Hinch, Benjamin P.

Born: 1812-XX-XX Christian County, Kentucky

Died: 1861-05-19 Gallatin County, Illinois

Flourished: New Haven, Illinois

Benjamin P. Hinch was a merchant, justice of the peace, county judge, postmaster, state legislator, notary public, and prominent citizen of Gallatin County, Illinois. Hinch moved from his native Kentucky first to Tennessee and later to Illinois, settling in Gallatin County in 1839. In June 1843, Hinch married Rebecca S. Barger, with whom he had four children. Hinch worked as a merchant, buying and selling produce and provisions for the New Orleans market. From May 1845 to December 1854, he was postmaster of New Haven, Illinois. In 1850, Hinch owned real property valued at $730. Hinch resigned as postmaster to represent Gallatin County in the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served, as a Democrat, from January to February 1855. Hinch held numerous other civic positions, including justice of the peace, county judge, and notary public. In 1860, he was living in New Haven and operating a mercantile establishment. He owned real property valued at $5,000 and had a personal estate of $4,500.

History of White County Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1883), 953-54; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Gallatin County, 15 June 1843, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; List of Members of the Illinois Legislature in 1855; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:32, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Gallatin County, IL, 347; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 220; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), New Haven, Gallatin County, IL, 4.