Timothy Bloodworth

Timothy James Bloodworth (1736 – August 24, 1814) was an American anti-Federalist politician. He was a leader of the American Revolution and later served as a member of the Confederation Congress, U.S. congressman and senator, and collector of customs for the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Early life and career
Bloodworth was born 1736 in North Carolina to Timothy Bloodworth Sr. who had migrated to North Carolina from Virginia in the early 1700s. He spent most of his life before the American Revolutionary War as a teacher. He owned 9 slaves and had over 4,000 acres of land.

He had two brothers, James and Thomas, who were active local politicians.

In 1776, he began making arms including muskets and bayonets for the Continental Army. In 1778 and 1779, he served as a member of the North Carolina state legislature. Following this, he held a number of political posts sequentially until serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1786. He served as an Anti-Federalist delegate from New Hannover County to the Fayetteville Convention on the U.S. Constitution in 1789.:

He was elected to the First United States Congress as a member of the House of Representatives, serving from 1790 to 1791 before returning to the North Carolina state legislature. In 1794 Bloodworth was elected to the United States Senate, where he served from 1795 to 1801. From then until 1807, Bloodworth served as collector of customs in Wilmington, North Carolina.

During the Second World War, Liberty ship SS Timothy Bloodworth was named in his honor.