Benjamin Pickman Jr. (September 30, 1763 – August 16, 1843) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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Biography

Pickman was born in Salem in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

, a descendant of Benjamin Pickman, an Englishman from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Pickman graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1784 after having attended Dummer Academy (now known as

The Governor's Academy The Governor's Academy is an independent school north of Boston located on in the village of Byfield, Massachusetts, United States (town of Newbury), north of Boston. The Academy enrolls approximately 412 students in grades nine through twelve ...

). The descendant of a Salem merchant family dynasty related to other prominent Salem families such as the Derbys, the Pickerings and the Crowninshields, Pickman studied law in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, but soon relinquished the practice of law to engage in commercial pursuits, becoming one of the most active merchants of his day in Salem. Benjamin Pickman by John Singleton Copley

Benjamin Pickman by John Singleton Copley

Pickman's father Col. Benjamin Pickman, Sr., one of the most important merchants in Salem, had been a Loyalist, his estates confiscated by the Colonial government and was forced to flee America for England, only returning to Salem in 1785 after the end of the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Pickman Jr., served the new nation in several capacities. He was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1797–1802, 1812, and 1813. Benjamin Pickman Jr. also served in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1803, as well as a member of the executive council of the State in 1805, 1808, 1813, 1814, and 1819–1821. Pickman was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress (March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811), but he was not a candidate for renomination in 1810. He served as member of the convention to revise the constitution of the State of Massachusetts in 1820. He served as overseer of

1810–1818. He served as president of the board of directors of the Theological School at Cambridge. He died in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, August 16, 1843, and was interred with his Pickman ancestors in Salem's Broad Street Cemetery. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1815. Pickman was instrumental in the commercial development of much of the heart of historic Salem. In 1815 he and John Derby III acquired property belonging to Derby family heirs to develop Derby Square, which would encompass three brick commercial rows. The Pickman-Derby Block, built in 1817, still stands. The Pickman Building on Derby Square, built in 1816, was part of the development. The Pickman family also owned Pickman farm. Salem's Pickman Street is named for them. Benjamin Pickman Jr. was married to Anstiss Derby, daughter of

Elias Hasket Derby Elias Hasket Derby (August 16, 1739 — September 8, 1799) was a Colonial American merchant based in Salem, Massachusetts who owned or held shares in numerous privateers. The crews of these ships took more than 150 prizes during the American ...

and Elizabeth Crowninshield. The son of Benjamin Pickman and the former Anstiss Derby was Hasket Derby Pickman, who died in 1815, the same year he graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. While he was known as Benjamin Pickman Jr., he was actually the fifth continuous Benjamin in the line. His daughter, Anstiss Derby Pickman, married John Whittingham Rogers. They were the parents of Anstiss Derby Rogers, who married merchant William Shepard Wetmore on September 5, 1843. Their son,

George P. Wetmore George Peabody Wetmore (August 2, 1846September 11, 1921) was an American politician who was the 37th Governor of, and a Senator from, Rhode Island. Early life George Peabody Wetmore was born in London, England, during a visit of his parents ...

, was the Governor of Rhode Island and a United States Senator from that state, and their daughter, Annie Derby Rogers Wetmore, married businessman William Watts Sherman. The daughter of Sherman, Georgette Wetmore Sherman, married Harold Brown (Rhode Island financier), son of

John Carter Brown John Carter Brown II (1797 – June 11, 1874) was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. Early life John Carter Brown II was born in 1797, the youngest of three surviving children bo ...

and grandson of Nicholas Brown Jr. Benjamin's niece, Mary Toppan Pickman, married Massachusetts Congressman and diplomat George B. Loring, who is Benjamin's great-nephew through his brother Clark. She is the daughter of Benjamin's brother, Dr. Thomas Pickman. His aunt, Judith Pickman, married physician and scientist Edward Augustus Holyoke.

Biography

References

External links

See also