to health, and even vigorous success, during a time of banking crisis, to Woodworth's character and the benefits of his great many personal business relationships in the Chicago trading community. He buttressed the bank's finances at one point in 1852 by taking a $50,000 loan from his father-in-law Walter Booth, the one time Mayor of Paris, Illinois. Booth's loan to the bank was secured by the "current worth of the owners of the Merchants' Bank." His tenure at this bank ended in 1855 when he took his seat in Congress. Treasury Bank of Chicago After his term in Congress, he returned to banking in Chicago and became the President of the Treasury Bank of Chicago. During the Civil War Woodworth remained a private citizen and, as can be verified by his public record, held neither elected political office nor military position. Woodworth accepted a part-time appointment from Illinois Governor Richard Yates to oversee federal financial transfers to the state during the Civil War as a member of the Board of Auditors of War Claims, known also as the Commissioners of the War Fund. The War Fund and the Board of Army Auditors were authorized under a special session of the Illinois General Assembly. This was a role Woodworth played while principally occupied at the Treasury Bank of Chicago. He continued as President of this bank until his death. Legacy Many landmarks and institutions remain in Chicago reflecting his career contributions. It is a testament to his popularity that he counted working relationships with both Democrat and Republican politicians of the Civil War and mid-19th century era in Chicago: Civil War Era in Chicago Mayor Woodworth did not serve in the military during the Civil War; and, by the time of the war, had returned permanently to commerce as a banker. Nonetheless he had accepted a civilian war time appointment on the Board of Auditors of War Claims from Governor Yates, a Republican. As a banker, Woodworth worked at the forefront of Municipal Finance to develop Chicago's infrastructure, including one of the largest military prisons for captured Confederate troops. His strict anti-slavery views stemmed from the perspective that the economic future of Chicago as a great metropolitan center was best advanced where all residents were free and able to seek a role in the commerce of the city; this popular metropolitan perspective on slavery contrasted with the agrarian perspective popular in