THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THE TOWN OF
WORTHINGTON
BY HELEN M. DUDLEY
The lovely village of Worthington, Ohio,
is a charming bit
of old New England set down in the heart
of Ohio's Scioto coun-
try, near the pleasant slopes of the
Olentangy. Its atmosphere
having been preserved intact by the
careful protection of the many
original features attesting its
exceptional history, and by the
adaptation of new things to the old, it
has the distinction of
being one of the rarest, most precious
possessions of the State.
For as years see the continuous
destruction of old landmarks
by the ruthless--too often
ugly--innovations of "progress," this
village stands out as a community that,
from the first, discerned
the value of its heritage, maintained it
and built upon it.
Its intrinsic, century-and-a-half-old
charm, strangely enough,
is largely due to its having been
singularly protected, at crises in
its development, by its failure to
secure certain industrial and
political "advantages to its
progress"; through losing such ear-
nestly solicited things as the
"through East-West road"; and later,
through barely failing to become the
state's capital. Such losses,
regarded at the time as calamities, have
long since proved especial
blessings; for time has proved that the
independence and pro-
tection thus secured to the little
incorporated village, by giving
it incentive and opportunity to preserve
its individual distinction,
has made it increasingly desirable as a
place of residence, until
it may be said to have no rival as
"the most attractive suburb of
Columbus."
Several things beside its being the
one-hundred-and-fortieth
anniversary of its founding and of the
publication of its name,
bring this village to the especial
attention of its admirers in this
year of 1943. One is, the re-discovery
of a document which sup-
plies direct, decisive evidence as to
the naming of the town, along
(248)
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 249
with some additional data. The other is
the decision of the
citizens of the village to make these
findings safe and accessible
in their archives; for they shed light
on a heretofore obscure
chapter of the history of the town, and
decide a controversy that
has existed, at least, for half a
century.
It is well known that Colonel James
Kilbourne founded this
village, but unfortunately, the facts
regarding the origin of its
name--the person or place for whom it
was named--do not seem
to have been so carefully recorded, so
reverently cherished, as
have other truths of its unusual
history. Formal records, if such
there were, seem to have been lost sight
of. To date, apparently,
such facts were entrusted to verbal
narrators; and as generation
followed generation, the facts they
told, receding into the shadowy
past, have become obscured, confused. As
is usually the case,
traditions and rumors have sprung up.
Throughout the town's existence, most of
the inhabitants
(contrary to the claims of some current
writers) as well as in-
terested people generally, appear to
have believed that the place
was named for Thomas Worthington who, at
the time of its
founding not only was regarded as the
leader of the group that
"stood for the Democratic (or
Progressive) party in Ohio" and
as an "outstanding figure in the
state," but who also was one
of unrivalled achievements in private
business enterprise and life.
While this belief has the most general
acceptance, several others
have been so persistent and have so
frequently been accepted by
writers, that they have challenged to
investigation those who
wish to know the truth. Although the
dearth of published ac-
counts regarding the Thomas Worthington
origin, together with
the number of published accounts of the
opposing opinions that
have been passed on, have complicated
inquiry into this contro-
versy, the sought-for-origin has,
happily, come to light.
One opinion that has gained some
credence, is that this town
was named for a man in Massachusetts. In
a pamphlet in the
Ohio State Library is this statement:
"After a somewhat thorough
investigation, the writer con-
cludes that the name of our village was
given to honor the memory
250
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
of Colonel John Worthington, an
Assemblyman of Massachusetts,
who had been very successful in
adjusting some difficulties that
arose in Connecticut and Massachusetts
about the time that the
Scioto Company was organized in the
former state."1
As the original sources of the
"John Worthington conclusion"
have not yet been available to this
inquirer; and as it was seldom
met in this particular investigation,
this conclusion may be dis-
missed for one more prevalent, that is,
that the name was given in
memory of the parish of Worthington, in
Connecticut, in which
Mr. Kilbourne preached for a short time;
or at least for "a village
in Connecticut." The earliest
statement of this second opinion,
found in this research, was in an
article which had appeared on the
occasion of the centennial of the
founding of Worthington, "pur-
porting to prove that the town was named
for a town in New
England--because of religious ties with
James Kilbourne and his
associates." The following is an
excerpt from this article, found
in the "Old Northwest"
Genealogical Quarterly, for October, 1903:
An opinion seems to prevail among many
that the Town of Worthing-
ton was named for Gov. Thomas
Worthington, first Senator from Ohio.
