Worth, Jonathan, 1802-1869

Governor of North Carolina and lawyer.

From the description of Pardon of Jonathan Worth, 1865 August 11. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71067019

Jonathan Worth, 1802-1869, was the son of David Worth of Guilford County, N.C. He studied law under Archibald D. Murphy, married Martitia Daniel, and started practicing law at Asheboro, N.C., in 1825.

Worth was a member of the North Carolina state legislature in 1830, 1831, 1840, 1858, and 1860-1863, and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1841 and 1845. He opposed secession, but accepted it after the fact, was public treasurer from 1863 to 1865 under the Confederate and then the Provisional government, and took office as governor under the Provisional government 28 December 1865. He was re-elected in 1866 and continued in office until July 1868 when the government was suspended. He died 6 September 1869, leaving a widow, one son, and five daughters.

Worth's son was David Gaston Worth (1831-1897). He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1853, and became a merchant in Wilmington, N.C., in business with Nathaniel G. Daniel; his wife was Julia A. Stickney. Governor Worth's daughters included: Roxana, who married John McNeill of Pittsboro, N.C.; Lucy, who married J. J. Jackson of Asheboro; Corinne, who married Dr. William C. Roberts and later Dr. Hamilton Jackson; Adelaide Ann, who married William H. Bagley of Perquimans County, N.C.; Mary, who died in 1867; and Elvira, who married Samuel Spencer Jackson, then Eli Walker, and finally E. E. Moffitt. Jonathan Worth's brothers included B. G. Worth, who was a businessman in New York; Daniel; J. M.; and Joseph A. He had a nephew, David Worth Coffin, who in 1866, is known to have lived in Indianapolis. Most family members, however, lived in Asheboro, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Wilmington, and at Noise in Moore County, N.C.

From the guide to the Jonathan Worth Papers, ., 1798-1899, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)