Elisha Worthington was an American planter and large slaveholder in the

Antebellum South The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practic ...

. He was the owner of the

Sunnyside Plantation The Sunnyside Plantation was a former cotton plantation and is a historic site, located near Lake Village in Chicot County, Arkansas, in the Arkansas Delta region. Built as a cotton plantation in the Antebellum South, it was farmed using th ...

Chicot County, Arkansas Chicot County ( ) is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,208. The county seat is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's 10th county, formed on October 25, ...

Early life

Elisha Worthington was born in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

.Marc R. Matrana
''Lost Plantations of the South''
Oxford, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2009, pp. 40-43

Career

He acquired the Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County from Abner Johnson in 1840. He also owned the Redleaf Plantation, the Meanie Plantation (a.k.a. the So So Plantation or the Rose Plantation), and the Eminence Plantation. By 1860, he owned 543 African slaves and 12,000 acres of land in Chicot County. In 1862, in the midst of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Worthington moved his slaves and livestock to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He returned to Chicot County at the end of the war, in 1865. He was pardoned by President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

on January 31, 1866. In 1866, Worthington sold his Sunnyside plantation to

Robert P. Pepper The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

of Kentucky. With the proceeds of the sale, he paid back loans he had taken from

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman * Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 * ...

and

Abraham Van Buren Abraham Van Buren (February 17, 1737 – April 8, 1817) was an American businessman and local public official from Kinderhook, New York. A Patriot and militia veteran of the American Revolutionary War, he was the father of Martin Van Buren, t ...

. Meanwhile, he moved into his Redleaf Plantation with his daughter Martha.

Personal life

Elisha Worthington had two children, son

James W. Mason James Worthington Mason (c. 1841 – November 1874) was a state senator, sheriff, and postmaster in Arkansas. In 1868 he was one of the first six African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House. He also served in the Arkansas Senate and was the ...

(aka James Mason Worthington) and daughter Martha W Mason. Their mother was a slave. Worthington sent both James and Martha to

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

preparatory school in Ohio. James was a student at Oberlin from 1855 to 1858. Martha was a student there from 1860 to 1861.The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture James W. Mason (1841–1874) aka: James Mason Worthington

Death

He died in 1873.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Elisha 1873 deaths People from Kentucky People from Chicot County, Arkansas American planters American slave owners