Thomas Worthington (July 16, 1773June 20, 1827) was an American politician who served as the sixth

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Early life

Worthington was born in Berkeley County near Charles Town in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

. In 1796, he married a Virginia woman, Eleanor Swearingen, who joined him in emigrating to

Ross County, Ohio Ross County is a county in the Appalachian region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 77,093. Its county seat is Chillicothe, the first and third capital of Ohio. Established on August 20, 1798, the ...

, where they emancipated their slaves. The home they eventually built just outside Chillicothe was called

Adena Adena may refer to: Artists * ADENA, Romanian singer-songwriter *Adeena Karasick (born 1965), Canadian poet, performance artist, and essayist * Adena Halpern (born 1968), American author *Adena Jacobs (born 1982), Australian theatre director Place ...

and is the namesake of the

Adena culture The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing ...

. The first of their ten children, daughter Mary, married David Macomb, a future leader of the Texas Revolution. Their first son, James, graduated from West Point, held the rank of Brigadier General in the Ohio Militia, and later fought in the Mexican-American and Civil Wars.

Career

He served in the Territorial House of Representatives from 1799 to 1803 and served as a Ross county delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1802. He was a leader of the

Chillicothe Junto The Chillicothe Junto was a term applied to a group of Chillicothe, Ohio Democratic-Republican politicians who brought about the admission of Ohio as a state (1803) and largely controlled its politics for some years thereafter. The best known were ...

, a group of Chillicothe

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

politicians who brought about the admission of Ohio as a state in 1803 and largely controlled its politics for some years thereafter. Among his colleagues in the faction were

Nathaniel Massie Nathaniel Massie (December 28, 1763 – November 13, 1813) was a frontier surveyor in the Ohio Country (including the Virginia Military District) who became a prominent land owner, politician, and soldier. He founded fourteen early towns in ...

and

Edward Tiffin Edward Tiffin (June 19, 1766August 9, 1829) was an American politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic-Republican party, he served as the first governor of Ohio and later as a United States Senator. Biography Sources indicate that he was ...

. Worthington was elected one of Ohio's first Senators in 1803, serving until 1807. He was returned to the Senate in December 1810 upon the resignation of

Return J. Meigs, Jr. Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (; November 17, 1764March 29, 1825) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the fourth governor of Ohio, fifth United States Postmaster General, and as a United States senator. Early life Meigs ...

and served until December 1814, when he resigned after winning election to the governorship. On June 17, 1812, he voted "No" on the resolution to declare war on Britain, but the vote in favor of war was 19 to 13. He won re-election as governor two years later, moving the state capital from Chillicothe to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. Worthington did not seek re-election in 1818. He platted what would become the city of

Logan, Ohio Logan is a city in Hocking. The population was 7,152 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hocking County. Logan is located in southeast Ohio, on the Hocking River 48 miles southeast of Columbus. The current mayor of Logan is ...

in 1816. In January 1819, when the election was held to replace the retiring Jeremiah Morrow in the Senate, he held the lead through the first three ballots, only losing when factions aligned behind William A. Trimble on the fourth and final ballot. He narrowly lost a bid for a partial term in the Senate in 1821, losing to the incumbent governor,

Ethan Allen Brown Ethan Allen Brown (July 4, 1776February 24, 1852) was a Democratic-Republican politician. He served as the seventh governor of Ohio. Biography Brown was born in Darien, Connecticut to Roger Brown, a prosperous farmer and a Revolutionary War ve ...

, and so he instead returned to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. After being the runner-up in the 1808 and 1810 gubernatorial elections, he won the 1814 and 1816 elections by landslide margins. Both times he nearly reached three-quarters of the vote. After two terms he stepped down as governor.

Death

Worthington was initially buried at his estate in Adena, and was later interred at Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe,

Legacy

Worthington is a member of the Ohio Hall Of Fame. The city of

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...

, was named in Worthington's honor, as was

Thomas Worthington High School Thomas Worthington High School (TWHS) is a public school in Worthington, Ohio. The school was named Worthington High School until 1991, when sister school, Worthington Kilbourne High School, opened. With approximately 1700 students, TWHS is the l ...

. Worthington is known as the "Father of the Ohio statehood".

References

Sources

A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns, 1787–1825
*Sears, Alfred Byron, ''Thomas Worthington, father of Ohio statehood'', Ohio State University Press for the Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH [1958
Full text here

External links

*
Ohio MemoryAdena Mansion & Gardens''The Public Career of Thomas Worthington,'' Doctoral Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1932
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Thomas 1773 births 1827 deaths Governors of Ohio Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Northwest Territory officials United States senators from Ohio Politicians from Chillicothe, Ohio Ohio Democratic-Republicans Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802) American surveyors People from Charles Town, West Virginia Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Northwest Territory House of Representatives Burials at Grandview Cemetery (Chillicothe, Ohio) Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians