THOMAS WORTHINGTON.
BY FRANK THEODORE COLE,
Secretary of "The Old
Northwest" Genealogical Society.
About the middle of the seventeenth
century two brothers
of the ancient Lancashire family of
Worthington1 arrived in
Philadelphia, bringing with them some
fair amount of property.
After some time one of them went to New
England and the
other, Robert, with his son Robert, a
mere lad, went to Mary-
land, where he bought land in the
neighborhood of Baltimore,
and established iron works, which in due
time brought him
fortune. He then removed to Baltimore.
Robert Jr. grew to manhood, married and
had children. In
his old age, he lost his wife and, all
his children being married,
he proposed to take as a second wife, a
very young woman.
When his children objected, he divided
his property into eight
or nine shares, kept one for himself,
gave the others to his
children, married his young wife and
moved to Berkeley Co.,
Virginia, at the mouth of the Opequam
Valley, where he bought
land, cleared and stocked it, and where
in 1731-2 a son was born
to him, he being then about seventy
years of age. While this
boy was still an infant, the father died
while returning from a
visit to Baltimore. His young widow
married again and died
at a great age in 1798.
The estate of this child, named Robert,
increased greatly in
value during his long minority and was
still further augmented
by his own prudent management.
At an early age he married Margaret Edwards
of Prince Ed-
ward county. He is represented as sedate
and gentle in his
manners, yet decided and prompt in
action, and a devout Epis-
1 For the family and personal matters of
this article, I have followed,
in the main, the Worthington Private
Memoir, by Mrs. Sarah Peter, Governor
Worthington's daughter. For this rare
book - only thirty copies were pub-
lished- I am indebted to the courtesy of
William N. King, Esq., of Colum--
bus, Ohio.
1 Vol. XII-4. (339)
340
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
copalian. His time was employed in
agriculture and in land
speculations. He was a captain of
colonial troops in one Indian
expedition and, in 1775, raised and
equipped largely at his own
expense a troop of horse, for service
under Washington in
Massachusetts. When all was ready he
appointed a farewell
barbecue at Bath Springs, intending to
march the following
morning.
That night he died of bilious colic. His
wife survived him
but a few years. Of his six children,
Thomas, born July 16,
1773, the subject of this sketch was the
youngest.
The oldest son, Ephraim, was at
Princeton College, but leav-
ing on the death of his father, lived at
the Manor, married, and
died a young man. The eldest daughter,
Mary, who married
Edward Tiffin, afterwards first Governor
of Ohio, died in 1808.
The second son, Robert, also settled in
Ohio.
Left an orphan in early childhood,
Thomas Worthington's
early years were spent at the Manor.
After his brother's early
death, he must have been greatly under
the influence of his
sister Mary, "a woman of commanding
talents and rare piety,
to whom he was devotedly attached."
From her he probably
imbibed the dislike for slavery which
induced him at a later date
to free the slaves that came to him by
inheritance.
At the age of fourteen he chose as
guardian Gen. William
Darke, a Revolutionary veteran, under
whose wise management
his property multiplied, and who secured
for him such educa-
tional advantages as the times allowed.
When nineteen years old he desired to
travel and his guardian
refusing his consent, he secretly left
home with some money,
and took passage on a British ship bound
to the West Indies,
from thence to Northern Europe, and
home, a voyage of two
years. He was swindled out of his money,
and at Glasgow
shipped as a sailor, on the same ship
and made the voyage up
the Baltic and back to Alexandria,
having at one time barely
escaped the Press Gang, by the
determination of his captain.
This voyage must have had great
influence on his character.
The experience of such misfortunes and
the determined over-
coming of them developed and trained the
energy and perse-
verance for which he was afterwards so
noted.
Thomas Worthington. 341
He took possession of his property and
busied himself in its
care for a year, till in 1796, he joined
a party of young men,
who started for the Virginia Military
District between the
Miami and Scioto Rivers in Ohio, to
locate the land warrants
of their fathers and friends. The party
rode to Pittsburg,
floated down the Ohio to the Mouth of
the Scioto, and made
their way thence by a blazed trail to
Chillicothe, where they
found some twenty houses of the rudest
structure. Col. Massie
had laid out the town that summer, and
Mr. Worthington evi-
dently bought three lots from him at
this time.
Soon after his return from this trip he
married, December
13, 1796, being then twenty-three years
of age, Eleanor Van
Swearingen, only daughter of Josiah Van
Swearingen, deceased,
at the residence of her aunt, Mrs.
Shepard, in Berkeley (now
Jefferson) county, Virginia. Her mother
was Phebe, daughter
of James Strode of near Martinsburg,
Berkeley county. General
Forman, a British officer, who had
married a daughter of the
Duke of Hamilton, had been sent to the
colony on affairs of
some moment. His wife and daughter,
Annie, accompanied him.
The latter became the wife of James
Strode and died in 1784,
leaving four daughters, the third of
whom, Mrs. Van Swear-
ingen, died a few days after her mother.
She was followed seven
years later by her husband. They left
one daughter, Eleanor,
and three younger sons. The grandfather
Strode cherished
great affection for this granddaughter,
and on his death, be-
queathed to her the mother's share of
his estate (excluding her
brothers). To this was added the fourth
part of her father's
estate.
These young people were thus possessed
in their united
fortunes of large wealth, and were at
the same time independent
of control. The inbred nobleness of
their character permitted
them to use their wealth and
independence for justice and the
good of their fellow men, and their calm
Christian faith tem-
pered their acts with mercy, benevolence
and self renunciation.
They determined to free the slaves that
they had inherited,
and as the law of Virginia then required
that the manumitted
slave be provided with a home they
decided to settle them in
342 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Ohio, whose fertile soil Mr. Worthington
had seen the previous
year.
The land of Gen. Darke, near
Chillicothe, was purchased, and
with his brother-in-law, Dr. Edward
Tiffin, Mr. Worthington set
out on May 1, 1797, arriving at
Chillicothe on the 17th.
In a letter to his wife he says they
found the greatest change
from the year before, some hundred
houses in the town and
probably one hundred and fifty families
within a circle of twelve
miles, four shops fairly well stocked,
and a good class of people
as settlers. He determined to move there
himself, and during
the summer built a house on the block
bounded by the present
Paint and Walnut streets. This was the
first house in the place
to have glass in the windows. Dr. Tiffin
also built a house that
summer and early in the fall they
returned to Berkeley, where,
November 20, 1797, his first child, Mary, was born.
The winter was spent in preparation and
in the latter part of
the following March the party started
for their new home, Mr.
and Mrs. Worthington and child, his
brother Robert and his
family, Dr. Edward Tiffin and his wife
and two younger broth-
ers of Mrs. Worthington.
They took with them plate, china,
damask, and other evi-
dences of their wealth; bulbs, roots,
flower seeds, shrubs, and
domestic animals, and were accompanied
by a large company
of freedmen whom Mr. Worthington settled
on parts of his
land, allowing them to purchase a
freehold, by gradual payments,
if they desired.
They followed the usual route, to
Pittsburg by carriage, to
the Scioto by flat boats, and through
the woods by trail to the
new home, where they arrived April 17,
1798. By the help of
their followers they were soon
comfortably settled, and the gar-
dens bloomed with the familiar flowers.
Mr. Worthington was
then twenty-five years old.
At the time of his first visit,
Chillicothe was in Hamilton
county, but on the establishment of
Adams county, July 10, 1797
was included therein. At the first
session of Court of Quarter
Sessions, held at Manchester September 12,
he was one of the
justices of peace present.
Thomas Worthington. 343
At the sessions of December and March at
Adamsville, the
Ross county members did not attend, but
in June 1798 they again
appeared.
Ross county was established the
twentieth of the following
August.*
In 1796 Mr. Worthington had evidently
solicited appoint-
ment as Deputy Surveyor General, for in
December of that year
Rufus Putnam wrote him promising
appointment1 and in Feb-
ruary, 1798, he was given a contract to
survey the district be-
tween the Ohio Company's purchase and
the Scioto River.
Therefore most of that first summer and
fall must have been
spent in the woods. He seems to have
been appointed a Major
of Militia, and in the following year to
have been much offended
at the appointment by Gov. St. Clair of
Samuel Finlay, as Colo-
nel, feeling that he should have
received the honor.2 In the
summer of his arrival he was elected, as
was also Dr. Tiffin, to
the first Territorial Legislature which
met at Cincinnati Febru-
ary 4, 1799, nominated ten candidates
for the Legislative Council
and adjourned to September 16 following,
and finally convened
on the 25th. Dr. Tiffin was
chosen speaker, Mr. Worthington's
name appears on one of the three
standing committees and on
six of the nineteen special ones.
