Biographies of Alcorn County, Mississippi

PICKETT, RICHARD ORRICK, lawyer, colonel of cavalry, C. S. Army, was born August 22, 1814, in Fauquier County, Va., and died November 27, 1898, at Leighton, Va.; son of Steptoe and Sarah Orrlck (Chilton) Pickett, who moved to Alabama in 1829 and settled in Limestone County; grandson of Martin and Ann (Blackwell) Pickett, of Warrenton, Fauquier County, Va., the former who was lieutenant colonel of the Third Virginia infantry regiment, of Gen. Washington's Army, Revolutionary War, who was a delegate to the convention at Williamsburg, Va., in 1776, which declared Virginia independent of the British Empire, was a delegate from Fauquier County to the convention of 1788, which accepted the Federal constitution, and of Charles and Elizabeth (Blackwell) Orrlck; great-grandson of Joseph and Lucie (Steptoe) Black well, and of Orrick and Felicia (Corbin) Chilton; great-great-grandson of William and Sarah (Orrick) Chilton, of Currioman, Westmoreland County, Va., the former a descendant of John Chilton, who came to Virginia in 1660, bought a tract of land in Westmoreland County, and called his estate Currioman, for whom the town of Chilton, Va., was named; great-great-great-grandson of John and Susannah (Hamond) Orrick, of Anne Arundel County, Md., the former a descendant of the Orrick family of Scotland and Maryland, who signed the Regman Roll in 1296, were lairds of a barony in Scotland; great-great-great-great-grandson of Col. Thomas and Lady Rebecca (Larkln) Hamond. The Chiltons came from an old English family of French origin, tracing their lineage to the time of the Crusades. The name was written de Chilton. Col. Pickett was educated in the common schools; studied law in the office of James Irvine at Florence; was admitted to the bar in 1845; and began the practice of law at Moulton, where he remained until the outbreak of the War of Secession. He was elected judge of Lawrence County in 1846; was a representative in the legislature in 1849, 1853, 1855, 1857, and 1861, and during the latter session was elected adjutant and inspector general of the state. He resigned that position soon after, and raised a company of infantry for the C. S. Army, which became Co. H, Thirty-fifth Alabama infantry, and of which he was elected captain. He led his company at Baton Rouge, Champion Hill and Bakers Creek; was captured at Corinth, Miss.; exchanged at Vicksburg; entered the cavalry and became colonel of the Tenth Alabama cavalry, Roddy's command, with which he served until the end of the war. He resumed the practice of law at Florence; was a member of the constitutional convention of 1875; and was elected to the legislature, 1884-1885, and 1886-1887. He was a delegate to the Democratic national conventions which nominated Seymour, Buchanan and Cleveland for president; and was a Royal Arch Mason. Married: January 8, 1837, in Florence, to Fannie Louisa, daughter of William and Margaret Sarah (Wrenshall) Boggs, of Pittsburgh, Pa., the former a native of Ireland, the latter born in England, a daughter of Lady Spencer who married Frank Wrenshall of Ireland, and a descendant of the Duke of Argyle. Children: 1. Sarah Benington, deceased, m. Samuel Darwin; 2. Richard Orrick, d. in infancy; 3. Julia Plummer, deceased; 4. Fannie Corbin, deceased; 5. Emily Irvin, m. Stephen Ewing Rice, Apalachicola, Fla.; 6. Lucy Blackwell, deceased, m. Charles H. Patton; 7. Steptoe, m. Paul S. King, Leighton; 8. Richard Orrick, d. in infancy; 9. Katie Canton, deceased. Last residence: Leighton.
[History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 4 By Thomas McAdory Owen, Marie Bankhead Owen, 1921 - Transcribed by AFOFG]

WILLIAMS, BOONE , son of Benjamin Franklin Williams and Mollie Boone Williams, born at Rienzi, Mississippi, October 9, 1872. A page in the Mississippi Legislature at the age of ten years, former United States Senator Thomas P. Gore, who had not then entirely lost his eyesight, being also a page at the same time. His father was elected sheriff of Alcorn County, Mississippi, in 1878, being reelected and holding said office until his death in 1887, at which time his son Boone was between fifteen and sixteen years of age. His disabilities being removed by the court he was appointed sheriff to fill the unexpired term of his father. In 1888 he removed to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was employed in an abstract office for about two years, and two years later he removed to a point near Sisterville, West Virginia, where he took charge of a coal mining company, remaining there until 1893, when he removed to Lehigh, Indian Territory, becoming bookkeeper for the J. J. Phillips, Mercantile Company, which afterwards was succeeded by the Felix Phillips Mercantile Company. Later with Felix Phillips, V. S. Cook and Dr. L. A. Conners, all now deceased, he and some others organized the first bank in that part of the Choctaw Nation, it being the Bank of Lehigh, later succeeded by the First National Bank of Lehigh. Boone Williams and others before the leasing act of 1904 was passed, secured leases from the Creek Nation on the famous Glenn Pool land, but same were not recognized by the Federal authorities. This oil company was known as the Indian Territory Oil Company. At another period, Boone Williams with Ex-Governor Humphrey of Kansas and others secured leases on zinc and lead territory in what is now Ottawa County, Oklahoma, and started operations but were forced to abandon the project for the reason at that time the machinery which is used today was not known and operation under the old system was too expensive.
He was an outstanding citizen in the territory now embraced by Coal County during his residence there, progressive and patriotic in every public endeavor such as building of school houses and commercial organizations and development of coal fields. At one time he was president of the Cattlemen's Association in the Choctaw Nation. He promoted the organization of an ice plant which was located at Phillips half way between Coalgate and Lehigh. He was a member of the executive committee of the single statehood association which fostered the movement for the admission of Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory as one state. Being nominated as the Democratic candidate for delegate to the constitutional convention from the Lehigh and Coalgate District, he was elected. In 1910 he was appointed by Governor Haskell as a member of the Capitol Commission. Afterwards he engaged in the insurance and real estate business until 1915, when he was appointed under the administration of Governor Williams as Warden of the penitentiary at Granite, Oklahoma. Holding this position for four years, he then resumed his insurance and real estate connections at Coalgate. In 1924 he removed to McAlester, Oklahoma, becoming secretary of the McAlester Chamber of Commerce. In 1926 he removed to Tulsa, Oklahoma, engaging in the brokerage business dealing in oil leases and oil royalties.
In 1927, his health failing, he retired from business and died on January 12, 1930.
He belonged to the Masons, Elks and Knights of Pythias, being a member of the Alpha Class of the Masonic Lodge at McAlester, Knight Templar, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was buried at Lehigh on January 14th, 1930, burial services being conducted from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Farmer and laid to rest in the Lehigh cemetery under the auspices of the Masonic Lodge.
In 1900 he was married to Miss Agnes Larmour of Lehigh, Oklahoma, who survives him.
[Source: "Chronicles of Oklahoma", Volume 8, No. 3, September, 1930 - Submitted by Linda Craig]

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