William Parish Chilton (August 10, 1810 – January 20, 1871) was an American politician and author who served as a Deputy from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
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 ...
from 1861 to 1862.
Early life
Called Will Chilton, he was born in
Columbia, Kentucky
Columbia is a home rule-class city just above Russell Creek in Adair County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 4,452 at the 2010 census. Columbia is the seat of its county.
History
The area was settled by Daniel Trabue. The ...
, on August 10, 1810, the ninth child of Rev. Thomas John Chilton (a slave-owning Baptist minister) and Margaret Bledsoe, sister of
Jesse Bledsoe
Jesse Bledsoe (April 6, 1776June 25, 1836) was a slave owner and Senator from Kentucky.
Life and career
Bledsoe was born in Culpeper County, Virginia in 1776. When he was very young, his family migrated with a Baptist congregation through Cumber ...
. He was a younger brother of
Thomas Chilton
Thomas Chilton (July 30, 1798 – August 15, 1854) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, a prominent Baptist clergyman, and the ghost writer of David Crockett's autobiography.
Born near Lancaster, Kentucky, a son of Rev. Thomas John Chilton a ...
, Representative from Kentucky and ghost writer of an "autobiography" by
David Crockett
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
. When Chilton was 14 months old his large family was among the victims of the
1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. As a teenager he left home to live in Tennessee with an older sister, Jane, and her husband Charles Metcalfe. He
read law
Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...
with Return J. Meigs III in
Athens, Tennessee
Athens is the county seat of McMinn County, Tennessee, United States and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 53,569. The city is located almost equidistantly between the major cities of Knoxville an ...
, passed the bar in 1828, and began to practice law.
Career
In 1831 Chilton moved to
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
. In 1839 he was elected as a
Whig to represent his county in the
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...
. Chilton campaigned vigorously for
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
in 1840 and
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
in 1844. In 1843 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. While practicing law in Talladega, he tutored his brother-in-law
John Tyler Morgan
John Tyler Morgan (June 20, 1824 – June 11, 1907) was an American politician was served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later was elected for six terms as the U.S. Senator (1877–1907) ...
, who passed the bar in 1845. In 1846 he established a law school in
Tuskegee. On December 31, 1847 the state legislature elected Chilton an associate justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is house ...
. He became Chief Justice December 2, 1852 and served until January 2, 1856. After retiring from the bench, he established a law partnership with
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey (August 10, 1814July 27, 1863) was an American journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the mo ...
. In 1859 he was elected to the
state Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
from Macon County.
American Civil War
Chilton originally opposed secession, but once Alabama decided to join the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
he became a supporter. 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 ...
, which met in
Montgomery on February 4, 1861 it was Chilton's task to call the convention to order as the representative of the district where the body met. After electing
Howell Cobb
Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American and later Confederate political figure. A southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and the speaker of the House from 184 ...
as presiding officer, on February 9 the Provisional Congress elected
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
as President. On February 18, Davis arrived in Montgomery to take his oath of office; he was escorted into the capitol building by Chilton and
Robert Rhett
Robert Barnwell Rhett (born Robert Barnwell Smith; December 21, 1800September 14, 1876) was an American politician who served as a deputy from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate States Congress from 1861 to 1862, a member of the US H ...
. After Davis completed his speech to the Provisional Congress, in which he indicated that he would accept the presidency, Chilton made a motion that the body adjourn and then reconvene on the front steps of the capitol, making possible the well-known photos of Davis taking his oath of office. Members of the Provisional Congress were divided on the choice of a permanent capital. Chilton advocated for Montgomery so forcefully that earned disaffection of colleagues who advocated for
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
, which was eventually chosen.
Chilton won election to the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
2nd Confederate States Congress
The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia S ...
. After the war he returned to Montgomery, both physically worn out from his legislative service and in constrained financial circumstances. When the Confederate Congress was not in session Chilton served as a private in Harrison's Company of Alabama Rebels, a home guard unit.
Later life and death
After the war Chilton returned to practicing and teaching law, and writing; by 1870 he had managed to recoup most of his financial losses. He was also elected Grand Master of Alabama's Masonic Grand Lodge. In late 1870 or early 1871 Chilton was injured in a fall down the stairs. He died at his home in Montgomery on January 20, 1871. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery.
Personal life
Chilton's descendants included:
*
Bart Chilton
Bartholomew Hamilton Chilton (May 1, 1960 – April 27, 2019) was an American civil servant.
He was Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2007 to 2014. In April 2014, he joined DLA Piper as a Senior Policy Advis ...
(great-great-grandson), U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission member
*
Thomas H. Chilton
Thomas H. Chilton (August 14, 1899 – September 15, 1972) was a chemical engineer and professor. He is considered a founder of modern chemical engineering practice and lectured widely around the world. He received numerous awards, including an ho ...
(grandson), chemical engineer and professor
*
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of President of the United States, Presi ...
(great-grandson), U.S. Secretary of Defense
Legacy
Chilton County, Alabama
Chilton County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. The county seat is Clanton. Its name is in honor of William Parish Chilton, Sr. (1810–1871), a lawyer ...
(established 1868 as Baker County, renamed Chilton in 1874), is named after him.
Partial Bibliography and archives
* To the people of Alabama (1861) Montgomery, Alabama
* Sunday mail : report of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads. (1862), Confederate States of America. Congress. House of Representatives. Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.
* Pardons, paroles, and clemency files, 1862-1863. by W P Chilton (archives of Alabama)
* Mansion of the skies (1875) Publisher: New York, J. Ross & Co.
* Columbia, a national poem (1880), Publisher: New York, The Authors' Pub. Co.; Montgomery, Ala., J. White
* The sacred dust : our Confederate dead : (in memoriam), 1886
References
Garrett’s Public Men in Alabama, p. 118.
Alabama Records Volume 51, Talladega County, Alabama State Archives
External links
William Parish Chiltonat ''
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, William Parish
1810 births
1871 deaths
19th-century American politicians
Alabama lawyers
Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama
Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States
Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Alabama
People from Columbia, Kentucky
Signers of the Confederate States Constitution
Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama
19th-century American judges
19th-century American lawyers