In the spring of 1800 he was in
Philadelphia, at his own ex-
pense, urging on Congress, through Mr.
Harrison, the Delegate,
the subdivision of the surveyed sections
of land into half and
quarter sections, that the poorer
emigrants might be able to
purchase. During that summer he erected
on Paint Creek the
first mills of any consequence in the
region, and there May 10,
1800,
he second daughter, Sarah was born.
In 1800 a proposition was made to divide
the territory, and
Mr. Harrison was made chairman of a
committee to report a plan.
On February 17, 1800, Governor St. Clair
addressed3 him
recommending a division into three
parts. The first bounded on
the west by the Scioto river, with the
capital at Marietta. The
second bounded on the west by a north
and south line from op-
*Evans History of Adams county, pp. 81,
82, 87, 88.
1St. Clair Papers, II, 413.
2 Do., II, 252.
3 Do., II, 489.
344 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
Thomas Worthington.
345
posite the Kentucky river and with
Cincinnati as the capital, and
the third to the Mississippi river with
Vincennes as the capital.
As this would delay the formation of the
eastern part into a state,
Mr. Harrison, in the interests of the
state party, reported in favor
of the line from the mouth of the Great
Miami. The new western
division was called Indiana Territory,
and Harrison was ap-
pointed its governor. William McMillan,
of Cincinnati, was
elected for Harrison's unexpired term as
Delegate, and Paul Fear-
ing, of Marietta, for the new term,
December, 1800.
Mr. Worthington was appointed Register
of the U. S. Land
Office, and in 1801 Commissioner of
Internal Revenue for the
District northwest of the Ohio River.5
The act dividing the Northwest Territory
was passed May
7, 1800,1 and by its terms-
thanks to the activity of Mr. Worth-
ington and others- Chillicothe was made
the capital of the Ter-
ritory of Ohio. There the second session
of the first Territorial
Legislature met on November 3, and Mr.
Harrison's successor
was elected.
The damage to Col. Massie's speculations
at Manchester, in
Adams County, had begun the war of the
"Virginia party," so
called against the Governor; the
question of forming a State
began to be discussed,1 and papers were
circulated protest-
ing against the Governor's reappointment
at the expiration
of his term in December. Mr. Worthington
was one of the com-
mittee of three selected to set forth
the position of the Legislature
on the controversy with the Governor
concerning the establish-
ment of Counties and County seats. The
Secretary of the Terri-
tory favored the Chillicothe or Virginia
party, and to forestall
any advantage to them the Governor
dissolved the Legislature,
December 9.
Governor St. Clair was renominated
December 22, 1800,2 but
not confirmed until February 3, 1801,3
on account of the opposition
of the Chillicothe party. Senator S. T.
Mason, of Virginia, writes
Mr. Worthington, giving him the news of
the confirmation, say-
ing that the charges, though various and
some of a serious nature,
4 Do., II, 488.
1 St. Clair Papers, II. 524-27.
2 Do., p. 526.
3 Do., p. 529.
346 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
were not supported by the memorialists.
He also says, "Should
your next House of Representatives be of
the character you ex-
pect, I should suppose they might
petition the new President for
the removal of the Governor, with
effect, and could send proof
and documents to support the charges
against him."4
The second Territorial Legislature met
November 26, 1801.
Mr. Worthington was on the Committee of
Privileges and Elec-
tions, and that on Levying a Territorial
Land Tax. On Decem-
ber 21 was introduced the act declaring the assent of the
Territory
to an alteration in the ordinance. The
object of this was to make
three Territories, with the Scioto as
the western boundary of the
eastern division. In a letter to Dudley
Woolbridge, December 24,
1801, Gov. St. Clair says: "The
bill * * * is passed and
goes to Mr. Fearing to be laid before
Congress. You cannot
imagine the agitation it has created
among the people here; and a
petition to Congress against the
measure, formed by a committee
of this town, praying that Congress may
not consent to it, is in
circulation. Mr. Worthington and Mr.
Baldwin are appointed to
go to Washington to advocate the
petition in person." Commit-
tees were also sent in favor of the
Governor's position.
The introduction of a bill changing the
capital from Chilli-
cothe to Cincinnati, and the fact that
it would be passed by the
union of the Miami Valley Delegates with
those from Wayne
County (Detroit), and Trumbull County
(Cleveland, Warren),
caused a riot, in which an attempt to
burn the Governor in effigy
was suppressed by "the splendid
exertion of Mr. Worthington."
The next evening the mob invaded the
house where the Gov-
ernor boarded, and "after they were
once dispersed one of the
most violent returned, and had not Mr.
Worthington come in
about the same time mischief would have
ensued."1
In the same letter the Governor says:
"Can you not convey
to him (President Jefferson) that I have
but five enemies in the
Territory except some they have misled,
and who probably never
saw me. These are Worthington, Tiffin,
Massie, Darlington and
Baldwin."
4 Do., p. 531.
1 St. Clair's letter to Senator Ross.
Do., p. 556.
Thomas Worthington. 347
Worthington and Baldwin proceeded to
Washington, and on
January 30, 1802, Worthington
laid before the President Col. Mas-
sie's ten charges against the Governor,
"attacking his official and
administrative integrity,"2 together
with an argument of his own
in support of them. President Jefferson
finally dismissed the
charges.
It soon appeared that Congress would not
only take no action
in support of the Act of the Legislature
in reference to the boun-
daries, but that a little management
would bring about an Act
enabling the formation of a State. The
desire for three Republi-
can votes in the Electoral College after
the close election of 1801
made the task comparatively easy, and in
spite of the efforts of
Mr. Fearing, the Delegate, and of the
Federalists, the Act was
passed April 30, 1802.
"Congress, at the suggestion of
Col. Worthington, had taken
care to direct the time of holding an
election for Delegates; had
arranged the Districts, and proportioned
the number of Delegates
to each; and had provided that the
Constitution so formed should
not be submitted to the people for
approval. They had also cut
off the Detroit District, which was
strongly Federal, and joined
it to Indiana Territory."3
Worthington returned home in May. In
acknowledgment of
his services illuminations were made
through the Scioto Valley
and salutes were fired about his house
by his neighbors.
The convention met November 1, 1802, at
Chillicothe. All
but two of the original opponents of the
alteration of the bounda-
ries were members, while of those who
had advocated the measure
but two or three were successful at the
polls.4
On November 4 the Governor addressed the
convention, and
for his criticisms on Congress was
removed by the President, with
unnecessary insult, November 22, 1802.
They performed this work in twenty-five
days. Mr. Worth-
ington was a member of this convention
and was "second to none
in influence."5 On the first day he
was appointed chairman of the
committee of five on Privileges and
Elections, and one of the com-
2 Ryan's History of Ohio, p. 57.
3 Wm. Henry Smith, St. Clair Papers, II,
580, Note.
4 Chase, p, 31.
5 Taylor, Ohio in Congress, p. 24.
348 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
mittee of three on Rules. On the second
the Committee on Priv-
ileges and Elections reported, and
Edward Tiffin was elected Pres-
ident. On the third day leave was
granted the Governor to ad-
dress the convention. Mr. Worthington
was one of the fifteen
who voted "No." He was
appointed one of the committee to pre-
pare the preamble and first article of
the Constitution; also of that
to prepare the second article, on
Executive authority; of the third
article, on Judiciary; of the sixth, on
Duties of Sheriffs, Coroners,
etc., and chairman of the Committee on
the Fifth Article - Or-
ganization of Militia; later, on
Committee to Prepare Article
Comprehending General Regulations and
Provisions of the Con-
stitution, and on one to consider the
propositions made by Con-
gress for the acceptance or rejection of
the work of the conven-
tion.1
The proceedings and Constitution were
approved by Con-
gress February 19, 1803, and Ohio
became the seventeenth State.
In 1802 Col. Worthington moved from the town of Chilli-
cothe to his estate of Adena, where a
house of hewed logs, filled
between the timbers with stones and
plaster, had been erected,
one and a half stories high. This house
stood immediately in
front of the present mansion.2 Here
the three eldest sons were
born. The gardens, groves and orchards
on this estate excited the
admiration of the distinguished visitors
who were here enter-
tained. This house was superseded by the
mansion now standing,
which was first occupied in 1807.
On March 1, 1803, the first Legislature
met in Chillicothe,
and Worthington was elected one of the
two Senators, he being
then four months less than thirty years
of age. He drew the
short term, which ended March 4, 1807.
