Thomas Hinckley
| Thomas Hinckley | |
|---|---|
| 14th Governor of Plymouth Colony | |
| In office 1680–1692 |
|
| Preceded by | Josiah Winslow |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Dudley (Dominion of New England) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1618 |
| Died | April 25, 1706 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Richards Mary Glover |
Thomas Hinckley (1618 – April 25, 1706) was the governor of the Plymouth Colony and held several other governmental positions during his lifetime, including that of a representative, a deputy, magistrate, and assistant, among others. A monument, created in 1829 at the Lothrop Hill cemetery in Barnstable, Massachusetts, attests to his "piety, usefulness and agency in the public transactions of his time."
Hinckley was born in England and migrated to Scituate with his parents, Samuel and Sarah Hinckley, in 1635. In 1639, he moved from Scituate to Barnstable, where he assumed multiple positions in the government of Plymouth colony. The following is a list of his roles in government and the time he occupied each:
- Deputy (1645)
- Representative (1647)
- Magistrate and assistant (1658–1680)
- Deputy governor (1680)
- Governor (1680–1692)
- Commissioner on the central board of Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies (1673–1692)
- Councillor (1692 – ?)
Hinckley married twice; first on December 6, 1641 to Mary Richards, and again to Mary Glover (née Smith) on March 15, 1659. He may have had as many as 17 children; different sources disagree on the exact number. One of his children, Samuel Hinckley (whose mother was Mary Richards), was a direct ancestor of Presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as an ancestor of the former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley. Thomas Hinckley's sister, Susannah Hinckley, is an ancestor of President Barack Obama, which means that Thomas Hinckley's father, Samuel Hinckley, is the ancestor of three U.S. Presidents.
