John Tolley Hood Worthington (November 1, 1788 – April 27, 1849) was a U.S. Representative from Maryland and a slaveholder.[1][2]
John Tolley Hood Worthington | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841 | |
| Preceded by | James Turner |
| Succeeded by | James Wray Williams |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 | |
| Preceded by | Elias Brown |
| Succeeded by | Isaac McKim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 1, 1788 "Shawan," near Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | April 27, 1849 (aged 60) "Shawan" near Baltimore, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Tolley Worthington |
| Children | John Tolley Worthington Annie Maria Worthington Comfort Mary Worthington |
| Parent(s) | Walter Worthington Sarah Hood |
Early life
editJohn Tolley Hood Worthington was born on November 1, 1788, at "Shawan," near Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Walter Tolley Worthington (1765–1843) and Sarah Hood (ca. 1767–1850), daughter of John Hood, Jr. (1745–1794), by Hannah Barnes (ca. 1745–1772).[3] Worthington received a limited schooling and engaged in agricultural pursuits.[2]
United States Congress
editWorthington was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second Congress (March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1832 to the Twenty-third Congress and for election in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress.[2]
Worthington was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses, where he served from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1841. After Congress, he resumed agricultural pursuits.[2]
Personal life
editHe was married to Mary Tolley Worthington (1790–1840), a cousin who was the daughter of John Worthington (ca. 1760–1834) and Mary Beale Worthington (1768–1839).[3] Together, they had:[4]
- Samuel Worthington (d. 1860)
- John Tolley Worthington (1813–1892), who married Mary Govane Hood (1813–1892), daughter of James Hood, of Hood's Mill, and Sarah Howard.
- Ann Maria Worthington (1821–1873), who married Charles Grosvenor Hanson (1815/6–1880), son of Alexander Contee Hanson (1786-1819)
- Comfort Mary Worthington (1823–1894), who married William B. Nelson, Jr.[5]
In 1840 he owned 29 slaves according to the U.S. census.[1] James Watkins, a fugitive slave from Maryland, mentions two daughters born out of wedlock by one or two enslaved women. He doesn't give the names of those daughters, but claims to have known them both personally. He calls the first one "a white slave" and reports that she remained enslaved until he (Watkins) freed her by bringing her to the Free States. According to Watkins, the second enslaved daughter was sold by her own father for $1800 for the purpose of breeding slave children. When she refused being used for that purpose out of her notion of Christian chastity, she was so severely flogged that she died in Watkins' presence.[6]
Worthington died at "Shawan" in Baltimore County, Maryland, and was interred in a private cemetery on his farm.[7] He was reinterred in St. John's Episcopal Churchyard in Worthington Valley, Maryland.[2]
References
edit- Notes
- ^ a b Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo (20 January 2022). "More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "WORTHINGTON, John Tolley Hood - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ a b Warfield, Joshua Dorsey (1905). The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland: A genealogical and biographical review from wills, deeds and church records. Kohn & Pollock. pp. 147-154. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
John Tolley Hood Worthington.
- ^ "ANNE-W-WHITE". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ The funeral of Mrs. COMFORT M. NELSON. Frederick, Maryland: The News. December 28, 1894.
- ^ Struggles for Freedom; or The Life of James Watkins, Formerly a Slave in Maryland, U. S.; in Which is Detailed a Graphic Account of His Extraordinary Escape from Slavery, Notices of the Fugitive Slave Law, the Sentiments of American Divines on the Subject of Slavery, etc., etc. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ "Maryland Historical Trust - Shawan House" (PDF). mht.maryland.gov. Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Sources
- United States Congress. "John T. H. Worthington (id: W000748)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress