Born at La Grange, Fayette County, Tennessee. Third wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens. They were married April 24, 1858. She traveled with her husband to Russia where he had been appointed Minister. Their daughter was born in the Russian Imperial Palace March 14, 1859.

He returned to America to serve as Governor of South Carolina in 1861. He ordered the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Lucy sold her jewels to help equip the Holcomb Regiment. She presented the regiment with a silk battle flag. She was one of the most socially prominent women in the south during the war.

Lucy Pickens appears on Confederate paper money:

$1 issue of June 2, 1862

$100 Issue of December 2, 1862

$100 Issue of April 6, 1863

$100 Issue of February 17, 1863

bio: NUM/NIN profile: NUM 31 Jul 1918 pages 286-295; Notable American Women 1607-1950