William Pinhorne | |
|---|---|
| Acting Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
| In office April 1710 – June 10, 1710 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Ingoldesby |
| Succeeded by | Robert Hunter |
| President of theNew Jersey Provincial Council | |
| In office June 16, 1709 – June 10, 1710 | |
| Preceded by | Lewis Morris |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Morris |
| Member of theNew Jersey Provincial Council for the Eastern Division | |
| In office July 29, 1703 – June 15, 1713 (suspended) | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | John Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | England |
| Died | c. 1720 |
| Spouse | Mary Ingoldesby |
| Children | Mary Pinhorne, Martha Mompesson, John Pinhorne |
| Residence(s) | New York City; Mount Pinhorne, New Jersey |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
William Pinhorne (diedc. 1720) was an American colonial politician andjurist, who served in various capacities in bothNew York andNew Jersey.
William Pinhorne probably arrived inNew York City fromEngland in the 1670s. In May 1683 he purchased a house onBroadway. That year he was commissioned asAlderman for the East Ward of New York City. In 1685 he was Speaker of the New York General Assembly.
In 1691, with the accession of GovernorHenry Sloughter, Pinhorne was appointed to the New York Provincial Council, where he served on the Committee for Preparing the Prosecution ofJacob Leisler. He then served as a judge in a special session of the Court ofOyer and Terminer which convened to try Leisler on charges oftreason. Leisler was convicted, sentenced to death, and executed.[1]
On May 15, 1691, William Pinhorne was appointed Fourth Justice on the New York Supreme Court of Judicature. In 1692 he moved to a plantation of over 1,000 acres (400 ha) atSnake Hill inEast Jersey, which resulted in his suspension on September 1 from his positions for non-residence. Returning to New York the following year, he was appointed Second Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature on March 22, 1693, and on June 10 he was restored to the Council.[2]
On June 7, 1698,Lord Bellomont took office as governor, and Pinhorne was stripped of all New York offices for a remark made nearly a decade earlier which Bellomont interpreted as being in support ofJacobitism, and for "harbouring and entertaining one Smith aJesuit in his house."[3]
In 1698 William Pinhorne was appointed one of theEast New Jersey Provincial Council during the administration of GovernorJeremiah Basse; he held the position up through the surrender of government to the Crown.
After the late 1690s the government ofEast andWest Jersey became increasingly dysfunctional. This ultimately resulted in the surrender by theProprietors ofEast Jersey and those ofWest Jersey of the right of government toQueen Anne. Anne's government united the two colonies as theProvince of New Jersey, aroyal colony, establishing a new system of government.
On July 29, 1703, in the instructions to GovernorViscount Cornbury Pinhorne was appointed to theNew Jersey Provincial Council, and would serve through the administrations of several governors.
In 1704 Cornbury named him Second Justice of the Supreme Court. The Chief JusticeRoger Mompesson, was Pinhorne's son in law.
Lord Lovelace, Cornbury's successor as governor, died on May 6, 1709.Lieutenant GovernorRichard Ingoldesby became acting governor, and on June 16 suspendedLewis Morris, President of Council. William Pinhorne, being next in precedence, became president. Unbeknownst to Ingoldesby, his own commission as lieutenant governor was revoked in October 1709, but the news only reached him in April 1710. Pinhorne, as President of Council, became acting governor until June 10, 1710, when GovernorRobert Hunter took office.
Pinhorne and Hunter soon found themselves in opposition to each other, with Hunter demanding Pinhorne's removal from all offices in New Jersey in 1711. Hunter continued lobbying London for the replacement of Pinhorne and other Councillors, and on April 23, 1713 theLords of Trade wrote to Hunter that the crown had approved the appointment of new councilors.[4]
William Pinhorne died in early 1720.[5]
William Pinhorne married Mary, a daughter ofLieutenant GovernorRichard Ingoldesby. A daughter, Martha, was the wife of Chief Justice Roger Mompesson of theNew Jersey Supreme Court. Pinhorne had another daughter, Mary, and a son, John.