He acquired the Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County from
Abner Johnson in 1840. He also owned the Redleaf Plantation, the Meanie Plantation (a.k.a. the So So Plantation or the Rose Plantation), and the Eminence Plantation. By 1860, he owned 543 African slaves and 12,000 acres of land in Chicot County. In 1862, in the midst of the
American Civil War, Worthington moved his slaves and livestock to
Texas. He returned to Chicot County at the end of the war, in 1865. He was pardoned by President
Andrew Johnson on January 31, 1866. In 1866, Worthington sold his Sunnyside plantation to
Robert P. Pepper of Kentucky. With the proceeds of the sale, he paid back loans he had taken from
Wade Hampton and
Abraham Van Buren. Meanwhile, he moved into his Redleaf Plantation with his daughter Martha. ==Personal life==