Thomas Worthington (governor)

For other people named Thomas Worthington, see Thomas Worthington (disambiguation).
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
Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Died June 20, 1827 (aged 53)
New York City
Political party Democratic-Republican
Residence Adena Mansion

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

Early life

Born in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), Worthington moved to Ross County, Ohio in 1796. The home he eventually built just outside Chillicothe was called Adena and is the namesake of the Adena culture.

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.[9]

Legacy

Worthington is member of the Ohio Hall Of Fame.[9] 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".[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "First Constitutional Convention, Convened November 1, 1802". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications. V: 131–132. 1896.
  2. ↑ "Thomas Worthington." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Biography in Context. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.remarkableohio.org/index.php?/category/763
  4. ↑ The "Old Northwest" Genealogical Quarterly. April, 1903. Page 34.
  5. ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=94238
  6. ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=94237
  7. ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=94168
  8. ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=94167
  9. 1 2 3 "Thomas Worthington". Find A Grave. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Grandview Cemetery". Grandview Cemetery. Retrieved July 29, 2012.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Worthington (governor).

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

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