Benjamin Pickman Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Story |
| Succeeded by | William Reed |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1797-1802 1812-1813 | |
| Member of theMassachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1803 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1763-09-30)September 30, 1763 |
| Died | August 16, 1843(1843-08-16) (aged 79) Salem,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Anstiss Derby |
| Children | Hasket Derby Pickman,Benjamin T. Pickman[1] |
Benjamin Pickman Jr. (September 30, 1763 – August 16, 1843) was aU.S. representative fromMassachusetts.
Pickman was born inSalem in theProvince of Massachusetts Bay, a descendant of Benjamin Pickman, an Englishman fromBristol.[2][3] Pickman graduated fromHarvard University in 1784 after having attended Dummer Academy (now known asThe Governor's Academy). The descendant of a Salem merchant family dynasty related to other prominent Salem families such as the Derbys, the Pickerings and the Crowninshields,[4] Pickman studied law inNewburyport, Massachusetts, and wasadmitted to the bar, but soon relinquished the practice of law to engage in commercial pursuits, becoming one of the most active merchants of his day in Salem.
Pickman's father Col.Benjamin Pickman, Sr.,[5] one of the most important merchants in Salem, had been aLoyalist, 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 theRevolutionary War.[6]
Benjamin Pickman Jr., served the new nation in several capacities. He was a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives in 1797–1802, 1812, and 1813. Benjamin Pickman Jr. also served in theMassachusetts Senate in 1803, as well as a member of theexecutive council of the State in 1805, 1808, 1813, 1814, and 1819–1821.
Pickman was elected as aFederalist to theEleventh Congress (March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811), but he was not a candidate for renomination in 1810. He served as member of theMassachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820–1821. He served as overseer ofHarvard University 1810–1818. He served as president of the board of directors of theTheological School at Cambridge. He died inSalem, Massachusetts, August 16, 1843, and was interred with his Pickman ancestors in Salem's Broad Street Cemetery.[7] He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1815.[8]
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.[9] The Pickman family also owned Pickman farm. Salem's Pickman Street is named for them.[10]
Benjamin Pickman Jr. was married to Anstiss Derby, daughter ofElias Hasket Derby and ElizabethCrowninshield.[11] The son of Benjamin Pickman and the former Anstiss Derby was Hasket Derby Pickman, who died in 1815, the same year he graduated fromHarvard College.[12]
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 merchantWilliam Shepard Wetmore on September 5, 1843. Their son,George P. Wetmore, was the Governor of Rhode Island and a United States Senator from that state, and their daughter, Annie Derby Rogers Wetmore, married businessmanWilliam Watts Sherman. The daughter of Sherman, Georgette Wetmore Sherman, marriedHarold Brown (Rhode Island financier), son ofJohn Carter Brown and grandson ofNicholas Brown Jr.
Benjamin's niece, Mary Toppan Pickman, married Massachusetts Congressman and diplomatGeorge 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 scientistEdward Augustus Holyoke. He died in August 1843 at 80
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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