Historical records matching William Bingham, Esquire
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About William Bingham, Esquire
https://archives.upenn.edu/search?q=William%20Bingham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bingham
An American statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. He founded the Bank of North America, the first bank of the new nation, in 1781.
William was born on March 8, 1752, in Philadelphia. He graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1768. He married Anne Willing, daughter of Thomas Willing, and they had two daughters. In 1798 his daughter Anne Louisa married English financier Alexander Baring, later 1st Baron Ashburton. His elder daughter, Maria Matilda married firstly a French aristocrat, Alexandre, Comte de Tilly, and then with Henry Baring. His son, also named William, married one of the three beautiful heiresses of his friend Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbiniere.
By the beginning of the American Revolution, Bingham was regarded as one of the richest men in Pennsylvania, having made his fortune through joint ownership of privateers and trading. He was sent on diplomatic missions by the American Congress to Martinique and St. Pierre. Returning to America, he represented Pennsylvania as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788. In 1790 and 1791 he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving as its speaker in 1791. About this time he became a major land developer, purchasing lands in upstate New York and 2 million acres (8,000 km²) in Maine, later known as the Bingham Purchase.
William Bingham was known as the richest man in America. Bingham was only twenty-eight years old when he achieved richest-man status. He made his fortune in three different ventures. First, he ran a privateer operation in the Caribbean during the American revolution for Robert Morris. After the revolution, he bought up any worthless Continental currency he could accumulate and then persuaded Alexander Hamilton to redeem the currency at par. Next, he invested enough gold bars to finance the Louisiana Purchase for Thomas Jefferson, as Napoleon had insisted on gold for payment. He also invested in the area in upstate New York now called Binghamton, and 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) in the future State of Maine. Westward migration turned toward Ohio rather than north once the British prohibition on colonizing past the Allegheny mountains was lifted. Bingham died in 1804, but his estate was not settled until 1960.
Library of Congress
3 US Congresses Served
Senate Years of Service
4th – 6th(1795 – 1801)
State / Territory
Pennsylvania
2 Positions
Delegate
Senator
Party
Federalist
[https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/B000474]-
References
[https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/B000474]-
- [ http://thepeerage.com/p2500.htm#i24993] The Peerage
- [http://www.archives.upenn.edu/people/1700s/bingham_wm.htm]l
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bingham]
- Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Nov 28 2019, 13:28:09 UTC
- Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Nov 30 2019, 8:19:00 UTC
- Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 16 2020, 13:10:38 UTC
U.S. Continental Congressman, U.S. Senator. He graduated from the College of Philadelphia, in 1768, traveled to Europe in 1773, established links with French merchants at Martinique, captured several British ships, returned in 1777 to America with several full loads of munitions, guns and other vital goods necessary for the fighting during the American Revolution. After the war, he became a major land developer and was successful as a leading member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures. He was a member of the Continental Congress, (1786-88), a member Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, (1790-91)) and president of the Pennsylvania State Senate, (1794-95). In 1795, he was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate, serving until 1801. After his term, he moved to England and resided with his daughter until his death at age 51.
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: May 22 2021, 8:38:04 UTC
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William Bingham, Esquire's Timeline
| 1752 |
March 8, 1752
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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| 1782 |
January 6, 1782
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1783 |
December 9, 1783
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| 1791 |
1791
- 1792
Age 38
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| 1795 |
March 4, 1795
- March 3, 1801
Age 42
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United States
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| 1797 |
February 16, 1797
- March 3, 1797
Age 44
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| 1800 |
December 29, 1800
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1804 |
February 7, 1804
Age 51
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Bath, Somerset , England, United Kingdom
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July 20, 1804
Age 51
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Bath Abbey, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, Somerset, England
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