The first session of the Eighth Congress
convened on Monday, Oc-
tober 17, 1803, on the proclamation of
President Jefferson. Mr. Worthing-
ton was present on the opening of the
session, as he was at all of the
successive sessions, and on October 213
presented his first measure, a
petition of Harrison and others of
Detroit to be set off from Indiana Ter-
ritory. As chairman of the committee to
whom this petition was referred
he brought in a bill which in due time
(December 6) passed the Senate.
1Journal of the Convention, reprinted in
House Journal, 1827.
2 Private Memoirs, pp. 34-50.
3 History of Congress, 1803-04, p.
16.
Thomas Worthington. 349
When the Senate bill came down it was
referred but was lost, yeas 58,
nays 59,4 in the House.
In December he brought in a bill for the
determination of the North-
western boundary of the Virginia
Military Lands, and to limit the period
for locating them. This became a law
March 22, 1804.5 He voted for the
bill for the appropriation to carry out
the Louisiana Treaty; for the
amendment concerning the election of
President and Vice-President: for
the repeal of the Bankruptcy Law; for
the bill to remove the seat of
government from Washington; and for the
impeachment of Judge John
Pickering1 and Judge Samuel Chase.
On February 13, 1802, Albert Gallatin,
Secretary of the Treasury, in
writing to William B. Giles, Chairman of
the Committee on admitting
the Northwest Territory to the Union,
suggested that in return for the
waiver by the new State for ten years of
the right of taxation of public
land sold by Congress, the United States
agree to expend one-tenth of
the net receipts from such, in building
a road from the navigable waters
emptying into the Atlantic, to the Ohio
and through the new state.
This suggestion with a change to five
years exemption from taxation and
one-twentieth expenditure was adopted.2
At the second session, December 4, 1805,
the first thing on the
day after the reading of the President's
Message, Mr. Worthington in-
troduced a resolution that a committee
be appointed to examine the Act
which allowed the people of the Eastern
Division of the Northwest Ter-
ritory to form a State Government, and
to report by bill or otherwise.
On December 5, Messrs Tracy (Ct.),
Anderson (Tenn.), Worthington
(O.), Adams (Mass.), and Wright (Md.)
were appointed a committee,
and on December 28 reported that two per
cent. of the proceeds of sale
of land, etc., amounting to $12,652,
were available for use, and that by
the time the money was needed there
would be about $20,000. They
advised a route from Cumberland, Md., to
Wheeling, crossing the Monon-
gahela at Brownsville (Redstone).
They also presented a bill to regulate
the laying out and making of
the road. The bill was passed by the
Senate, December 27.
In the House of Representatives, after
much debate, the bill at third
reading, on May 24, passed by vote of 60
to 50.3
On March 26 the Senate agreed to the
amendments and the bill be-
came a law.
On February 2, 1807, President Jefferson
reported to the Senate
that he had appointed Joseph Kerr of
Ohio, Eli Williams of Maryland and
Thomas Moore of Maryland, and giving
progress of work, etc., etc.1
4 Do., p. 1043.
5 Do., pp. 214, 1209.
1 History of Congress, p. 631.
2 Adams's Writings of Albert Gallatin, p. 76.
3History of Congress, 1806-09, pp. 16,
22, 42-43, 321, 517, 835.
1 History of Congress, p. 51; Searight
Hist. of National Road, p. 28
et seq.
350 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
This message, with the reports, was
referred to Messrs. Worthington,
Tracey and Giles (Va.). Mr. Worthington
brought in a bill appropriating
$253,000 for the road, which was passed
by the Senate February 26, but
after being read twice in the House of
Representatives, was indefinitely
postponed, March 30, 1807,2 and as Mr.
Worthington went out of office
that day his connection with the
Cumberland road appropriations ceased.
In this Ninth Congress Mr. Worthington
voted for the Adminis-
tration measures, to suspend trade with
St. Domingo, to prohibit im-
portation of certain goods, and in the
debate on British Aggression on
American Ships made a speech, the only
one that I find reported during
this term in the Senate.
He brought in a bill for the relief of
the Gallipolis Settlers, was
chairman of the committee to whom was
referred the bill for the division
of Indiana Territory; also of a
committee to examine and report what
alterations or amendments were necessary
to the laws for the sale of
public lands; also of one to inquire
into the expediency of altering the
Act of March 3, 1803, relating to the
lands allowed for the support of
schools in the Virginia Military
District of Ohio.3
On November 25, 1806, in writing to
President Jefferson, Gallatin
said: "Whatever relates to land
cannot be too closely watched. Worth-
ington is the only one in the Senate,
since Breckenridge left, who under-
stands the subject. He has been
perfectly faithful in that respect, trying
to relieve as much as possible the
purchasers generally from being hard
pressed for payment."4
The great question of Canal
Navigation was now to the front and
the elaborate schemes of a system along
the eastern coast to avoid the
dangers of the coasting trade was under
discussion. The Chesapeake
and Delaware Canal was planned and aid
asked from Congress.
Mr. Worthington, on February 25,
submitted a resolution calling
upon the Secretary of the Treasury for a
report on the cost, plans ,etc.,
on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and
on the 26th one for a report
to the Senate at their next session as to the practicability and probable
expense of a turnpike-road throughout
the Atlantic States, from Wash-
ington northeast and southwest, together
with his opinion of route, plans
for application of such aid as
Government might give, etc.
On the next day, February 28, Mr.
Worthington withdrew his reso-
lutions of the 25th and 26th and offered
the following, which was adopted
by a vote of 22 to 3 on March 3, the
last day of his term:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to pre-
pare and report to the Senate at their
next session a plan for the applica-
tion of such means as are within the
power of Congress, to the purpose of
opening roads and making canals;
together with a statement of the under-
takings of that nature which, as objects
of public improvement, may
2 Do., p. 90, 624, 682.
3 Session of 1806-07, pp. 18, 35, 221.
4 Writings of A. Gallatin, I, 323.
Thomas Worthington. 351
require and demand the aid of
Government; also a statement of the works
of the nature mentioned which have been
commenced, the progress which
has been made in them, and the means and
prospect of their being com-
pleted, and all such information, as in
the opinion of the Secretary, shall
be material, in relation to the objects
of this resolution.5
He was succeeded in the Senate by his
brother-in-law, Gov.
Tiffin.
At this time John Quincy Adams in his
diary wrote of
Worthington: "He is a man of
plausible, insinuating address,
and of indefatigable activity in the
pursuit of his purposes. He
has seen something of the world and
without much education of
any other sort, has acquired a sort of
polish in his manners and a
kind of worldly wisdom which may perhaps
more properly be
called cunning."6
Mr. Worthington was a man devoted to his
family. His cor-
respondence with his wife shows clearly
how much the enforced
absence caused by public service grieved
him and at the same
time shows how thoroughly he considered
that public service a
matter of duty. "Although deeply
sensible of the privations en-
tailed upon himself and those most dear
to his heart by these un-
ceasing sacrifices for the public good,
and often resolved to with-
draw himself within the domestic circle,
he was unable, to the last,
to overcome his instinctive aspirations
for the State he loved so
well, and was seldom long absent from
her service."1 His service
cost him much in a money point of view
and it was only by the
careful and efficient management of Mrs.
Worthington that his
neglected business was kept in hand.
The burdens of the management of the
large property, and
the exercise of a most generous hospitality,
to foreign gentlemen
on their travels, Congressmen from the
South and West, army
officers passing through Ohio, State
politicians, Indian chieftains,
and personal friends, together with
constant demands on his and
her benevolence, made her position, in
her husband's absence, a
very arduous one. Her success as hostess
and manager prove her
5 History of Congress, 1806-'07, pp. 89,
92, 96. See also Adams's Me-
moirs of John Quincy Adams, I, 452, 529.
6 Adams's Memoirs, I, p. 377.
1 Private Memoirs, p. 46.
352 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
Thomas Worthington. 353
ability, and to her is due no small part
of the results of her
husband's career.
The four years from 1807 to 1811 were
spent in the building
of and settling in his mansion of Adena
and in the care of his
affairs. He was Adjutant General of the
State 1807-9.
On December 3, 181O, Return J. Meigs,
Jr., resigned as Sen-
ator to become Governor, and on the 10th
Mr. Worthington was
elected, on the sixth ballot, by a vote
of 35 to 31 for ex-Governor
Samuel Huntington, to fill out the term
expiring March 4, 1815.
Mr. Worthington's second term covered
the third session
of the Eleventh, the two sessions of the
Twelfth, two, and a part
of the third session of the Thirteenth
Congress. He appeared
and took the oath January 8, 1811, and
his resignation was read
December 14, 1814.2
During these four years he was
unquestionably the authority
in the Senate on all questions
concerning the Public Domain, be-
ing always on the Committee on Public
Lands, and most of the
time its chairman.3
He introduced the bill for the
establishment of the General
Land Office, which passed the Senate
February 27, and became
a law April 24, 1812,4 under which law Edward Tiffin was ap-
pointed Commissioner.
He was always watchful of the interests
of the Cumberland
Road, obtaining in the Eleventh
Congress, an appropriation of
$30,000, to finish the first section.
He was also on the Committee on
Manufactures, and chair-
man of that on Indian Affairs.1
Having always supported the measures of
the Democratic
party until the question of the
declaration of war came before
Congress in 1812, he opposed this
policy, on the ground of the
unprepared condition of the country, and
voted against the
bill, and against his party.
The following, from a letter to his wife
under date of June
7, 1812, shows his mind:
2 History of Congress, 1810--11, p. 87, 1814-15, p. 133.
3 Do., 1810-11, pp. 95, 104, 115, 127,
173, 292; 1811-12, pp. 19, 21; 1812-13,
pp. 25, 27; 1813-14, p. 21.
4Do., 1811-12, pp. 107, 130, 211.
1 History of Congress, 1811-12, pp. 15,
17.
354 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
"The measure alluded to in my last
(the declaration of war) has
been decided. I have done my duty and
satisfied my conscience. Thous-
ands of the innocent will suffer, but I
have borne my testimony against it,
and I thank God, my mind is tranquil.
What comfort there is in having
done ones duty conscientiously! I care
not for popularity and I only
desire to know that I have acted for the
best. Now that the step is
taken I am bound to submit to the will
of the majority and use my best
exertions to save my country from
ruin."2
This latter determination he carried out
and as long as he
was in the Senate, he voted with the war
party for all of their
revenue, military, and economic
measures.3
He paid the penalty for his
independence. When the Sec-
ond Session met, November 2, 1812, while
he was not ignored
altogether, he was the last of seven
chosen on the Committee on
Foreign Relations and Military Affairs;
the third of five on the
Militia, and the chairmanship of the
Public Land Committee
was given to Mr. Magruder, from the new
state of Louisiana.4
In the Thirteenth Congress, which met
May 24, 1813, his
unpopularity was more plainly shown.
Jeremiah Morrow, the
new Senator from Ohio, was placed at the
head of the Public
Lands Committee with Mr. Worthington as
the second mem-
ber and Mr. Tait, a new Senator from
Tennessee, as the other
member.5 Although he was one of the few
old leaders left, he
was placed on no other committee.
His daughter, in the Private Memoir,
says that in the early
part of this year, in April, during the
siege of Fort Meigs,
when all Ohio trembled for fear that its
fall would bring the
savages upon them, he, with his friend
Maj. William Oliver
disguised as Indians, and guided by a
friendly Indian, took a
message to the fort, promising supplies
of provisions, and that
they lurked about till these assurances
were thrown into the fort,
in a letter wrapped around an arrow.6
His letters to his wife all express his
mortification at the
misconduct of the war.7 The
disasters and misfortunes of this
2 Private Memoirs, pp. 60-61.
3History of Congress, 1811-12, pp. 34,
235, 267, 237, 304, 305, 309, 311;
1812-13, pp. 32, 46, 60, 74, 84, 91, 96,
123-33; 1813-14, pp. 47, 54, 58, 65, 71.
4 Do., 1812-13, pp. 18, 25, 57.
5 History of Congress, 1813-14, p. 21.
6 Private Memoirs, p. 62; see also
Atwater's Ohio, 1st ed., p. 217.
7 Private Memoirs, p. 63.
Thomas Worthington. 355
summer, so clearly the result of the
unreadiness for war, so
proved the wisdom of his objections and
of his position that
he regained the popularity he had lost,
and when Congress met
again, December 6, 1813, in its Second
Session, he stept to his
place in the front rank as a leader,
being chosen chairman of
the most important committee, that on
Military Affairs.1 The
Bills from that committee show his
activity in legislation.2
At the Third Session, which met
September 19, 1814, he
was chosen chairman of the Militia
Committee, and on Novem-
ber 8 introduced a bill for a Uniform
System of Militia. Noth-
ing was done with it, as he soon after
left the Senate.3
During these sessions he was invariably
present at the open-
ing of the session, and his name appears
as answering most of
the calls for ayes and nays. He made but
one short speech in
favor of a recess of six weeks, in 1812,
before the war was de-
clared.4 He was emphatically
a working member.
It is of interest to notice that he
voted for the extension of
Robert Fulton's patents;5 for the annuity
to Gen. St. Clair;6
for the Bill to choose Presidential
Electors by Districts,7 and
he supported President Madison in the
nomination of Albert Gal-
latin for Peace Commissioner.
He voted against the publication of the
Henry Letters,8 and
against the licensing of two lotteries
in Georgetown.9 He re-
ported favorably the bill for a canal
around Mason's Island in
the Potomac River, just as in his first
term, he had favored
the early canal projects.10
On December 20, 1813, he introduced a
bill for the estab-
lishment of an additional Military
Academy, at or near Pitts-
burg, but this bill was defeated for
final passage by a vote of
16 to 17 April 14, 1814.11
1History of Congress, 1813-14, p. 545.
2 Do.,
pp. 633, 637, 660, 663, 673, 682, 692, 724, 737, 765.
3 Do., 1814-15, pp. 16, 40.
4 Do., 1811-12, p. 214.
5Do., 1811-12, p. 92.
6 Do., pp. 223-4, 1420, 1442.
7 Do.,
1812-13, pp. 90, 91.
8 Do., 1813-14, p. 685.
9 Do., 1813-14, p. 685.
10 Do., 1811-12, p. 226, 258.
11 Do., 1813-14, pp. 546, 646, 690.
2 Vol. XII -4.
356 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
In the Thirteenth Congress appeared
Rufus King, as a Fed-
eralist Senator from New York. Mr.
Worthington soon formed
with him a deep and lasting friendship.
How deep is shown
by his daughter's quotation of Mr.
King's words during his last
illness, in 1826: "My child, I wish
to send a message through
you to your father; tell him that I
esteem and love him none
the less; that I can never forget the
noble sacrifices of his pa-
triotism. No other man could have done
what he has done for
Ohio; no other ten men would have made
the personal sacrifices
that he has made for the state.'12
The Thirteenth General Assembly of Ohio
met in Chilli-
cothe on Monday, December 5, 1814, and
on the following day,
in joint session, they opened and
counted the vote for Gover-
nor. There were then thirty-eight
counties in Ohio, and it
appears that Thomas Worthington had
carried twenty-nine, with
a total vote of 15,879, while Othniel
Looker, of Hamilton, had
carried nine with a vote of 6,171. There
were some remarkable
figures. Worthington carried Jefferson
county, 1532 to 6; Lick-
ing county, 553 to 5; Athens county, 319
to 7; Coshocton county,
248 to
1, and in Washington, Knox and Tuscarawas counties
there were no votes against him.
A joint committee was appointed later in
the day to wait
upon him and announce his election and
ascertain when it would
be convenient for him to take the oath
of office.
On the next day he sent in his
resignation as Senator. The
committee appointed for the purpose
reported that they had
waited upon Mr. Worthington, informed
him of his election
and that he would take the oath of
office the following day at
eleven o'clock.3
On December 8, the two houses met in the
Representatives'
chamber, Mr. Worthington was duly
installed into the office of
Governor and delivered an address, in
which he set forth his
own motives; called attention to the
failure of the peace nego-
tiations at Ghent, and the need for
united support of the Gov-
ernment; deprecated the evils of party
spirit in its extreme form,
saying: "If party division had not
greatly affected the energies
12 Private Memoir, p. 77.
8 Journal of Senate, 1815, pp. 11, 12,
3131.
Thomas Worthington. 357
of the nation can any one believe *
* * that with a proper
management of its affairs, three
campaigns would have passed
by with so little effect on the
enemy." He called attention to
the responsibility that lay upon
officials and exhorted all to be
of good courage.4
On December 21 and on December
23, he sent to the Leg-
islature two long messages setting forth
in the first, defects in
the militia laws and lack or waste of
equipment; and in the
second, the defenceless condition of the
northern frontier, especi-
ally against the savages, enclosing a
copy of a plan of defense that
he had submitted to the Secretary of War
when he was last in
Washington.
