Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

William Pinkney (1764-1822)
MSA SC 3520-993

Biography:

Born March 17, 1764, in Annapolis, Maryland.  Son of John Pinkney and Ann, daughter of Alexander Rind.  Attended King William's School, Annapolis; briefly studied medicine in Baltimore, c. 1782; read law with Samuel Chase, 1783-86.  Admitted to Maryland bar, 1786.  Anglican.  Married Anna Maria, daughter of Col. John Rodgers, March 16, 1789.  Children:  William Pinkney (1789-1853); Charles Pinkney (c. 1796-1835); Edward Coote Pinkney (1802-1828); Frederick Pinkney (1804-1873); Henry Pinkney (1807-1848); Elizabeth Pinkney, who married Cumberland D. Williams; Isabella Pinkney, who married Joseph Whyte, and was mother to Governor William Pinkney Whyte; Charlotte Pinkney, who married William Stewart; Caroline Pinkney; Emily Pinkney (b. 1811).  Died February 25, 1822, in Washington, D.C.  Buried in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Maryland House of Delegates, Haford County, 1788-92; Anne Arundel County, 1795.  Delegate, Constitution Ratification Convention, Harford County, 1788. Maryland Senator elector, 1791.  U.S. House of Representatives, March-November 1791; March 1815-April 18, 1816.  Common councilman, Annapolis, circa 1794-96.  Mayor, Annapolis, 1794-95.  Member, Executive Council, 1792-95.  Special agent for Maryland in bank stock negotiations, 1796-1804.  Maryland Attorney General, 1805-6. Commissioner to London, appointed by George Washington, 1796-1804.  Joint Commissioner to Great Britain with James Munroe, 1806-07.  Minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, 1807-11.  Senate, Western Shore, 1811.  U.S. attorney general, 1811-14 (Pinkney resigned after a bill was introduced into Congress requiring the attorney general to reside in Washington, D.C.).  U.S. Senate, January 4, 1820-1822.

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