John Taylor Worthington (1802 - 1869)

Born 25 May 1802 in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Died 14 Nov 1869 at age 67 in West Chester, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

John was born in 1802. He was the son of Amos Worthington and Jane Taylor. "He was part of a Quaker family that had arrived in Philadelphia in 1705. Worthington, though, was Episcopalian. His parents, Amos and Jane, were farmers near West Chester, but some relatives were prominent. A cousin, Wilmer, served for three years as physician at the Lazaretto in Tinicum and was a founder of the Chester County Medical Society.

Worthington ran a hotel, the Turk’s Head, at High and Market streets. He retired, according to his obituary, “with ample estate.” He also served the county as deputy register, deputy sheriff and an inspector of the Chester County Prison.

At West Chester’s Church of the Holy Trinity, where he was a member of the vestry, Worthington was recalled in the church minutes for his“judgment and integrity of purpose.”

“No man among us was more frequently called on to sit in those domestic tribunals known to our Pennsylvania jurisprudence as arbitrations,” wrote the vestry. “In every case submitted to his decision, the litigant parties felt sure that they would be patiently heard and their cause examined with care and decided with an earnest purpose to reach a correct conclusion.”

He passed away in 1869.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 February 2021), memorial page for John Taylor Worthington (25 May 1802–14 Nov 1869), Find a Grave Memorial no. 135559793, citing Oaklands Cemetery, West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Carol & Pete (contributor 47032817) .[1]

• Dixon, Mark E. "How A Hotel Keeper's Wife Helped One Woman Escape Slavery. October 2015. [2]