Erastus Worthington

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Erastus Worthington (October 8, 1779 – June 27, 1842) represented Dedham, Massachusetts in the Great and General Court.[1]

Personal life

Worthington was born in Belchertown, Massachusetts on October 8, 1779, to David[nb 1] and Affa[nb 2] (née Gilbert) Worthington.[3][2] In 1804 he was graduated from Williams College.[3][2]

On May 2, 1815, Worthington married Sally Ellis, the daughter of Abner and Marth Ellis of Dedham.[3][2][nb 3] Together they had three sons: Ellis,[nb 4] Albert,[nb 5] and Eratus Jr.[3][2][nb 6] His son, Eratus Jr., also had a son named Eratus Worthington.[2]

Career

After graduation, Worthington taught for a time and then began to study law in the office of John Heard.[3][2] He was admitted to the bar in Boston in 1809 and moved to Dedham in the same year to practice law.[3][2] He was admitted to the bar of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1813.[3][2]

He worked as a lawyer until 1825 when the newly formed Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which he had a large hand in creating, elected him its first secretary.[3][2] He resigned in 1840 for health reasons.[3] He continued to serve as a justice of the peace.[3]

In the autumn of 1840 he moved to Dayton, Ohio, but returned the following spring to Dedham and remained there until his death two years later.[3]

Politics

During the War of 1812, Worthington was active as a Republican, and during the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren he was a Democrat.[3] He was elected secretary of the Norfolk County Republican Convention on August 17, 1812.[2] From 1814 to 1815 he was a member of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts.[1][3]

Worthington was active in the temperance and anti-slavery movements.[3] He was also an advocate of establishing an equity jurisdiction in the Massachusetts courts and published, anonymously, the first pamphlet in favor of it.[3] His ideas, though not in fashion at the time, were later adopted in 1860.[3]

Historian

Worthington was active in chronicling the history of Dedham.[3] He is credited with being the first to record the town's history.[3][2]

Notes

  1. ^ David was born in Colchester, Connecticut.[2]
  2. ^ Affa was born in Sherburne, Massachusetts.[2]
  3. ^ Sally died June 30, 1856.[3][2]
  4. ^ Ellis as born February 11, 1816.[3]
  5. ^ Albert was born July 5, 1820.[3]
  6. ^ Erastus Jr. was born November 25, 1828.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Worthington 1827, pp. 106–107.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Palma, Ellie (March 2013). "Research news from our volunteers" (PDF). Dedham Historical Society News-Letter: 3. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Cutter, William Richard (2000). Genealogical and Personal Memoirs: Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 804–805. ISBN 978-0-8063-4549-9. Retrieved August 15, 2019.

Works cited

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