Charles William Harrison Pickering [1815 - 1881]
& Elizabeth Catherine Walker
[1820-1895]

CWHP was a partner in a private bank of Pickering and Schroder, Ellismere Port, Eccles and that bank help finance the second Transatlantic Cable.

Cyrus W. Field, the general manager of the Transatlantic Cable project, visited England ". . . and held meetings in London, Liverpool, Manchester and other places, where, by his speeches, he created such an enthusiasm, that in the course of a few weeks the whole amount of the stock was taken up." [The laying of the Cable, or The Ocean Telegraph, by John Mullaly, D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1858]


CWHP as a child Mrs. Ernest K. Morgan (granddaughter of Henry Alfred Pickering) remembers that her Grandfather owned a piece of the Transatlantic Cable and she played with it as a child. A descendant of Henry Alfred, fourth child of Charles and Elizabeth, is now the owner of the cable. The youngest daughter of CWHP was named Valencia for the location in Valencia, Ireland where the cable was joined from Newfoundland.

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From The Trans-Atlantic Submarine Telegraph: A Brief Narrative of the Principal Incidents in the History of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Compiled from Authentic and Official Documents by the late George Saward, Secretary to the Company. Published in Longon: printed for private cicrulation. 1878.

The following are excerpts from this publication.

"In Great Britain Messrs. George Peabody and Co., Messrs. Overend and Gurney, Messrs. Schoreder, Messrs. C.M. Lampson and Co., and the Right Hon. J. Stuart Wortley, of London; Mr. C. W. Pickering and Mr. Cropper of Liverpool; . . . were among the earliest and most liberal subscribers to this undertaking at a time when the hope of profit from their venture was very remote, and the undertaking rather partook of the character of a grand philosophicl experiment."

"The preliminary business having thus been settled the original capital of the Company, consisting of 350 shares of 1,000 (English Pounds) each, was allotted to a constituency composed of merchants and other of the highest commercial standing in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow . . . C.W.H. Pickering, Esq. was elected as a "Permanent Director" from Liverpool."

"A number of electric currents were then sent through the conductor, and the insulation was reported to be perfect, -- perfect so far as the comparatively crude means of testing were then capable of showing. The following Directors were at Queenstown at this time in attendance upon the squadron: Mr. Brooking, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Crosibe, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Logie, Mr. Brett, and Mr. Cyrus W. Field."

"On the 19th of August the Directors met in London, and having discussed the reports of the engineer and of the electrician, they appointed a Committee, consisting of . . . Mr. Pickering . . . to investigate and report upon the causes which had led to the accident, the efficiency of the paying-out machinery, and the electrical department of the Company."

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CWHP died on 2 Mar 1881 on Seymour Street, Middlesex County, England at the home of his daughter.

VISIT THESE RELATED LINKS

• Career: Merchant Banker
• Home: Montebello, Wallasey
• Marriage: Elizabeth Walker Pickering
• Parents of CWHP
• Last Will and Testament
• Obituary
• St Hilary Graves

• DESCENDANTS

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CLICK HERE to see inscription on back of photo.
Also, read more about Elizabeth Catherine Walker Pickering.

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Children of Charles William Harrison Pickering and Elizabeth Walker

Charles William
Katherine Elizabeth
Eugene Haynes
Henry Alfred
Elizabeth Maude
William
Edith Paulina
Emma
Alexander John
Frederica Valentia