The universal tradition among the
descendants of the settlers, however, is
that the name was given in memory of a
Connecticut locality.
The following letters seem to be of
interest in determining the matter.
The Worthington therein referred to was
a village in the east part of Ber-
lin, on the main road from Middletown to
Farmington, about ten miles
northwest of the former. Barber's
Connecticut Historical Collections states
that Berlin was incorporated in 1785,
having been previously the Second
Society of Farmington, by the name of
Kensington, and set off about 1712.
In 1753 Kensington was divided by the
formation of New Britain, and again
in 1772 by the formation of the Society
of Worthington; its name being
derived from one of the committee who
located the Society, quoting Pease
and Niles Gazetteer as authority.... It
[Worthington] was incorporated as
a borough in 1834....3
In the first paragraph of this extract,
the author states that
according to "the universal
tradition among the descendants of
the settlers--the name was given in
memory of a Connecticut
locality." It is easily understood
that, the settlers being "a com-
pany of Episcopalians," devoted to
their church home, their
1 Program of
Dedication, First Presbyterian Church of Worthington, Ohio,
Jan-
uary, 1927.
2 "Old Northwest"
Genealogical Quarterly (Columbus), VI
(October, 1903), 121-3.
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 251
"descendants" would naturally
be interested in forwarding a tra-
dition that would perpetuate the memory
of those parishes, and
that would tend to keep warm and strong
those church ties.
This "Parish Tradition,"
however, has no basis on fact. The
above excerpt is possibly, the first
formal statement on the New
England-Parish-Village tradition. There
are a number of instances
of its acceptance by later Ohio
historians.
One of the earliest of these, is in a
history of the New
England churches and parishes from which
Kilbourne and the
members of his colony came. This book
states that Kilbourne
"founded the town of Worthington,
Ohio, which he named in
honor of his parish;" and again,
"the place where the company
settled in Ohio was named Worthington,
in honor of Mr. Kil-
bourne's old parish in
Connecticut."3
It is clear that the author of these
statements accepted those
of the author of the original statement
of this tradition, in the
same volumes of Old Northwest, quoted
above. This is evident
not only from the date of the
above-quoted article (which was
published four years before the church
history), but from the
fact that James Shepard refers
definitely--in regard to some re-
lated material--(p. 157) to the same
volume and pages that con-
tain the original statement quoted when
he says:
"The certificate of Mr. Kilbourne's
ordination was copied
for us from the original by M. F. T.
Cole, editor of the Old
Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, and the recommendation and
letter to the Bishop are copied from
Vol. 6,
p. 122, 123 of that
magazine." Thus the original statement of this
tradition, and
that of Mr. Shepard, based on it, will
be seen to be one and the
same.
Another example of the acceptance of the
Connecticut tra-
dition may be found in Opha Moore's History
of Franklin
County:
"Contrary to a widely spread
belief, the Village of Worthing-
ton was not named in honor of Colonel
and Governor Worthing-
ton of this state. It was named for the
parish of Worthington
3 History of Saint Mark's
Church, New Britain, Connecticut, and of its Predecessor,
Christ Church (Wethersfield and Berlin, 1907), 188.
252 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in Connecticut, near that of New Britain
where Colonel Kilbourne
was born."4
To quote another instance: in a book now
in various li-
braries, including the Kilbourne Library
of Worthington, Ohio,
one finds the following: "Rev.
Kilbourne was a remarkable man:
farmer, mechanic, mathematician,
business man, soldier and clergy-
man.--Because he had been born in the
parish of Worthington,
Connecticut, the new settlement was named Worthington, in his
honor."5
In the face of all this confusion, it
may be reassuring to
those interested to know that this study
has uncovered both
direct and indirect evidence that the
town was named for Thomas
Worthington.
