Thomas S. Hinde
Who was Thomas S. Hinde?
American minister and businessman
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Thomas S. Hinde (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Thomas Spottswood Hinde (April 19, 1785 – February 9, 1846) was an American Methodist minister, newspaper editor, historian, real estate investor, and opponent of slavery, born in Hanover County, Virginia. He was a versatile figure on the early American frontier, moving between religious ministry, journalism, business, and historical writing in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois throughout his life. He died in Mount Carmel, Illinois, the city he helped found.
Hinde began his public career in journalism, editing and publishing The Fredonian in Chillicothe, Ohio, from 1806 to 1808. Through that newspaper, he tackled national issues like the integrity of Indian treaties and Aaron Burr's conspiracy. During this time, he also took a moral stance against slavery, which was notable in the early nineteenth-century frontier press. He served in the United States Army during the War of 1812, adding military experience to his already varied life story.
As an ordained Methodist minister, Hinde was a pioneering circuit rider in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri in the early 1800s. He traveled extensively to spread the Methodist Episcopal Church on the frontier and wrote and published religious articles in many leading publications of the period. Francis Asbury, one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, saw Hinde as an important figure in the church's growth and mentioned him often in his personal journals. Hinde's work in expanding Methodism in the Trans-Allegheny West was seen by his contemporaries as substantial.
Beyond religion and journalism, Hinde was an active businessman. He pursued real estate, construction, and publishing ventures in Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. He co-founded the Wabash Navigation Company, which was involved in real estate speculation and dam construction along the Wabash River. The company built the Grand Rapids Dam next to Hinde's property, a project that remained in operation until the federal government abandoned it in 1931. He was also a founder of the city of Mount Carmel, Illinois, where he spent his final years.
Hinde contributed to historical writing and was involved with the Madoc Tradition, which explores legends and historical inquiry about pre-Columbian Welsh exploration of North America. His family was well-known across several states, and his legacy continued through his children: his son Charles T. Hinde became a shipping magnate, his son Edmund C. Hinde was known as an adventurer, and his daughter married judge Charles H. Constable. Historian Lyman Draper spent more than twenty years gathering documents by and about the Hinde family as part of his effort to preserve the records of the Trans-Allegheny West.
Before Fame
Thomas Spottswood Hinde was born on April 19, 1785, in Hanover County, Virginia, into a notable family there. The Hinde family was well-known in Virginia before moving west to Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois in the following generations—a trend that Thomas followed. Growing up after the Revolutionary War, he matured in a nation shaping its religious institutions, its media, and its western borders.
Hinde's rise to prominence coincided with the westward expansion of American settlement. He trained as a Methodist minister and took on the role of a circuit rider, bringing preaching to remote frontier areas. His early work in journalism with The Fredonian in Chillicothe, Ohio, showed both his personal ambition and the growing need for information among frontier communities. His roles in ministry and publishing gave him the connections and platform to engage with the political, religious, and commercial issues that were central to American expansion in the early nineteenth century.
Key Achievements
- Founded and edited The Fredonian newspaper in Chillicothe, Ohio, using it to report on Indian treaty violations and the Aaron Burr conspiracy
- Served as a pioneering Methodist circuit rider across Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri in the early nineteenth century
- Cofounded the Wabash Navigation Company and oversaw construction of the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River
- Was a founding figure in the establishment of the city of Mount Carmel, Illinois
- Contributed historical writing to the Madoc Tradition and was recognized as a notable historian and biographer of the Trans-Allegheny West
Did You Know?
- 01.Francis Asbury, one of the founding bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, considered Hinde significant enough to mention him repeatedly in his personal journals.
- 02.Hinde's newspaper, The Fredonian, published in Chillicothe, Ohio from 1806 to 1808, was used to expose concerns about Aaron Burr's conspiracy against the United States government.
- 03.The Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River, built by Hinde's Wabash Navigation Company next to his own property, was not abandoned by the Federal government until 1931, nearly a century after its construction.
- 04.Historian Lyman Draper devoted more than twenty years to collecting documents by and about the Hinde family as part of his efforts to preserve records of the Trans-Allegheny West.
- 05.Hinde contributed to the Madoc Tradition, a body of historical and folkloric inquiry into the claim that a Welsh prince named Madoc reached North America before Columbus.