William M. Pingry was a Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 attorney and politician who served as State Auditor.

Biography

William Morrill Pingry was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire

Salisbury, New Hampshire

Salisbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 1,382 at the 2010 census.-History:While still part of Massachusetts, the town was granted as Baker's Town after Captain Thomas Baker in 1736. After New Hampshire became a separate colony, the town was re-granted by the...

 on May 28, 1806. He studied law, attained admission to the bar in Caledonia County, Vermont

Caledonia County, Vermont

Caledonia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 31,227. Its shire town is St. Johnsbury.The county was given the Latin name for Scotland, in honor of the many settlers who claimed ancestry there....

 in 1832, and began to practice in Waitsfield

Waitsfield, Vermont

Waitsfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,659 at the 2000 census. It was created by Vermont charter on February 25, 1782...

. Pingry also served as Waitsfield's town clerk.

In 1841 Pingry moved to Windsor County, living first in Springfield

Springfield, Vermont

Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,373 at the 2010 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, the township was chartered on August 20, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others...

 and later in Perkinsville

Perkinsville, Vermont

Perkinsville is a village located in the town of Weathersfield, Windsor County, Vermont. The population was 142 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

. While residing in Perkinsville Pingry served in local offices including justice of the peace, master in chancery and assistant town clerk.

He served as Assistant Judge in both Washington

Washington County, Vermont

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 59,534; Vermont's third-most populous county after Chittenden County and Rutland County. Its shire town is Montpelier, the state capital. The center of population of Vermont is located in Washington...

 and Windsor Counties. Pingry also served terms in the Vermont House of Representatives

Vermont House of Representatives

The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members. Vermont legislative districting divides representing districts into 66 single-member districts and 42 two-member...

 and Vermont Senate

Vermont Senate

The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-member districts, three three-member districts, and one...

.

Interested in education, Pingry was a founder and board of trustees member of the Vermont Academy

Vermont Academy

Vermont Academy is an American coeducational boarding/day school and college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve and also offers acceptance for students seeking a post-graduate year. Founded in 1876, it is located in Saxtons River, Vermont. The school is coeducational, and...

 in Saxtons River

Saxtons River, Vermont

Saxtons River is an incorporated village in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 519 at the 2000 census. For over a hundred years, Saxtons River has been the home of Vermont Academy, an independent secondary school.The Saxtons River Village Historic...

. A devout Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

, he served as for decades as a church deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

, Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

 teacher, and Sunday school superintendent.

In 1850 Pingry was a delegate to the Vermont constitutional convention.

From 1853 to 1860 Pingry served as Vermont's Auditor of Accounts.

In 1854 Pingry became Cashier of Bethel's

Bethel, Vermont

Bethel is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. The town includes the locations of Bethel-Gilead, East Bethel, Lilliesville, Lympus , and West Bethel...

 White River Bank, serving until 1857.

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 conferred an honorary master of arts

Master of Arts

A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...

degree on Pingry in 1860.

Pingry also researched and wrote a family history, 1881's A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Moses Pengry, of Ipswich, Mass.

He died in Perkinsville on May 1, 1885, after having contracted pneumonia.