Thomas S. Wootton

Dr. Thomas Sprigg Wootton (c. 1740 – 1789) was an American planter, physician, politician, and founding father who served as one of members of the Annapolis Convention, which governed Maryland in the early days of the American Revolution. Following the ratification of the Maryland Constitution of 1776, Wootton served as the first Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. Wootton is credited as the founder of Montgomery County and Washington County, Maryland, as he introduced a bill in the Maryland General Assembly on September 6, 1776, to split these now jurisdictions off from Frederick County.^[1] These were the first counties in America to be established by elected representatives rather than agents of the crown. The names of the new counties also broke with tradition in that they were named for the revolutionary leaders Richard Montgomery and George Washington, rather than for old world figures or place names. Wootton was a slave owner, originally inheriting enslaved persons from his father and later purchasing more.^[2] He also participated in the selling of enslaved people to the South.^[3] The Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland is named after him.