Nicholas Longworth (January 16, 1783 – February 10, 1863) was an American real estate speculator and winemaker as well as the founder of the Longworth family in Ohio. Longworth was an influential figure in the early history of American wine, producing sparkling Catawba wine from grapes grown in his Ohio River Valley vineyard. He also made significant contributions supporting the arts, impacting the careers of Robert S. Duncanson, Hiram Powers, and others.
Contents
Personal life
Longworth was born in Newark, New Jersey, on January 16, 1783. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1804 and married Susanna Howell, three years his junior, daughter of Silas and Hannah (Vaughan) Howell, on Christmas Eve, 1807. She was already a widow as her first husband had died from hazardous frontier life.
Longworth pursued the study of law under Jacob Burnet, one of Cincinnati's first millionaires. Early in his career he accepted plots of land as payment, which increased in value as Cincinnati grew, and by 1818 he quit being a lawyer to manage his real estate holdings.
He was an abolitionist and his aid to a runaway slave was claimed to be the inspiration for Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Longworth was very invested in the arts. He made contact with every artist in Cincinnati between 1829 and 1858. He offered financial aid, letters of introduction, critique, and commissions. He hired Robert S. Duncanson to paint eight large landscape murals in his home, which formally launched Duncanson's career.