William Bingham
William Bingham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office February 16, 1797 – July 6, 1797 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Livermore |
| Succeeded by | William Bradford |
| United States Senator fromPennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Morris |
| Succeeded by | Peter Muhlenberg |
| 37th and 38thSpeaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office December 4, 1801 – April 10, 1802 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Speaker of the Assembly) |
| Succeeded by | Gerardus Wynkoop II |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1793–1794 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1752 Philadelphia,Province of Pennsylvania,British America |
| Died | February 7, 1804(aged 51) Bath,England |
| Resting place | New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Ann Willing |
| Children | Maria Matilda Anne Louisa William |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Profession | Banker |
William Bingham(March 8, 1752 – February 7, 1804) was an American statesman fromPhiladelphia.He was a delegate forPennsylvaniato theContinental Congressfrom 1786 to 1788 and served in theUnited States Senatefrom 1795 to 1801.[1]Bingham was one of the wealthiest men in the United States during his lifetime, and was considered to be therichest person in the U.S.in 1780.[2]
Early life
[edit]William Bingham was born on March 8, 1752, inPhiladelphia.[3]He graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now theUniversity of Pennsylvania) in 1768.
Philadelphia Society
[edit]Bingham first travelled to Europe in 1773 and, upon, returning to America joined the Philadelphia Society. Sent by theCommittee of Secret Correspondenceto Martinico (today'sMartinique), to reside ostensibly as a merchant and to establish communications through that colony withSilas Deane,[4]the committee's agent in France. He departed America aboard the frigateReprisalon July 3, 1776. During his voyages, he established links with French merchants at Martinique, captured several British ships, and returned in 1777 to America with several full loads of munitions, guns, and other vital goods necessary for the fighting of a war.[5]
Business interests
[edit]
Toward the end of theAmerican Revolution,Bingham was regarded as the richest man in the United States.[2]He had made his fortune through joint ownership ofprivateersand trading.[1]He became a major land developer, purchasing lands inupstateNew York(present-dayBinghamton) and 2 million acres (8,000 km2) inMaine(later known as theBingham Purchase).[6]He helped broker theLouisiana PurchasewithFrancis BaringandHenry Hope.[7]Their agentAlexander Baringmarried his daughterAnne.
He was the founder and the first president of thePhiladelphia and Lancaster Turnpike.
Bingham was director of several other enterprises. He maintained shipping ventures after the Revolutionary war, through his mercantile house Bingham, Inglis, and Gilmore. He was a leading member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and Useful Arts and donated a Philadelphia property to be converted into a textile factory.[8]
Mounted general
[edit]During the 1780s, Bingham marshaled the Second Troop of Philadelphia Light Horse, an outfit of 50 dragoons. They were glamorously clad and saw little action. William Jackson was first major and later became Bingham's land agent. Bingham escorted President-electGeorge Washingtonthrough Pennsylvania with his troop on his April 1789 journey from Valley Forge to New York City to assume the presidency.[9]
Bingham was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1787.[10]
Politics
[edit]
During the provisional government of the United States at Philadelphia, he wrote the by-laws for the nationalBank of North America.He saw the national debt as beneficial in that it attracted interest into the affairs of the government. During the first presidency, TreasurerAlexander Hamiltonsought Bingham as his mentor in managing taxes, tariffs, and in constructing a national bank.[11]
Speaker of Pennsylvania House
[edit]In America, he represented Pennsylvania as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788. In 1790 and 1791 he was elected to thePennsylvania House of Representatives,serving as its first speaker in 1791. He oversaw development of the land during a fledgling period of America as a member of the Society of Roads and Inland Navigation, where he worked closely withAlbert Gallatinof western Pennsylvania.[12]He later served in thePennsylvania State Senatefrom 1793 through 1794.[13]He built roads and a bridge from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania called the Lancaster Pike.
U.S. Senator
[edit]By 1795, he was elected to theUnited States Senatewhere he served as aFederalistand Nationalist while it was originally at Philadelphia, but he left for England in 1801 when his wife had taken ill. In the midst ofpublic debateanddissentfocused on theJay Treatyhe was subjected topolitical violencein Philadelphia in the summer of 1795.[14]He was an active supporter ofJohn Adamsand when Adams was elected president, Bingham served as the Senate'sPresident pro temporein theFourth Congress.On March 4, 1797, with the start of theFifth Congresshe administered the oath of office toVice PresidentThomas Jefferson.[15] He was criticized by Jeffersonian politicians for "extravagance, ostentation and dissipation".[1]In 1813, nearly ten years after his death,John Quincy Adamssaid that the Presidency, the Capital and the Country had been governed by Bingham and his family connections.[1]
The several Bingham estates were renowned for hosting many prominent aristocrats from Europe as well as Federalist meetings. At the Bingham estate, Federalists agreed to hold preliminaryvotingsbefore propositions were brought before Congress publicly, thus creating unanimity among party lines.[16]
Binghamton
[edit]He was also aland surveyor,and looked to develop areas currently a part of SouthernNew York,andNorthern Pennsylvania.One of his prime prospects was at the confluence of theChenango RiverandSusquehanna River.Judge Joshua Whitney Jr., settler and Bingham's agent, called this townBinghamtonto honor him. Furthermore, Binghamton's resident universityBinghamton Universityrecognizes Bingham through the naming of Bingham Hall.
