Samuel Hinks (May 1, 1815 – November 30, 1887) was

Mayor of Baltimore The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, from 1854 to 1856. He was a member of the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

party. He was succeeded in 1856 by fellow Know Nothing

Thomas Swann Thomas Swann (February 3, 1809 – July 24, 1883) was an American lawyer and Politics of the United States, politician who also was President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it completed track to Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling and gaine ...

Early life

Samuel Hinks was born in

Ellicott City Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...

Howard County, Maryland Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 287,085. As of the 2020 census its population rose to 328,200. Its county seat is Ellicott City. Howard County is included in the Baltimore-Colu ...

on May 1, 1815. In his early adult life he became a steam engineer. Later he moved to Baltimore where he entered the grain business, and soon established a partnership with his brother, Charles Dent Hinks.

Politics

In 1854 Samuel Hinks was elected Mayor of Baltimore, standing as a candidate for the nationalist anti-Catholic American Party. Members of the party were popularly known as "Know-Nothings" because, when asked about their secret organizations, their members were said to reply "I know nothing".

Baltimore mayoral election of 1856

Thomas Swann of Maryland - photo portrait seated

During the mid-1850s public order in Baltimore had been threatened by the election of candidates of the American Party. As the 1856 Mayoral elections approached, Hinks was pressed by Baltimorians to order the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

of General George H. Steuart in readiness to maintain order, as widespread violence was anticipated. Hinks duly gave Steuart the order to ready the militia, but he soon rescinded it.Andrews, p.476 In the event, violence broke out on polling day, with shots exchanged by competing mobs. In the 2nd and 8th wards several citizens were killed, and many wounded.Andrews, p.477 In the 6th ward artillery was used, and a pitched battle fought on Orleans St between gangs of Know Nothings and rival Democrats, raging for several hours. The result of the election, in which voter fraud was widespread, was a victory for the Know Nothing candidate,

, by around 9,000 votes. Swann duly succeeded Hinks as Mayor of Baltimore.

Later life

In 1860, Hinks retired from the grain business. Soon afterwards he was elected Water Registrar, a position which he continued to hold until 1863. He died on November 30, 1887, in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

. He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.

Notes

References

* Andrews, Matthew Page, ''History of Maryland'', Doubleday Doran & Co, New York City (1929).

External links

Samuel Hinks at www.msa.md.gov
Retrieved July 29, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinks, Samuel Mayors of Baltimore Maryland Know Nothings 1815 births 1887 deaths