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biography
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Pickering, Samuel A., an enterprising furniture dealer of Pittsburg, was born in the city of Allegheny, June 1, 1874,
son of Thomas and Mary H. Pickering. The father, a native of Blackburn, England, was a descendant of an old English family, which had lived in that town for several generations. Having grown to manhood in Blackburn,
he came to America about the year 1870, and soon became interested in the retail carpet trade in Allegheny. He afterward moved to Pittsburg, and opened a furniture and carpet store on Penn Avenue and Tenth Street,
where he did a large and constantly growing business up to the time of his death in December, 1892. His five children are: Moses, who does business with his brother Samuel; Alice, the wife of George E. House, of Wheeling, W. Va.;
Sadie, who is married to R. P. McChesney, of Pittsburg; Thomas, now in Colorado; and Samuel A. Pickering, the subject of this sketch. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife
were for many years active supporters of the Trinity Episcopal Church of Pittsburg.
After attending the public schools of Pittsburg and Allegheny, Samuel A. Pickering took a commercial course in the business college of Iron City. Finishing his schooling at the age of seventeen, he entered the store
of his father as clerk. He had served in this capacity only one year when, owing to his thorough knowledge of business principles, he was taken into the firm. On the death of his father Mr. Pickering took full charge
of the business, and through his efficient management it so increased as to oblige him to erect a new store. This building, which was begun in June, 1895, is one of the finest of its kind in the city. It is much larger
than the old building, extending one hundred and ten feet on Tenth Street and forty-two feet on Penn Avenue, and rising seven stories high, thus giving a floor area of more than thirty-two thousand square feet. The brick
used in the construction of the outer walls is of a buff color, and the front is ornamented with terra cotta trimmings. It is occupied entirely by the business of Mr. Pickering, and is among the largest houses in the city
devoted exclusively to the furniture line. The number of persons employed in this store is over fifty, while the yearly sales amount to nearly three hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Pickering gives his entire attention to his
business, and it is owing to this incessant industry, as well as to his business ability, that he has been so successful. Few men of his years have reached so high a position in the business world. Mr. Pickering and his
mother live in the East End, where they have recently built a new residence on Stanton Avenue.
Biographical review: containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburg and the vicinity, Pennsylvania. Boston: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1897, Author: Anonymous.
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