Thomas Contee Worthington (November 25, 1782 – April 12, 1847) was an American politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Early life

Thomas Contee Worthington was born on November 25, 1782 near

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. He was the son of William Worthington III (1747–1820) and Jane Contee (1760–1825). His maternal grandparents were Sarah Fendall (1732–1793) and

Thomas Contee Thomas Contee (–1811) of "Brookefield", near Nottingham, Prince George's County, Maryland, was an American patriot who held the rank of colonel, militia man, politician, planter. Early life Thomas Contee was born at "Brookefield" in Prince Ge ...

(1729–1793), himself the grandson of

Thomas Brooke, Jr. Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Thomas Brooke Jr. of Brookefield (1660 – 1731) was President of the Council in Maryland and acting 13th Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the son of Major (United Kingdom), Major Th ...

(1660–1730). His brothers were William Grafton Delaney Worthington IV (1785–1856), judge and state Governor, and Secretary of the Territory of East Florida and

Walter Brooke Cox Worthington Walter Brooke Cox Worthington (September 19, 1795 - 1845) was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Early life Walter Brooke Cox Worthington was born September 19, 1795 at "The Valley", near Nottingham, Maryland. He was the son of William ...

(1795–1845), a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

. Worthington received a limited schooling. Through his maternal grandfather's sister, Jane Contee (1726–1812), who was married to

John Hanson John Hanson ( – November 15, 1783) was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Maryland during the Revolutionary Era. In 1779, Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress after serving in a variety o ...

(1721–1783), a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

who signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

and served as the 9th

President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as the president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the ...

, he was related to

Alexander Contee Hanson Alexander Contee Hanson (February 27, 1786April 23, 1819) was an American lawyer, publisher, and statesman. He represented the third district of Maryland in the U.S. House, and the state of Maryland in the U.S. Senate. Early life Alexander Conte ...

(1786–1819), also a U.S. Representative, and later, U.S. Senator from

. He was also the nephew of

Benjamin Contee Benjamin Contee (1755 – November 30, 1815) was an American Episcopal priest and statesman from Maryland. He was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and member of the first United States ...

, an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

priest, officer in the Revolutionary War, delegate to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Marc ...

, and member of the first

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Career

He served as a captain in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and later as brigadier general of the Ninth Brigade of the Maryland Militia from 1818 to 1847. He studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1817, and commenced practice in

. He later moved to

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, in 1818 to serve in the

, and continued the practice of law. Worthington was a

slave owner The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inh ...

United States Congress

Worthington was elected to the Nineteenth Congress, where he served from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. He resumed the practice of law in Frederick, and also served as member of the executive council in 1830 under the first State constitution.

Personal life

He died in Frederick, and was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

References

;Notes ;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Thomas Contee 1782 births 1847 deaths Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Maryland lawyers American militiamen in the War of 1812 Fendall family Politicians from Frederick, Maryland National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick, Maryland) 19th-century American politicians American militia generals Contee family