William M. Pingry (May 28, 1806 – May 1, 1885) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as State Auditor.
Early years William Morrill Pingry was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire on May 28, 1806. He was educated at the local schools and Salisbury Academy, and worked on his family's farm until age 22. He served in the New Hampshire militia, and attained the rank of major. Pingry studied law with Samuel I. Wells of Salisbury and the firm of Shaw & Chandler in Danville, Vermont. He attained admission to the bar in Caledonia County, Vermont in 1832, and began to practice in Waitsfield.Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889 edited by William Adams, compiled and published by Hamilton Child, 1889, pages 85 to 86 Pingry also served as Waitsfield's town clerk.Walton's Register and Farmer's Almanac, published by E.P. Walton & Son, Montpelier, 1835, page 90
In 1841 Pingry moved to Windsor County, living first in Springfield and later in Perkinsville. While residing in Perkinsville Pingry served in local offices including justice of the peace, master in chancery and assistant town clerk.Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84, by Hamilton Child, 1884, page 249
Career He served as Assistant Judge in both Washington and Windsor Counties. Pingry also served terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate.Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, published by D. Appleton and Company, New York, Volume 7, 1901, page 217Journal of the House of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1869, page 8Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, published by Claremont (N.H.) Manufacturing Company, 1871, page 110
Interested in education, Pingry was a founder and board of trustees member of the Vermont Academy in Saxtons River.Circulars of Information of the Bureau of Education, published by United States Office of Education, Number 27, 1900, pages 107 to 108 A devout Baptist, he served for decades as a church deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Sunday school superintendent.History of the Baptists in Vermont, by Henry Crocker, Vermont Historical Society, 1913, page 600
In 1850 Pingry was a delegate to the Vermont constitutional convention.Journal of the Constitutional Convention, published by Vermont Constitutional Convention, 1850
From 1853 to 1860 Pingry served as Vermont's Auditor of Accounts.Early History of Vermont, by LaFayette Wilbur, Volume 3, 1902, page 381Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1910, page 291
In 1854 Pingry became Cashier of Bethel's White River Bank, serving until 1857.History of Windsor County, Vermont edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich and Frank R. Holmes, 1891, pages 885 to 886
Dartmouth College conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree on Pingry in 1860.General Catalogue of Dartmouth College, published by the college, 1880, page 140
Pingry also researched and wrote a family history, 1881's A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Moses Pengry, of Ipswich, Mass.A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Moses Pengry, of Ipswich, Mass., by William Morrill Pingry, 1881, pages 46 to 47Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography, edited by Thomas William Herringshaw, Volume 4, 1914, page 467
Death He died in Perkinsville on May 1, 1885, after contracting pneumonia.General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1900, prepared by Marvin Davis Bisbee, published by the college, 1900, page 405Newspaper article, Perkinsville 5/1/1885, published in (Ludlow) Vermont Tribune, May 1, 1885
Family In 1836, Pingry married Lucy G. Brown of Springfield. She died in 1865, and in 1868 Pingry married Lucy C. Richardson of Waitsfield. With his first wife, Pingry was the father of two children, Mary H. Pingry and Gratia M. Pingry. Mary Pingry was the wife of Dr. O. F. Bigelow of Amherst, Massachusetts. Gratia Pingry married C. C. Boynton of Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Samuel E. Pingree, who received the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War and served as Governor of Vermont, was his nephew.
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