Family
[edit]He marriedAnne Willing,daughter ofThomas Willing,President of theFirst Bank of the United States,and they had two daughters and a son.
- Ann Louisa Bingham(1782–1848).[17]In 1798, she marriedAlexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton.They were the parents of nine children.
- Maria Matilda Bingham(1783–1849), who, at the age of 15, was briefly married to a French aristocrat, Jacques Alexandre, Comte de Tilly. Afterwards she married her sister's brother-in-law,Henry Baring.They were the parents of five children. Maria and Henry were divorced in 1824; she married the Marquis de Blaisel in 1826.[citation needed]
- William Bingham (1800–1852), who married Marie-Charlotte Chartier de Lotbinière (1805-1866),SeigneuressedeRigaud,in 1822. She was the second of the three daughters and heiresses ofMichel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière,by his second wife Mary, daughter ofCaptain John Munro.They lived inMontreal,ParisandLondon;and were the parents of six children. William Bingham settled in England and died in Kent in 1852.
Although his wife and two daughters factored prominently in the social affairs of American politics, Bingham's wife Anne died while his only son William was one year old. William Sr. left William Jr. to grow up in America with his grandfather Thomas Willing.
Bingham died on February 7, 1804, inBath,[18]Englandand is interred inBath Abbey.His estate remained in the family until the death of William Alexander Baring Bingham (1858-1915) but it was not settled until 1964.[19]
Portraits
[edit]Bingham commissioned artistGilbert Stuartto paint theLansdowne portrait,a 1796 full-length portrait of PresidentGeorge Washingtonthat became a gift toLord Lansdowne.AsBritish Prime Minister,Lansdowne had secured a peaceful end to theAmerican Revolutionary War,and the portrait was commissioned soon after the American approval of theJay Treaty.Stuart also painted portraits of Bingham, his wife and children.
-
George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait)(1796) by Gilbert Stuart,National Portrait Gallery (United States). -
William Bingham(1797), by Gilbert Stuart, Baring archive, ING Bank NV, London. -
Anne Willing Bingham(1797) by Gilbert Stuart,Philadelphia Museum of Art.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdMaine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Isaacson, Doris A. (ed.).Maine: A Guide 'Down East'.Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. pp. 381–382.
- ^abSpingola, Deanna (2011).The Ruling Elite: a Study in Imperialism, Genocide and Emancipation.Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publishing. p. 48.ISBN978-1-4269-5462-7.RetrievedAugust 13,2021.
- ^G. E. Cokayne, with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 277.
- ^The Committee of Secret Correspondence to Silas Deane, July 8, 1776,franklinpapers.org
- ^Hinman, Marjory Barnum, Bingham's Land, Whitney's Town. p.14 (1996) Broome County Historical Society.
- ^http://newenglandtowns.org/maine/franklin-county"Franklin County, Maine",New England Towns.Retrieved November 22, 2007
- ^Hinman, Marjory Barnum (1996). Pages 17-21, Bingham's Land, Whitney's Town. Broome County Historical Society.
- ^Alberts, page 222.
- ^Alberts, page 166.
- ^"William Bingham".American Philosophical Society Member History.American Philosophical Society.RetrievedDecember 14,2020.
- ^Alberts, page 195.
- ^Alberts, page 239.
- ^Cox, Harold."Senate Members B".Wilkes University Election Statistics Project.Wilkes University.
- ^Green, Nathaniel C. “‘The Focus of the Wills of Converging Millions’: Public Opposition to the Jay Treaty and the Origins of the People’s Presidency.”Journal of the Early Republic,vol. 37, no. 3, 2017, p. 459.JSTOR websiteRetrieved 21 Dec. 2022.
- ^The proceedings of the Senate at a session specially called on March 4, 1797, Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873
- ^Alberts, page 337.
- ^"Lady Ashburton".Maine Memory Network.
- ^Alberts, page 427.
- ^Associated Press. "Heirs of 1804 Trust to Divide $840,000." New York Times. November 15, 1964. Page One.
Further reading
[edit]- Robert C. Alberts,The Golden Voyage: The Life and Times of William Bingham,1969, Houghton Mifflin.
External links
[edit]
Archival Collections
[edit]- Guide to the Land Grant to William Bingham, Esq., for Property in Lycoming County from Thomas Mifflin, Governor of Pennsylvania.Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Other
[edit]- United States Congress."William Bingham (id: B000474)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Biography at Virtualology
- Biography and portrait at the University of Pennsylvania
- TheWilliam Bingham Correspondence,including letters from 1791 to 1803, are available for research use at theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania.
- The Political Graveyard
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Notes | †Never officially seated | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1752 births
- 1804 deaths
- Politicians from Philadelphia
- Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania
- Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Federalists
- Federalist Party United States senators from Pennsylvania
- Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
- Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Pennsylvania state senators
- 18th-century American businesspeople
- History of Broome County, New York
- University of Pennsylvania alumni
- Members of the American Philosophical Society
- 18th-century American legislators