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ca. 1,559 acres in Baltimore County, and 1 lot
and a house in Baltimore City.
WORTHINGTON, THOMAS (ca. 1691-1752/53).
BORN: on January 8, ca. 1691, in Westminster
Parish, Anne Arundel County; second son. NA-
TIVE: second generation. RESIDED: about 5 miles
outside of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County.
FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: John Worthington
(1650-1701). STEPFATHER: John Brice (?-1713).
MOTHER: Sarah (?-1726), daughter of Matthew
Howard (ca. 1640-1692/93) and wife Sarah Dor-
sey. UNCLE: Matthew Howard (ca. 1675-1750).
BROTHERS: John (1689/90-1766); William (1694-
?); (first name unknown) (1699-died in infancy);
and Charles (1701-?). HALF BROTHER: John Brice
(1705-1766). SISTERS: Sarah (1696-1721/22). HALF
SISTERS: Ann Brice (1708-1765), who married
Vachel Denton (ca. 1696-1752); Rachel Brice
(1711-1786), who married Philip Hammond (1697-
1760). NEPHEW: Samuel Worthington (1734-1815).
HALF NEPHEWS: John Brice (1738-1820); James
Brice (1746-1801); Benedict Brice (1749-1786);
John Hammond (1735-1784); Rezin Hammond
(1745-1809); and Matthias Hammond (1740-1786).
MARRIED on July 23, 1711, Elizabeth (?-1734),
daughter of Henry Ridgely and wife Katherine
Greenberry. Elizabeth was the granddaughter of
both Henry Ridgely (?-1710) and Nicholas Green-
berry (1627-1697). She was the niece of Charles
Greenberry (1672-1713); Elizabeth Greenberry
(1678-1719/20), who married Robert Goldsbor-
ough (1660-1746); and Ann Greenberry (1676-
1723), who married John Hammond (1665-1742/
43). Her brother was Henry (?-1750), who mar-
ried Elizabeth Warfield (?-1762). Her sister was
Anne, who married Joshua Dorsey (?-1747). Her
nephew was Henry Ridgely (1728-1791). Her nieces
were Anne Ridgely (1725-?), who married Brice
T. B. Worthington (1727-1794); Elizabeth Ridgely
(1737-by 1761), who married Thomas Dorsey (?-
1790); and Sarah Ridgely (1745-?), who married
Charles Greenbury Griffith (1744-1792). Her first
cousins were Charles Goldsborough (1707-1767);
William Goldsborough (1709-1760); John Golds-
borough (1711-1778); and Rachel Hammond
(1708-ca. 1749), who married John Moale (?-
1740). CHILDREN. SONS: Brice T. B. Worthington
(1727-1794); Thomas (1731-died young); and
Nicholas Worthington (1734-1793). DAUGHTERS:
Ann (1713-died young); Sarah (1715/16-?), who
married Basil Dorsey (1704-1763); Elizabeth
(1717-?), who married in 1735 Henry Dorsey;
Katherine (1720-1788), who married Nicholas
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Gassaway, son of Thomas Gassaway (1683/84-
1739); Rachel Ridgely (1722-?), who married
Cornelius Howard; Thomasine (1724-?), who
married Alexander Warfield; and Ariana (1729-
?), who married first, Nicholas Watkins, Jr., and
second, John I jams. PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCA-
TION: literate. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican,
St. Anne's Parish, Anne Arundel County. SOCIAL
STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Mr., by 1745; Gent., by
1747. ADDITIONAL COMMENT: His obituary in the
Maryland Gazette stated that Worthington had
"served his country with a steady and disinter-
ested fidelity, was strictly honest in Principal and
practice, and therefore had the esteem of all that
knew him; he was a good father and a sincere
friend, was frugal and industrious, and was pos-
sessed of many other good qualities, which con-
stitute the character of a good and sincere Chris-
tian." OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: merchant, planter;
owned a "storehouse" adjoining his dwelling, by
1748. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower
House, Anne Arundel County, 1725-1727 (Ac-
counts 1-4), 1728-1731 (Accounts 1-5), 1742-
1744 (Elections 1, 2; Accounts 1, 2), 1745 (Elec-
tions; Accounts), 1745/46-1748 (Elections Cv 1,
1-3, 4; Accounts Cv 1,1-3, 4), 1749-1751 (Elec-
tions Cv-3; Accounts Cv-3), 1751-1752 (Elec-
tions 1, 2; Accounts 1, 2; died before the 3rd
session of the 1751-1754 Assembly). LOCAL OF-
FICES: St. Anne's Parish Vestry, Anne Arundel
County, 1726-1729, 1734-1737, 1742-1745, 1749-
1752; churchwarden, St. Anne's Parish, Anne
Arundel County, 1748-1749. WEALTH DURING
LIFETIME. PERSON AL PROPERTY: inherited 2 slaves
from his father's estate when he came of age;
often acted as mortgagee in the 1730s, accepting
crops, livestock, and other personal property as
security for loans. LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: prob-
ably 3,329 acres in Anne Arundel County (775
acres inherited from his father), including lands
surveyed, but not yet patented. SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND
DEATH: purchased additional acreage in Anne
Arundel County, including tracts in the area of
Elkridge, and ca. 100 acres in Baltimore County;
several of his acquisitions were held in partner-
ship with his brother-in-law Henry Ridgely. Be-
tween 1728 and 1749, Worthington patented 1,746
acres in his own name, much of it already sur-
veyed by others, and 2,200 acres, which had been
surveyed with Ridgely in 1719. WEALTH AT DEATH.
DIED: on March 12, 1752/53, at his plantation out-
side Annapolis. PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV,
£28.19.1 sterling, £2,372.13.8 current money (in-
917
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