William Grafton Delaney Worthington

Hon. William Grafton Delaney Worthington IV (1785–1856) was an American lawyer, judge and state Governor, and Secretary of the Territory of East Florida.

William was born in 1785, the son of William Worthington (1747–1820) and Sarah Contee (1761–1825). His siblings included: Thomas Contee Worthington (1782–1847), a U.S. Representative from Maryland, Sarah Matilda Worthington (1790–1854) and Walter Brooke Cox Worthington (1795–1845), a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

His maternal grandparents were Sarah Fendall (1732–1793) and Thomas Contee (1729–1793), himself the grandson of Thomas Brooke, Jr. (1660–1730). Through his maternal grandfather's sister, Jane Contee (1726–1812), who was married to John Hanson (1721–1783), a delegate to the Continental Congress who signed the Articles of Confederation and served as the 9th President of the Continental Congress, he was related to Alexander Contee Hanson (1786–1819), also a U.S. Representative, and later, U.S. Senator from Maryland.

Worthington was taken by his parents while very young to their home near Nottingham, when they removed to Prince George's County, Maryland. He was a student at St. John's College in Annapolis, and from there went to Baltimore in 1804, where he read law.

Worthington was admitted to practice before the courts of Baltimore when he was twenty-one. His ability, legal knowledge, and eloquence rapidly brought him into prominence. In 1807 he received the appointment as adjutant on the Governor’s staff. In 1809 he was nominated and elected by a large majority to represent Baltimore City in the Legislature.

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