its economic development, civic institutions, and historical record during a period of rapid transition and growth.