Edward Worthington (–1804) was an Irish-born American frontiersman, hunter, surveyor and soldier who explored and later helped settle the Kentucky frontier. A veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

, he also served as a

paymaster A paymaster is someone appointed by a group of buyers, sellers, investors or lenders to receive, hold, and dispense funds, commissions, fees, salaries (remuneration) or other trade, loan, or sales proceeds within the private sector or public secto ...

under George Rogers Clark during the

Illinois campaign The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign (1778–1779), was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen, led by George Rogers Clark, seized control of several B ...

. His grandson, William H. Worthington, was an officer with the

5th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 5th Iowa Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. History The ten companies that formed the 5th Iowa were ordered into quarters by Governor of Iowa Samuel Kirkwood at different da ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Historian and author, Kathleen L. Lodwick is a direct descendant of Edward Worthington.

Early life

Edward Worthington, born in

Macroom Macroom (; ga, Maigh Chromtha) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of ...

Muskerry West Muskerry West ( ga, Múscraí Thiar) is one of the baronies of Ireland, a historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Macroom. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. It may also be viewed as a half barony because sometime be ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, in Kingdom of Ireland, between 1750 and 1754. Worthington came from a family of four brothers and five sisters. He emigrated to the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

from Ireland, in 1768, with his father, brother, Thomas, mother, sister, Ann, and several other family members, landing in Baltimore, Maryland, and staying there for some time. In 1774, Edward and his father, joined the colonial Virginia Militia, in

Lord Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. He a ...

, where Edward served as a private. Worthington was first recorded, as a surveyor, marking land, on Beargrass Creek, near the Ohio River, as early as 1775.

American Revolutionary War

Edward Worthington was, one of the defenders, at McClelland's Station, in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

territory and was wounded, in the attack, by the Mingo chieftain, Pluggy, on December 29, 1776. Worthington traveled to Harrod's Town, with George Rogers Clark, the following month. In early 1778, Edward Worthington left his wife, at Harrod's Town, and joined the Kentucky Militia, as a captain, under Colonel George Rogers Clark. With Clark and his Illinois Regiment, Virginia State Forces, Captain Worthington, went down the Ohio River, accompanied by thirteen, pioneer families, and arrived at

Corn Island The Corn Islands are two islands about east of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The official name of the municipality is ''Corn Island'' (the English name is ...

, now

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. At Corn Island, Colonel George Rogers Clark set up his military camp, where he recruited and trained his troops, for the secret

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

, to capture the

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...

, from the British. In 1779, Edward Worthington, still serving under Clark, participated in the siege of Vincennes, in which they soundly defeated the British forces. Edward Worthington was granted land, for his military service, as a paymaster, during the

Illinois Campaign The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign (1778–1779), was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen, led by George Rogers Clark, seized control of several B ...

. That same year, Edward Worthington established Worthington's Fort, four miles (6 km) southeast of Danville, Kentucky. In 1780, Worthington was ordered to occupy

Chickasaw Bluff The Chickasaw Bluff is the high ground rising about above the Mississippi River flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. This elevation, shaped as four bluffs, is named for the Chickas ...

, just south of the confluence of the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

s and construct Fort Jefferson, to protect American interests in

Illinois County, Virginia Illinois County, Virginia, was a political and geographic region, part of the British Province of Quebec, claimed during the American Revolutionary War on July 4, 1778 by George Rogers Clark of the Virginia Militia, as a result of the Illinois ...

, from enemy incursions, coming up river, from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. Fort Jefferson would be garrisoned by Virginia soldiers fro
Worthington's company, of the Illinois Regiment.
In 1781, Captain Worthington was ordered by General Clark, to withdraw his company of soldiers, and abandon Fort Jefferson, because of its remote and indefendible location, from continuous,

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

attacks.

Later life and death

Hayden, William. ''Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783''. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill Company, 1896. (pg. 151-152) In 1804, Edward Worthington was in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

, within the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

, of the US, now New Orleans,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, to conduct what turned out to be a business deal gone bad. He had filed a lawsuit in New Orleans against Dan Callaghan, who had swindled him out of a large sum of money in a land fraud scheme. Edward Worthington died from

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

before the case was tried, but his family continued the suit and they were awarded judgment against Callaghan according to the court documents in the Minute Book, Louisiana Court of Pleas, 1804.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Edward 1804 deaths American explorers American surveyors Kentucky pioneers People of Kentucky in the American Revolution Kentucky militiamen in the American Revolution American people of the Indian Wars Year of birth uncertain 1750 births People from Macroom

Early life

American Revolutionary War

Later life and death

References

Further reading

External links