Adam Lewis "A.L." Bingaman (February 11, 1793 - September 6, 1869) studied law in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Harvard University Class of 1812. While in Boston he met and married Julia Maria Murray, daughter of

Judith Sargent Murray Judith Sargent Stevens Murray (May 1, 1751 – June 9, 1820) was an early American advocate for women's rights, an essay writer, playwright, poet, and letter writer. She was one of the first American proponents of the idea of the equality of the ...

, feminist, poet, and writer of the Universalist Church in America.

Plantation life

Murray and her daughter went to live at ''Fatherland'', the Bingaman family plantation in Natchez, Mississippi. Life on the plantation was privileged. The noted race horse, Lexington (horse) was stabled at the Bingaman plantation while being trained by

John Benjamin Pryor John Benjamin Pryor (1812 – December 26, 1890), was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He trained Lexington, a top racehorse of the 1850s whose excellence in competition and reputation as a sire stud continued well into the 20th c ...

, the horse trainer at the top of his field. Bingaman was a slaveholder, holding 230 slaves in 1850 and 310 in 1860. Bingaman had a relationship with a free-black woman, Mary E. Williams, and may have fathered as many as six children: Frances Ann, wife of Pryor; Cordelia, Emilie, Marie Sophie Charlotte, James and Henriette.

Orator and political life

As a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1833, Bingaman headed a select committee during the Nullification Crisis that preceded the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. He served as the president of the State Senate from 1838 to 1840. Bingaman was described by his peers as "a man of rare qualifications for a popular leader, being gifted by nature in mind and personal appearance (which was most dignified and commanding), with a polished education and fascinating manners; he was a natural orator." After Charles Lynch was elected governor of Mississippi, Bingaman read Lynch's inaugural speech to the Mississippi Assembly. Bingaman's reputation as an orator was heightened by his speech to General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

at Natchez in January 1840.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingaman, Adam Lewis 1790 births 1869 deaths Harvard University alumni Mississippi state senators Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians