biography of william jackson worthington (1833-1914) lt. governor of kentucky 1895-1899

7/23/2019 Biography of William Jackson Worthington (1833-1914) Lt. Governor of Kentucky 1895-1899

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Title Page

I. Youth & Education(1832-1854 CE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

II. Kentucky Pioneer(1854-1861) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

III. Citizen Soldier(1861-1865) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

IV. Legislator & Judge(1865-1895) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

V. Lieutenant Governor(1895-1899) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

VI. Elder Statesman(1899-1914) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

APPENDIX: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35


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PREFACE

This is a biography that began with a picture. Some years ago, I had an interest in collectingsigned carte de visites of Civil War veterans. (Carte de visites-also known as CDVs-were

photographic portraits of individuals that were placed on small card size paper prints. Popular inthe mid-to-late 19th

Century, they were used as calling cards.) At one point in a swap I obtaineda CDV of Worthington while he was serving with the 22nd Kentucky Infantry during the CivilWar. Knowing nothing of him except the name and regiment which he had signed on the card, Iresearched a bit and found out more about him. The result is this study.

This biography is presented in the form of an historical timeline chronology. By tracing themajor developments of Worthingtons life through time, I hope to present both a concise andhighly readable study based entirely on the facts as we know them.

As a rule, however, historical chronologies are generally difficult to put together, as they can

neglect important information while over-emphasizing others, which in turn can lead to amisrepresentation of the facts as a whole. With this very much in mind, I have endeavored topresent to you, the reader, with a fair, balanced and accurate account of the life of thisextraordinary man.

Donald J. IveySeptember 14, 2009


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THE

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

WILLIAM JACKSON WORTHINGTON

(1832-1914 CE)

A CHRONOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY

Chapter I: Youth & Education

(1832-1854)

1832

November 9 William Jackson Worthington was born near the town of Johnstown inWestmoreland County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was the fifth child and the third sonof the nine children of John Worthington and his wife, Ann Sarah (Luther) Worthington.

The Worthingtons were an old family of English ancestry. Williams father, originally fromMaryland, worked as a collier (coal miner) and also farmed the land. His mother, a native ofPennsylvania, was said to have been a descendant of William Penn.

c.1839 or 1840John Worthington moved his family to Lawrence County, Ohio, where he established afarmstead.

During this period, William, now about age 6 or 7, underwent his early education. Education inrural areas of America during the Nineteenth Century was a far more informal affair than it istoday, with the children receiving their initial instruction at home. Then, at about the age of age6 the children were sent to school, which usually consisted of classes composed of children of allages from the surrounding area. Classes were held in a small one or two room schoolhouse, or ifthe family was a bit better off, schooling would often continue at home under the tutelage of aprivate teacher. Helping on the family farm was also a major part of a childs upbringing, andWilliam no doubt spent a considerable amount of his time doing chores along with his brothers(James, born in 1828; David, in 1830; Finley, 1834; John Jack, 1836; and Charles, 1843), andsisters (Nancy, born in 1824; Rachel 1826; Sarah Jane, 1838; Mary Hannah, 1841) whilelearning to hunt, fish, ride a horse and tend crops and livestock as well. Little is known ofWilliam J. Worthingtons early education, other than he attended the public schools of WestMoreland County, Pennsylvania and Lawrence County, Ohio according to one source, asopportunity afforded.

c.1849John Worthington again moved his family, this time settling them in Scioto County, Ohio. InScioto, William, now about 17, worked on the family farm and may have also worked in thelocal iron furnaces in the area.


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1850

August 24 United States census records for Carter County, Kentucky listed William J.Worthington, now age 17, as residing in District No. 2 within the county with his father John, 49,and elder brothers James, 21, and David 19. His father occupation was listed as Collier, whilethe occupation of William and his brothers was given as Laborer. No values were recorded on

their real or personal property. Two other men (Jackson Wade, 21, a Laborer from Pennsylvaniaand Samuel Bell, 20, a Laborer from Ohio) were also listed as residing with them.

September 5 Federal census records for Scioto County, Ohio also recorded WilliamWorthington, age 18 [actually, he was still 17 at the time] as living in Green Township, DistrictNo. 133 with his parents; and brothers and sisters Annie, 27; Rachel, 24; James, 22; David, 20;John, 14; Sarah J[ane], 13; Mary H[annah], 10; Charles, 7; and Phinley [Finley], 16. The forWilliam, his father and brothers James, David, and Finley was listed as Labourer; no valueswere recorded for their real or personal property. William was also listed as having attendedschool within the last year. William Worthington, his father and two brothers probably workedin the coal mines in Kentucky for part of the year, thus explaining their dual addresses during

this census.


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Chapter II: Kentucky Pioneer

(1854-1861)

c.1854

At about the age of 22, William J. Worthington moved to Greenup County, Kentucky, mostprobably with his older brothers John (Jack) and Charles. [insert details on the history,geography, etc. of the county].

In Greenup, Worthington went into the iron business in east Kentucky, working with ironfurnaces while also engaging in farming. By the following year (1855) he had taken charge ofthe Clinton Iron Works at Argillite, on the Little Sandy River.

1856 [or 1858]

September 9 William J. Worthington, now age 23, married Miss Catherine Ann Steele, 23,

the daughter of Dr. Daniel Steele of Cannonsburg in Boyd County, Kentucky. The marriageceremony was conducted in Greenup County. Dr. Steele was a well-known local physician whopracticed medicine at Prestonburg [in Floyd County] as far back as 1836 according to onesource. He moved from Prestonburg to Cannonsburg about 1850, and continued to practiceuntil 1861. His son, Catherines brother, Dr. john H. Steele, was said to have been the firstdoctor in Carter County, Kentucky.

c.1857

During this same period, Worthington also studied law. As with the rest of the educationalsystem during this period, the process of becoming a lawyer was far easier and more informalthan it is today. Few practicing lawyers of that era ever attended law school (many likeWorthington, never even attended college). Instead, far more aspiring lawyers learned theprofession by apprenticing themselves in the office of an established local attorney. By studyingunder the attorneys tutelage while assisting him in his practice, aspiring attorneys would thenlearn the practice of the law. Thus, with this kind of training behind him, Worthington was ableto pass the bar and was admitted by the Greenup County Court to the Bar of the Commonwealthof Kentucky as an Attorney at Law.

1858

November 14 Birth of William and Catherine Worthingtons two eldest children, twindaughters, Anne (also known as Anna or Annie) and Agnes Worthington in GreenupCounty. Annie Worthington married twice, first to Charles H. Dickey, and then to W.B.Strader. She died in Boise, Idaho in 1930 at the age of 71. Agnes married George Callihan (orCallahan) and lived in Greenup County until her death in 1902 at the age of 43.

December 16 No doubt to help provide for his growing family, Worthington on this datepurchased two tracts of land from Henry and Ariane Hardwick, one containing 94 acres of


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bottom land and another 28 acres of woodland on the banks of the Little Sandy River for the sumof $2,000- a princely sum in those days.

1859

December 1 Birth of William and Catherines third child and their eldest son, FinleyWorthington in Greenup. Little is known about Finley, but he apparently moved to Alabama andappears to have died there at a young age sometime before 1889.

1860July 13 U. S. census records for Greenup County recorded W.J. Worthington, now age 27, asresiding near the Greenup County Courthouse in Sub[division] D No. 2, East Little Sandy withhis wife C.A. [Catherine], 26, and their three children Agnes, and Annie, 2 [actually they werejust shy of 20 months old], and Finley, 7 months. Worthingtons occupation was listed asFarmer. The value of his real estate totaled $4,000.00, and his personal estate was valued at

$800.00--figures which all point to the familys increasing affluence. Also living with family isWilliam Davis, a 24-year-old white male listed as a Farm Hand.

November 6 Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, a Republican, was elected as the sixteenthPresident of the United States. Considered a radical by most slave holders, Lincoln carried all ofthe free states but none of the slave states. In Kentucky, Constitutional Union candidate JohnBell narrowly defeated Southern Democrat and Kentucky native son Vice President John C.Breckinridge Kentucky, with Democratic challenger Stephen A. Douglas of Illinios coming in adistant third and Lincoln coming in last with barely 1,300 votes statewide. With Lincolnselection, many in the South saw secession from the Union as the only alternative to what manyslaveholders would saw as the tyranny of the Black Republican Party.

December 20 In reaction to Lincolns victory, South Carolina became the first state to secedefrom the Union, declaring by a vote of 169 to 0 that the union now subsisting between SouthCarolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America is herebydissolved. (31)


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Chapter III: Citizen Soldier(1861-1865)

1861

April 12 Confederate artillery batteries under the command of Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T.Beauregard fired on Federal troops in Fort Sumter, off Charleston harbor in South Carolina. Thenext day the fort surrendered. The attack was the result of continuing demands by Confederateand state officials for all Federal facilities to be turned over the Confederacy, and signaled thebeginning of the American Civil War.

