US Congressman. He was born one of twelve children (he also had eight sisters and three brothers) to John Shinn and his wife Mary Norton Shinn in Springfield, New Jersey, on October 24, 1782. He was educated locally and attended public schools. Following his education, he became a farmer and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Sarah Budd on January 25, 1804, in New Jersey, and the couple would have two children together. During that time he also became interested in politics. He then served a term as the Sheriff of Burlington County, New Jersey, from 1825 to 1838. He also served as a Member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1828, Chairman of the New Jersey Legislative Council in 1818, and 1829 to 1832, and Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Central Committee in 1832. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected. A Member of the Jacksonian Party, he then served New Jersey as an At-Large Delegate (Twenty-Third Congress and Twenty-Fourth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1837. After his term in the United States Congress expired he was succeeded in office by United States Representative Thomas Jones Yorke on March 4, 1837. After leaving the United States Congress he resumed his farming and agricultural pursuits and moved to Northampton, New Jersey. He then became President of the Burlington Agricultural Association from 1853 to 1854 and was Director of the Camden & Amboy Railroad Company until his retirement. He passed away on August 18, 1871, at the age of 88, in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery in that city. His wife Sarah passed away in July of 1856 and she was buried beside her husband.