Ezekiel Pickens (March 30, 1768 – May 22, 1813) was an American lawyer and politician; he served as the Lieutenant Governor of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from 1802 to 1804. Pickens was the second of twelve children of General Andrew Pickens (1739-1817) and his wife Rebecca (Calhoun). Ezekiel was born at the family home near

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

, South Carolina; the family moved to the Hopewell plantation by 1785 (near the modern site of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

), where Ezekiel was tutored in preparation for college. Pickens graduated third in his class at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

in 1790 and gave the valedictorian's address. Returning to South Carolina, Pickens studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1793. A member of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

, he represented the Pendleton District in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1791 to 1794 and St. Thomas and St. Denis parishes in 1801 and 1802. Pickens served as lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 1802 to 1804 under governor James Burchill Richardson.

Family

Pickens' family were land speculators and leaders of the western South Carolina settlers. His father Andrew was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and was a United States Representative from 1793 to 1795. His younger brother Andrew Pickens was governor from 1816 to 1818. His aunt Floride Bonneau (~1761-1836) married John E. Colhoun, a long-time member of the South Carolina House who served as a US Senator from 1801 until his death in 1802. Their daughter Floride Bonneau Colhoun (Ezekiel Picken's first cousin) married

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

, Vice President from 1825 to 1832. Ezekiel married Elizabeth Bonneau (1764-about 1806). Their children were Judge Ezekiel Pickens (1794-1860), Elizabeth Bonneau Pickens (1797-1834) (wife of Governor Patrick Noble), Andrew Pickens (1799-1801), and Samuel Bonneau Pickens (1801-1851). Elizabeth Bonneau died sometime after Samuel's birth and Ezekiel remarried to Elizabeth Barksdale (1782-1859), daughter of a wealthy coastal rice planter. Their children were twins Col. Thomas Jones Pickens and Martha Barksdale Pickens, born in 1808, and Major Andrew Calhoun Pickens, born 1810. He was a great-great-grandfather of businessman

T. Boone Pickens Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. (May 22, 1928 – September 11, 2019) was an American business magnate and financier. Pickens chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Ezekiel 1768 births 1813 deaths People from Abbeville, South Carolina Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Lieutenant governors of South Carolina South Carolina Democratic-Republicans Princeton University alumni