In hopes that what they say is true - it's never too late - I have penned a long overdue tribute to the late Gaylord Mouton Bickham, the only child of Mouton and Leatrice Brumfield Bickham who passed away in April of 2021 at the age of eighty-seven.
A lifelong resident of Franklinton and graduate of Franklinton High School, Gaylord matriculated to Tulane University where he was a Sigma Chi. He graduated in 1956 with a degree in history from Tulane's College of Arts and Sciences. And in our hometown of Franklinton, he owned and operated Bickham Oil Company. Mr. Gaylord was very active in our community, serving on the boards of banks and businesses. He was actively involved in the Franklinton Rotary Club, the Centenary Methodist Church, and the Democratic Party.
But this is not how I knew Mr. Gaylord. I knew him through my dad. Daddy was his Commanding Officer (C.O.) in the National Guard. And the two thought a lot of one another or so it seemed. As a tiny tot, I first met Mr. Gaylord in the Post Office where accompanying my dad, I overheard their congenial conversation. Their friendship spanned many years. Daddy once told me that only once did a mother call him at home to see how her son was progressing in the Guard - Ms. Leatrice called about her only child. I believe that Daddy, the father of an only child and an only grandchild, understood. I can say with certitude that his friendship with Gaylord began with the Guard.
So, it meant a lot to me that Mr. Gaylord called me not all that many years ago to share information I was desperately seeking for a column. If memory serves, the material may have been on local banking and businesses. Mr. Richard Morgan, always most kind, generously reached out to Mr. Gaylord on my behalf, giving him my number. And lickety split, my phone rang at the farm. Gaylord Bickham was on the line, and he fondly remembered my father. That put him in a select group.
And Mr. Gaylord was nothing if not select. He was indubitably elite in every sense of the word. Descending from one of Franklinton's most prominent families, Gaylord led a life atypical of folks from Franklinton. His obituary read, "New England in the fall and Paris in the spring." And he loved both. Travel became a central part of Gaylord's life, early on. As a young boy, born during the Great Depression, he even attended the World's Fair in 1939 in New York City - "[o]ne of his fondest childhood memories." This tells the story.
And while both Mr. Gaylord and I were Tulane graduates, he was a philanthropist, leaving more than $5.56 million to his alma mater for an endowed scholarship in the School of Liberal Arts - the Gaylord Mouton Bickham Scholarship in Liberal Arts - and an endowed chair in European history - the Mouton and Leatrice Bickham Memorial Chair in European History. Mr. Gaylord also allocated funds for Tulane School of Medicine, my daughter and son-in-law's alma mater. And already a large donor to Southeastern Louisiana University, having established a scholarship for Washington Parish high school graduates in his parents' names, Mr. Gaylord left another large gift upon his death to SLU. He recognized the University's value to Washington Parish students, one of whom was his beloved cousin Bruce Bickham who played football at SLU before transferring to LSU.
The last time I was with the Bickham family was in 2012 at the dedication of our common ancestor John Bickham, the founder of Franklinton, on the Washington Parish Courthouse square. Mr. Gaylord was there, together with his cousin Mr. Bruce and his children - Mr. Bruce's daughter Beth and I were always close, from an early age. I well remember that lovely day. It was as if we had never been apart. Mr. Bruce's father Houston Don Bickham (1905-1962) (married to my "Aunt" Jence) was the brother of Alexander Mouton Bickham (1903-1971), Mr. Gaylord's father.
And the Bickham brothers were the sons of Houston Dolphus Bickham (1875-1923), married to Lela Babington Bickham. Houston D. Bickham was the son of Charles Monroe Bickham (1847-1910), married to Mariah Gabriellen Smith Bickham. Charles Monroe Bickham was the son of Thomas Carroll Bickham (1818-1871), married to Elizabeth "Betsy" Magee Bickham. Thomas Carroll Bickham was the son of Maj. Benjamin Bickham (1773-1822), married to Elizabeth Toney Bickham. And Maj. Benjamin Bickham was the brother of John Bickham (1777-1821) who not only was my great-great-great-great-grandfather but more importantly was the founder of Franklinton. Mr. Gaylord and I were distant cousins.
Subsequently, I uncovered a valuable history of the ancestors of Maj. Benjamin Bickham, John Bickham, and their siblings - Abner Bickham, Sarah Bickham, James William Bickham, and Thomas Bickham - compiled by Janet Milburn. All six children moved in the early nineteenth century to Louisiana. Their parents were James William Bickham and wife Mary Henry Bickham. Notably, Bickham was originally Beckham before James changed his name to Bickham in official papers signed in August 1773. James William Bickham was born in Dorchester, Maryland about 1730, and he died in Burke, Georgia, in 1789. His wife Mary Henry was born in 1737 in North Carolina, and she died in 1800 in Burke, Georgia. Apparently, some of their children were born in Burke County, Georgia, where they last lived.
But long before their demise, by 1755, the couple was living in North Carolina where their eldest son Abner was born. Ten years later, they were situated on 350 acres on the Savannah River in South Carolina. And in March of 1767, they crossed the river, moving into Georgia where Ms. Milburn wrote "James applied to the British Crown for 400 acres 'on the branch of Bushy Creek within two miles of David Emanuel.'" The land grant was dated April 5, 1768, and was situated in the Parish of St. George which became Burke County in 1777.
Notably, the Bickham forebears, coming from England, apparently settled first in Massachusetts and New Hampshire which is where I am penning this piece, at my daughter and son-in-law's in January. The Bickhams migrated south for "rich lands and mild winters." I can say with certitude that they were onto something. With the temperature dropping below zero this weekend, I'm desperate to head south soon myself.
Gaylord Bickham resided a lifetime at the iconic yellow brick Bickham home on Main Street where he, with a passion for the past, was an authority on the history of Washington Parish. A wealth of historical information disappeared with his passing.