He wished to have organized and equipped
five regiments of
militia, to be drilled and provided with
camp equipage, but to
receive no pay or rations unless
actually called out, and to be
credited with their tours of duty of six
months, as soon as
equipped. (The militia was then classified and expected to
serve in classes for periods of six
months each.) The Gover-
nor believed that this plan would afford
individuals time to
prepare for the performance of their
duties and would also
provide arms, camp equipage, and
discipline, and all at small
expense.2
Bills were introduced to carry out these
plans, but were
defeated, as were other modified bills
of the same nature.3
Again, February 13, 1815, the Governor,
in a message, called
the legislative attention to the matter.
It was referred to a
committee, but little came of it and the
Legislature adjourned
on February 16.
In his message to the Fourteenth General
Assembly, which
convened at Chillicothe on December 4,
1815, Governor Worth-
ington congratulated them on the Peace;
offered the acknowl-
edgments of the State to "The brave
men who defended the
country in its difficulties and
dangers;" advised the members
"to set an example of piety, and
gratitude to God, and industry
and moral rectitude' in the discharge of
their duties; to develop
and call into action the resources of
the state; and 'to provide
4 Do., pp. 44, 49.
1Journal of the Senate, pp. 96, 111.
2 Do.,
pp. 172, 187, 202, 204, 250-1, 304, 309, 359.
Thomas Worthington. 359
for future exigencies by the
establishment of funds, which may
be resorted to in times of difficulty
and necessity, and for the
education and morals of the present and
rising generations;'
to consider what can be done to improve
the judiciary system
and to increase the salaries of the
Supreme and Circuit Judges.
He makes a long argument for the better
use of the so-
called "Three percent Fund"
(so called from the three percent
of the sales of public lands set aside
by the government for
road-building in Ohio) in the
improvement of roads and for
better systems and larger tax for
highways. He urges a better
system for the militia, and especially
the purchase of arms and
equipment, referring to his message of
December 20, 1814. He
calls to mind the system of caring for the
few paupers among
them, reprobates the harsh laws of
deportation, and the cus-
tom of auctioneering of the care of the
poor, and recommends
that each county establish "Poor
Farms."1
The Senate appointed committees to take
into consideration
the portions of the message on Roads and
Highways; on Edu-
cation and Morals, and on the Poor. The
House appointed on
Militia, and a joint committee took up
the matter of the Ju-
diciary.2
The Committee on Education and Morals
reported that the
state was then too poor to legislate on
the subject of education,
and that the laws then in force were
"sufficient to afford all
aid to morality, that can be reasonably
expected of penal laws."1
The Poor Laws were revised and an act
passed covering
the management by overseers, and another
allowing county
commissioners to erect and establish
county poor houses "when-
ever in their opinion such a measure
will be proper and ad-
vantageous."2 The judicial system
was reorganized, a fourth
Supreme Judge and two additional
circuits provided.3 The
Road laws were revised and unified, but
the Governor's sugges-
tions as to the Three Per Cent Fund were
ignored.4 All that
could be secured in the matter of the
Militia was a resolution
1Journal of Senate, pp. 316, 327, 345,
369, 383, 401, 439.
2 Do.,
p. 10 et seq.
3 Do., pp. 84-5.
4 Laws of 1816, pp. 147, 147.
360 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
instructing the Delegation in Congress
to favor a uniform militia
law.5
On the 20th of December, a long message was sent favoring
the Bank Taxing policy and enclosing a
report of Ralph Os-
born, State Auditor, on the subject, and
also suggesting some
changes in the matter of the sale of a
non-resident's land for
delinquent taxes. The Governor suggested
that a portion of
the land should be forfeited and after
two years' allowance for
redemption, sold at public sale instead
of the sale of the whole
tract. The legislature did not change
the tax law, but did de-
bate over the Bank Tax question during
the whole session, finally
passing a law on the matter.6
At this session the Legislature voted to
move the books,
papers and money of the State to
Columbus, the new buildings
being ready.7
On December 2, 1816, the Fifteenth
General Assembly met
in Columbus. The Governor's message,
read the next day, con-
gratulated the members on the general
peace throughout the
world, with the exception of South
America, and asserted that
those peoples struggling for their
liberty were entitled to the
best wishes of the people of Ohio. He
further said, "Among
the objects which claim your particular
attention are the Pub-
lic Schools and the means of improving
the minds of the rising
generation; the navigable rivers and the
public roads of the
State." He calls attention to the
way in which the navigable
rivers are obstructed by dams, and
recommends a tax on the
lands of the counties through which the
rivers run sufficient to
render navigation in them more safe and
certain. He argues
for an increased tax and labor on the
roads and a better use of
the Three Percent Fund, suggesting the
incorporation of turn-
pike companies, and the subscription to
the stock of these by
the State to the amount of that
fund. (For the year 1817 it
was $60,000.)
5 Do.,
pp. 310, 411.
6 Do., p. 223.
7 Do., p. 475.
8 Do., pp. 73, 147, 153 et seq.
9 Do., pp. 187, 202, 217, 220, 313, 319.
Thomas Worthington. 361
He refers to the advantages of the site
of the new Capital
and requests the patience of the members
with the present in-
conveniences.1
On December 6, 1817, in joint session,
the Speaker of the
Senate opened and published the returns
of votes for Gover-
nor.2 It appeared that Thomas
Worthington had 22,931, James
Dunlap 6,295, and Ethen Allen Brown
1,607. He carried all
but ten of the forty-three counties. The
inaugural took place
on the 9th, and Governor
Worthington addressed the Legisla-
ture, congratulating them on the general
comfort and happiness
in the state, and the freedom from
political asperity. He directs
their attention to the Penitentiary
Report and to some defects
in the criminal law in the matter,
especially of the penitentiary
sentences for minor offences. He argues
for humane treatment
of the prisoner and for efforts toward
his reform, and recom-
mends that the prisoner receive at the
expiration of his sentence
the net proceeds of his labor, as such a
course would encourage
industry and reformation; providing,
however, that this privilege
should be forfeited on a second
conviction.
He also called their attention to the
new capitol and grounds.
Some revision was made in the criminal
law.3 The matter
of the Penitentiary was referred to a
committee, and after a
recommendation of removal to Zanesville1
was finally located
where it now stands, ten acres being
given by the proprietors
of Columbus for that purpose. The next
session the matter
was again before the Legislature and the
Governor submitted
plans procured at his own expense from
Philadelphia for the
structure.2
On the last day of the session the
senate voted down a reso-
lution to authorize the Governor to
improve the public lot (Cap-
itol Square) and report the expense to
the next Assembly.3
On December 11, a short message was sent in
enclosing a let-
ter from DeWitt Clinton, President of
the Canal Commissioners
of New York, soliciting the attention of
the Ohio Legislature to
1Senate Journal 1817, pp. 8-12.
2 Do., p. 46.
3 Laws
of Ohio, Session of 1817, p. 179.
1 Senate Journal, 1817, p. 160 et seq.
2 Do., 1818, p. 60.
3 Do., 1817, p. 324.
362 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the plans of New York for a canal from
Lake Erie to the Hud-
son, and asking, that, as Ohio would
participate in the benefits,
she share in the expense. The Governor
said:
"I recommend to your consideration
the propriety of using such
means as you deem proper to ascertain
the practicability and expense of
the proposed canal. Should the
information obtained on these points be
satisfactory, it will become the duty of
the people of Ohio to give all
the aid in their power towards effecting
an object in which they are so
deeply interested."4
A committee, consisting of Messrs.
Lucas, Ruggles and
Wheeler, was appointed to act with a
committee from the House
and on January 27, 1817, a joint
resolution was passed:
"Resolved, That this State will aid as far as its resources will
justify
in making the contemplated canal * * *
in such manner as may be
deemed most advisable, when the plan or
system which may be adopted
by the State of New York may be known;
and that his Excellency the
Governor be requested to open
correspondence * * * in order to as-
certain the practicability and probable
expense * * * and communi-
cate the same to the General Assembly at
their next session."5
This session was chiefly devoted to
bills for erecting new
counties; incorporating banks, turnpikes
companies, and towns,
and leasing school lands.
