1851 
THE CULTIVATOR 
101 
Upon the resignation of Gen. Greene, of his office of 
Quarter-master General, Col. Pickering was prevailed 
on to take his place. Those who are familiar with the 
events of the Revolution, will duly appreciate the dif¬ 
ficulties of this position. What so good an officer as 
Greene, (and our annals afford no better name,) des¬ 
paired of accomplishing, Col. Pickering undertook and 
carried successfully through,—and this not without much 
arduous service and personal hazard.* 
At the close of the war, Col. Pickering changed his 
residence, from Salem to Philadelphia. Here his ser¬ 
vices were soon required, by the state of his adoption, 
in encountering threatening insurrection, and in the ad¬ 
justment of conflicting claims to titles of land in the in¬ 
terior of Pennsylvania, in attending to which, he was ex¬ 
posed to many hardships, and had occasion for the 
exercise of much sagacity and firmness. One adven¬ 
ture, which we had from himself, will give some idea of 
the perils he had to encounter. On taking from his 
pocket, a fine old English watch, “ This watch,” said 
he, “is the only one I have carried for more than fifty 
years. I lost it, when captured by a band of ruffians 
in disguise, in the interior of Pennsylvania, (near where 
Wilkesbarre now is.) It was pulled from my pocket, 
as they dragged me across a hedge fence, in the woods, 
and there lay among the leaves and rubbish for several 
weeks. After my release from their imprisonment, it 
was found and brought to me. I have carried it ever 
since, in remembrance of that protecting Providence, 
which spared my life when in imminent peril.” These 
words he pronounced with that reverential regard for 
an overruling Providence, which pervaded all his move¬ 
ments. A highly interesting narrative of the events 
that transpired, at the “beautiful vale of Wyoming,” 
of which he might have said ( magna pars fui,) was 
written by him in 1818, addressed to his son John— 
printed, but not published. 
While resident at Philadelphia, he was called upon to 
attend to various important difficulties with the Indians. 
In fact whenever any Gordian knot was to be loosed, 
Col. Pickering was the man to do it. Impartial his¬ 
tory will do him the justice to say that his resources of 
mind were equal to any emergency. 
receipt of their resolve of the 26th of March, recommending the 
office of Adjutant General to be filled by the appointment of a person 
of abilities and unsuspected attachment to our cause, I wrote to 
Gol. Timothy Pickering, of Salem, offering him the post, in the 
first instance. This conduct, in preference of Col. P., I was induced 
to adopt from the high character I had of him, both as a great mili¬ 
tary genius, cultivated by an industrious attention to the study of 
war, and as a gentleman of liberal education, distinguished zeal, and 
great method and activity in business.” 
* Extract from Col. Pickering’s letter, relating to the battle of 
Germantown, dated Aug. 23, 1826: 
u Be this as it may, the instant I received Washington’s orders, I 
rode forward, and in the road, three or four hundred yards beyond 
Chew’s house, met Sullivan, and delivered them to him. At this 
time I had never heard of Chew’s house, and had no idea that an 
enemy was in my rear. The first notice I received of it was from 
the whizzing of musket balls across the road, before, behind, and above 
me, as I was returning, after delivering the orders to Sullivan. In¬ 
stantly turning my eye to the right, I saw the blaze of the muskets, 
whose shots were still aimed at me, from the window of a large 
stone-house, standing back about a hundred yards from the road. 
This was Chew’s house.” (See N. A. Rev., vol. xxiii. p. 425.) 
In 1790 Col. Pickering was a member of the conven¬ 
tion called to revise the constitution of Pennsylvania. 
Here he manifested that sound practical common sense 
which never failed to convince those whom he addressed. 
The following article, introduced at his suggestion, pro¬ 
viding for general education, will be a source of joy to 
many, in all coming time: “The Legislature shall, as 
soon as conveniently may be, provide by law for the 
establishment of schools throughout the State, in such 
manner, that the poor may be taught gratis.” 
From 1791 to 1800, Col. Pickering was engaged in 
the administration of the government, under Washing¬ 
ton and Adams—successively at the head of the Post 
Office, the War, and the State Departments. Having 
held the office of Secretary of State for a period of five 
years, a train of circumstances arose, in connection with 
the then contemplated rupture With France, that made 
the harmonious cooperation of the President and his 
Secretary longer impracticable. Suffice it to say, that 
Washington and Pickering were of one opinion, and 
that Adams had different views. Pickering was suc¬ 
ceeded by Marshall—who alone was worthy to be his 
successor. Of these truly great men, it may well be 
said, par nobile fratrum. 
Having served his country with great ability and un¬ 
tiring assiduity, and finding, as many of the best men 
have before found, that the intrigues of ambition were 
more successful than honest services, be they never 
so disinterested, he determined to withdraw from the 
political arena, to the more congenial scenes of an agri¬ 
cultural life; having, as was pointedly remarked by Vir¬ 
ginia’s shrewdest son, “been honored with the confi¬ 
dence of Washington and the enmity of his successor.” 
Aristides like, he had passed his years of active la¬ 
bor for the benefit of his fellow countrymen, with scarce 
a thought for himself or the wants of his numerous fa¬ 
mily. His attention was first directed to the forests of 
Pennsylvania, where he became a proprietor, and actu¬ 
ally engaged in clearing for a settlement. But his Mas¬ 
sachusetts friends would not suffer his “ light to be hid 
under a bushelj” they knew his worth too well to suffer 
it to be buried in the recesses of the Allegh nies. By 
their generous kindness, an arrangement was made that 
relieved him from obligations, and enabled him to return 
to his native county, where another quarter of a centu¬ 
ry, if possible, of still more useful services, was in store 
for him. On his first return he rented a small farm in 
Danvers, four miles from Salem, where his intelligent 
operations, for the few years he lived upon it, were re¬ 
garded with interest, and have ever been remembered as 
models for imitation. He then purchased a farm in 
Wenham, on which, for the most part, he resided, and 
the cultivation of which he superintended while he lived. 
Whoever may travel through this region, will notice, af¬ 
ter passing the silvery water of the far-famed Wenham 
Pond, about one mile east of the church, a beautiful 
range of the Scotch larch tree, bordering the way for 
near half a mile. These were planted by Pickering’s 
own hand, and were on the margin of his estate—consti¬ 
tuting a monument, if not sc costly as marble, or dura¬ 
ble as brass,—still simple and beautiful as his own pure 
character. From 1803 to 1811, he was Chief Justice ot 
the County Court in Essex, the records of which period. 
