Series III. Benjamin Pickman (1740-1819) Papers, 1752-1820, contains correspondence, account books, and financial papers reflecting Benjamin's personal and shipping interests and his activities as Salem's treasurer. Of note is the family correspondence written during Benjamin's ten-year exile in England. These letters discuss the social and political climate in England during the Revolution and oftentimes advise his wife on domestic and business matters. Also of interest is a 1775 copy of a letter from Benjamin's mother, Love, describing the battle at Lexington and Concord, Benjamin's 1780 letter to his mother recounting the death of his sister Abigail Gardiner in England, and a 1783 letter from Benjamin's wife, Mary, written soon after peace had been declared, relating her hope for Benjamin's swift return home. The shipping account books record transactions of the family shipping business before the Revolution. Due to Benjamin's exile, there is a ten-year gap in these accounts. Upon his return, Benjamin used the volumes to record only non-shipping business transactions. The miscellaneous papers include a 1793 history of Salem written by Benjamin.