Timothy Bloodworth

1736 (age 78)

North Carolina, United States

Timothy Bloodworth is reported to have adorned eight or ten occupations, ranging, by way of the ministry, from cobbler and wheelwright to United States senator and philanthropist at large. In January 1775 he was a member of the New Hanover County Committee of Safety, and two years later he was one of the eleven justices present at that county's first non-royal court. As a state legislator, 1779-1784, he supported a relentless policy against all who had remained loyal to England. In 1784 he was elected to represent North Carolina in the Continental Congress in New York, but was given no money for his expenses. This oversight did not delay him, since at other times he had advanced the state money out of his own pocket. Bloodworth resigned from the Congress in August 1787 and returned to North Carolina to help dissuade the state from ratifying the proposed Federal Constitution. His view was the popular one, but circumstances outside the state proved strong enough to compel ratification. Locally he honored no such compulsion. As lieutenant-colonel of the militia in the Wilmington district, Bloodworth refused in 1793 to execute orders enforcing Washington's proclamation of neutrality in the war between France and England. He was intensely radical, almost, said a North Carolina historian writing of him in the 1870's, "a red Republican in his views, and intolerant of opposition. " At the time, this attitude carried him to the United States Senate, a haven which in 1789 he had sought vainly. Almost all his life he stood against the main trend of history, and sixty years after his death even a newspaper editor in the North Carolina state capital was obliged to admit that he had never heard of him.

Timothy Bloodworth

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Background

Timothy Bloodworth was born in 1736 in North Carolina, United States.

Career

Timothy Bloodworth is reported to have adorned eight or ten occupations, ranging, by way of the ministry, from cobbler and wheelwright to United States senator and philanthropist at large. In January 1775 he was a member of the New Hanover County Committee of Safety, and two years later he was one of the eleven justices present at that county's first non-royal court. As a state legislator, 1779-1784, he supported a relentless policy against all who had remained loyal to England. In 1784 he was elected to represent North Carolina in the Continental Congress in New York, but was given no money for his expenses. This oversight did not delay him, since at other times he had advanced the state money out of his own pocket. Bloodworth resigned from the Congress in August 1787 and returned to North Carolina to help dissuade the state from ratifying the proposed Federal Constitution. His view was the popular one, but circumstances outside the state proved strong enough to compel ratification. Locally he honored no such compulsion.

As lieutenant-colonel of the militia in the Wilmington district, Bloodworth refused in 1793 to execute orders enforcing Washington's proclamation of neutrality in the war between France and England. He was intensely radical, almost, said a North Carolina historian writing of him in the 1870's, "a red Republican in his views, and intolerant of opposition. " At the time, this attitude carried him to the United States Senate, a haven which in 1789 he had sought vainly. Almost all his life he stood against the main trend of history, and sixty years after his death even a newspaper editor in the North Carolina state capital was obliged to admit that he had never heard of him.

Achievements

Timothy Bloodworth is chiefly remembered as the United States Senator from North Carolina, which position he held from 1795 to 1801. He then served as collector of customs for the port of Wilmington and achieved something like venerableness.

Politics

Timothy Bloodworth was a member of the Republican party; the U. S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 3rd district from 1790 to 1791.

Connections

Brother:: Thomas Bloodworth
Brother:: James Bloodworth

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