Richard Nathaniel Hackett was born in Wilkesboro (Wilkes County), North Carolina, on December 4, 1866. Hackett was an attorney and politician who served as mayor of Wilkesboro (1894-1896) and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1907-1909). In the aftermath of the July 1916 flood, he served as chairman of the Wilkes Flood Relief Committee. Hackett died in Statesville (Iredell County) on November 22, 1923.