Three days later, President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring that a state of insurrectionexisted, and called for 75,000 militia volunteers to serve for a period of three months. Later, onApril 19, the President declared a naval blockade of all southern ports.

Spring-Summer As preparations for war increased all throughout the country, in Greenup

County Worthington began to recruit and organize a company of men for service in the U.S.Army.

October 17 Meanwhile in Kentucky, the Worthingtons fourth child and their second son,(John) Thomas Worthington, was born, probably in Greenup. Like his brother Finley, JohnWorthington appears to have moved to Alabama. He died in 1923 at the age of 61 and is burieswith Finley in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.

November 9 On his 29th birthday and just weeks after the birth of son, Worthington enrolledfor service in the United States Army at Louisa in Lawrence County, Kentucky [or CampSwigert, Greenup County] as Captain of the company which he raised, which now was musteredinto service as Company B of the 22nd Regiment of Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.

1862

January 10 Along with the rest of his company, Worthington was mustered into the UnitedStates Army at Louisa in Lawrence County, Kentucky, to serve for a period of three years or forthe duration of the war. Worthingtons commission as Captain of the company was alsoapproved, to take rank as of this day.

January 20 Ten days later, the 22nd Kentucky Infantry Regiment was organized at Louisa,and Worthingtons company was mustered in as Company B of the regiment. The regimentwas initially attached to 18th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio.

January 10- May 22 According to company and regimental records, from January 10 toFebruary 28, Worthingtons company was stationed at Camp Brownlow in Pikeville, PikeCounty, Kentucky, and then in March moved to Camp Cochran on the Cumberland River. FromMarch, the regiment was also re-assigned to the 26th Brigade, of the 7th Division of the Army ofthe Ohio, where they served until October 1862.


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May 22 According to company Record of Events, on this date Worthingtons company LeftCamp Cochran on the Cumberland River [and] Marched five miles in the direction ofCumberland Gap, where they then Went into camp at what is known as Moss House.

June 2 Citing private business that demands my attention at home which cannot be entrusted

to the care of another without material loss, Captain Worthington tendered his resignation asCaptain of Company B, to take effect on July 15, 1862.

Although approved by the 22nd

s commander, Col. Daniel W. Lindsay, the resignation wassubsequently not accepted by higher military authorities, and Worthington continued in service.Instead, a leave of absence was approved which enabled him to return home to care of hisbusiness, which was most probably connected with his farm.

June 7 Meanwhile, on this date, according to company records, Company B

On the morning of June 7 at 5 oclock we took up our line of march for East

Tennessee, passing through what is known as Rogers Gap, nineteen miles west ofthe Cumberland Gap. We were much retarded in our march by obstructionsplaced in the road by the Rebels and also in crossing the mountain, which wasvery rugged.

June 11-18 On June 18th, the 22nd Kentucky served as part of the Union forces under Brig. Gen.George W. Morgan which occupied Cumberland Gap, a vital strategic stronghold in southeasternKentucky, which Union forces occupied the day after Confederate troops evacuated the area, theenemy having, according to regimental records, but a few hours before evacuated, the samedestroying much valuable property, consisting of subsistence stores [and] camp equipage.

According to the Record of Events for Company B during this period:

We reached Powell Valley, where we remained until June 18, some slightskirmishing taking place between our pickets and the Rebel cavalry. At 1.30 onthe morning of June 18 we started for the gap, expecting to engage the enemyeight miles above, when they were reported to be in considerable force, but beforereaching them, [found] they had left. We immediately pushed on for the gap,which we reached at 3 oclock p.m., the Rebels having left at 8 oclock a.m. of thesame day, leaving all their tents, about 500 in number, which they had completelyriddled with their knives, and also five large cannon, all of which were spiked andthe cartridges cut down. This place is justly termed the labyrinth of America,being perfectly invulnerable from every point.

July 25-26 According to the Record of Events of the Regiments Field and Staff, on thesedates the regiment

Marched from Camp Virginia [near Cumberland Gap] to Tazewell, distanceseventeen miles. Took up position on the hill north of the town and bivouacked


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for the night. Early the next morning drove the enemys pickets from the ridgesouth of the town and occupied it during the day to protect a foraging trainoperating in the valley behind us.

August 6 Captain Worthington served with his company at the Battle of Cumberland Gap (or

Tazewell), Tennessee, where a Union foraging expedition under Col. John F. DeCourcey wasattacked and almost surrounded by superior Confederate forces. The detachment (of which the22nd was a part), managed to escape the entrapment, and in the ensuing retreat, the 22 nd served tocover the Union Armys retreat from the town.

September 5 [or October 21] Captain Worthington was promoted to the rank of major in the22nd Kentucky.

September 18 After being cut off from all lines of communication and supplies by Confederateforces under Gen. Edmund Kirby-Smith, and facing imminent starvation, Morgan evacuated allof his forces from the Gap. Worthington was with the 22

ndduring the evacuation, in which the

regiment covered the rear of the retreating Union army. By October 3, the army finally reachedGreenup after a harrowing but skillful retreat of nearly 230 miles.

October-December The 22nd

Kentucky served as part of the 4th Brigade, District of WestVirginia, Dept. of the Ohio until November 1862, and then served as part of the 3rd Brigade, 9thDivision, Right Wing 13th Army Corps (Old), Dept. of the Tennessee until December 1862.

November 15 After being stationed for a time aboard the steamboat Crescent City, MajorWorthington and the rest of the regiment reached Memphis after retreating from CumberlandGap to the Kanawha Valley to relieve the forces of General Cox, where the 22

nd(as part of

General Morgans Division) helped drive Confederate forces behind Gauley Ridge.

December 26-29 Worthington served with the regiment (now part of DeCourceys 3rd Brigade,3rd Division, as part of Sherman's Yazoo Expedition) during several days of skirmishing withConfederate forces at Chickasaw Bluffs, near Vicksburg, Mississippi. When the commander ofthe 22nd, Lt. Col. George W. Monroe, was wounded in action during an assault on ChickasawBluffs on the 29

th, Worthington assumed command of the regiment and took it out of action.

Years later, in his memoirs, Union Gen. William T. Sherman had criticized DeCourceys brigadeas being derelict in duty in an assault on Confederate positions on December 29

th, a position

which became the subject of hot dispute with the men of the 22nd Kentucky who served at thebattle.

Writing shortly after the engagement, Regimental Surgeon Dr. B.F. Stevenson of the 22ndrecalled that:

. . . On the morning of the 29th

the order to assault at noon was given, and thecentral portion of the rebel works assigned to Gen. Morgans division, and, as Ithink, without due consideration for the exhausted condition of the men. They had


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been engaged, without intermission, for forty hours, fighting or working; they hadendured two nights of cold drenching rain; they had been badly fed, and many ofthe men were sick.

They went in with alacrity, and came out with untarnished honor, but repulsed

and terribly cut up. The distance was greater than anticipated, and the obstructionsvery much more than had been counted on. They had a space of full half a mile topass over, covered with fallen timber; they had a bayou, or ravine, deep in mudand water, to wade through. All these difficulties were surmounted, and the opengrounds immediately in front of the works reached and occupied, when aconcentric fire from an array of masked batteries was opened on our fatigued andexhausted men, before which it was impossible for any troops to stand oradvance. The force fell back in good order, bringing with them most of ourwounded.

. . . . The 22nd

went into action with about 400 bayonets, and came out with

eighty three killed and wounded, and twenty nine missing.

In a letter written to Stevenson in 1884, Worthington also challenged Shermans account of theevents of that day, writing:

. . . My recollection . . . is very vivid in regard to the whole affair. Thetopography of the country, in fact all the incidents pertaining to that disastrousand ill-advised attack are too deeply impressed upon my mind ever to beforgotten.

As regards the lay of the country, you will recollect that, as we advanced fromthe river, in the direction of the enemys works, there was on our left a bayou witha low levee, serving to protect the arable land from overflow.

We, on going out, passed through cultivated land, not striking the levee untilnear the Lake house, where we were fired on (22d) in column and in front. All theland on our right and front in the neighborhood of the Lake house, up to whereour batteries were posted in the woods, was at that time dry land. There wasbetween the house and the woods where the batteries were posted, a swale or drylagoon, having but little water in it. The night previous to the assault CaptainPatterson, of the Pioneer Corps, with some four companies of the 22d Kentucky,was sent forward to dig some rifle pits, just in the edge of the woods, andadjoining the down timber which lay in our front, and between us and theenemys works, over and through which we had to pass in the attack; and also topontoon the bayou, which lay in our immediate front. This being accomplished,the guard accompanying him was retired to the edge of the woods, where the riflepits were constructed, and the rest of the brigade brought up in the early morning,where we remained until the assault was delivered.


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This position brought us in fair view of the enemys works, and resulted in abrisk fire from their batteries all the forenoon. I was talking to GeneralDeCourcey at the time he read the order to advance. The men were ordered to fallin, which they did in columns of company, in which position they remained forsome time. DeCourcey directed me to go among the men and counsel them to

keep cool, and advance rapidly when the order was given, and if compelled to fallback, to do so leisurely, and preserve our organization, so as to be ready to defendourselves against any attack of cavalry, adding at the same time that the assaultwas ill-advised, and that it would prove disastrous, but not to let the men have anyother idea than that of victory. When the advance was ordered we moved up andpassed the pontoon above referred to, and formed line of battle on the edge of thebayou, in the fallen timber, being subjected to a heavy fire all the time from theenemys batteries; but, fortunately for us, they fired too high to do much harm.The line being formed, the advance was commenced, all in full view of theenemys works, which were constructed along the foot of the hills in a semi-circular form, and from which there burst forth an almost unbroken sheet of flame

as we commenced to advance. Our line of march led us directly into the field,half-way encircled by their works, without cover or shelter of any kind. Thebrigade moved forward rapidly and in good order until we reached the bayou towhich, I presume, General Sherman refers, and says we safely crossed. This is amistake, and an unpardonable one in the General commanding, in more ways thanone; for, in the first place, he should have had the ground reconnoitered overwhich his troops had to pass in so perilous and hazardous an assault, so as toascertain whether they would meet with an impassable barrier, immediately in theface of the enemys batteries and rifle pits; in the second place, if he has everlooked (since the engagement) at the ground the brigade passed over in itsadvance, he knows that the bayou lat right across their line of march, and wasimpassable (and at the time of the attack its very existence was unknown to theGeneral commanding, or to any of his subordinates), and covered almost its entirefront, being from ten to fifteen feet in depth.

When the command struck the bayou it was temporarily checked. GeneralDeCourcey was on the right center of the command at the time, and was sosituated that he could not see how far the water extended to the left. He was muchchagrined at this unexpected obstruction, and asked to have some one carry a noteto General Morgan. No one coming forward, I proferred to carry it for him. Hereplied, No! Major, no! I will get some one else, and commenced to write. Justat this moment a command, or word of command, was passed up the line, to moveby the left flank. The General repeated the command in a loud tone of voice, andstarted down the line, I accompanying him, and both going faster than the linecould move in ranks. We passed down, or to the left, for about 150 or 200 yards,where we reached the end of the water, showing it to be a pond, where we passedaround the pond, wading through deep mud and over some logs that had beenused as a bridge, the men following as fast as they could, and forming, orattempting to form, on the plateau, just in front of the enemys guns, and under a


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most destructive fire, continuing to advance all the time, not a single manstopping to take shelter under the bank, as stated by the General; and,furthermore, there was not a single position occupied or passed over by thebrigade from the time the line of battle was formed, either in advancing orfalling back, where it could have been screened for a moment from the enemys

fire, but it was in fair view and direct range all the time. In order to have availedourselves of the shelter afforded by the bank on the opposite side of the bayou, wewould have been obliged to do what the General says we did (but what we did notdo), that is, cross the bayou. Instead of crossing, as before stated, we moved to theleft, and around the water, leaving us all the time in plain view and easy range ofthe enemys guns.

The bridge on which we crossed, I think, was constructed by the enemy. Thebattle proper lasted but a short time, concentrated as our troops were in the smallspace of ground in front of the enemys guns, dealing destruction at every volley.General Sherman should remember the old Grecian adage, That he that has made

no mistakes has not been engaged in the military service long. The General,having been engaged for some time in the business, must of necessity, accordingto this maxim, have made some mistakes, and this is probably the most flagrantand palpable one of them all. However, a scape-goat or an excuse must be had,and the consequence is that our brigade has to suffer, and, I must say, veryunjustly, as no men ever behaved better under the circumstances than didDeCourceys.

(Dr. Stevenson, who later wrote to Sherman to obtain his comments, was given the reply bySherman that Frank Blair, T.C. Fletcher, and Fred. Steel were my authorities for this portion ofhis memoirs. In response, Stevenson wrote Frank Blair, T.C. Fletcher, and Fred. Steel, were allof them honorable men, but not a whit more so than General G.W. Morgan, J.F. DeCourcey, andWm. J. Worthington; and the statements of the latter officers, corroborated and sustained as theyare by the morning reports, must by all candid and just men be regarded as the more reliabletestimony.)

1863Janaury The 22nd Kentucky was again, re-assigned, this time to serve as part of the 3rdBrigade, 9th Division of the 13th Army Corps.

January 10-11 Union forces under the command of Gen. John A. McClernand captured anddestroyed Fort Hindman, a Confederate stronghold at Arkansas Post on the Arkansas River.Worthington served with the regiment during this engagement.

January 17-22 During this period, the regiment moved to Young's Point, Louisiana, where theyremained on duty until March.


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February 1863 The regiment was assigned to serve as part of the 2nd Brigade, 9th Division,13th Army Corps, where they remained until July 1863.

March- April During this period, the 22nd was stationed near Grand Gulf, Mississippi untilApril 10th, when they moved to new quarters at Richmond, Louisiana. From March 31st to April

17

th

, the regiment participated in operations from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage.

May 1 Worthington commanded the regiment at the Battle of Port Gibson, also known asThompsons Hill or Magnolia Church, in Mississippi. In his report of the action, Col. F.A.Sheldon, commander of the 2

ndBrigade (of which the 22

ndwas a part), Ninth Division, 13

th

Army Corps, commended Worthington as having acted ably and gallantly during the battle, inwhich, according to the Regiments Record of Events, [a]fter a fight of nine hours the enemyretired, leaving us masters of the field. We had three wounded in this action.

A report by Colonel Sheldon gives further details of the battle:

At about 7:30 a.m. the Sixteenth, Forty-second, and One hundred and fourteenthOhio and Twenty-second Kentucky were formed in line of battle, by battalion inmass, . . . and remained for half an hour under the artillery fire of the enemy,which did but slight damage, however . . .

At about 8 oclock, the Sixteenth and Twenty-second were ordered to the center,to meet any movement in that quarter. They advanced to the woods and formedline of battle, and two companies were deployed as skirmishers and advanced intothe woods. No enemy appeared, and the regiments, pursuant to GeneralOsterhaus order, were moved to the left. . . .

At about 11 oclock, the Sixteenth and Twenty-second were formed in the lineon the left of the Forty-second [Ohio]. Two companies of skirmishers werethrown forward to the brow of the hill, keeping up for one-half hour a well-directed fire upon the enemy. At the expiration of this time, an advance of thethree regiments was ordered. The order was obeyed in very splendid order. TheSixteenth and Twenty-second, obliquing to the left, entered the ravine on the frontand left of the enemys position, and advanced under cover very near the enemy,and maintained their position until near night, doing considerable damage to theenemy by the continuous and well-directed fire they kept up.

May 16 The 22nd served in the Battle of Champion Hill, or Bakers Creek, Mississippi, inwhich Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant routed a Confederate army commanded byLt. Gen. John C. Pemberton. Fifteen men of the 22nd were wounded in the engagement.According to the Regiments Record of Events, [w]e again encountered the enemy atChampions Hill and after desperate fighting for eight hours, we again drove them before us,capturing 2,000 prisoners and killing and wounded 1,500.


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In this battle, according to Dr. Stevenson, Major Worthington, in command of Companies Band C [as part of Lindseys brigade] , had been directed to support the 1st Michigan battery . .

According to the official report of battle from General McClernand:

In front of my center, as well as my right, the enemy appeared in great numbers.Garrards brigade was hard pressed, and General Osterhaus requested that itshould be supported. All of Lawlers Brigade, of Carrs division, except a reserveof one regiment, also advanced to support Lindseys , who had pushed a chargenear the mouth of a battery. Lawlers brigade here cast the trembling balance inour favor. Himself narrowly escaping the effect of a shell, his men joinedLindsey, and both dashed forward, shooting down the enemys battery horses,driving away his gunners, and capturing two pieces of cannon. . . . The enemy,this beaten at all points, fled in confusion, the main body along the road leading toVicksburg, a fragment to the left of that road. General Carrs division, taking theadvance, hotly pressed the former, and Lindseys and Burbridges brigades the

latter, until night closed in, each taking many prisoners.

In his official report of the battle, Col. Daniel W. Lindsey added that

On the morning of the 16th instant, in accordance with orders, marched in therear of First Brigade, in the following order: One hundred and fourteenth Ohio,Twenty-second Kentucky, First Wisconsin Battery, Sixteenth and Forty-secondOhio. After moving some 3 or 4 miles on the road leading from Mrs. Jones' toEdwards Station, I was notified that the enemy was in our front. I was thenordered by the general commanding division to send four companies--twodeployed as skirmishers, and the other two as their support--into the woods on theright, to press the enemy, and, if possible, ascertain their position and strength.The execution of this order was assigned to Major Lynch, of the One hundred andfourteenth Ohio, with four companies from his regiment. I was then ordered toplace the remainder of the brigade, with the First Wisconsin and two sections ofthe Seventh Michigan Battery, in position to repel an attack, my front and flanksto be well protected by skirmishers. Having executed this order, we soon heardthe skirmishers of the One hundred and fourteenth Ohio, and the First Brigadeopened upon the enemy, who apparently gave way. In this position we remainedsomething like one and a half hours, when I was ordered to advance tworegiments, leave one in column on the road at a point where a plantation roadturns off to the left, and with the other to turn off upon the last-mentioned road,and advance until the regiment in column should reach the opposite edge of thewoods, immediately in front of my first position, and from there throwskirmishers to the front. The One hundred and fourteenth Ohio was left at thepoint above mentioned in the road, the four companies under Major Lynch havingbeen previously ordered in, and the Twenty-second Kentucky was advanced in thewoods. Judging from the little I could observe of our line on my right that I wouldsoon receive the order to advance the Twenty-second Kentucky, I asked to be


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allowed to strengthen it by either the Forty-second or One hundred and fourteenthOhio. Lieutenant [Jacob] Swigert, one of my aides-de-camp, returned with theinformation that both of the regiments sent for had been ordered by GeneralOsterhaus into action on the right, but that the Sixteenth Ohio would report to mein front immediately, and that a brigade from General Carr's division would

advance with me.

As soon as the Sixteenth could move to the front, the two small regiments thereunder my command, numbering --- men, companies from each having been leftwith the artillery, were formed in line, awaiting the advance of the brigade on ourright, which had formed some distance to our right and rear, and also the order forme to move forward. The latter soon came, to the effect that I should moveforward and take the woods to our right and front, which had the appearance ofbeing a point at which the enemy were rallying and reforming such of his brokencolumns as had been driven back on the right.

At command the line moved forward in very good order, until it came to a verylarge drain, running through the open field over which we were moving. Herethey became somewhat broken; but the fire of the enemy was so severe that I didnot deem it prudent to halt sufficiently long to reform entirely, but, as soon as thebulk of the men were over, ordered them to advance. From this point to the woodswe moved very rapidly, the Sixteenth Ohio moving, however, too far to the left toreach the woods in time for the Twenty-second. The latter regiment went into theskirt of the woods, but was very soon driven back a little over the brow of the hill.Here they were halted by Lieutenant-Colonel Monroe, commanding, and theSixteenth coming up, both regiments again charged into the woods.

This position, which we held for about half an hour, we were compelled to retirefrom, the enemy having brought up a battery to rake the woods, with a muchstronger infantry force than my own to support it. I regarded my advance as animportant one, and regret exceedingly my inability to maintain it. Immediately onreturning to the position from which we had made the charge, the regiments werereformed, and the line, both upon the right and left, advancing, we moved forwardalso. The enemy rapidly retired, our skirmishers only getting an occasional shot.After advancing some 2 miles, the greater portion of the distance through a densewoods, and capturing more prisoners than we had men, our skirmishers were firedupon by a battery upon our left. Knowing that we had forces upon our left, I sent astaff officer to communicate with them, and at the same time changed my front alittle to the left and advanced my skirmishers. On the approach of the latter theenemy retired his battery, leaving a wagon-load of ammunition on the ground.

At this point Lieutenant-Colonel Pardee brought me an order from GeneralMcClernand to move with my command to Edwards Station. Waiting a short timefor the return of my aide.de-camp (Lieutenant Risdon), who had gone tocommunicate with Generals Blair and Smith, on the left, I ordered the


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ammunition destroyed (in the execution of which order Captain Thomas, of theTwenty- second Kentucky, a most gallant and efficient officer, was severelyburned by the explosion), marched to Edwards Station, and bivouacked at 12o'clock at night.

. . . My entire command, both officers and men, have exhibited an alacrity andpromptness in the execution of all duties assigned them truly gratifying to me.Although worn down and but scantily fed during the period embraced by thisreport, each and every one of them has my sincere thanks . . .

May 17 The next day, the regiment fought in battle at Big Black Bridge, Mississippi. Thisbattle saw another major defeat and rout of the Confederates, as the Union Army continued itsslow but steady encirclement of the Confederate Gibraltar of the West, at Vicksburg. The twoengagements at Champion Hill and Big Black Bridge forced the Confederate army under Gen.John Pemberton to retreat into their fortifications at Vicksburg. According to the Record ofEvents of the 22

nd, [The regiment] met them at big black river and again we were victorious,

killing and wounding about 4,000 and capturing about 2,000 prisoners.

According to the report of Brig. Gen. Peter J. Osterhaus of the engagement,

In order to secure my flank and co-operate with General Smith I ordered Col.Lindsey, with the two remaining regiments of his brigade, 16 th Ohio and 22 Ky.,to take position in the edge of the timber and open fire against the enemysposition . . . I refer to the Colonels report, and take great pleasure in commendingthe action of this meritorious officer. . . . Thousands of the enemy were foundscattered everywhere, and fell into our hands as prisoners of war. Col. Lindsey ,with the 16th Ohio and 22d. Ky. alone, took more prisoners than the wholenumbers of his brigade combined.

May 18-July 4 The 22nd

arrived at Vicksburg on the 18th

, where according to regimentalrecords it Pursued them [the enemy], driving them into their fortifications in the rear ofVicksburg. Thus began the regiments participation in the siege of this vital stronghold for theConfederacy. The regiment served there until July 4

th, when the remaining Confederate troops in

the town surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. During the siege, the 22nd served in twomajor assaults on the city, on May 19th and 22nd. On the 19th, regimental records stated that Weattacked them in their works, gaining good position, while on the 22

ndWe again attacked their

works but were repulsed.

July The 22nd

Kentucky was posted to the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 13th Army Corps, Armyof the Tennessee, where they served until to August 1863; they were then re-assigned to theDepartment of the Gulf until September 1863.

July 19 While the regiment was encamped near Jackson, Mississippi, where it served in thesiege and capture of that city, Worthington requested a leave of absence for 20 days to arrangemy business . . . [which] is of the utmost importance to myself and my family. (The request


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was subsequently granted, and in August, Worthington returned home to Greenup on leave ofabsence from the army to attend to his personal business.

September 6 In September, the regiment was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 13thArmy Corps, and on this date, they [r]eceived marching orders; proceeded from New Orleans,

Louisiana to Brashear City by rail, distance eighty miles.

September 27-October 7 Started from Brashear City, reaching new Iberia, Louisiana onOctober 7, stopping frequently on the road, distance fifty miles.

October 10-12 Left new Iberia for Vermillion Bayou. Reached there on October 12; no enemyin sight.

October 14 The commander of the 22nd, Col. Daniel W. Lindsey, resigned his command toaccept the position of inspector-general of Kentucky.

October 15 The following day, George W. Monroe was promoted to the rank of Colonel tocommand the regiment, while Worthington was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel andsecond-in-command of the 22

ndat Plaquemine, Louisiana, where the regiment was assigned to

the District of Baton Rouge, La., Department of the Gulf.

October 22-27 Left vermillion for Opelousas. Reached there on October 27.

October 30 Received orders to return to New Iberia. Reached there on October 30. Nothing ofinterest occurred on the march worthy of notice.

November 21 From this date on, the 22nd Kentucky was posted to duty at Plaquemine, wherethey served until March 24, 1864.

1864January 7 Worthington requested another leave of absence from the regiment (nowheadquartered at Plaquemine) for a period of 60 days due to the death of his father-in-law, whichleaves my wife without any male friend, upon whom we can rely for the settlement of hisaffairs. He added that he believed it to be my sacred duty to see that my family are properlycared for. (According to one source, Worthingtons father-in-law, Dr. Steele, died atWorthingtons home, and his death was followed shortly thereafter by the death of his wife.) TheColonel commanding, L.A. Sheldon, approved the request and submitted it to the chief of staff ,noting that Lt. Col. Worthington is a gentleman and a worthy officer.

January 11- c. March 11 Worthington was absent from the regiment with leave by order ofMaj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks to attend to the settlement of his father-in-laws estate inKentucky.


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February 26 While Worthington was on leave in Kentucky, he purchased a 162-acre tract ofland on the Little Sandy River in Greenup County from Henry Hardwick for the sum of $2,754,with $2,500 down and the balance to be paid by February 26, 1866.

March The 22nd Kentucky Infantry Regiment re-enlisted as Veteran Volunteers and were

consolidated with the 7

th

Kentucky Veteran Infantry Regiment at Baton Rouge, Louisiana toserve as part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 13th Army Corps. At the same time, Worthingtonwas confirmed as Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment.

April The following month, the regiment was ordered to Alexandria, Louisiana, where theyreported for duty on April 26th.

April 26-May 22 During this period, Worthington served with the 22nd

during the Red Rivercampaign under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks.

The Red River Campaign (also known as the Red River Expedition) was a Union initiative,

fought between the 30,000 Union troops under the command of Banks, and Confederate troopsunder the command of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, whose strength varied from 6,000 to 12,000.

The campaign centered around a plan to surround the main Confederate forces by using thesoldiers in Banks's Army of the Gulf to capture Mobile, Alabama. It was a dismal Union failure,characterized by poor planning and mismanagement, in which not a single objective was fullyaccomplished, while Taylor's successful defense of the Red River Valley with a smaller force isconsidered one of the most brilliant Confederate military feats of the war.

During the campaign, the 22nd

was involved in action at Grahams Plantation on May 5th

; theretreat to Morganza, Louisiana from May 13th to the 20th; and at Mansura on May 16th.

June The 22nd was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 19th Army Corps, Dept. of theGulf, where they remained until the end of the year.

September-October By this period, the 22nd was stationed along the Atchafalaya River inLouisiana, where regimental returns stated that since the [last] muster (August 31) this regimenthas made no marches worthy of note. Have been encamped at Morganza Bend, Louisiana untilwithin the last few days, when we [were] ordered to this point, distance nine miles. ByNovember, the regiment moved on to Baton Rouge, and by the end of the year, was stationed atOlive Branch, Louisiana.

November 28 Meanwhile, in Lawrence, Ohio, John Worthington, Williams father, died at theage of 63 years, 5 months, and 17 days.

1865January 20 Lieutenant ColonelWorthington, now age 32, was honorably mustered out of theU.S. army along with the rest of the 22nd Kentucky Infantry with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel


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at Louisville, Kentucky on this date. He was later said to have been offered a commission asBrigadier General of Volunteers, but declined the appointment.

During its three years in service, the regiment lost a total of 199 men, including 3 officers and 48enlisted men who were killed or mortally wounded, and 3 officers and 145 enlisted men who

died of disease.

At the expiration of his term of service, Worthington returned to his home in Greenup, where heresumed the operation of his stock farm, and moved his family to his new land holdings atRaccoon Furnace in Greenup County, where on returning home, he was thereafter known asCol. Bill.

April 9 Confederate Gen. in Chief Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginiato U.S. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lees surrender wasfollowed on April 26 by the surrender of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee at DurhamStation, North Carolina and the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department Army on June 2

at Galveston, Texas. With the surrender of these forces--except for some minor skirmishing andguerrilla activity in the West--the bloodiest war in American history drew to a close.

April 14 In Washington, President Lincoln was shot while attending the play Our AmericanCousin at Fords Theater by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. He died thenext morning, and was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson

In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Thomas E. Bramlette- who had frequently been at odds withLincoln- proclaimed a day of fasting and prayer upon receiving news of the Presidentsassassination. The Kentucky General Assembly then petitioned the new president, AndrewJohnson, to call an end to martial law in the state. The tension between the state and federal

governments remained however, leading Governor Bramlette to declare that every white malecitizen twenty-one years of age who had resided in the Commonwealth for at least two yearswould be eligible to vote.


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Chapter IV: Legislator & Judge

(1865-1895)

1865

August 7 In state elections in Kentucky, Worthington was elected as a member of thecommonwealths Union (Republican) Party to serve a four-year term from Senatorial DistrictNo. 32 (Greenup County) in the State Senate.

Statewide, spurred on by the Democratic governors actions, Kentucky gave control of bothhouses of the General Assembly and five of its nine congressional seats to Democrats.Republican President Johnson received the message, and then ended martial law and restoringhabeas corpus in Kentucky.

December 4 The Kentucky General Assembly convened at the State Capitol in Frankfort and onthat day Worthington took his seat as a Senator from the 32

ndDistrict.

In the subsequent assignment of committees for this session on December 8th, SenatorWorthington was appointed to the Senates Standing Committee on the Sinking Fund, and to theJoint Committee on Public Offices.

1866February 19 The Legislature adjourned sine die (without a day, or indefinitely). During thissession, Worthington, while no Radical, proved himself to be a dependable member of theRepublican majority, voting for ratification of the 13

th, 14

th, and 15

thAmendments to the U.S.

Constitution, while supporting Republican policies in dealing with former Confederate andSouthern sympathizers, voting against repeal of the states Expatriation Act, which barredrestoring citizenship rights to former Confederates.

But when the General Assembly convened in December 1865, Governor Bramlette issuedpardons to most ex-Confederates in the stae, and he and the majority of the General Assemblyopposed passage of the 13

th, 14

thand 15

thAmendments, all of which were rejected by the

Democratic majority in the Assembly.

October 19 Birth of William and Catherines fifth child and their third son, William DanielWorthington, in Greenup County. Named after both his father and his paternal grandfather, Dr.Daniel Steele, he died in Greenup on September 4, 1867 at the age of 10 months and 16 days. Hewas buried in the Worthington Family Cemetery in Greenup County.

1867January 4 In Frankfort, the Kentucky Legislature convened at the Capitol. During thissession, Worthington was appointed to serve on the Senates Standing Committees on CountyCourts, the Sinking Fund, and on the Joint Committee on Enrollments.


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February 26 During this year also, Senator Worthington attended Kentuckys State RepublicanParty (then known as the National Loyal Union Party) Convention as one of two delegatesfrom Greenup County. The Convention was held at the Hall of the House of Representatives inFrankfort, and nominated Sidney Barnes for the Governorship. (Barnes was subsequently

defeated in the general election by Democrat John L. Helm, who promptly died just five daysafter his inauguration.

December 2 At a new session in the States General Assembly, Worthington took his seat,and two days later, was appointed to serve on the Senate Standing Committees on Agricultureand Manufactures and on the Penitentiary.

1868

October 7 According to an article which appeared in theNew York Times on this date,

Lieut.-Col. W. J. WORTHINGTON, formerly of the Twenty-third [sic]Kentucky infantry, was nominated for Congress by the Republicans of the NinthDistrict of that State, on the 1st inst. He was a member of the State Senate in1865, and the nomination is said by a local Democratic paper to be the best thatcould have been made by the Republicans of the district.

In the subsequent general election for the seat, Worthington was defeated by Democrat JohnMcConnell Rice. Rice (1831-1895), a native of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, graduated from aLouisville, Kentucky law school in 1852, was admitted to the bar in 1853, and commencedpractice in Pikeville, Kentucky. He was the superintendent of schools of Pike County, Kentuckyin 1854 and was then elected prosecuting attorney of Pike County in 1856, and then served as a

member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1858 before moving to Louisa, Kentuckyin 1860. He was again a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1861. Rice wouldgo on to serve two terms in the House, but was not a candidate for renomination in 1872. Riceand John T. Zeigler disputed the November 1868 election, and the seat was vacant while indispute. After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Louisa, Kentucky and wasappointed judge of the Lawrence County, Kentucky criminal court in 1883 and was elected to thesame office in 1884. He was reelected in 1890 and served until his death in Louisa, Kentucky in1895.

1869

January 21-March 16 Senator Worthington served in the General Assembly as a member ofthe State Senate.

February 22 William and Catherines fourth son and their sixth and youngest child, William,was born in Greenup County. William Worthington later became one of the leading members ofthe legal profession in Kentucky, and served as a referee of the 1

stDistrict Court in Bankruptcy


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for the Commonwealths Eastern District from 1900 to 1921, and then as Circuit Judge of the22nd Judicial Circuit from 1921 until his death in Lexington on May 29, 1922 at the age of 53.

1870

June 21 U. S. census records for Greenup County, Kentucky listed Wm. J. Worthington, 37,as residing in Precinct No. 1 of the county with his wife Catherine, 37, their five children Agnesand Annie, age 13; Finley, 11; John Thomas, 9; and William, 1. Agnes, Annie and Finley werelisted as Attending School, while John Thomas and William were still At Home. In additionto his family members, a female Seamstress and two male Farm Laborer[s] were also listedas residing in the household. Worthingtons occupation was still recorded as Farmer, while hiswife Catherine was recorded as House Keeping. Values on his real estate were given as$10,000 and his personal estate was valued at $2,000.00--evidence of his return to a greaterdegree of prosperity since the wars end.

1873During this year, Worthington became a part owner and manager of an iron furnace in GreenupCounty, located in the Hanging Rock Iron Field. He then discontinued his farming operations todevote all of his time to this enterprise, which he apparently engaged in until 1883. [He alsomanaged Raccoon Furnace from 1875-1878 and was the last man to operate it., returning to hislaw practice after closing this operation].

However, in the subsequent financial panic of this year, Worthington was said to have lost hisproperty.

1879-1883 (or 1880-1884)

Probable date of Worthingtons service as Judge of the Greenup County Court in Greenup. Heserved for one four-year term in this office.

1880

June 5 U.S. census returns for Greenup County William Worthington, 47, as residing inPrecinct No. 1 with his wife, Catherine, 46, who Keeps House, and their sons Finley, 20;Thomas [John Thomas], 18; and William, 11. Worthingtons occupation was listed as CountyJudge & Farmer; while his two older sons Finley and Thomas were listed as Farmer(s). Novalues were recorded on either his real or personal estates.

July 10 Williams mother, Ann Sarah (Luther) Worthington, died in Greenup, where she hadbeen living with her son John, Williams younger brother. She was 79 years old at the time ofher death


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1881December 12 With conditions now much improved for himself and his family financially,Worthington and his wife purchased a two-story brick home in Greenup [or near Riverton?] fromCharles Corum. The house is now an historic landmark located on U.S. Highway 23 in Greenup.

1885

August 3 Worthington was elected to a two-year term as a Republican in KentuckysHouse of Representatives from Greenup County, defeating Democrat [James P.?] Winters in aclosely fought contest. According to a local newspaper account of the election, Winter wasleading by 50 votes as of 10 p.m. that night, but Worthington eventually pulled ahead in latereturns to eventually defeat him for the seat.

December 30 Representative Worthington took his eat in the Kentucky House ofRepresentatives from Greenup County in the opening of the session of the General Assembly inFrankfort. On January 6

th, he was subsequently appointed to serve on four House Standing

Committees: on State Prisons, Revenue and Taxation, Public Offices and Library.

1887

December 26 Catherine Steele Worthington, Williams wife of more than 29 years, died inGreenup County. She was 54 years, 6 months and 23 days old at the time of her death, and isburied in the Worthington Family Cemetery in Greenup.

1889

July 18 In Greenup, Worthington, now 56, married for a second time, this time to Miss LucyBelle York of Hunnewell in Greenup County. Miss York, 20, was the daughter of Stephen C.York and his wife Hannah H. (Powers) York of Lawrence County in Kentucky. The marriagewas her first.

1890

Special census schedules for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc. of theCivil War listed Worthington, 57, as residing in Greenup Precinct in Greenup County as aveteran of the 22

ndKentucky. His length of service with the regiment was listed as 3 years, 2

months, and 15 days. No disabilities from his service were reported.

September A daughter, Nancy Helen Worthington, was born to William and his second wifeLucy in Greenup. Worthingtons seventh child (sixth surviving) and his third daughter, she wasthe first child of his second marriage. She later married Patterson Williams of Russell inGreenup County, and died in Greenup sometime after 1951.


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1891

March The Worthingtons second and youngest child, Sarah Lucy Worthington, was born tothe couple in Greenup. Williams eighth child (seventh surviving) and his fourth daughter, shewas the last child of his second marriage. Sarah later married James Collins of Greenup andlived in the county until her death sometime after 1951.

1892

During this year, Worthington formed a law partnership in Greenup with Robert Curtis Myers.Myers, born in 1866 in Pennsylvania, was an 1889 graduate of the Ohio Normal University inAda, Ohio. In 1890, he moved to Greenup, where he served as the superintendent of the schoolsfor three years, and was also County School Examiner for the same time. In 1892, Myers wasadmitted to the bar in Kentucky in 1892, and then went into partnership with Worthington. In1897, he was elected to the Legislature from Greenup as a Republican, by a majority of 160votes. He served only one term, but was chairman of the Republican House Caucus, and servedon the committee of Judiciary, Kentucky Statutes, Court of Appeals, State Prisons, House of

Reform, and the Circuit Court. (The partnership of Worthington & Myers apparently lasted until1898, when Myers moved to Portsmouth, Ohio.)

1895

June 5-7 At Kentuckys State Republican Convention in Louisville, William OConnellBradley of Garrard County was nominated for Governor. In deliberations for LieutenantGovernor on June 6th, Worthingtons name was placed in nomination. The first ballot proved tobe inconclusive, but on the 2nd ballot, Worthington won the nomination:

TABLE 1

BALLOTING RESULTS

KENTUCKY STATE REPUBLICAN CONVENTIONNOMINATION FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

(2ND BALLOT)

Total Votes Percentage of

Candidates Cast Total Votes Cast

William J. Worthington

(Greenup County) 658 53.6

Dr. William Bowman

(Lewis County) 176 14.3

Judge O.S. Deming

(Robertson County) 113 9.2

L.J. Crawford

(Newport County) 107 8.7

W.J. Hurst

(Wolfe County) 105 8.6

Maj. D.J. Burchett

(Lawrence County) 69 5.6


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Following this ballot, Worthingtons nomination was made unanimous. His nomination was dueto his reputation as a staunch Republican who was well known throughout the state, and to thecontrol of the delegates from Kentuckys eastern region, who wanted to balance the ticket with afavorite son from their own region.

November 5 In statewide elections, Bradley and Worthington won election to become the firstRepublicans in Kentucky history ever to be elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

TABLE 2

OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

GENERAL ELECTION




(Republican Party) 164,990 48.4R.T. Tyler

(Democratic Party) 156,045 45.8

John G. Blair

(Peoples Party) 15,957 4.7

Crit G. Hughes

(Prohibition Party) 3,872 1.1

During the campaign, Bradley split the Democratic party over the issue of Free Silver, andcarried the vote of many Gold Democrats. Both he and Worthington were further aided by thepresence of Populist (Peoples Party) candidates, who drew many votes from Democrats inwestern Kentucky. The combination of these factors saw both men elected as the first

Republicans governor and lieutenant governor of the commonwealth.


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Chapter V: Lieutenant Governor

(1895-1899)

1895

December 10 In inauguration ceremonies held in front of the east entrance to the State Capitolin Frankfort, William J. Worthington, now age 63, took the oath of office to become the 25th

Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The oath was administered by ChiefJustice William S. Pryor of the State Court of Appeals.

1896

January 7-March 17 As part of his constitutional duties as Lieutenant Governor, Worthingtonpresided over the State Senate as President of that body.

During Worthingtons term, Republicans controlled the Kentucky House of Representatives,

while Democrats controlled the Kentucky Senate. This led to infighting between the two housesof the General Assembly and between the General Assembly and the governor. A prominentexample of this deadlock played out in the election of a U.S. Senator for Kentucky, which at thattime was determined by balloting in the state legislatures in accordance with the U.S.constitution. Republican legislators nominated W. Godfrey Hunter; the Democrats chose J. C. S.Blackburn. The Republicans were joined by Gold Democrats who refused to back Blackburn, afree silver supporter. Attempts were made to unseat several legislators in the General Assembly,leading to threats of violence. In response, Governor Bradley called out nearly 400 militia toguard and occupy the Capitola decision quickly attacked by Democrats, who, under theleadership of State Sen. William Goebel, attempted to put the blame for the riot squarely on theRepublicans. The session then adjourned with no decision.

March 17 As the session drew to a close, Lieutenant Governor Worthington was called beforea Senate subcommittee investigating riots which broke out in the Statehouse as a consequence ofthe botched senatorial election. During the rioting, Worthington had requested that the Governorcall out the militia and had supported the measures, in Worthingtons words, to preserve thepeace. While testifying before the subcommittee, Worthington denied allegations that hesupported the Governors actions in order to further the cause of the Republican Party in theballoting for U.S. Senator.

Also during this year, while Governor Bradley was out of the state, Worthington served in atemporary capacity as Acting Governor. Notably during this time, Worthington issued a pardonto John Bylew, the subject of a famous Kentucky criminal case. According to one history by theUniversity of Kentucky:

In Lewis County, KY, during the summer of 1868, five members of the Fosterfamily were attacked by John Blyew and George Kennard, who used a carpenter'sax and some other bladed tool to hack at the bodies of the family members. Jack,his wife Sallie, and his grandmother Lucy Armstrong, who was blind, were killed


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outright. Richard, the Foster's 16 year old son, took shelter under his father'sbody. He later regained consciousness and crawled 300 yards to a neighbor'shouse for help. Richard died two days later. The two youngest children were theonly survivors: Laura Foster, 8 years old, hid and was unharmed, while her 6 yearold sister, Amelia, was hacked about the head but lived. A posse was formed and

Blyew and Kennard were arrested and indicted on four counts of murder. Thecourt hearings began October 26, 1868, with the following evidence presented:Richard Foster's dying statements, Laura Foster's written testimony [it was illegalin Kentucky for African Americans to give testimony against whites duringcriminal proceedings], and the testimony of those who investigated the crimes.One of the reasons given for the murders was retaliation for the Civil War and thepotential for another war about African Americans. The trial was held in U.S.Court for the District of Kentucky before Judge Bland Ballard. The prosecutingattorney was Benjamin H. Bristow, who would later become the first U.S.Solicitor General and serve as Secretary of the Treasury in the GrantAdministration before becoming a Republican presidential nominee in 1876. Two

years prior to the Foster family murders, Congress had passed the Civil RightsAct of 1866, which gave jurisdiction to federal courts for all causes, civil andcriminal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce any of the rightssecured to them in the courts or judicial tribunals of the state or locality, wherethey may be. The understanding of the provisions of the act was the reason Blyewand Kennard were tried in a federal court. Their case was presented to an all-white jury [it was still illegal to have African American jurors in such cases inKentucky]. None of the jury members were from Lewis County. Blyew andKennard were found guilty and sentenced to hang. The case was appealed to theU.S. Supreme Court as a Writ of Error. Blyew v United States was one of the firstcases for the full court to analyze the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.Kentucky Governor J. W. Stevenson called for a special legislative session, andfunds were appropriated for use in the Blyew v United States case to hire thedistinguished lawyer, Judge Jeremiah S. Black, to represent Kentucky's sovereignrights as a challenge to the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It wasdetermined by the governor and many of the Kentucky legislators that the 1866Act exceeded the authority of Congress and was an unconstitutional intrusion ofauthority. The U.S. Supreme Court deliberated for more than a year beforerendering a judgment on April 1, 1872, that reversed the convictions of Blyewand Kennard with a 5-2 majority. Prior to the decision, the Negro testimony lawin Kentucky was repealed, and Blyew and Kennard were indicted and to be triedin the Lewis County Circuit Court in 1873. In Blyew's case, there was a hungjury, and the case was then to be prosecuted in federal court. But before the retrialcould take place, Blyew escaped. In George Kennard's case, he was convicted andsentenced to hard labor for his natural life. He was pardoned by GovernorBlackburn in 1885 due to his health. Kennard died of senility on April 5, 1923 inCarter County, KY, according to his death certificate. John Blyew was recapturedin 1890, and the Lewis County Circuit Court convicted and sentenced him to lifein prison. Governor W. J. Worthington pardoned Blyew in 1896, and Blyew, his


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wife Emma, and granddaughter Mary, were residing in Cincinnati, OH in 1900,according to the U.S. Federal Census. The surviving Foster sisters, Laura andAmelia, were taken in by a white family named Ruggles. It has been written thatLaura, who was born around 1860, died of measles after living with the Rugglesfor a few years, but according the U. S. Census, she was with the Ruggles' family

as a servant up to 1880. Amelia (1862-1936), who was described as havinghorrendous scars on her head, was single and remained in Lewis County doinghousework up until 1934 when she became ill, according to her death certificate.

1897

March 13-May 21 Worthington presided over a second, special session of the Senate held atthe State Capitol in Frankfort. At this session, which had been called by the Governor to decidethe senatoral election, Republicans withdrew their nomination of Hunter and put forth WilliamJoseph Deboe in his place. Finally, after 112 ballots and after spending more than two months insession, Deboe was elected on the 112

thballot, becoming the first Republican senator from the

Commonwealth.

At the adjournment of this session, the Lieutenant Governor was given the thanks of the Senatefor the faithful, impartial and courageous manner in which he has discharged the trying dutiesof Senate presidenta highly unusual gesture given the highly charged partisan politicalenvironment of that time.

1898

January 4-March 15 Lieutenant Governor Worthington presided over his third and last sessionof the State Senate as President. During this session, the Democratic majority of the Senate, ledby President Pro Tempore William J. Goebel, succeeded in stripping virtually all ofWorthingtons appointive powers as President by a vote which ran along strict party lines, andwhich left Goebel and the Democrats in nearly total control of the Senate.

(The following year, Goebel won the Democratic nomination for governor of thecommonwealth, but split the party due to his controversial tactics in winning the nomination. In aclose contest between Goebel and Republican nominee William S. Taylor in the general election,Taylor narrowly defeated Goebel, and was declared the winner by the Kentucky Board ofelections. Days later however, the Democratically-controlled General Assembly convened inFrankfort. They now claimed the power to decide disputed elections, and invalidated enough ofthe votes to give the election to Goebel. On the morning of January 30, 1900, as Goebelwalkedflanked by two bodyguards to the Old State Capitol, he was shot and wounded. The next dayafter being shot, the dying Goebel was sworn in as governor. He died only 3 days later, onFebruary 3, 1900. Most historians agree that the assassin of Governor Goebel will never beconclusively identified.)


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Chapter VI: Elder Statesman

(1899-1914)

1899

December 12 Worthingtons tern of office as Lieutenant Governor expired. On leaving office,he returned home to Greenup and resumed farming while also continuing the practice of law.

1900

January In Greenup, Worthington entered into a partnership with James B. Wilhoit. Wilhoit,born in Carter County, Kentucky in 1857, was the 10th of twelve children of a farm family. Afterteaching school for 12 years, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in Greenup in 1880.After practicing in Willard, Kentucky and at Grayson in Carter County, in 1898 he wasappointed U.S. Supervisor of Forestry by President William McKinley, and spent two years inNew Mexico in this office before returning to Greenup. Wilhoit was, according to a

contemporary account, . . . a versatile and skilled trial lawyer and a well fortified counselorand has figured prominently in many important cases in both state and federal courts who wasrecognized as a man of broad learning and great capacity and in all his dealings he is recognizedas a man of fair and honorable methods and as a man of unquestioned integrity.

Like Worthington, Wilhoit was a staunch Republican, and in 1896 served as a presidentialelector in Kentucky for McKinley. In 1903 he ran for Lieutenant Governor of the commonwealthbut was defeated by Democrat William P. Thorne. From 1907-1915, Wilhoit served asCommonwealth Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial District of Kentucky comprising Boyd,Greenup and Lewis counties.

The firm of Worthington & Wilhoit continued until October of 1902, when Wilhoit moved toAshland. Wilhoit died in 1919.

June 17 Census returns for Greenup County listed William j. Worthington, age 68 as residingin Greenup Precinct No. 1 Mag[isterial]. District No. 1 with his second wife Lucy 32, and theirtwo daughters Sarah [Susan], 9, and Nancy, 9. His occupation was listed as Lawyer. And hishome was listed as free. A young African American male was also listed as residing with thefamily as a Gardener.

1901November 5 Now just shy of his 69th birthday, Worthington was once again elected as amember of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Greenup county.


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TABLE 3

PARTIAL ELECTION RESULTS


STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-GREENUP COUNTY

GENERAL ELECTION




(Republican Party) 1,822 56.9

[William A.?] Briggs

[Jr.?]


(Forty contested ballots were not included in the tally, and official returns are no longer extant.)

1902

January 7 Worthington took his seat as a member of the State House of Representatives fromGreenup county in Kentucky General Assembly in Frankfort. This was Worthingtons secondterm in the House, having served 1 term from Greenup some 17 years earlier. By this time,Worthington had gained a reputation as an elder statesman within the states Republican Party,and on the opening of this session, he was nominated by his Republican colleagues to serve asSpeaker of the House, but lost to Democrat Gerald T. Finn of Simpson by a vote of 74 to 26along strict party lines. Worthington himself, however, modestly voted for his opponent in theballoting.

During the session, he served on the House Standing Committees on Corporate Institutions,Circuit Courts, County and City Courts, and Criminal Law.

May 25 Probable date of the death of Worthingtons daughter Agnes (Mrs. George or WilliamH. Callihan) in Greenup county. She is buried in the Worthington family cemetery in Greenup.

1903

November 3 Re-elected to a third term in the state House of Representatives representingGreenup County:


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TABLE 4

PARTIAL ELECTION RESULTS


STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-GREENUP COUNTY

GENERAL ELECTION




(Republican Party) 1,753 56.9

[?] Walker


1904

January 5 On again taking his seat in the house, Representative Worthington was appointed toserve on the House Standing Committees on Kentucky Statutes, A&M College, and Codes ofPractice.

1910

April 21 Census returns for Greenup County listed Wm. J. Worthington, 78, as residing inmagisterial district no. 1, precinct 1 in Greenup County with his wife Lucy B., 41, and twoyounger daughters, Sally, 20 and Nancy, 19. An African American 35-year-old male, LeeLeathers, was also listed as residing in the household as servant. Worthingtons occupationwas listed as a farmer with a farm owned free (i.e., with no mortgages on the property).

1911

June 29 Lucy York Worthington, Williams second wife, died at the age of 42 years, 6 monthsand 15 days in Greenup county. According to her death certificate, the cause of death was listedas Carcinoma [cancer] of the Uterus.

1914

March 14 Worthington executed his last will and testament. In his will, he divided his estate tobe given in equal shares to his surviving children and grandchildren from both his first andsecond marriages. His son William was appointed as executor to settle the estate.

May 22 (7:45 A.M.) William J. Worthington died in Greenup county at the age of 81 years, 6

months and 13 days. The cause of death was listed as Acute indigestion with a contributory(secondary) cause recorded as Senility. According to one local newspaper account ofWorthingtons death, a brief but sudden onset of the hiccoughs apparently contributed to hisdeath.


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May 24 Buried in the Worthington family cemetery overlooking his home in Greenup, next tohis first and second wives. A very large number of friends and family were reported to havebeen in attendance at the funeral services, which were conducted by the Rev. C.B. Plummer ofthe Louisa Methodist Episcopal Church in Greenup.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Public Documents

A. United States

United States. National Archives. Military Branch. Military service records of William J.Worthington, Capt., Co. B-Lieutenant Colonel, Field & Staff, 22

ndKentucky Infantry (Union).

Record Group 109, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

United States. National Archives. Civil Branch. United States Census Records. Eighth UnitedStates Census, 1860. Greenup County, Kentucky, Series M653, Roll 370, page 845.

________. Ninth United States Census, 1870. Greenup County, Kentucky, Series M593, Roll466, page 27.

________. Seventh United States Census, 1850. Carter County, Kentucky, Series M432, Roll195, page 228 and Scioto County, Ohio, Series M432, Roll 727, page 150.

________. Tenth United States Census, 1880. Greenup County, Kentucky, Series T9, Roll 417,page 17.

________. Thirteenth United States Census, 1910. Greenup County, Kentucky, Series T624, Roll476, page 80.

________. Twelfth United States Census, 1900. Greenup County, Kentucky, Series T623, Roll524, page 14.

United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Recordsof the Union and Confederate Armies, 4 ser., 128 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government PrintingOffice, 1880-1901.

B. Commonwealth of Kentucky

Day, M.B.R. Official Manual for the Use of the Courts, State Officials, and General Assembly ofthe State ofKentucky. Louisville, KY: John P. Morton Company, 1895.

Kentucky. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of theCommonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, KY: Capitol Office, John D. woods, Public Printer andBinder, 1886; Louisville, KY: Geo. G. Fetter Printing Co., 1902, 1904, 1905.

Kentucky. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, KY:State Printing Office, 1865; Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Yeoman Office, 1867, 1869; Louisville,


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KY: Geo. G. Fetter Printing Co., 1896, 1897; Louisville, KY: Sowle Printing & Engraving Co.,1898.

Kentucky. Office of Vital Statistics. Certified Copies of Death Certificates of William JacksonWorthington (1914) and Lucy Worthington (19[]).

C. Local Records

Greenup County. Clerk of the Circuit Court. Local Greenup County Land and Probate records.Greenup, Kentucky.

II. Books

Biggs, Nina Mitchell and Mabel Lee Mackay.History of Greenup County, Kentucky. Evansville,IN: Whipporwill Publications, 1951.

Clift, G. Glenn. Governors of Kentucky 1792-1942. Cynthiana, KY: The Hobson Press, 1942.

Connelly, William Elsey and G. Robert Coulter. History of Kentucky. Ed. By Judge CharlesKerr. 5 vols. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1922.

Dyer, Frederick H.A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1959.

Ely, William. The Big Sandy Valley. Catlettsburg, KY: Central Methodist, 1887.

Evans, Nelson W.A History of Scioto County Ohio. Portsmouth, OH: By the Author, 1903.

Griffith, Dorothy K., comp. Come With Us & Rediscover Historic, Old Greenup, Kentucky .Greenup, KY: Greenup Womans Club, 1982-1983.

Hewett, Janet B., ed. Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.Part II, Vol. 22, Serial No. 34. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot, 1996.

Kentucky Records Research Committee, comp. and ed. Kentucky Cemetery Records. 4 vols.Lexington, KY: The Keystone Printery, 1960.

Klotter, James C. William Goebel: The Politics of Wrath. Lexington, KY: University Press ofKentucky, 1977.

Kozee, William C. Early Families of Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky and TheirDescendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1979.

Linton, Calvin D., ed. The Bicentennial Almanac. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers,1975.


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Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara. The Civil War Day By Day. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

McAdams, Mrs. Harry Kennett, comp. Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records. Baltimore:Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967.

Speed, Thomas, R.M. Kelly and Alfred Pirtle. The Union Regiments of Kentucky. Louisville,KY: Courier-Journal Job Printing Company, 1897.

Stevenson, B.F.Letters from the Army. Cincinnati, W. E. Dibble & Co., 1884.

III. Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 63 vols. New York: James T. White, 1907.[s.v., Brown, John Young; and Bradley, William OConnell]

IV. Periodicals

A. Newspapers

Louisville Courier-Journal, 6, 7 June, 11 November and 11 December 1895; 23 May 1914.

Nominations for Congress, New York Times, 7 October 1868, p. 4.

These Three in Our Hall of Fame. The Russell (KY) Times, September 1942, p. 2.

IV. Unpublished Materials

Letter from Rev. W.J. Gammon to Mrs. James Collins, 6 January 1949, Eldon, MO. In thepossession of Mr. Ralph Worthington.

V. Websites

Biography: John Abrams, Company C, 7th KY Vet. Volunteers.http://www.7thkentucky.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5 [18 September 2009]

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Family Search. Family Group Record of John andAnn Sarah Luther Worthington.http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/AF/family_group_record.asp?familyid=7135620&frompage=99 [26 August 2009]


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________. Family Group Record of William Jackson and Catherine Ann Steele Worthingtonhttp://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/AF/family_group_record.asp?familyid=7135621&frompage=99 [26 August 2009]

Daniel Weisiger Lindsey, U.S.V., http://battleofchampionhill.org/22kentucky.htm

[18 September 2009]

Lt. Col. George W. Monroe of the 22nd Kentucky Infantry.http://www.geocities.com/rlperry.geo/ColonelGeorgeWMonroePage.html[18 September 2009]

Rootsweb. Bowers/T. Masons Family History Records.http://worldconnectrootsweb.ancestry,com/ [26 August 2009]

University of Kentucky Libraries. Notable Kentucky african Americans Database.http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/subject.php?sub_id=162 [17 September 2009]

Wikipedia.22nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Regiment_Kentucky_Volunteer_Infantry[18 September 2009]

________. William Goebel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goebel[18 September 2009]

________. William OConnell Bradley.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O'Connell_Bradley [18 September 2009]


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APPENDIX:

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

Name: William Jackson Worthington

Birth: Near Johnstown, West Moreland County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 9 November1832

Ancestry: English.

Father: John Worthington; born: Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 11 June 1801; married: AnnSarah Luther, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, 29 December 1823; died: Lawrence, Ohio, 28

November 1864.

Fathers Occupation: Collier; farmer; ironmaster

Mother: Ann Sarah (Luther) Worthington; born: Westmoreland, West Moreland County,Pennsylvania, 7 May 1801; married: John Worthington, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, 29December 1823; died: Greenup, Greenup County, Kentucky, 10 July 1880.

Brothers and Sisters: Nancy Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 31July 1824; married: Joseph T. Burdett, 3 May 1854; died: Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky, 23July 1901.

Rachel Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 26 July 1826; married:Jackson Allen Wade, Greenup County, Kentucky, 1 January 1851; died: after 1880.

James Buckley Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 10 May 1828;married: (i) Naomi Wilson; (ii) Elizabeth [?]; died: Greenup County, Kentucky, before 1911.

David Luther Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 29 January 1830;married: Elizabeth Guilkerson, Greenup County, Kentucky, 10 December 1855; died: BoydCounty, Kentucky, 11 February 1911.

Finley Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 12 February 1834; married: (i)Sarah Jane Failor; (ii) Mary Ellen Savage, Greenup County, Kentucky, 17 December [orSeptember] 1858; (iii) Martha E. Van Bibber; died: Kehoe, Greenup County, Kentucky [orScioto County, Ohio], 26 August 1911.


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John (Jack) Luther Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 7 July 1836;married: (i) Sarah Brown Fitzer, Greenup County, Kentucky, 8 November 1858; (ii)SarahRichard; died: Greenup, Greenup County, Kentucky, 28 June 1898 OR 4 August 1914.

Sarah Jane Worthington; born: West Moreland County, Pennsylvania, 3 November 1838;

married: unknown; died: Boyd County, Kentucky, 1 January 1864.

Mary Hannah Worthington; born: Scioto County, Ohio, 9 November 1841; married: George R.Guilkerson, Boyd County, Kentucky, 15 February 1866; died: Boyd County, Kentucky, 4 March1866.

Charles S. Worthington; born: Lawrence [or Scioto County], Ohio, 17 September 1843; married:Nancy A. Holbrook, Greenup County, Kentucky, 17 October 1867; died: Greenup County,Kentucky, 12 July 1915.

Wives: (i) Catherine Ann Steele; born: Washington County, Virginia