William Hindman (1743-1822)
MSA SC 3520-653
Biography:
William Hindman, the first of the three Hindman brothers to hold the position of Treasurer of the Eastern Shore, was born on April 1, 1743, in Dorchester County, the son of Jacob Hindman (1713-1766), a legislator, and his wife Mary (Trippe) Hindman (?-1782). William's brothers were: James (1741-1830), a legislator and Treasurer of the Eastern Shore, Edward (?-1781), a Treasurer of the Eastern Shore, Jacob (?-1781), a minister, and Col. John (?-by 1794), a physician. He also had three sisters. William Hindman attended the University of Pennsylvania from May 1758 to 1761, but did not graduate. He entered the Inns of Court, London, England, and graduated in 1765. He never married. Hindman was admitted as a lawyer to the courts of Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, and Dorchester counties by 1772. After he retired from politics in 1801, he became a land speculator and a planter.
William Hindman's extensive public service career began at the county level. As an Anglican, he served on St. Michael's Parish Vestry, Talbot County, from 1771 until 1785. However, by 1795 he converted to Methodism, sealing his commitment with a donation of land for the Methodist Episcopal Church meetinghouse, Wye Chapel, by 1795. He was secretary to the Talbot County Committee of Observation in 1775; a justice from Talbot County in 1779; on the Board of Visitors for Washington College, Chestertown, Kent County in 1782; and on the Board of Visitors for the Talbot County School in 1783.
At the state level, Hindman attended the 4th and 5th Conventions from Talbot County in 1775; was elected to the Senate from the Eastern Shore from 1776-1793 and 1798-1800. He was also Treasurer of the Eastern Shore from 1775 to 1777, when he resigned; clerk of the Eastern Shore branch of the Council of Safety of Maryland, 1775; and a member of the Executive Council from 1789 to 1790.
Mr. Hindman's service to his country continued when he was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784 and served until 1786. He was also a representative to the U.S. Congress elected in 1793 to fill a vacancy. He served from 1793 through 1799. In 1800 he was elected a senator to the U.S. Congress.
William Hindman died on January 19, 1822, at the residence of his brother,
James Hindman, in Baltimore City. He was interred in St. Paul's Cemetery,
Baltimore City. In his will, Hindman manumitted all of his slaves, giving
them the rooms they occupied and the gardens they cultivated.
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