Thomas S. Wootton

Dr. Thomas Sprigg Wootton (c. 1740 – 1789) was an American politician who served as one of members of the Maryland Constitutional Convention. Wootton was also one of the founders of Montgomery County, Maryland, which he did by introducing a bill in the Maryland General Assembly on September 6, 1776, to divide Frederick into three counties---Frederick, Montgomery, and Washington.[1] These were the first counties in America to be established by elected representatives. The names selected for the new counties also broke with tradition. Earlier counties had all been named for old-world figures such as Prince George and Queen Anne, but these were named after two popular Americans of the time—George Washington and Richard Montgomery. Wootton was a slave owner, inheriting them from his father.[2] Wootton also participated in the selling of enslaved people to the South.[3]

Thomas S. Wootton
1st Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office
1777
GovernorThomas Johnson
Succeeded byNicholas Thomas
Personal details
Born
Thomas Sprigg Wootton

1740
Died1789
Political partyNone

The Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland is named after him.

References
  1. Farquhar, Roger Brooke (1952). Historic Montgomery County, Old Homes, and History. Baltimore, Maryland: Monumental Printing Company. p. 20.
  2. "Naming rights — and wrongs: Montgomery students reveal uncomfortable truths". The Washington Post. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  3. Baptist, Edward E. (2016). The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465049660.


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