When he was a boy, he moved with his family to Lloyd, New York, where his father manufactured agricultural implements.
[1] In December 1863, during the American Civil War, Worden enlisted in the 16th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment as a private in Company B.
[1] In 1890, Worden was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, representing the Rensselaer County 2nd District.
[3] While in the Assembly, he introduced and helped pass a bill that prohibited New York prisons from manufacturing shirts, collars, and cuffs.
[4] Worden was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, serving as commander of his local post.