The ancestors of Timothy Pickering settled in Massachusetts as early as 1630, and while none of them rose to distinction they were a sturdy race, standing well with the community. Timothy, the future soldier, cabinet minister, senator and representative in Congress, was born in Salem. He attended the schools of Salem until he was prepared to enter college. Entering Harvard College he graduated from that institution in 1763 with a fair average rank for scholarship. Leaving college he at once entered on the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1768. He began a most successful career as a lawyer. He took an active interest in the questions then in dispute between the colonies and the king and Parliament, and early joined a volunteer company of militia. In 1775 he was made colonel of a militia regiment. On receiving news of the battle of Lexington he marched his regiment to intercept the retreating British, but failed. He was an ardent student of military affairs, and about this time published a volume of observations on the management of militia, a work which attracted much attention. While still colonel of militia he was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Boston and Salem District, but gave most of his time to the affairs of the militia. In 1777 he joined the army under General Washington, who immediately tendered him the appointment of adjutant general. Mr. Pickering hesitated for some time about accepting this appointment, but finally yielded to the solicitations of the commander-in-chief. He served in this capacity until 1780, when he was made quartermaster general. In that position he rendered the most conspicuous service, proving by his energy, resourcefulness and executive ability the most competent quartermaster general the Revolutionary Army had during the entire war. It was his talents as head of the Quartermaster's Department that made possible the rapid moving of Washington's army to Yorktown. He accompanied the army in all its movements and his activity was tireless. He held the position of quartermaster general until 1778, when he resigned. On leaving the army he became a citizen of Philadelphia, entering the commission business. This was not a business suited to his restless activity, and after a few years he gave it up and removed to Wyoming Valley. In 1789, when Pennsylvania decided to form a new constitution, Mr. Pickering was elected a member of the convention. He was always radical in everything he engaged in, and as a member of the Constitutional Convention rendered himself unpopular to a marked degree for the stand he took in regard to the treatment of the Indian tribes, being a warm friend and defender of the red men. Soon after the accession of General Washington to the presidency he employed Mr. Pickering to negotiate treaties with some of the Indian tribes. In this he was very successful, owing to the confidence the Indians had in him. For many years he exercised great influence with the Indians, and it was believed he prevented an Indian outbreak on several occasions. On August 12, 1791, President Washington appointed him Postmaster General on the resignation of that office by Samuel Osgood. In this position he rendered great service in organizing the postal service into a more efficient state than it hitherto had been. At that time the postoffice was not an executive department, but was in the nature of an independent bureau. When Secretary Knox resigned from the War Department, President Washington transferred Postmaster General Pickering to the vacant place. Here again his energy and his previous experience were of great service, especially in supplying the small army scattered on the frontiers. He was largely instrumental in organizing the military academy at West Point. At that time the navy was under the jurisdiction of the War Department. The political troubles in Europe made it necessary that the United States should add materially to its naval strength. Secretary Pickering personally superintended the building of three famous frigates-the Constellation, the Constitution and the United States-and never were three vessels designed for war more thoroughly equipped. Mr. Pickering remained at the head of the War Department until December 10, 1795, when he was transferred to the State Department. When Edmund Randolph resigned as Secretary of State, President Washington experienced some difficulty in filling the position. It was offered in succession to Patrick Henry and several others, but declined. Mr. Pickering had been acting as ad interim secretary from the resignation of Mr. Randolph in August, and not finding a suitable secretary President Washington, in December, transferred Mr. Pickering. He continued as Secretary of State during the remainder of the administration of President Washington, and was retained by President Adams until he was finally peremptorily removed in May, 1800. Until after the final downfall of Napoleon in 1815 the position of Secretary of State in this country was a very trying one, calling for rare tact coupled with great firmness. The United States was too weak to go to war with either France or Great Britain, and both powers preyed upon our commerce and treated the American government with contemptuous indifference. A majority of the American people sympathized with the French and were correspondingly hostile to Great Britain, and it required great diplomatic skill to guide the country through the threatening storms. Secretary Pickering was a man of positive mind and of iron will. He was a radical Federalist in politics, and as such Federalist he was more hostile to France than to England. It has been claimed that it was mainly through his persistence and urging that President Adams waged the semi-war with France, in which our young navy won so much credit and finally forced France to adopt a more conciliatory attitude toward the United States. Vans Murray, the United States minister to Holland, had been holding some unofficial communications with the French government. It was decided to send a commission to France, and it was felt the actions. of Mr. Murray had complicated the situation by his unauthorized communications. One of Secretary Pickering's first acts was to call him to task in a sharp note, writing him that "no more indirect and unofficial communications, written or verbal, should be held with any person or persons whatever, as agents on behalf of France." Secretary Pickering carried on negotiations with France in a much sharper tone than had been done by his predecessor. In 1800 Mr. Adams was a candidate to succeed himself and was opposed by Hamilton, the great leader of the Federalists. Some of the members of the President's cabinet were accused of secretly aiding Hamilton in his efforts to overthrow the President and much friction was the result. At last the President demanded the resignation of all the members except Mr. Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury. With the exception of Mr. Pickering, they all complied promptly with the demand of the President. Mr. Pickering refused and was summarily dismissed, being the first occupant of a high office to be thus dismissed. The action of the President caused great excitement and called up the question as to the power of the President to remove the head of an executive department without the consent of the Senate, the consent of that body being required for his appointment. At the time of his removal from office Mr. Pickering was heavily in debt, and some of his old friends in his native state came to his assistance financially. He returned to Massachusetts, settling at Danvers. In 1802 he was appointed chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the Essex District and was elected the next year to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy. He was elected as his own successor for a full term and served until March 3, 1811. In the Senate he rendered himself very unpopular with his fellow-members by his extreme radicalism as a Federalist and was burned in effigy in Philadelphia. Several grave charges were made against him and attempts were made to expel him from the Senate, but all failed. In 1811 he was defeated for re-election to the Senate, but in 1814 was elected to represent his district in the House and was re-elected for a second term. In his congressional career, both in the Senate and in the House, he was a bitter and unrelenting enemy of the two Adams. He was a voluminous writer, especially on political and agricultural topics. JOHN MARSHALL [OHN MARSHALL-Secretary of State from June 6, 1800, to March 5, 1801. Born September 24, 1755, at Germantown (now Midland), Virginia. Son of Thomas and Mary (Keith) Marshall. Educated at Westmoreland Academy. Married, January 3, 1783, Miss Mary Willis Ambler. Died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1835. 1775-Lieutenant in Continental Army. 1777-Captain in Continental Army. 1781-Member Virginia Legislature. 1784-Member Virginia Legislature. 1787-Member Virginia Constitutional Convention. 1791-Member Virginia Legislature. 1795-Member Virginia Legislature. 1797-Envoy to France. 1799-Member national House of Representatives. 1801-Chief Justice of the United States. John Marshall's ancestors were of British descent, having emigrated to the United States from Wales. They were distinguished for intellectual strength and for force of character. John was the first of fifteen children born to his parents. He early evinced a strong love for English literature, especially for poetry and history. It is said that at the age of twelve years he knew by heart a large portion of the writings of Alexander Pope and was familiar with the writings of Dryden, Milton and Shakespeare. At the age of fourteen, after studying for a time under a private tutor, he was sent to the classical academy at Westmoreland, where he distinguished himself by his application to the acquisition of learning. At the age of eighteen he began the study of law, the profession that brought him so great distinction and honor in later life. The troubles between the mother country and the colonies were brewing, and young Marshall was one of those who anticipated a call to arms. He enrolled himself in a company of militia, and in 1775 was appointed a lieutenant in a company in the regiment of which his father was major. In 1877 he was promoted to the captaincy of the company, and was with Washington at Valley Forge. He fought with Wayne at Stony Point and at Paulus Hook. For a time he served as deputy judge advocate of the army. The term of enlistment of his company having expired he, with other officers, was ordered to Virginia for the purpose of organizing such troops as might be raised. Awaiting the tardy action of the Virginia Assembly he attended a course of law lectures by the eminent Chancellor Wythe. He was thus enabled the next summer to secure his admission to the bar. He continued with the army until January, 1781. Retiring from the army he began a most successful career as a lawyer. A few months after retiring from the army he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. In 1783 he removed to Richmond and rose rapidly in his profession, being counted among the most eloquent and convincing members of the profession in that city. One of the troublesome questions for the legal profession and the courts was the action of the legislature in regard to the collection of debts owing to citizens of Great Britain contracted before the Revolutionary War. By the treaty of peace it was agreed that no legal impediments should be placed in the way of either party to the collection of debts incurred before the war. The Assembly of Virginia notified the Continental Congress it would not regard the provisions of the treaty. In fact, during the continuance of the war it had passed an act cancelling all such debts on the part of the citizens of Virginia, and releasing them from the obligations of payment. The most celebrated of the cases arising under the treaty was that of Ware v. Hilton. Marshall appeared for the American debtors, and his argument is still regarded as one of the ablest expositions of the right of a sovereign state to release its citizens from monetary obligations to foreigners in time of war ever presented before any court. He was twenty-seven years of age when he became a member of the Virginia Assembly, but took a leading part in all the discussions, especially those relating to measures to raise money with which to pay the troops. In 1784, although he had been a resident of Richmond for some time, his old constituents of Fauquier county re-elected him to the legislature, and in 1787 he was elected to the same position by the people of Richmond. In that year Virginia was called upon to elect delegates to a convention to take into consideration the ratification of the new constitution for a more perfect union of the states. A large majority of the people of Richmond were opposed to the ratification of the instrument, yet such was the popularity of Mr. Marshall, and the confidence the people had in his integrity and enlightened judgment, that he was elected a delegate to the Convention, although it was well known he was an ardent friend of the Constitution. Under the circumstances, and the intensity of the feeling at that time, this was a remarkable tribute. Because of the abilities and high character of the members and the momentous interests involved, this was one of the most important conventions ever held in America. The opposition to the ratification of the Constitution was led by such men as Patrick Henry, George Mason and William Grayson, all renowned for their eloquence and wielding a great influence. The friends of ratification were led by Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Edmund Pendleton, James Innes and John Marshall, a coterie of great men. In all the discussions Mr. Marshall took a prominent and leading part, and he was called upon especially to reply to the arguments of Patrick Henry. His speeches in the Convention added greatly to his reputation and increased his influence in the state. At the close of the Convention Mr. Marshall resolved to retire to private life and devote himself to the practice of his profession, but he was once more sent to the legislature. A majority of this body were unfriendly to the new Constitution, notwithstanding it had been ratified by the Convention chosen by the people, and they did what they could to embarrass the administration of President Washington and elected two senators distinctly hostile to the administration. Marshall, |