The Fifteenth Assembly met December 1,
1817. The next
day the Governor in his message said:
(P. 11.) "First, as I consider it
most important, I recommend to
your particular attention the education
of the rising generation. * * *
We have received from the United States
means to a very considerable
extent, which if rightly used would go a
great way towards the general
diffusion of knowledge. To bring these
means, with others, into action,
to devise, organize and put in practice
a system of education * * *
would be the most pleasing duty you
could perform. The propriety of
the measures proposed and the means of
effecting it are the subjects
which should be examined. * * * That we
possess the means, if
earnestly disposed of to effect the
object, I have no doubt. It is true it
must be a work of time, hence the
necessity of commencing it. The
great difficulty of procuring teachers
whose moral character and other
qualifications fit them to enlighten the
minds and shape the morals of
the rising generation, even when
suitable compensation can be made, is
4Senate
Journal, 1817, p. 67.
5 Do., p. 212.
Thomas Worthington. 363
evident. * * * With a view to effecting
this object (providing suit-
able teachers) I recommend to the
Assembly the propriety of establish-
ing at the seat of government a free
school, at which shall be taught the
different branches of an English
education at the expense of the State to
such number of boys, children of parents
unable to educate them, and no
others, as the legislature may deem proper.
That whenever young men
thus educated, shall become qualified
for that purpose, they shall, when
proper salaries are furnished them, have
the preference of employment
in the public schools of the State, and
shall be obliged to serve as
teachers of the schools until they are
twenty-one years of age, and after-
wards so long as they conduct themselves
well, have the preference of
employment."
He again calls their attention to the
public roads, laments
the waste and lack of responsibility,
again recommends his plan
for the investment of the Three percent
Fund1 in the stock of
turnpike roads.
He argues for the encouragement of
domestic manufactures
and urges the propriety of their setting
the example to their
constituents by the use of the
manufactured articles of the state.
He notes that in the fifteen years of
life under the consti-
tution the population has increased from
80,000 to over 500,000,
and the counties from nine to
forty-eight, and that some pro-
visions of the constitution well
calculated for a small population
have become burdensome for a large one,
making necessary a
useless taxation.
He believes that shortly many provisions
will be impos-
sible of execution and that by a change
of provisions, fully one-
half the expense can be saved and
government better admin-
istered, therefore he advises the
necessary steps for such altera-
tions as may be necessary.
He states that from the contingent fund
voted January 28,
1817, he has secured the articles there
directed and has also
purchased a small but valuable
collection of books which are
intended as the commencement of a
library for the state. "In
the performance of this act," he
says, "I was guided by what I
conceived the best interests of the
state by placing within reach
of the representatives of the people
such information as will aid
them in the discharge of the important
duties they are to per-
1 Senate Journal, 1818, p. 1.
364 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
form." On the 6th, the Governor
sent to the Senate a list of
the books and a copy of the rules and
regulations adopted by
him till the Legislature should see fit
to change them. In his
report of the contingent fund2 it
appears that the books cost
$945.67. On January 17, 1818, Gustavus
Swan, the member for
Franklin county, offered a resolution3
that the General Assembly
accept the library purchased by the
Governor and that a joint
committee be appointed to adopt rules
and regulations. His res-
olution was passed by the House and on
the same day by the
Senate.1 The report of this
committee was adopted on the 29th.2
A message of December 103 placed
before the Assembly
what information had been obtained
relative to the Erie Canal
and terms of settlement with the
proprietors of Columbus; urged
the reform of laws regarding commitments
for slight offences
to the Penitentiary; recommended
purchase of books of field
exercises for the Infantry and the
alteration of the Militia law
in such way as to improve the efficiency
of officers, specifying
six changes; referred to the fact that
the N. W. boundary had
been surveyed, and enclosed report of
the Auditor with sugges-
tions as to alterations in the revenue
laws.
On January 10,5 in giving
notice of appointments made dur-
ing recess, and of resignations he
directs attention to the N. W.
corner of the state, to which the Indian
title has been extin-
guished, and urges the Assembly to
divide it into sixteen counties
twenty-four miles square and petition
Congress to donate one
section near the center of each for a
county seat, one-half the
land to be sold for county buildings and
one-half for schools.
On this a committee was appointed, who
on the 17th reported4
in favor of the plan, but as that the
ratification of the treaty
was not yet reported, it would be
indelicate to memorialize
Congress, and they recommended that the
next Assembly take
up the matter. This passed the Senate
January 22.6
2 Senate
Journal, 1818, p. 132.
3 House Journal, 1818, p. 288.
1 Senate Journal, 1818, p. 203.
2 Laws of Ohio, 1818, p. 199.
3 Do., p. 53.
4 Do., p. 168.
5 Laws of Ohio, 1817, p. 199.
6 Do., p. 246.
Thomas Worthington.
365
In transmitting to the Assembly a list
of Jeremy Ben-
tham's works presented to the State
through J. Q. Adams, late
Minister to England, he takes the
opportunity (Jan. 20),7 to
inform his fellow-citizens that he does
not desire to be a can-
didate for Governor at the next
election, and says,
"I have deemed this early notice
proper, in order to give the good
people of Ohio full time to select a
successor,-on the present occasion I
should do injustice to you, to them, my
successor, or to my own sense
of propriety, if I did not frankly
express the opinions which I have
formed from holding the office for the
last three years.
"The extraordinary increase of
population in the state has in-
creased in the same proportion the
duties of the office of Governor and
makes it necessary he should spend much
of his time at the seat of Gov-
ernment, indeed I have no hesitation in
saying, the interests of the state
would be promoted by his residence
there. If the example of the oldest
and most experienced states of the
Union, who have found it necessary to
make provision for the residence of the
executive at the seat of Govern-
ment is to have any weight, the propriety
of such a masure will be ad-
mitted.
"Considering the increased duties
of the Governor of Ohio and that
the situation in which he is placed
necessarily involves him in expenses
which if avoided would subject him to
general censure and if incurred
will not be justified by the
compensation now allowed, I feel it my duty
to recommend earnestly, to your
consideration the propriety of making
such suitable provision for the next
governor of the state as you may
deem right and proper.
On the 28th, the House and Senate passed
a vote of thanks
to the Governor.1
The session was almost entirely occupied
with legislation
concerning the erection of new counties and little heed was
paid to the Governor's suggestions. A
bill for the management
of the schools was introduced in the
Senate, discussed and
recommitted.2 A Committee on
Roads was appointed which
brought in a bill that passed the
Senate3 on January 15, but it
did not become a law. On the matter of
manufactures, the
appointed committee reported a
resolution advising the succeed-
ing legislators to appear in clothing of
domestic manufacturer
but nothing of importance was done.
7Do., p. 233.
1 Laws of Ohio, p. 296.
2 Do., pp. 65, 69, 80, 83, 87.
3 Do., pp. 32, 52, 167, 190-1.
366 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The Seventeenth Assembly met December 7,
1818, and on
that afternoon the annual message was
received and read, be-
ginning as follows :4
"Among the measures which I have
heretofore recommended to the
Legislature for their consideration, and
on which they have not acted, a
good plan for the education of the
rising generation has been considered
first in importance. Time, and further
reflection have confirmed me in
the opinions I have communicated; and from
a sense of duty to the state,
I must again recommend the subject to
your attention."
He argues the matter for a page or so
very forcibly, saying:
"I am fully convinced, it is the
duty of the Legislature to adopt,
with as little delay as possible, a system
for the establishment of elementary
schools throughout the state."
He further says:
"Next to a well regulated system of
education the internal improve-
ments of the state require the attention
of the Legislature, especially the
navigable streams and public
highways."
He refers then to his former
communications with the added
reference to the increasing population,
and lays before them a
copy of a letter and map sent by him to
the Secretary of the
Treasury, concerning public roads in
Ohio.
He says also:
"The disordered state of the paper
currency of the country will
claim your attention. The people of the
state look to you for such remedy
as may be within your power. The
obstacles * * * cannot be dis-
guised, indeed I fear it may be found
impracticable to answer public ex-
pectation." He also says: "The Agriculture and
Manufactures of the
state are objects at all times worthy of
the attention of the General As-
sembly, under the present circumstances
they are especially so. A proper
attention to the roads and navigable
streams are the best means of pro-
moting the former. * * * I feel fully
satisfied by setting an example
yourselves in using domestic apparel * *
* much can be done.
"The act to authorize the
establishment of Poor Houses, leaves it
discretionary with the Commissioners to
purchase land on which to erect
a poor house: The advantage to every
county from purchasing lands
before the price becomes advanced, and
by maintaining the poor in houses
erected for that purpose are so evident
as in my opinion to make it the
4 House Journal, 1818, p. 35; Senate
Journal, p. 107.
Thomas Worthington. 367
duty of the commissioners to purchase
lands with the least delay. The
present mode of maintaining the poor,
besides the extraordinary expense
it incurs, is not calculated to ensure
them even humane treatment. Put
off to the highest bidder, their food,
raiment and treatment must be pro-
portionately wretched. I recommend that
the act be so amended as to
effect the objects just stated."
The Governor states that the United
States Government had
charged against Ohio nearly 1,200 stands
of arms. Knowing
that this was a wrong accounting, he
says that he gathered all
receipts and vouchers possible and went
to Washington for the
purpose of closing this account.
He shows that this has been effected on
just and liberal
principles and that the state is
entitled to $100,000 worth of
arms, which will be sent on as soon as a
proper place is prepared
for them, and recommends a State Arsenal
at Columbus.
He states that since the last session he
has attended as many
of the musters of the officers of the
militia as possible, and feels
great satisfaction with the disposition
of the officers of the four-
teen brigades reviewed.
He refers to his message of January 10
in regard to the part
of the state lately secured by treaty
from the Indians, and en-
closes maps of the survey of the
Michigan line. The following
is worthy of notice:
"I can not close this communication
without calling your attention
to one other subject, which I sincerely
hope you will take into serious
consideration and make such provisions
as the case requires. The im-
moderate use of ardent spirits is productive of much evil in society. I
remind you, etc., etc. * * * Nothing
aids more in the practice of this
vice, than what are usually called
tippling houses, or dram shops. I
have no doubt the putting down of such
houses would have the best
effects as they are really nuisances in
society."
He closes with an exhortation to
maintain the principles of
republicanism established by the
founders, and an expression of
his feelings on parting with many with
whom he had long been
associated in public life.
In his letter to the Secretary of the
Treasury, referred to
above, he urges1 the extension of the
National Road west from
1House Journal, 1819, p. 20.
1 House Journal, 1819, p. 35.
368 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Wheeling, through Columbus to St. Louis,
stating that it then
took the mail forty days from Washington
to St. Louis, but on
a well constructed road it could be done
in eighteen days at
most. He asks aid for a road from
Washington, Pa., through
Steubenville to the mouth of the
Cuyahoga river; from Zanes-
ville to Maysville or Limestone, Ky.
(the old Zane Trail); from
Portsmouth via Columbus to
Sandusky, and from Cincinnati to
the Miami of Lake Erie (the Maumee).
He describes the navigable rivers and
shows that the Big
Miami and St. Marys branch of the Miami
of the lakes might
be connected by canal, and that other
connections at head waters
might be made, with only a short
portage.
On the 8th, the Assembly canvassed the
returns for Governor
and found that Ethan Allen Brown had
30,194 votes and James
Dunlap 8,0752 and a resolution was
passed that the Speaker of
the Senate write Mr. Brown informing him
of his election and
requesting his attendance to enter upon
his duties.
Committees were appointed on those parts
of the message
relating to intemperance3 and
salaries, a joint committee on
paper currency, a committee on a State
Arsenal, and one on the
Revenue System;4 on Education;5 on Manufactures.6
On December 11, a short message
was sent7 stating that dur-
ing the summer of 1817 he had gone to
Washington, Philadelphia
and New York to settle the accounts for
arms with the United
States; obtained information relative to
the State Prison; pur-
chased books for the library, in which
journeys the state incurred
no expense; that on a second journey to
Washington, in Febru-
ary, when the final settlement for arms
was accomplished, he had
charged his expenses to the contingent
fund, of which he en-
closed an account; that he had allowed
the Adjutant General
traveling expenses for reviewing the
militia, but nothing for his
services.
He also reported in a separate message
that Ethan Allen
Brown had resigned as one of the Judges
of the Supreme Court,
2 Do.,
pp. 38, 70.
3 Do., pp. 63-66, 74.
4 Do., pp. 67, 72.
5 Do., p. 72.
6Do., p. 67.
Thomas Worthington. 369
and on that afternoon the Governor elect
appeared, took the
oath and delivered his inaugural.7
The Legislature soon passed an act to
regulate taverns,8 pro-
viding that taverns should be
established only on petition;
should pay a license fee; should not
give credit for liquor above
the amount of fifty cents, and should
never recover more than
fifty cents for liquor in a suit at law;
that no Justice's Court
should be held at a tavern; that
allowing drunkenness, or revel-
ling, should be punished by a fine of
$50 and a four months
suspension of license, and providing a
fine of $20 for selling
without a license. This was the only
special recommendation
of Governor Worthington's enacted into
law at this session, but
the Senate9 passed a
resolution recommending electors to vote
for or against a constitutional
convention, which the House
agreed to; and the Senate Committee on
Poor reported a plan
for caring for the poor of the state,
somewhat similar to the
present plan for the care of the insane,
but the bill finally passed
made no changes in the system.1
The Joint Committee on Education
reported and the House
agreed to the report January 29, but the
Senate postponed the
whole matter till the following
December.2
Within a month after his leaving the
Governor's chair, an
election was held of a successor to
Jeremiah Morrow as U. S.
Senator. Gov. Worthington was the
logical candidate of the
Republicans, being by far their ablest
and most influential man,
but the factions of the party were at
work against him, and
united on Col. William A. Trimble of
Hillsboro, who repre-
sented that section in the State Senate,
and whose only qualifi-
cation for the office was that he had
been frightfully wounded
in the battle of Fort Erie a few years
before.
Col. Trimble died in office in December,
1821, and in the
struggle for the vacancy the opponents
of Mr. Worthington
united on Governor Ethan Allen Brown and
won by one vote.
The following are the records of the
contest.3
7 Do., p. 75.
8 Session Laws, 1819, p. 11.
9 House Journal, 1819, pp. 138, 142;
Senate Journal, 1819, p. 139.
1 Do., p. 230.
2 Senate Journal, 1819, p. 372.
3 Taylor, Ohio in Congress, p. 100.
370 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
JANUARY 30, 1819.
1st Ballot. 2d. 3d. 4th.
William A. Trimble (Rep)........ 25 29 34 48
Thomas Worthington (Rep.) ....... 31 36 38 25
Robert
Lucas (Rep.) .............. 16 3 1 0
John Hamm (Fed)................. 19 22 18 18
JANUARY 3, 1822.
1st. 2d. 3d. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th. 8th. 9th.
Ethan A. Brown (Rep.)... 26 30 32 35 38 39 48 49 51
Thomas Worthington (Rep.) 32 33 35 36 38 46 47 49 50
John McLean (Fed.)...... 22 24 25 26 25 16 0 0 0
Scattering
................. 20 13 9 4 0 0 6 3 0
Although in December, 1824, at the expiration of Mr.
Brown's term some twenty of Mr. Worthington's friends
cast a
complimentary vote for him in the contest that ended in
the elec-
tion of William Henry Harrison, this may be considered
the
end of his efforts for office. The reason for his
defeat is to be
found in the sentiment that we now call Populist.
From 1817 to 1823 Ohio was suffering from the curse of
a
depreciated currency. Farm produce brought very little
money,
and that little was paper. The sufferers laid all blame
at the
door of the banks. Mr. Worthington was a bank director
and a
man of wealth, and was probably called a "Gold
Bug" and an
aristocrat.
Then, too, sectional jealousy probably played a part,
and
other sections of the state thought Chillicothe had
"had enough."
The result was that the only Republican who could have
wielded any influence for Ohio in the National Senate
was left
at home, and first an invalid "old soldier"
and secondly a respec-
table jurist of strictly local reputation was sent to
cast the party
vote on party questions.
In 1818-19 the farmers of the Scioto Valley
discussed the
formation of an agricultural society, and on February
13, 1819,
at an adjourned meeting at Watson's tavern in
Chillicothe, George
Renick chairman, and Edward King secretary, Mr.
Worthington
from the committee appointed to prepare a constitution,
made a
report of one, which was adopted with some amendments
and
officers were elected:
President, Thomas Worthington; Vice
Thomas Worthington. 371
President, George Renick; Secretary,
Edward King, and nine Di-
rectors, among them David B. McComb, the
Governor's son-in-
law, who was then carrying on the woolen
mills on Paint Creek,
and a wool and woolen store in
Chillicothe.
The society advertised a list of
premiums and held a fair on
November 3 with much success. Most of
the cattle prizes were
taken by the various Renicks, but one
first prize went to the Gov-
ernor's herd.1
Governor Worthington's recommendations
to the Legislature
in the matters of a constitutional
convention, of education and of
the canals, were of great interest to
him. The convention question
was submitted to the people in 1819,2
and defeated, evidently from
a fear that a convention might change
the right of suffrage and
might alter the provisions in regard to
slavery. The Committee
on Education reported to the House
January 29, 1819, but the
Senate indefinitely postponed the
matter.3 The canal bills met the
same fate.4 In view of these failures,
he offered himself as a can-
didate to the House from Ross County,
was elected and served
in the Twentieth and Twenty-first
General Assemblies, 1821-23.