The principal direct evidence is to be
found in a letter from
Colonel James Kilbourne, bearing the
heading, "Worthington,
Febr. 7th, 1804," and addressed to
"Col. Thomas Worthington.
City Washington." This letter
states that at an "entertainment--
the name of our town" was
published, "as was my duty, by a
resolve of the Company before we left
Connecticut," and lists the
twelve "Tosts" that were drunk
to on that occasion. On the first
page is the second toast which states
clearly and definitely the
origin of the Scioto Company's new
settlement: "And The Town
of Worthington. While it perpetuates the Memory of our worthy
Friend with reference to whom
it is Named,--May it become
conspicuous for Science, Enterprise
& the Useful Arts."6
The above statement alone has been
accepted by authorities as
full and sufficient evidence of the fact
that Worthington, Ohio, is
unquestionably the "namesake"
of Thomas Worthington, then
Colonel and early United States Senator,
and later, Governor of
4 (Topeka, 1930.)
5 The Woodrow Guild, Shedding Light
on Worthington (Worthington, Ohio, 1931).
Incidentally, the statement that Colonel
Kilbourne was born in the parish of
Worthington, Connecticut, would seem to
be in error, if the statements in the preced-
ing excerpt are correct; for that
excerpt states that (1) Worthington was "a village
in Berlin," previously called
Kensington; and (2) that "Kensington was divided--in
1872, by the formation of Worthington,
Connecticut." This suggests--at least to the
general reader--that Colonel Kilbourne,
having been born in New Britain, in 1770,
could not have been born in Worthington,
as (according to the authority quoted from
Old Northwest above) the latter place was not formed until 1772.
6 The italics are Colonel Kilbourne's.
Letter from Colonel James Kilbourne to
Colonel Thomas Worthington, Feb. 7,
1804, p. 1, Worthington Collection, Dept. of
Documents, Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society Library, Columbus.
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 253
Ohio and General of Militia. Although
nothing is needed to
corroborate this statement about the
town's founder, yet the other
document found, and the gift it conveys
are too closely connected
with Colonel Kilbourne's recorded facts
to be omitted. This sec-
ond document, bearing the heading,
"State of Ohio--Executive
Department--Columbus, August 10, 1880," is a
letter from
Charles Foster, then Governor of Ohio.
It makes the formal
transfer to the citizens of Worthington,
through their Board of
Education, of a portrait of Thomas
Worthington, in behalf of
Hon. Rufus King of Cincinnati, the
donor. This large and
handsome painting had been removed from
the rotunda of the
Capitol--evidently to give place to the
one of Governor Worthing-
ton now there. For a number of years
after its acceptance by
the town, it hung in the main school
building. At the time of
the school's transfer to the present new
structure, it was stored
and temporarily lost sight of. It has
recently been brought to
light by the Board of Education,
however. More will be said
of it in another connection. The letter
signifies, in brief, that
the Hon. Rufus King was giving the
portrait of his grandfather
into the possession of the town of
Worthington; and that thus,
for all time, through their Board of
Education, he has entrusted
it into the custody of the people of the
town "for preservation
and exhibition."7
Now Rufus King, son of Sarah Worthington
King Peter,
had, all his life been in close
association with the nearest rela-
tives of Governor Worthington--including
Colonel Thomas
Worthington, Jr., and E. D. Mansfield
who married a daughter
of Governor Worthington, and Dr. Daniel
Drake, another kins-
man.
The latter two--Mansfield and Drake--were the most
energetic collectors and purveyors of
facts in Ohio; and by no
chance could King be considered to be
making a mistake when he
presented Governor Worthington's
portrait to the citizens of the
village because the founder had honored
his grandfather.
7 Letter from Governor Foster to the
Board of Education of Worthington, Ohio,
August 10, 1880 (original in possession
of present Board of Education, Worthington).
