Governor William Pickering Letter to William T. Pickering, Jr., January 29, 1867

Title

Governor William Pickering Letter to William T. Pickering, Jr., January 29, 1867

Subject

Politics and government

Description

Governor Pickering tells his son “I have not yet received any further instructions from Washington about my surrendering or turning over the office to [George] Cole.”

George Cole, a Democrat, officially succeeded William Pickering as governor on November 11, 1866, but from Pickering’s letter, there appears to have been a delay in the actual transfer of the office. (Source: Washington State Library)

William Pickering, Jr. was homesteading at Snoqualmie Prairie, at the time this letter was written. The 29th of the month fell in January and October in 1867, but a date in the letter suggests that the letter was written in January.

Abstract

Governor Pickering discusses land purchases and the challenges of communicating with his son. He also lists fruit trees and other items recently sent to the family farm. In a postscript, he comments on not knowing when he is to vacate the governor’s office. He has heard that President Johnson is certain to be impeached and notes that none of Johnson’s appointees will be confirmed by the US Senate without the consent and approval of Territorial Delegate Arthur Denny.

Creator

Pickering, William T., 1798-1873

Source

William T. Pickering Papers, 1863-1886

Publisher

Olympia, WT

Date Created

1867-01-29

References

Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875

Medium

Photograph

Type

letter

Identifier

Special Collections Accession No. 4224-001

Bibliographic Citation

Special Collections Accession No. 4224-001

Provenance

Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, WA

URL

http://digital.lib.washington.edu