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"I will endeavor to learn fast.”
Ellen was the sixth child and third daughter of the Worthington family. She and her younger sister Margaret were first sent to boarding school in Chillicothe and then to Emma Willard’s Female Seminary in Troy, New York. Ellen was a serious student who declared, “I will endeavor to learn fast.”
After school in New York, she returned to Chillicothe and in 1832 married Arthur Watts who was a local physician and farmer. The Watts family owned a considerable amount of land on the east side of Chillicothe. Arthur was interested in agriculture and prize cattle. He and Ellen lived in a fine home called Eolia near the Scioto River.
Ellen gave birth to nine children, four of whom died when young. Ellen had poor eyesight and at times suffered ill health. In the 1850’s, influenced by the conversion to Catholicism of her sister Sarah, Ellen also joined the Catholic Church. This caused a separation between Ellen and her husband Arthur. They remained apart until her death in 1863 at the age of 54.
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Adena Mansion and Gardens
Thomas Worthington & Family
Tecumseh
The Old Northwest Territory
Ohio Statehood
Great Seal of the State of Ohio
Benjamin Latrobe
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