Kammala wannan jumla: An haifi Thomas Johnson Pickett a ranar 17 ga Maris, 1821, a Louisville, Kentucky. A 1830, iyalinsa suka koma St. Louis, Missouri, sa'an nan kuma suka koma 1836 zuwa Peoria, Illinois. Pickett ya zama mai koyarwa a matsayin mai buga takarda, sannan ya kafa "Peoria News" a 1840. Ba da daɗewa ba ya sayar da takarda kuma ya kafa "Peoria Transcript". Bayan kafa takarda ta farko a Pekin, Illinois, Pickett ya koma Rock Island, Illinois, inda ya kafa "Rock Island Register". A shekara ta 1851, an zabe shi shugaban farko na kungiyar Editorial Association ta Illinois. A wannan matsayin, ya kula da Yarjejeniyar Edita wanda ya haifar da Yarjejeniyar Bloomington, da kafa Jam'iyyar Republican ta Illinois. Pickett ya yi aiki a matsayin wakili a taron kuma ya yi aiki a matsayin wakili ga
Babban Taron Republican a wannan shekarar.