Bio written by mp470, 4th great grandson

Joseph Pickett was born in North Carolina in 1804, the son of Micajah II and Susanna Pickett. Susanna was one of two spouses of Micajah II. Micajah II had several more children with another spouse, Kissannah Henson, the daughter of a well known Virginia family. The order was Kissannah then Susanna. One of Kissannah's children, Malachi, would go on to be the namesake for the Battle of Pickett's Mill in the Civil War. The two families at one point fought over Micajah's land in Green River, and it went to the North Carolina Supreme Court. They ruled in favor of the first famIly.

Joseph met Caroline Amanda Edney in North Carolina, then around 1836, they moved and purchased land in Town Creek, GA. They are the namesake for the creek, Pickett Branch. An untitled article among our documents states "Joseph Pickett was said to have come from Buncombe County, NC though his descendants say he was born on the Saluda River in South Carolina in 1805. Mr. Pickett migrated first to Cobb County. From there he moved to Boardtown district in northern Gilmer. From there he went to Ellijay. Later still he moved to Town Creek. He served in the legislature. He was the County's representative when a railroad was engineered through the County. He was also once clerk of the court. His wife's maiden name was Amanda Edny of North Carolina. Ten children were born to him and his wife. Referred to by contemporaries as "colonel," he arrived in Gilmer a considerable time before the Indians left. He kept a hotel part of the time he was in Ellijay. After serving his two terms as a court clerk, he went to Town Creek. He was living there when Bud Bard, a boy about 12 years old, on his way north to his home in Cherry Log district, stopped at Pickett's place. He said Mr. Pickett presented him a canteen full of liquor. This was about 1871. Mr. Pickett's early opportunities were few and his formal education limited, but he used well what he did learn and pushed energetically his opportunities. He represented Gilmer for about 10 years in the legislature, where he was considered an able parliamentarian. As a legislator, he was said to have guarded well the treasury of the state. He was above the average of speakers when it came to presenting his cause. He died at 84, his wife at 81. "

Interestingly, in the secession vote in the Georgia State Assembly, he voted against secession. He had several children, of which all survived to adulthood except for Marcus.

Joseph died on July 27, 1893. He was a good man. Called "colonel" by his friends, even though he was a farmer, he was a good parliamentarian and voted against secession. I estimate that there is now 3,500 people who are descendants of him, me included. Some of his children married into other prominent North GA families, such as Gartrell, Goble, Hyde, and Simmons. Others, challenged by reconstruction, moved out west.