Thomas Hughes (priest)

Thomas Patrick Hughes, (26 March 1838 - 8 August 1911) was a British Anglican missionary who served under the auspices of the Church Mission Society (CMS) in Peshawar in British India (now Pakistan) for 20 years. Noted for his facility with languages, Islamic scholarship and contributions to the completion All Saints Memorial Church in Peshawar.

Born in the hamlet of Henley, near Ludlow, Shropshire, England, son of miller, Thomas Hughes. The Hughes family consisting of two children and their parents lived with Thomas Hughes Sr.'s mother in a house in Ludlow. Thomas Hughes Sr. died when Thomas Patrick Hughes was ten years old.

Hughes' family was not wealthy, yet his godfather, Thomas Massey, was willing and able to pay for his way through grammar school in Ludlow. In subsequent years Hughes went to work at Messrs S. and J. Watts Co. in Manchester as a salesperson. While in Manchester he was involved with the Sunday School as a teacher and Superintendent at St. Ann's Church. During this time he applied to the CMS for the position of deacon and missionary. He was accepted into the Church Missionary Society College,Islington and in 1862 commenced his studies there. In 1864 his studies at Islington were complete and he was ordained deacon on 24 July in the Islington College Chapel.

Although this was the extent of his formal education he was awarded a number of honorary titles later in his career on the merit of his astounding literary accomplishments. Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity were bestowed upon him by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1876 and 1886, respectively. He also received from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland the LLD in 1897.

At the age of 26, Hughes married Eliza Lloyd on 17 August 1864 at Manchester Cathedral; Canon Bardsley of St. Ann's Church officiated. Their marriage was held shortly (less than a month) after his ordination as a deacon with the CMS. Together the couple left for the mission field 12 September 1864. While on the mission field, they had eight children, six of whom survived infancy. The two that died early on, Minnie and Alice, were first born of the eight and did not make it past the age of three. Infant mortality was not uncommon in Peshawar for there were consistently recurring bouts of cholera and other illnesses. The surviving children lived for a few years with their parents at Peshawar before being sent to England at age three, in part to avoid losing them also to illness. Hughes was often separated from his family, as they were in England for a good part of their lives, but also because of the nature of his work – since he frequently was in his office, visiting in the Hujra, or on preaching journeys throughout the countryside surrounding Peshawar.

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