America, 19th century. A letter to Judge William Worthington from Nicholas Longworth II dating to December 29, 1888.

William Worthington (1847-1922) was Judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati from 1882-1884. He was a Director and general counsel for the Little Miami Railroad Company and the Cincinnati Art Museum. He was also associated with the Cincinnati Music Hall Association, Spring Grove Cemetery, the Shillito Realty Company, and the University of Cincinnati.

It is likely this letter was penned by Nicholas Longworth II (1844-1890), as he was the son of Joseph Longworth (1813-1883) and grandson of Nicholas Longworth (1783-1863). Nicholas II was also the brother of Maria Longworth Storer, the founder of Rookwood Pottery. Nicholas II's son, Nicholas III (1869-1931), went on to marry Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice and became notable for his role in early 20th century politics.

Nicholas Longworth III's grandfather accepted plots of land in exchange for payment in the early 1800s and as the city grew, so did the value of his land. By 1818 he switched from law to real estate because of his success and began planting grapes in Mount Adams due to his belief in Cincinnati’s fair climate for growing. By the 1850s, a journalist from the London Illustrated News noted his preference for Longworth’s Catawba and how it "transcend(ed) the Champagnes of France.” Eventually he was named “The Father of American Grape Culture.” Longworth can be noted as an abolitionist who aided enslaved individuals as they fled the south, being the possible inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” He was also extremely invested in the arts, making contact with every artist in Cincinnati between 1829 and 1858. The aficionado also helped artists grow with financial aids, introductions, and commissions. Within what now stands as the Taft Museum of Art are eight large landscape murals painted by Robert S. Duncanson. Longworth commissioned them to adorn his villa and the work inevitably launched Duncanson’s career. His works can be viewed in many institutions around the country. The Longworth family lives on as a prominent Cincinnati name, including his granddaughter Maria Longworth Storer of Rookwood Pottery and her father Joseph Longworth, first president of the Cincinnati Art Museum.




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