Jasper Hughett
Jasper Hughett (1855-1937) was a Robbins businessman and a Scott County superintendent of schools from 1879 to 1883. He was also the first postmaster at the Hughett Post Office, located on Brimstone and named in his honor.
See Also: Scott County School Superintendents
Preceded By: J.Q. Cross • Succeeded By: James H. Jeffers
Early Life
Born Oct. 4, 1855, Jasper Hughett was the son of John “Squire” Hughett and Christena Lewallen. His father was a long-time justice of the peace in Scott County, serving 44 years in that capacity. Justice of the peace was a forerunner to county commissioner, and was also known as a “squire,” hence his father’s nickname.
Jasper Hughett was one of seven children, including two boys and five girls. He grew up and spent his early adulthood at Brimstone before moving to Robbins. His siblings were John Frank Hughett, Lucinda Hughett, Rachel Hughett, Amanda Hughett, Mary Hughett and Elizabeth Hughett.
Family
Hughett married Vicie Robbins on Jan. 18, 1877. They had three children together: William Freeman (1878-1960), John Sherman (1880-1890) and Ella (1884-1890).
Vicie Robbins was the daughter of William Robbins, who was a captain in the Union army during the Civil War, and Lucinda Lewallen. William Robbins was one of 71 men present at the Scott County Courthouse in Huntsville when the Scott County Home Guard was formed on Dec. 26, 1861. The Robbins’ home on Brimstone Creek was attacked by Rebel soldiers on April 1, 1862. William Robbins died of illness in Lexington, Ky. in 1863 while serving in the war. Vicie’s brother, born in 1862, was named Andrew Johnson Robbins. He was named for the U.S. Senator and future President who campaigned against secession in Scott County in 1861 and left an indelible impact on the people here.
Lucinda Lewallen, Vicie’s mother, was a sister to Jasper Hughett’s mother, Christena. Following the death of Christena Hughett in 1875, Jasper’s father, John “Squire” Hughett, and Lucinda Lewallen Robbins became lifelong companions.
The early years of the Hughett family were mired by tragedy. Ella Hughett, the youngest daughter of Jasper and Vicie, died on Jan. 15, 1890. She was just five years old. Five months later, on June 12, 1890, their son John Sherman died at the age of 10. And on Feb. 8, 1894, Vicie Hughett died at the age of 33. All three are buried at the Hughett Cemetery at Brimstone.
(Interestingly, the wives of two school superintendents are buried in the tiny, long-forgotten Hughett Cemetery. In 1890, Etta Tennessee Goad Lee died at the age of 23 and was buried at the cemetery. She was the wife of W.F. Lee, who served as school superintendent from 1887 to 1889.)
Freeman Hughett, the only surviving child of Jasper and Vicie Hughett, later moved to Oneida and bought the Marcum Brothers Store on Depot Street.
Following Vicie Hughett’s death, Jasper Hughett remarried to Mary Etta Pemberton (1866-1932) on Nov. 14, 1884. They had five more children: George W. (1895-1926), Ethel Justice (1897-1980), Horace Maynard (1899-1971) and Ernest Jones (1906-1973).
Superintendent of Schools
Jasper Hughett was appointed superintendent of the Scott County School System by the County Court in 1879. He served a two-year term, then was reappointed in 1881 for a second two-year term. He replaced J.Q. Cross in 1879. After leaving his post, he was replaced in 1883 by James H. Jeffers.
Hughett was one of several early Scott County school superintendents from the Robbins area.
Professional Life
Jasper Hughett was the first postmaster at the Hughett Post Office, which served the Brimstone community in the area of what is today known as Slick Rock and the Walker farm near Huntsville Branch. The post office opened in January 1887. It closed in September 1935 and operations moved to Cortland, which was located at Lone Mountain near the head of Brimstone Creek. One year later, in 1936, the Cortland Post Office closed and operations moved to Robbins.
Hughett also owned a mill on Brimstone Creek.
Hughett later moved to Robbins and opened the Jasper Hughett General Store, which was located next-door to the Robbins Bank & Trust Company. Hughett was a founding member of the bank, along with Mitt J. Robbins, Cal Newport, Joe Robbins, and others. His store grew to become the largest in Robbins and he was a noted creditor. The store was eventually destroyed by fire, along with the bank and the store of Lawrence Kline that was located nearby.
In 1905, Hughett signed a petition, along with Mitt J. Robbins and Rev. Earnest Jones, asking Scott County Court to build a high school at Robbins. The court built a three-room wood-frame building the following year, in 1906. It was built on land donated by Hughett. Interestingly, while the school was built as a high school, it did not have any students enrolled older than fifth grade when it opened in 1906. It continued to serve as a high school until Scott High School opened in 1971. Robbins School continues to operate at the same location today as a K-8 school.
Robbins, who joined Hughett to help bring a public school to Robbins, was a first cousin to Hughett’s first wife, Vicie Robbins. Their fathers were brothers. Robbins would later be elected Scott County Judge.
Hughett was a prosperous land owner in the early town of Robbins. He donated the land on which Robbins First Baptist Church was built in 1913. He also donated the land on which Barton Chapel was built in 1926.
Death
Hughett died of prostate cancer on May 8, 1937, at the age of 81. He is buried at Robbins Cemetery, behind where his store was once located. His second wife, Mary Etta, was buried at the cemetery in 1932.
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