Thomas Worthington (governor)

Thomas Worthington (July 16, 1773 – June 20, 1827) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the sixth Governor of Ohio.

Thomas Worthington
6th Governor of Ohio
In office December 8, 1814 – December 14, 1818
Preceded by	Othniel Looker
Succeeded by	Ethan Allen Brown
United States Senator from Ohio
In office December 15, 1810 – December 1, 1814
Preceded by	Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph Kerr
In office April 1, 1803 – March 4, 1807
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Edward Tiffin
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Ross County
In office 1803–1803
Preceded by	new district
Succeeded by	William Creighton, Jr. James Dunlap John Evans Elias Langham
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Ross, Franklin and Highland counties
In office 1807–1808
Preceded by	James Dunlap Nathaniel Massie David Shelby Abraham J. Williams
Succeeded by	District eliminated
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Ross, Franklin and Highland counties
In office 1821–1823
Preceded by	John Bailhache John Entrekin William Vance
Succeeded by	George Nashee Allison C. Looker Edward King
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Ross
In office 1824–1825
Preceded by	George Nashee Allison C. Looker Edward King
Succeeded by	Isaac Cook Edward King
Personal details
Born	July 16, 1773 near Charles Town, Colony of Virginia, British America (now Charles Town, West Virginia)
Died	June 20, 1827 (aged 53) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Residence	Adena Mansion

Early life

Worthington was born in Berkeley County near Charles Town in the Colony of Virginia (his birthplace is now located within the modern-day state of West Virginia). In 1796, he married a Virginia woman, Eleanor Swearingen, who joined him in emigrating to Ross County, Ohio , where they emancipated their slaves. The home they eventually built just outside Chillicothe was called Adena and is the namesake of the Adena culture. The first of their ten children, daughter Mary, married David Macomb, a future leader of the Texas Revolution. Their first son, James, graduated from West Point, held the rank of Brigadier General in the Ohio Militia, and later fought in the Mexican-American and Civil Wars.

Career

He served in the Territorial House of Representatives from 1799 to 1803 and served as a Ross county delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1802.[1] He was a leader of the Chillicothe Junto, a group of Chillicothe Democratic-Republican politicians who brought about the admission of Ohio as a state in 1803 and largely controlled its politics for some years thereafter. Among his colleagues in the faction were Nathaniel Massie and Edward Tiffin.[2]

Worthington was elected one of Ohio's first Senators in 1803, serving until 1807. He was returned to the Senate in December 1810 upon the resignation of Return J. Meigs, Jr. and served until December 1814, when he resigned after winning election to the governorship. On June 17, 1812, he voted "No" on the resolution to declare war on Britain, but the vote in favor of war was 19 to 13. He won re-election as governor two years later, moving the state capital from Chillicothe to Columbus. Worthington did not seek re-election in 1818.

He platted what would become the city of Logan, Ohio in 1816.[3]

In January 1819, when the election was held to replace the retiring Jeremiah Morrow in the Senate, he held the lead through the first three ballots, only losing when factions aligned behind William A. Trimble on the fourth and final ballot.[4] He narrowly lost a bid for a partial term in the Senate in 1821, losing to the incumbent governor, Ethan Allen Brown, and so he instead returned to the Ohio House of Representatives.

After being the runner-up in the 1808[5] and 1810[6] gubernatorial elections, he won the 1814[7] and 1816 elections[8] by landslide margins. Both times he nearly reached three-quarters of the vote. After two terms he stepped down as governor.

Death

Worthington was initially buried at his estate in Adena, and was later interred at Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio.

Legacy

Worthington is a member of the Ohio Hall Of Fame. The city of Worthington, Ohio, was named in Worthington's honor, as was Thomas Worthington High School.

Worthington is known as the "Father of the Ohio statehood".[9]

References

1. Ryan, Daniel Joseph (1896). "First Constitutional Convention, Convened November 1, 1802". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications. V: 131–132.
2. "Thomas Worthington." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Biography in Context. Web. January 13, 2016.
3. "Hocking County / 1-37 Thomas Worthington Founder of Logan - Remarkable Ohio". www.remarkableohio.org.
4. The "Old Northwest" Genealogical Quarterly. April 1903. Page 34.
5. "Our Campaigns - OH Governor Race - Oct 11, 1808". www.ourcampaigns.com.
6. "Our Campaigns - OH Governor Race - Oct 09, 1810". www.ourcampaigns.com.
7. "Our Campaigns - OH Governor Race - Oct 11, 1814". www.ourcampaigns.com.
8. "Our Campaigns - OH Governor Race - Oct 08, 1816". www.ourcampaigns.com.
9. "Grandview Cemetery". Grandview Cemetery. Retrieved July 29, 2012.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Thomas Worthington (id: W000750)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns, 1787–1825
• Sears, Alfred Byron, Thomas Worthington, father of Ohio statehood, Ohio State University Press for the Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH [1958] Full text here

External links

• Thomas Worthington at Ohio History Central
• Ohio Memory
• Adena Mansion & Gardens
• The Public Career of Thomas Worthington, Doctoral Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1932

"Worthington, Thomas" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.