Rice, Chilton, and Jones, attorneys, letterbook

Rice, Chilton, and Jones was a law firm with an office located in Montgomery, Alabama, at the corner of Market and Perry Street. In 1872, the law firm employed four lawyers: Samuel F. Rice, John M. Chilton, Thomas G. Jones, and Ariosto A. Wiley.

Partner Samuel Farrow Rice studied law at South Carolina College and was admitted to the bar in 1837. Rice was elected to the state senate in 1840 and 1841 and was named an associate justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1855. In 1856, Rice was named Chief Justice. Rice resigned his post in 1859, returning to his law practice and representing Montgomery and Autauga counties as a state senator and representative.

Partner John M. Chilton was admitted to the bar in 1869.

Partner Thomas Goode Jones was born on November 26, 1844, in Macon, Georgia. In 1850, Jones's family relocated to Montgomery. A farmer and lawyer, Jones was admitted to the bar in 1868. Between 1875 and 1884, Jones served as Montgomery alderman. In 1884 he was elected to the state house of representatives and became speaker of the house in 1886. In 1890, Jones secured the Democratic nomination and was elected governor of Alabama, serving from 1890-1894. Jones died on April 28, 1914.

Ariosto Appling Wiley was born on November 6, 1848, in Clayton, Alabama. He attended Emory and Henry College, where he studied law. In October 1872, Wiley relocated to Montgomery, where he became a member of the Rice, Chilton, and Jones law firm. In 1882 he was elected to represent Montgomery County in the state senate, and in June 1891, he was named lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Regiment of the U.S. Volunteer Infantry. He died on June 17, 1908.

Sources: Ulman, H. Charles, "Lawyer's Record and Official Register of the United States," 1872.

Owen, Thomas McAdory and Marie Bankhead Owen. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Pruitt, Paul McWhorter Jr.

"Thomas Goode Jones," Encyclopedia of Alabama, http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1463. Accessed June 10, 2013.

"Samuel F. Rice," Alabama's Supreme Court Justices, Alabama Department of Archives and History, http://www.archives.alabama.gov/judicial/srice.html. Accessed June 10, 2013.