William Beck Ochiltree (October 18, 1811 – December 27, 1867), was a

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

, judge, and

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In 1963,

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the sta ...

Number 967, honoring Colonel Ochiltree, was placed at the courthouse in Perryton.

Biography

He was born in Fayetteville,

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; his family lived for a time in Florida and after 1820 in

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, where Ochiltree began practicing law. In 1839 he moved to

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...

, and continued his practice. During the years of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

, he was a judge of the Fifth Judicial District, secretary of the treasury in 1844, adjutant general in 1845, and delegate to the Convention of 1845. After the

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

by the United States, he was a representative in the

Sixth Texas Legislature The 6th Texas Legislature met from November 5, 1855 to September 1, 1856 in its regular session and one adjourned session. All 80 members of the Texas House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Texas Senate were elected in 1855. ...

in 1855 and delegate to the Secession Convention in 1861. He was elected to the

Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body ...

but resigned after a short time to return to Texas and raise a regiment. Poor health forced him to resign that post in 1863. He subsequently lived at

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until his death.

References

External links

* * Rea
William B. Ochiltree's entry
in th
Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochiltree, William Beck 1811 births 1867 deaths 19th-century American politicians Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Members of the Texas House of Representatives Ochiltree County, Texas Politicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina People from Nacogdoches, Texas People of Texas in the American Civil War Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Justices of the Republic of Texas Supreme Court People from Jefferson, Texas 19th-century American judges