The letter of Governor Foster was
recently given to the present Board of Educa-
tion by Miss Ruth Griswold, a descendant
of one of the original settlers of the vil-
lage, and also of the President of the
Board of Education in 1880.
254
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
The truth regarding the name of Colonel
Kilbourne's settle-
ment having been established by the
founder himself, supported
by the act of a kinsman and by the
Governor of Ohio, no further
"burden of proof" rests on the
truth-seeker; and nothing more
is necessary to satisfy those to whom
"direct evidence" is every-
thing.
Yet there is also an intriguing chapter
which traces the eager
interest with which James Kilbourne
followed in his mind, the
progressive stages of Worthington and
his party's battles in the
forming of Ohio--and the decisive
influence these and their final
victory had on the individual steps of
his own plans, his final
decisions and settlement. Omitting this
whole fascinating chap-
ter, there is a phase of this subject,
opened up by the rest of the
"Kilbourne-Worthington
Letter," that seems to be of greater
significance than even the quoted
paragraph of direct evidence,
for it reveals a stronger and deeper
motive than Kilbourne's
knowledge of Worthington as a statesman,
or his admiration born
of even the closest business
association. It goes back to a time
one-and-a-half years preceding this
letter.
On both trips to Ohio preceding his
emigration--1802 and
1803--Rev. Mr. Kilbourne was in
Chillicothe, and during the
first trip he worked in Colonel
Worthington's office compiling his
map of Ohio. As Colonel Worthington had
in that summer of
1802, moved into his new home in the country near Chillicothe--
a home as famous as its successor,
Adena, for its hospitality--
there can be no doubt that on the first
trip (and probably on the
second) he was entertained at the
Worthington home.
This is suggestive of a more personal
relationship between
them. As Oliver Wendell Holmes,
"the younger," wrote to his
fellow members of the Supreme Court, on
retiring: "The long and
intimate association with men who so
command my respect and
admiration, could not but fix my
affections as well." This may
also have been true of James Kilbourne:
that the respect he felt
for Thomas Worthington, resulting from
business association,
culminated in the feeling of warm,
sincere friendship which would
be of far more influence, a year later,
in Mr. Kilbourne's choice
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 255
of a name for his project than any mere
business association,
however important, could have been. For it does not seem
credible that a man whose letter
breathes such mingled friend-
ship, gratitude and respect as does that
of James Kilbourne,
would have missed any opportunity to
honor his "Benefactor"--
and his own settlement--by the use of
his distinguished name.
But this can best be judged by the
reader's examining the
letter itself.8 Written under
happy conditions, on December 26th,
1803, it relates that Colonel Kilbourne
and his company "made
a very pleasant season" to
celebrate their good fortune by an
"entertainment." It was in answer to a letter from Senator
Worthington writing in the midst of his
new duties in Washing-
ton and enclosing informatory papers
that Colonel Kilbourne's
reply, dated Feb. 7, 1804, acknowledged
"your friendly attention,
particularly for the information
received from the State papers
accompanying your letter." After
making a cheerful general re-
port on the settlement, Mr. Kilbourne
gives a lively account of
the whole celebration, even including
the twelve "Tosts" pledged
(noted earlier) and the dance that
closed the affair.
The striking statement to the
researcher, of course, is the
second toast, already noted, which
constituted the most important
item of direct evidence on the naming of
the town, but other items
illustrate the freedom from
restraint--almost elation--with which
the writer tells of his hopes, fears and
plans as one does only to
a "confidential friend" by
which title he refers to Colonel Worth-
ington. Acknowledging "your very
liberal donation of last Sum-
mer," Colonel Kilbourne says:
"I had reserved a part of [it],
and presented it to the Company on the
occasion who received it
with Marks of as great Sattisfaction as
you could well feal in
bestowing it."
This donation may have been merely as a
congratulatory
gift by Senator Worthington, whose
eagerness to acquire the
right kind of settlers for Ohio had been
second only, to acquiring
her statehood. Or it may have been the
generous acknowledgment
of a man who, possibly, had been
informed that preceding sum-
8 Colonel James Kilbourne to Colonel
Thomas Worthington, February 7, 1804,
pp. 1-4. Worthington Collection.
