Francis Hugo

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Francis John Bennett Marks Hugo (March 5, 1870 – December 30, 1930) was a Canadian-American politician. He was born in Kingston, Ontario, to Nicholas Trevanion Hugo and Mary Rendle Marks. He studied at Queen's College in Kingston, earning a BA and an LLB, and also earned a law degree from Cornell University. He married Florence Goodale on June 8, 1899, in Watertown, New York; they had a son, Francis Goodale Hugo. Hugo served as the Mayor of Watertown, New York, and was a delegate to the 1912 Republican National Convention. He ran for Secretary of State of New York in 1912 but lost to Democrat Mitchell May. He later served as Secretary of State of New York from 1915 to 1920, after being elected in 1914, 1916, and 1918. While Secretary, he signed the joint resolution to submit a women’s suffrage ballot question. In Watertown he practiced law with Nicholas Doxtater Yost, the father of Charles Woodruff Yost. In 1923 he was appointed by National Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures, Inc. to screen non-commercial films, a role similar to Will Hays for commercial films. He died on December 30, 1930, at his home at 789 West End Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.