Timothy Hinman (21 July 1762 - 29 April 1850) in

Woodbury, Connecticut Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,723 at the 2020 census. The town center, comprising the adjacent villages of Woodbury and North Woodbury, is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Woo ...

was a pioneer settler and road builder who constructed the

Hinman Settler Road The Hinman Settler Road was constructed by former Revolutionary War veteran Timothy Hinman from 1791–1795 in Orleans County, Vermont. Hinman's intent was to help develop the land he owned in Derby. The road is long. It starts at the Bayley Ha ...

Orleans County, Vermont Orleans County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,393. Its county seat is the city of Newport. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1799. As in t ...

. He was married to Phebe Stoddard (5 November 1769 - 15 July 1858). An historical marker placed by the town of

Derby, Vermont Derby is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,579 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Orleans County. The town contains four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Sa ...

near Hinman's homestead on

U.S. Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfi ...

names "the honorable Timothy Hinman" as town founder, and notes that he served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, first came to Derby in 1790, constructed the first house in the town in 1794, and would go on to serve as Chief Judge of Orleans County, legislator, importer/exporter, banker and church founder. He also operated a dry goods store and tavern in Derby. The often-romanticized "Sketch of the Life of Hon. Timothy Hinman" by Bingham cited in the References below, short on specific details to back up its sometimes florid prose, contrasts with the detailed and carefully documented account by Sangree also cited below, "The Checkered Career of Timothy Hinman." Sangree quotes from Hinman's gravestone inscription to establish her point: "'Faithful, honest, just, and good' is strong praise for a man who, in addition to building roads, starting a town from scratch, and rendering judicial decisions, speculated in land, selling the lots at huge profits; smuggled and traded with the enemy; cheated his associates; defaulted on thousands of dollars of loans and betrayed the public trust; and upon conviction, escaped from jail. Hinman’s life illustrates the contradictions inherent in financial risk taking early in the nineteenth century: While the potential for accumulating wealth was great, the chances of ruin were also high".

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References

* * 1762 births 1850 deaths American pioneers People from Derby, Vermont People from Woodbury, Connecticut {{US-business-bio-1760s-stub