256
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
mer, "before the settlers left
Connecticut" on their long trek (by
their leader who worked beside him in
his office), that the village
was to be named for him. In any event,
it has interest in that
it was made to the founder of one of
Ohio's most unique settle-
ments by the great Ohioan for whom he
named it.
The toast numbered "6th" is
also worthy of attention:
"Honorable Thomas Worthington. The
Benefactor & Friend, Not
only of the State in general, & of
the Company in particular,
but the Friend of Man." Here the
eye of a friend had discerned
thus early, the two roles later
estimated Worthington's greatest:
"Champion of Education" and
"Great humanitarian."
A paragraph surprising because it
reveals something less
generally known--a fraternal link
between these men--is that
on the Masons:
We have also obtained from the Grand
Lodge in Connecticut a Charter
Authorizing us to hold a Masonic Lodge
in this town. And it will be
Necessary that Some Brother should be
authorized to Instal us. -- We have
been enquired of, for a Suitable person,
Whom the Grand Master of Con-
necticut Might appoint for the purpose,
& we have taken the liberty, to Send
forward your Name to the Grand Master,
Who will probably order his
Secretary to send you a Commission
Accordingly, of which I shall beg you
to Accept, & in case any other Step
should be Necessary for you to take,
than what you have already taken, in
order to give the Master proper
instruction, you will be so
kind as to attend to it before you return.
In this act of deep trust, some readers
see the rarest tribute
the Master-to-be of his Lodge could have
chosen to pay any friend
to whom he wished to do particular
honor.
Toward the last is an example of that
peculiar mark of esteem
regarded by many as the acid test of
friendship--the confiding
of a worry that lies deeper than the
words show, coupled with
a frank request for aid in removing it.
This concerned a then-
threatening event--later to prove such a
blow to Kilbourne and
his beloved settlement in their fight
with Franklinton (Columbus)
for supremacy in the State. The threat
lay in the petition being
"sent forward" at that moment
by the people of Franklinton "to
the Secretary of the Treasurey, praying
that the great East and
West Road to be laid across the State
may be so varied from
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 257
the original plan as to pass through
Franklinton," (instead of
through Worthington, according to the
original plan). Colonel
Kilbourne was "very sure" that
the alteration of the first purpose
"would be of some damage to
us," and, therefore, he wrote,
"Whatever you can consistently do
respecting it, to prevent its
taking place, will be of particular
Service to us & will be grate-
fully remembered." Kilbourne may
have realized then that in
the outcome of this petition and
possibly also of this request, lay
the political and industrial fate of his
town. In any event, the
favor asked of an influential member of
the United States Senate
impresses one as the kind a man would
ask only of an especially
trusted friend.
At the close of this intimate letter,
what at first seems a
merely pleasant personal message,
suggests considerably more to
an inquiry into this personal friendship
and the bearing it had on
later happenings: "Make my best
Respects to Mrs. Worthington,
and assure her, that I shall think the
time long till I have the
pleasure of seeing you both back in Ohio
again."
This may be one more indication that
during both of Mr.
Kilbourne's Ohio trips, Mrs. Worthington
was his hostess in the
new country home outside of Chillicothe;
that in these months of
close association with her husband in
his office, he was also a
guest in his hospitable home. In fine,
throughout its three-and-
one-half very long pages, this whole
enthusiastic letter is filled
with assurances that this founder felt
no need to go to a Massa-
chusetts Assemblyman or to a Connecticut
parish for a name for
his project; but that out of a grateful
and admiring heart he
named it for the illustrious and
generous friend who had given
valuable help to him and "to the
Company in particular," from
the beginning of his plans to the day of
their fulfillment.
