Pickering, Timothy

Timothy Pickering (1745-1829) was a renowned soldier, prominent in the Revolutionary days of Salem. He was a colonel of the militia and present with part of his command at North Bridge during the incident known as "Leslie's Retreat". He marched to assist at Concord and Lexington, but arrived too late to take a hand in the affair.

He was clerk in the registry of deeds, and later a judge of the court of common pleas, and probate court judge for Suffolk, Middlesex and Essex counties.

He participated in numerous battles of the Revolution and was adjutant general of the staff of General Washington for a time. He was a member of the continental war board of 1777 and quartermaster general of the army in 1780.

After the war he settled in Philadelphia, and was appointed the first postmaster general by President Washington in 1791 and secretary of state in 1795. He resigned and returned to Salem but served in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the organizer and first president of the Essex Agricultural Society, which holds annual fairs in Topsfield.

See Also

Timothy Pickering as the leader of New England Federalism, 1800-1915 by Hervey P. Prentiss

Essex Institute Historical Collection Vol. 111, p. 65-77

Highlights in the History of Salem Salem Evening News, p. 11

"Glover and Pickering were counted among Washington closest friends in the area" Salem News, Feb. 15, 2010, p. 5

"Timothy Pickering, a military genius" Salem Evening News, May 5, 1976, p.?