Interested in telegraphy at a young age, Hughitt quickly mastered the trade and moved to Chicago, Illinois to work.

He also served as president of two of its subsidiary lines, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley and the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha.

Hughitt was interested in the telegraph when it was invented and moved to Auburn, New York to seek a position related to the field.

He rose through the ranks of the company and was made superintendent of the office under former Supreme Court of Illinois justice John D. Caton.

Hughitt was responsible for overseeing the massive quantities of troops and supplies from St. Louis, Missouri to Cairo, Illinois over a thirty-six-hour period.

[3] In his free time, Hughitt enjoyed billiards and had a room in his Prairie Avenue house dedicated to the game.

[1] He died at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois after a stroke on January 6, 1928, and was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.