About Col. Timothy Pickering

As a soldier, administrator, and politician, Timothy Pickering exemplified the ideals that are hallmarks of the Col. Timothy Pickering Legacy Society.

Timothy Pickering was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 17, 1745 to a family prominent since the early years of settlement. His father was sufficiently prosperous to provide him a good education, and he graduated from Harvard College in 1763. He later studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1768, though he never attained distinction in his profession. Rather, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Essex County militia in 1766. He studied military history and tactics and unsuccessfully sought to put the Massachusetts militia on an effective war footing. In 1775 he published An Easy Plan of Discipline for a Militia, which was widely used in the Continental Army. He served in many distinguished posts within the new Federal government. Most notably, General George Washington appointed him Quartermaster General in the summer of 1780, a post he held until July 1785.

In 1782, five Commissioners were named by Congress, at Pennsylvania’s request, to settle land disputes. These Commissioners handed down the Decree of Trenton, giving all the disputed land to Pennsylvania but doing nothing about the land ownership of the properties the Connecticut settlers had purchased. Pennsylvania knew it would have to act fast to save its land. In August 1786, Colonel Pickering was sent to the area to conduct a thorough political examination. As a result, the Pennsylvania Assembly passed a resolution to create Luzerne County on September 25, 1786.

Under Colonel Pickering’s direction, county elections were held, courts were opened, and properties were legally deeded to the Connecticut Settlers. Finally, in 1799, the Comprising Act and its supplements settled the ownership once and for all, and the Connecticut settlers became “Pennsylvania Citizens from Connecticut in the County of Luzerne.”

Pickering lived to be 84 and remained active right up until the end of his noteworthy life. After retirement from public life in 1817, he centered his interests on agricultural improvement and deservedly earned an important place in the history of New England agriculture before he died in 1829, rounding out a career as soldier, administrator and politician.

The Col. Timothy Pickering Legacy Society honors the life and work of a man who greatly impacted our community and Luzerne County through his service and interests. When you become a member of the Pickering Legacy Society you too can leave a lasting legacy.