Joseph Cannon Rockett

Born on his parents' farm in southeastern Lafayette County, Mississippi, Joe Rockett was the son of James William Rockett (4 Jun 1792–22 Oct 1857) and Eudocia Holcombe (30 Oct 1809–23 Feb 1879). He moved with his mother and siblings to Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana in 1858, and in 1864 at the age of sixteen years, he joined the Union Parish Home Guard. Joe Rockett spent his life near Spearsville, working as a farmer and blacksmith, and loaning money to many people in the region. He married first about 1868 to Rebecca A. Upshaw (7 Apr 1851–10 Apr 1882). A few months after her death, he married on 23 July 1882 to Mary Elizabeth Howell (23 Feb 1857–13 Mar 1945).

After his first marriage, Joe Rockett settled in the Camp Creek neighborhood several miles south of Spearsville. Following in the Rockett and Holcombe family tradition, he was a staunch Southern Baptist. Originally a member of the Spearsville Baptist Church, he later helped to found the Camp Creek Baptist Church in the 1870s and served the church as deacon for many years. He served as president of various local Baptist organizations, and he served for many years as President of the Union Parish Singing School. Rockett was a local politician, serving on both the Union Parish School Board and as a jury commissioner. He broke from the Democratic Party in the 1880s and became an ardent advocate for the Populist Movement. In the 1890s, Rockett ran for the state senate on the Populist ticket. Although he won Union Parish by a substantial margin, he was unsuccessful in his bid to become a state senator. He worked hard to advocate for local farmers, serving for many years as the president of the Union Parish Farmer's Union.