Ka cika wannan magana: An haifi Hughes a ranar 8 ga Janairu, 1853, a Solina kusa da Bowmanville a yankin da ake kira Canada West a lokacin. Shi ɗan John Hughes ne daga Tyrone, Ireland, da Caroline (Laughlin) Hughes, ɗan Kanada wanda ya fito daga Huguenots da Ulster Scots. Ya yi karatu a Durham County, Ontario kuma daga baya ya halarci Makarantar Toronto da Jami'ar Toronto. A 1866 ya shiga 45th West Durham Battalion of Infantry kuma ya yi aiki a lokacin
Hare-haren Fenian a cikin shekarun 1860 da 1870. A tsawon rayuwarsa, Hughes ya kasance mai shiga tsakani a cikin 'yan bindiga, yana halartar duk zaman atisaye, kuma yana harbi da bindiga a lokacin hutu don inganta burinsa. Babban harbi tare da bindiga, Hughes ya kasance mai aiki a cikin kungiyoyin bindiga kuma a ƙarshe ya zama shugaban kungiyar Dominion Rifle Association. Hughes yana son ganin kansa a matsayin wanda ke nuna dabi'un Victoria na aiki tuƙuru, horo na kai, ƙarfi da namiji. Dogon tsayi, tsoka, da kuma kafadu masu fadi, Hughes ya yi fice a wasanni, yana da ƙwarewa musamman a lacrosse. Daga baya ya yi iƙirarin, a cikin "Wanene Wanene" na Burtaniya, cewa "da kaina ya ba da damar tara" sojojin Kanada don yin aiki a cikin "kamfen din Masar da Sudan, Yakin Afghanistan na Afghanistan, da Yakin Transvaal".