Thomas Worthington (governor)
| Thomas Worthington | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 6th Governor of Ohio | |
| In office 1814–1818 |
|
| Preceded by | Othniel Looker |
| Succeeded by | Ethan Allen Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 16, 1773 Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) |
| Died | June 20, 1827 (aged 53) New York City |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Thomas Worthington (July 16, 1773 – June 20, 1827) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the sixth Governor of Ohio.
Contents |
Early life [edit]
Born in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), Worthington moved to Ross County, Ohio in 1796. The home he eventually built just outside of Chillicothe was called Adena and is the namesake of the Adena culture.
Career [edit]
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.
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. He won re-election two years later, moving the state capital from Chillicothe to Columbus. Worthington did not seek re-election in 1818. 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.[2] 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.
Death [edit]
Worthington was initially buried at his estate in Adena, and was later interred at Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio.[3]
Legacy [edit]
Worthington is member of the Ohio Hall Of Fame.[3] 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-Erie Canal".[3][4]
References [edit]
- ^ "First Constitutional Convention, Convened November 1, 1802". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications V: 131–132. 1896.
- ^ The "Old Northwest" Genealogical Quarterly. April, 1903. Page 34.
- ^ a b c "Thomas Worthington". Find A Grave. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
- ^ "Grandview Cemetery". Grandview Cemetery. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
Sources [edit]
- Thomas Worthington at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns, 1787-1825
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thomas Worthington (governor) |
"Worthington, Thomas". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
| Offices and distinctions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- 1773 births
- 1827 deaths
- Governors of Ohio
- Members of the Ohio House of Representatives
- Northwest Territory officials
- United States Senators from Ohio
- People from Chillicothe, Ohio
- Ohio Democratic-Republicans
- Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802)
- American surveyors
- People from Charles Town, West Virginia
- Democratic-Republican Party United States Senators
- Northwest Territory House of Representatives
- Burials at Grandview Cemetery, (Chillicothe, Ohio)
