William Worthington
No better eulogium can be pronounced upon a community or upon its individual members than to point to the work they have accomplished. Theories look fine on the printed page and sound well when proclaimed from the platform, but in the end it is effort in the various lines of industrial, commercial and financial activity which develops the man and tells on society. This is essentially a utilitarian age and the man of action is very much in evidence. The gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch is such a man, and as such it is pleasant to contemplate briefly his career and character. Intimately associated for years with the development and prosperity of the thriving city of Washington C. H., and taking prominent part in the business affairs of his section, he is not under-estimated by a people who long since learned to appreciate his true value as a potent factor in business matters of importance. In early life he laid the foundation of a character which has stood the test of the years and which has made him a leader in the affairs of men.
William Worthington is a native son of the county which is now honored by his citizenship, having been born about eight miles south of Washington C. H. on the 19th day of April, 1870. He is a son of Robert and Jennie (McDowell) Worthington, both of whom were born in Ohio, the former in Highland county and the latter in Ross county. Besides the subject, thev had one other child, Margaret, the wife of Spencer Calvert. Robert Worthington was reared in Highland county and in about 1850 he came to Fayette county, locating in Concord township, where he accumulated a large tract of land, owning between sixteen hundred and eighteen hundred acres, the greater part of which was devoted to grazing purposes, stock raising being his principal vocation. He was a successful man in his business affairs and enjoyed the confidence and respect of the entire community. He died in 1898, at the age of sixty-seven years and one month. His widow died on January 9, 1906, in the sixty-sixth year of her age. They were earnest and devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Worthington enlisted for service during the historic Morgan raid, and, while he did not capture Morgan, he used to laughingly say that at that time he did capture Mrs. Worthington.
The subject's paternal grandparents were Joseph C. and Harriet (Shields) Worthington. the former a native of Virginia and the latter ol Ohio. They became pioneer settlers in Highland county, Ohio, where he bought a large tract of land, and also bought land in Fayette county. He settled in the wilderness near East Monroe, Highland county, where he spent the remaining years of his life. He died in 1897, at the advanced age of ninety-three years, his wife dying at the age of about eighty years. They were the parents of four sons, Thomas, Robert, Joseph and William.
William VVorthington's maternal grandparents, Andrew and Margaret (Murray) McDowell, were natives of Scotland, who, upon their emigration to the United States, settled in Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio. There Mr. McDowell engaged in the mercantile business, handling chinaware and kindred lines, and there he and his wife died when well advanced in years. They reared the following children: Isabel, George, Hugh, Jennie, Andrew. Margaret, Carrie, William and two who died in infancy.
He to whom this review is mainly devoted was reared on his father's farm in Concord township, and secured his elementary education in the district schools of the neighborhood and the graded schools of Staunton. He supplemented this by four years' study in the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business University at Valparaiso, Indiana. He returned home in the fall of 1892 and remained on the farm until the following year, when for a short time he was engaged in the poultry business at Sabina, Clinton county. He then sold his interests there and secured employment in a bank at Sabina for two years. His business and banking experience were valuable in an educational way and he was well qualified when, in the fall of 1895, he accepted the position of teller in the People's and Drovers' Bank in Washington C. H. He faithfully and efficiently performed the duties of that position until the spring of 1899 and in the summer of that year he organized the Fayette County Bank, of which he was cashier for several years, since which time he has served as president. The Fayette County Bank was organized with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, which was afterward increased to one hundred thousand dollars. Its career from the beginning has been a notably successful one and today it is numbered among the strong, reliable and influential banks of western Ohio. The present officers of the bank are as follows: William Worthington, president; Dr. W. E. Ireland, vice-president; Robert Howett, cashier, and Fred Cline, assistant cashier. Much of the success of this popular institution has been directly due to the sound judgment and sagacity of the president, who has devoted himself indefatigably to its interests. Mr. Worthington has also other interests, being a director of the Fayette Grain Company and a stockholder in several other concerns, besides which he owns one thousand acres of good land in Concord township and one hundred and seventeen acres in Marion township. He is essentially a man of affairs, sound of judgment and far-seeing in what he undertakes, and has won and retains the confidence of all classes.
On the 24th day of November, 1895, William Worthington was married to Mepha Overman, who was born in Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, the daughter of W. C. and Elizabeth Ann (Young) Overman, and to their union have been born two children, Edith and Jean. Mrs. Worthington's parents were natives of Ohio, the mother dying when her daughter was a child of but eight years. Her father is still living. There were two children in this family besides Mrs. Worthington, Bruff and Ella. Mrs. Worthington is a well educated woman, having supplemented her public school course by attendance in the Lebanon Normal School. She is a lady of many gracious qualities of mind and heart and is well liked by all who know her.
Politically, Mr. Worthington is a supporter of the Republican party and takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, being a wide reader and a close observer of passing events. Fraternally, he is a member of the Fayette Lodge No. 107, Free and Accepted Masons, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is also identified with the Young Men's Christian Association, in the various activities of which he is deeply interested. He is a warm supporter and ardent advocate of every measure which, in any way, promises to benefit the community, and is rightfully numbered among the representative and influential citizens of the community.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)