In both sessions he was on the Committee
of Privileges and
Elections, and in both on the Finance
Committee, introducing
and having charge of the appropriation
bills. He tried in each
assembly to put through a bill for a
constitutional convention,
but failed each time.5
On December 6, 1821, he was appointed on the committee to
consider that part of the Governor's
Message relating to canals,
which committee by Micajah T. Williams,
Chairman, reported
January 3 with a detailed report and a
bill authorizing an exam-
ination. This bill became a law January 31, 1822, and appointed
Thomas Worthington, Benjamin Tappan,
Ethan A. Brown, Al-
fred Kelley, Jeremiah Morrow, Isaac
Minor and E. Buckingham,
Jr., commissioners to investigate four
routes for a canal and re-
port to the next assembly.6 To the next
assembly two reports
1The Chillicothe Supporter, 1819,
Feb. 17, 24; Apr. 24; Nov. 16.
2 Senate Journal, 1819, p. 189, House
Journal, p. 142.
3 Do., 1819, p. 372; do., p. 332.
4 House Journal, 1819, pp. 139, 280,
332, 509, 517, 552.
5 Do., 1821, pp. 73, 125, 274; do.,
1822, pp. 51, 81, 87.
6 O. L. 1822, p. 31.
3 Vol. XII- 4.
372 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
were made by Mr. Worthington,7 and
a long report by James
Geddes, the Engineer.1 A
supplemental bill was passed with great
difficulty just at the close of the
session, appointing M. T. Wil-
liams in place of Morrow; directing the
employment of sufficient
engineers; directing the commissioners
to accept donations of
land or money; to ascertain if loans
could be made; to appoint
two of their number on a per diem of $2.00 to attend to
the sur-
veys and report.2 The final
laws were passed in 1825.3 During
this session Mr. Worthington procured
the passage of a law for
improving the navigation of the Scioto
River, south of the north
line of Pickaway county.4
His daughter says,5 That at
the formal opening of work on
the canal system, near Newark, July 4,
1825, when DeWitt Clin-
ton of New York, broke the first ground
and threw the first
shovelful of earth, that the second was
removed by Gov. Wor-
thington, who was properly the leading
Ohio citizen present.
Jeremiah Morrow was then Governor. Mr.
Clinton, a few days
after the celebration, made a visit to
Adena, remaining several
days. President Monroe, on his visit in
1819, with Generals
Brown, McComb, Cass and others, were
guests there.
Mr. Worthington, early in life joined
the Masonic Fraternity.
Martin's History of Franklin County
states that when New Eng-
land Lodge No. 4 was organized at
Worthington, Ohio, June 28,
1808, the officers were installed on
that day by him, according to
letters for that purpose from the Grand
Lodge of the State of
Connecticut.
About 1820, financial disaster overtook Mr.
Worthington,
through the dishonesty of one whom he
had too much trusted.
Gen. Samuel Finley was appointed
Receiver of Public Moneys
in the early days, and Mr. Worthington
became one of his bonds-
men. It was discovered that General
Finley was not only a de-
faulter, but that he had conveyed away
his property so as to com-
pletely cover it up. Mrs. Peter blames
the U. S. District Attor-
7 House Journal, 1823, pp. 135, 175,
268.
1House Journal, 1823, p. 179.
22 0. L. 24 (1823).
3 Rates, Life of Alfred Kelley, chap.
VI; see also, Life of M. T. Williams,
Vol. I of THE QUARTERLY.
4House Journal, 1823, pp. 152, 266; 2 0.
L. 61 (1823).
5 Private Memoir, 72.
Thomas Worthington. 373
ney for delay in the loss of this property,6 but
whoseosever the
fault the Worthington estate bore the
burden.
To recover from this Mr. Worthington now
undertook ex-
tensive contracts to supply the
Government post at New Orleans,
Natchez, St. Louis and Newport,
Kentucky. These contracts
demanded long trips, when he was not in
good health, and taxed
his energies to the utmost.
In 1823, the Scioto Valley was visited
with a most malignant
fever. All the household at Adena were
sick, and though none
died, Mr. Worthington never recovered
from its effects.
In 1825, one one of his visits to New
Orleans, Mrs. King
accompanied him. General La Fayette made
his visit to the
Southwest then and Gov. Worthington, as
a guest of the city,
participated in the ovation prepared for
the distinguished French-
man.
In 1826, he was advised to try the
waters of Saratoga, and
did so, but with little relief, and his
sufferings were aggravated
by the water. He determined to make a
voyage by river to New
Orleans, taking only his young son
William with him. He sent
the boy back by a friend on April 26,
1827, wrote his last letter
to his wife, from New Orleans. He says
that he "received no
benefit from the climate, the sudden
changes of which proved most
unfavorable. With such weather I have
been extremely unwell,
having had chills and fever and a severe
bilious attack. These
afflictions are far short of the mercies
bestowed on me; they are
far less than I deserve. I most
sincerely desire that the Lord's
will may be done. I leave here for New
York on the 29th and fear
I have staid here too long." A
stormy voyage of thirty-five days
proved disastrous for him. Mr. King's
sons received him in New
York, wrote to his wife, and sent to
West Point for his son
Thomas.
He died June 20, 1827,
some hours before his wife reached
New York. His remains were brought to
Ohio, and interred
with most marked respect. Delegations
were present from all
quarters of the state and thousands
gathered around the bier and
joined the funeral cortege. He was first
buried at Adena, but on
6 Private Memoirs, p. 74.
7 Do., pp. 75-76.
374 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Mrs. Worthington's death, December 24,
1848, it seemed a suita-
ble occasion to remove the remains to
the public cemetery at Chil-
licothe.1
Mr. Worthington was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal
Church, having probably joined that
communion under the influ-
ence of the celebrated Francis Asbury,
with whom he corres-
ponded, and for whom he named his
youngest son. His wife and
daughters were members of the Protestant
Episcopal Church.
If one considers that this man was the
first Ohio Governor to
urge free schools for the poor;
restriction of the liquor traffic in
favor of temperance; the building of a
governor's mansion; the
granting to the prisoner a portion of
the net income of his labor
and making the effort to reform instead
of punish him; the estab-
lishment of a state school for training
teachers; the establishment
of county infirmaries, and the more
humane treatment of the poor;
as well as the advocacy of all plans for
internal improvement, by
roads, water courses and finally by
canals, one clearly sees the
statesman instead of the politician.
He inherited wealth and he spent it
freely with his time and
strength, dying at the early age of
fifty-four, worn out in the ser-
vice of the state he helped to found and
build to greatness. He
was clearly the greatest man of the
first generation of Ohio states-
men.
THOMAS WORTHINGTON.
BY FRANK THEODORE COLE,
Secretary of "The Old
Northwest" Genealogical Society.
About the middle of the seventeenth
century two brothers
of the ancient Lancashire family of
Worthington1 arrived in
Philadelphia, bringing with them some
fair amount of property.
After some time one of them went to New
England and the
other, Robert, with his son Robert, a
mere lad, went to Mary-
land, where he bought land in the
neighborhood of Baltimore,
and established iron works, which in due
time brought him
fortune. He then removed to Baltimore.
Robert Jr. grew to manhood, married and
had children. In
his old age, he lost his wife and, all
his children being married,
he proposed to take as a second wife, a
very young woman.
When his children objected, he divided
his property into eight
or nine shares, kept one for himself,
gave the others to his
children, married his young wife and
moved to Berkeley Co.,
Virginia, at the mouth of the Opequam
Valley, where he bought
land, cleared and stocked it, and where
in 1731-2 a son was born
to him, he being then about seventy
years of age. While this
boy was still an infant, the father died
while returning from a
visit to Baltimore. His young widow
married again and died
at a great age in 1798.
The estate of this child, named Robert,
increased greatly in
value during his long minority and was
still further augmented
by his own prudent management.
At an early age he married Margaret Edwards
of Prince Ed-
ward county. He is represented as sedate
and gentle in his
manners, yet decided and prompt in
action, and a devout Epis-
1 For the family and personal matters of
this article, I have followed,
in the main, the Worthington Private
Memoir, by Mrs. Sarah Peter, Governor
Worthington's daughter. For this rare
book - only thirty copies were pub-
lished- I am indebted to the courtesy of
William N. King, Esq., of Colum--
bus, Ohio.
1 Vol. XII-4. (339)