Hinckley was born ca. 1618 in England to Samuel Hinckley (1595-1662) of Tenterden, Kent, and the former Sarah Soule. The family came to Plymouth Colony in 1635, settling first at Scituate and moving to Barnstable four years later.

Thomas Hinckley as Plymouth Colony Leader

Young Thomas, not yet 30, became a Plymouth Colony deputy in 1645 and a representative in 1647. As Hinckley matured, more responsibility was added. A decade later, Hinckley became a magistrate and an assistant to the governor. Thomas Hinckley was only deputy governor for a year before becoming governor in 1681. Hinckley’s governing experience reached beyond the Plymouth Colony and included becoming a commissioner on the central board of the two colonies (Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth) from 1673 until they merged in 1692. Then Hinckley became a councilor. Three volumes of Thomas Hinckley papers were among manuscripts of the Old South Church Library that in 1866 were deposited in the Boston Public Library.