| William M. Pingry | |
| Office1: | Vermont Auditor of Accounts |
| Term Start1: | 1853 |
| Term End1: | 1860 |
| Governor1: | John S. Robinson Stephen Royce Ryland Fletcher Hiland Hall |
| Predecessor1: | Frederick E. Woodbridge |
| Successor1: | Jeptha Bradley |
| Birth Date: | 28 May 1806 |
| Birth Place: | Salisbury, New Hampshire |
| Death Date: | May 1, 1885 |
| Death Place: | Perkinsville, Vermont |
| Spouse: | Lucy G. Brown (m. 1836-1865, her death) Lucy C. Richardson (m. 1868-1885, his death) |
| Children: | 2 |
| Relations: | Samuel E. Pingree (nephew) |
| Occupation: | Attorney |
| Signature: | Wm-M-Pingry.jpg |
William M. Pingry (May 28, 1806 – May 1, 1885) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as State Auditor.
William Morrill Pingry was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire on May 28, 1806.[1] He was educated at the local schools and Salisbury Academy, and worked on his family's farm until age 22.[1] He served in the New Hampshire militia, and attained the rank of major.[1] Pingry studied law with Samuel I. Wells of Salisbury and the firm of Shaw & Chandler in Danville, Vermont.[1] He attained admission to the bar in Caledonia County, Vermont in 1832, and began to practice in Waitsfield.[2] Pingry also served as Waitsfield's town clerk.[3]
In 1841 Pingry moved to Windsor County, living first in Springfield and later in Perkinsville.[1] While residing in Perkinsville Pingry served in local offices including justice of the peace, master in chancery and assistant town clerk.[4]
He served as Assistant Judge in both Washington and Windsor Counties.[1] Pingry also served terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate.[5] [6] [7]
Interested in education, Pingry was a founder and board of trustees member of the Vermont Academy in Saxtons River.[8] A devout Baptist, he served for decades as a church deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Sunday school superintendent.[9]
In 1850 Pingry was a delegate to the Vermont constitutional convention.[10]
From 1853 to 1860 Pingry served as Vermont's Auditor of Accounts.[11] [12]
In 1854 Pingry became Cashier of Bethel's White River Bank, serving until 1857.[13]
Dartmouth College conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree on Pingry in 1860.[14]
Pingry also researched and wrote a family history, 1881's A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Moses Pengry, of Ipswich, Mass.[15] [16]
He died in Perkinsville on May 1, 1885, after contracting pneumonia.[17] [18]
In 1836, Pingry married Lucy G. Brown of Springfield.[1] She died in 1865, and in 1868 Pingry married Lucy C. Richardson of Waitsfield.[1] With his first wife, Pingry was the father of two children, Mary H. Pingry and Gratia M. Pingry.[1] Mary Pingry was the wife of Dr. O. F. Bigelow of Amherst, Massachusetts.[1] Gratia Pingry married C. C. Boynton of Lebanon, New Hampshire.[1]
Samuel E. Pingree, who received the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War and served as Governor of Vermont, was his nephew.[19]