Following the example of their founding
fathers of nearly
a century-and-one-half ago, the people
of Worthington are again
"making a very pleasant
Season," this time, to mark the setting
at rest of the question of the
christening of their town, and to
put the evidence permanently in
safe-keeping. In this year of
the town's one-hundred-and-fortieth
birthday, the letters of Colo-
258
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
nel Kilbourne and Governor Foster,
together with the portrait of
Thomas Worthington are being publicly
presented to the people
of Worthington. These will be hung in
appropriate places, se-
lected by members of the Board of
Education, the Library Board
and other representative citizens.
The framed Kilbourne-Worthington
document, handsomely
executed by Mr. Paul Shook of the
Department of Engineering
Drawing, of Ohio State University, is to
be presented in the
following manner: Photostatic copies of
the four pages of the
original letter from Colonel Kilbourne
to Colonel Thomas Worth-
ington, together with a typed
transcription, are mounted on a
36"x40" white
pebble mat. This mat bears a decorative title,
"The Naming of Worthington,"
and a descriptive information
concerning the letter. Included in the
decorative material on the
mat is the Worthington Family Coat of
Arms, with its motto,
"Virtute dignus avorum," the
monogram TW, and the present
notto of the village of Worthington. The
entire mat is bordered
with red orange, and framed with a
two-inch black frame.9 In
the place chosen will hang the portrait
of Governor Worthington,
skillfully restored by Dr. James W.
Grimes of the Fine Arts
Department of Ohio State University,
together with the framed
letter presenting it.
The portrait promises to do more than
put the citizens of
Worthington in remembrance of the fact
that, through it, Rufus
King wished to honor both the town and
the genius of Thomas
Worthington: and that, in accepting his
grandfather's likeness
from the State that is "his
monument," Mr. King transferred it,
in good faith and full confidence, into
the care and keeping of
the town which, by the choice of its
founder, "perpetuates his
Memory."
For, more than this, the possessors of
this bequest fervently
hope that when the great democratic
institutions for the establish-
ment of which the life of Thomas
Worthington was so patriotic
and complete a sacrifice, shall have
survived the terrific struggle
now being made to preserve them, these
evidences of his rela-
9 The above mentioned information has
been condensed from Mr. Shook's detailed
technical description.
THE NAMING OF WORTHINGTON 259
tionship to the people of Worthington
will continue to remind
them that the spirit of their
"worthy Friend and Benefactor"
still lives and blesses them, not only
as "the greatest of the first
generation of Ohio statesmen"10 but
as "the greatest of Ohio's
humanitarians" and "the Friend
of Man."
10 "Old Northwest" Quarterly, VI (1903), 37.
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THE TOWN OF
WORTHINGTON
BY HELEN M. DUDLEY
The lovely village of Worthington, Ohio,
is a charming bit
of old New England set down in the heart
of Ohio's Scioto coun-
try, near the pleasant slopes of the
Olentangy. Its atmosphere
having been preserved intact by the
careful protection of the many
original features attesting its
exceptional history, and by the
adaptation of new things to the old, it
has the distinction of
being one of the rarest, most precious
possessions of the State.
For as years see the continuous
destruction of old landmarks
by the ruthless--too often
ugly--innovations of "progress," this
village stands out as a community that,
from the first, discerned
the value of its heritage, maintained it
and built upon it.
Its intrinsic, century-and-a-half-old
charm, strangely enough,
is largely due to its having been
singularly protected, at crises in
its development, by its failure to
secure certain industrial and
political "advantages to its
progress"; through losing such ear-
nestly solicited things as the
"through East-West road"; and later,
through barely failing to become the
state's capital. Such losses,
regarded at the time as calamities, have
long since proved especial
blessings; for time has proved that the
independence and pro-
tection thus secured to the little
incorporated village, by giving
it incentive and opportunity to preserve
its individual distinction,
has made it increasingly desirable as a
place of residence, until
it may be said to have no rival as
"the most attractive suburb of
Columbus."
Several things beside its being the
one-hundred-and-fortieth
anniversary of its founding and of the
publication of its name,
bring this village to the especial
attention of its admirers in this
year of 1943. One is, the re-discovery
of a document which sup-
plies direct, decisive evidence as to
the naming of the town, along
(248)