For numerous reasons the name of Judge William P. Chilton is worthy of a conspicuous place in the annals of the great men who have made Alabama. He was a learned and incorruptible public servant, a patriot of the highest mold, a patient and manly gentleman in all his relations, and a typical Christian. He moved among his peers with universal esteem, and amidst the temptations of public life preserved a reputation untarnished even by a breath of suspicion.

Of a pleasing temperament, he was jocular as a companion, always agreeable in intercourse, mingling in true democratic style among all classes, and yet he never depressed an exalted standard of manhood even an iota. In his rigid fidelity to duty he represented the best type of the publicist, and alike in private and in public, exemplified a genuine manhood. Even under the laxest conditions and in the abandon of free intercourse with others, he never soiled his lips with unseemly speech or with questionable joke. There was nothing that escaped him which a lady might not hear—nothing that he could not utter in a public speech.

He was a man of vast and commanding influence which proceeded from the loftiest summit—that of a pure and exalted life. He was active in the stirring scenes which affected the period in which he lived; never shied a duty imposed, and always met his obligations in such way as to win the highest meed of public praise. Men came to know him so thoroughly that no pressure of a questionable matter was ever made, because his integrity was proverbial. From his well known standard of life, men knew where to place him on all questions which involved the moral sides of right and wrong. Such was the life, such the career of William Parish Chilton.

The time may have produced men his equals in the qualities already named, but it produced none superior to Judge Chilton. His was not an ostentatious display of virtue in order to elicit attention, for none were meeker, more placid and tranquil, but his was a silent influence which impressed wherever it touched. His condemnation of wrong was not of the demonstrative kind, but his disapproval was a silent expression which was always powerful. As one of the ancient philosophers said of one of his brother philosophers, “He always says the same thing about the same thing,” so it was in the uniform bearing and conduct of Judge Chilton.

In such an orbit he moved, in such an orbit he died, leaving in the memories of those who knew him and in the records of the state, a life of distinguished purity. He was in no sense a recluse, nor in the least offish; on the other hand, he was most cordial, and his piquant humor was relished as a season to pleasant conversation; but he would never sanction by even a smile an unseemly joke or expression.

His was an active life. Indeed his increasing labor was a subject of frequent comment. This necessarily brought him into connection with all classes of men, but he moved amidst all scenes without the smell of taint on his character. His habits of life were as regular as the movement of the hand on the dial face. By this means he was gifted with a physical manhood capable of severe strains of labor.

Beginning life as a young attorney in Talladega County, in co-partnership with George R. Brown, Mr. Chilton was subsequently associated in the practice of the law with his brother-in-law, the late senator, John H. Morgan, the strong firm including two other distinguished gentlemen, George W. Stone and Frank W. Bowdon. Chosen once to represent Talladega County in the legislature, Mr. Chilton was afterward elected to a seat on the supreme bench of the state, succeeding Judge Ormond. Later still, in 1852, Judge Chilton became the chief justice of the supreme court of Alabama, which position he held with great distinction for four years. Retiring from this judicial position, he became associated, in 1860, with William L. Yancey in the practice of the law in Montgomery.

When the Confederacy was created Judge Chilton was elected a member of the provisional congress of the young government and throughout its brief and fateful history retained his seat in that body. Speaking of his interest and activity, Honorable J. L. M. Curry, who was his congressional colleague, said: “It was a common remark that he was the most laborious member of the body.” He loved labor equally from an instinctive energy and from a sense of duty. On the floor of the Confederate Congress the opinion of no member was esteemed of greater worth than that of Judge Chilton.

In the rough and tumble of debate, which he enjoyed, whether on the hustings or on the floor of congress, he displayed rare humor, reveling in original epigram and in rollicking anecdote at the expense of his opponent. Fluent and eloquent, he was at home before a promiscuous gathering. His innocent, sparkling wit afforded him vast power in discussion. Among the ludicrous sallies used in opposition to another in a speech, and one long quoted in referring to the remarkable conservation of his opponent, he accused him of “reaching an extreme medium.” Before a popular assemblage he was irresistible in his joviality and power to produce merriment. Yet this was always done in such way as never to occasion offense. Nor did he ever yield to buffoonery. His contagious twinkle of eye, his sunlit face and his ready husbandry of dictum suited to the occasion, were so remarkable that he would sweep an audience as a breeze a field of grain. Yet his thrusts were so tempered by good nature that they left no sting nor pang of regret to the speaker.

Buttressed on a character such as he possessed, this variety of gifts gave to Judge Chilton immense advantage. It was known to be impossible for him knowingly to misrepresent or to take the slightest advantage and consequently the spell of his influence was overwhelming.

Among his numerous traits may be named that of his intense interest in young men. His counsel was frequently sought by a struggling youth because of his transparent frankness, readiness and responsiveness. He manifested a keen interest in his young brother-in-law, John T. Morgan, who was perhaps more indebted to Judge Chilton than to any other for the substantial basis with which he began his brilliant and eventful career. It was not uncommon for him to seek an interview with a young man in whom he discovered gifts, and aid him to gain a solid footing.

When sixty-one years old, Judge Chilton was still active and alert, his natural force still unabated, and his spirit undimmed by years of activity, and, when it seemed that many years of usefulness were still his, he suffered from a serious fall, from which he never recovered. His death in Montgomery in January, 1871, was an occasion of state-wide sorrow. The legislature was in session at the time, and Governor Lindsay announced the sad fact of his death in the following communication to the general assembly:

The occasion of his funeral was a sad ovation of public esteem. The legislature, the bar, the fraternity of Masons, of which he was an honored member, together with multitudes of friends, sought on the occasion of his funeral to accord to Judge Chilton the merits of his just deserts.