Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, 1842-1845
William Beck Ochiltree was born October 18, 1811 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Little is known about his early years. His family lived in Florida and Alabama, and apparently his formal education was limited. Ochiltree began practicing law in Alabama and moved to Texas in 1839. He had several residences and lived in five Texas counties during his lifetime. Married twice, he fathered at least seven children.
Upon settling in Texas, Ochiltree practiced law in Nacogdoches and held numerous political positions beginning with his appointment as judge of the Fifth Judicial District in 1842, which automatically made him an associate justice of the supreme court. Other positions included secretary of the treasury of the Republic (1844), adjutant general of the Republic (1845), and delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1845. He then practiced law for ten years before being elected a representative in the Sixth Legislature of the State of Texas (1855). He moved to Marshall in 1859 and was a delegate to the Secession Convention (1861).
During the Civil War Ochiltree served in the Confederate forces and was elected to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States in 1862. He resigned the following year due to poor health. He lived in Jefferson from that time until his death there on December 27, 1867 at the age of fifty-six. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson.
Titus v. Hardin.
The Republic v. Monroe Edwards.
Blake, Robert Bruce. Ochiltree, William Beck,
Handbook of Texas Online (last updated June 6, 2001). http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/OO/foc2.htmlEricson, Joe E.
Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846) 212 (Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1980).Lynch, James Daniel.
The Bench and Bar of Texas 81-84 (St. Louis, Missouri: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1885).
