Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/653

Rh WORTHEN, William Ezra, civil engineer, b. in Amesbury, Mass., 14 March, 1819. He is the son of Ezra Worthen, who was the first to suggest the present site of the city of Lowell as a desirable locality for manufacturing, and who was the first superintendent of the Merrimac mills. The son was graduated at Harvard in 1838, and at once began the practice of civil engineering. Beginning under George R. Baldwin. C. E., with surveys and measurements of brook-flows for the increase of the Jamaica-pond supply for the city of Boston, he continued hydraulic investigations and works un- der James B. Francis, C. E., of Lowell, until 1848, with an intermediate employment in 1840-'2 on the surveys and construction of the Albany and West Stockbridge railroad. Removing to New York in 1849, he did architectural work, and became the engineer of the New York and New Haven rail- mad, and in 1854 its vice-president. As a hydraulic engineer, he has designed and constructed masonry dams across rivers, for the establishment of water- powers, and the canals, mills, and shops connected therewith. For the water-supply and sewers of towns he has given designs for all the construc- tions and has supervised their execution. He has tested the large pumping-engines of Brooklyn, Lawrence, Jersey City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, and has also given designs for and con- structed pumping-engines. In the city of New York he was the sanitary engineer of the Metro- politan board of health, during its continuance in 1866-'9, engineer of the Southern boulevard, mem- ber of the examining board on the new docks and bulkheads, engineer of the first rapid-transit com- mission in the annexed district, member of a later commission, and member of examining board on the Riverside park and Fifth avenue pavement. In Brooklyn he has been consulted, and, with the engineer of the board of city works, has reported on an extensive addition to the system of sewers. He has been the consulting engineer of many of the large water-power companies, has measured the quantity of water used by different lessees, and re- ported on the condition and capacity of the works. Mr. Worthen is a member of several scientific soci- eties, and was president of the American society of civil engineers in 1887. In addition to numerous official reports, he has published a " Cyclopaedia of Drawing" (New York, 1857); ''First Lessons in Mechanics" (1862); and "Rudimentary Drawing for Schools "(1863).

WORTHINGTON, Erastus, lawyer, b. in Bel- chertown, Mass., 8 Oct., 1779; d. in Dedham, Mass., 27 June, 1842. He was graduated at Will- iams in 1804, admitted to the bar, practised at Dedham from 1809 till 1825, and was a member of the general court in 1814-'15. He published an oration on "Recent Measures of the American Government " that he delivered at Dedham. 4 July, 1809 ; " An Essay on the Establishment of a Chan- cery Jurisdiction in Massachusetts" (1810); and " History of Dedham, from the Beginning of its Settlement in 1635 to Mav, 1827 " (Boston, 1827).

WORTHINGTON, George, P. E. bishop, b. in Lenox, Mass., 14 Oct., 1848. He was graduated at Hobart in 1860, and at the General theological seminary, New York, in 1863, ordered deacon in June, 1863, and ordained priest in 1864. He served as an assistant at St. Paul's church, Troy, N. Y., and then became rector of Christ church, Ballston Spa, N. Y., but soon removed to St. John's church, Detroit, Mich., where he remained as rector for seventeen years. He was for several years presi- dent of the diocesan standing committee, and ex- amining chaplain and deputy to the general con- vention. He was elected twice by the vote of the clergy to the episcopate of Michigan, but the laity refused to confirm him. In 1883 the house of bishops elected him missionary bishop of Shanghai, China, but he declined. Upon the death of Bishop Clarkson in 1884 he was chosen bishop of Nebraska, and was consecrated to that office in St. John's church, Detroit, 24 Feb., 1885. He has received the degrees of D. D. and LL. D. from Hobart in. 1876 and 1885, respectively.

WORTHINGTON, Henry Rossiter, inventor, b. in New York city, 17 Dec. 1817; d. in Tarry- town, N. Y., 17 Dec, 1880. He early engaged in business with his father, a merchant in New York city, and about 1840 began experimenting with steam for the propulsion of canal-boats. Among the difficulties to be overcome was the maintain- ing of a supply of water within the boiler while the engine was not in motion, as when the boat was passing through locks. The method in use at this time was a hand-pump, and he conceived the idea of compelling the idle boiler to furnish power to supply its own water. For this purpose he de- vised a small steam cylinder with an attached pump, which, without the use of shaft, crank, and fly- wheel, produced a movement of its own slide-valve. In 1841 he patented the independent feed-pump, which developed into the direct-acting steam-pump that he patented in 1849. In 1854 he erected in Savannah the first direct-acting compound con- densing engine that was ever built and the first compound engine that was ever used in water- works. The success of this led to the subsequent adoption of similar engines throughout the coun- try. The invention of the duplex pump followed, and consists of an arrangement of two pumps working side by side. It is now largely used for supplying water in cities and towns and in mills and factories, as well as on steamers, where it is used to feed boilers, extinguish fires, and for similar purposes. Mr. Worthington built up a large plant for the manufacture of pumping machinery, and he ranks as a pioneer in that branch of hydraulic engineering. He was a member of the American institute of mining engineers and one of the found- ers of the American society of mechanical engineers.

WORTHINGTON, Thomas, governor of Ohio, b. near Charlestown, Va. (now W. Va.), 16 July 1773; d. in New York city, 20 June, 1827. He received a good education, but was a common sailor in 1790-'3. In 1797 he removed to Ross county, Ohio, where he was a member of the territorial legislature 1799-1801, and a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1803. He was elected one of the first U.S. senators from Ohio, and as a Democrat, serving from 17 Oct., 1803 till 3 March, 1807, and again elected instead of , who had resigned, serving from 8 Jan., 1811 till 1814 when he resigned. He was governor of Ohio in 1814-'18, a canal commissioner from 1818 till his death, and one of the original vice-presidents of the American Bible society. He contributed greatly to the development of his adopted state.

WOUWERMAN, Simon van, Flemish author, b. in Bruges in 1690; d. in Paris in 1743. Little is known of his early life except that he was in the employ of the West Indian company about 1724, and afterward of the Mississippi company. In 1740 he secured an employment in the latter company's office at Paris, where he died. He wrote two curious works, &ldquo;Histoire philosophique et morale de la Louisiane&rdquo; and &ldquo;Système d'administration de la compagnie des Indes,&rdquo; which found afterward their way into Holland, where they were