The youngest of twelve children, George Hindley, was born in Ontario, Canada on November 27, 1852. When he was six, his father passed away. Within a year, his mother was married again to a man to whom all her children objected. In 1866, his mother also died, leaving him an orphan at fourteen years of age.
Having overheard his siblings say they supposed they would “have to take care of George,” he was determined to make his own way. One night he tied his few belongings in a bundle and slipped away, leaving no word. He headed east and found work as a carpenter’s assistant. After several months, he decided to visit his brothers and sisters. He arrived dressed in good clothes and with money in his pocket. From then on, he was regarded as a man and quite able to care for himself.
As a young man, he became an actor and lecturer with the Chautauqua organization. He decided to use his talents of persuasion for furthering peace and goodwill among men and began theological studies. He eventually graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio.
While living in Avoca, Iowa, he became a US citizen and married his wife, Stella Pearl. Hindley lead churches in Lead, South Dakota Territory and Nebraska City before moving the family to Weeping Water in 1883, where, by his own words, he did his life’s greatest work.
Under his guidance, the Weeping Water Academy was founded in the fall of 1885. Soon after, the congregation made plans to raise money and build a new church and sell the old chapel to the trustees of the Weeping Water Academy.
On July 28th, 1887, they placed the cornerstone for the new church. The official dedication of the grand new church took place on October 19th, 1890.
In 1893, he was called to be the president of a Congregational college in Indiana. The family later moved to Helena, Montana, where Hindley became superintendent of the Society of the Friendless. He was widely respected by all throughout the state for his work in prison reform. He helped “friendless” ex-convicts find work and homes, sometimes taking them into his own home.
It was on the street in Helena where, on the afternoon of May 29, 1912, he was struck with heart trouble from which he would not recover. He passed away the next day at the age of 59.
As was his last wish, his family brought him home to be laid to rest in his beloved town of Weeping Water. George Hindley was known for his generosity and kindness to all; and his fine intellect and wit. Stella and George had 7 children and adopted one more. Originally, there was no marker for his grave, but in 1963, a group of his former Academy students and congregants raised money and placed a headstone on his grave. Pay him a visit at Oakwood in Section C, just to the south and west of the veteran’s memorial.
