John Wharton
John Wharton of Accomack County, Virginia
From all accounts and appearances, John Wharton was successful in business, served the community in local and state government and was active in the church. Notwithstanding these apparent achievements and being described posthumously as “the Merchant Prince of the Eastern Shore” (see full text below), there exists little written by or about Wharton which would provide more depth about his family, motivations and character. Furthermore, to date, no business or personal correspondence, nor any personal ledgers or records have been discovered.
For example, it is currently unknown whether John Wharton was an entrepreneur who started his own sea merchant enterprise, or instead was continuing a family business tradition. Was John Wharton perhaps related to or descended from the “blustery Captain Wharton” referred to in Clifford Dowdy’s book The Virginia Dynasties who vexed Robert Carter by not lowering his freight charges following the 1721 tobacco crash resulting from the bursting of the South Sea stock bubble?
Similarly it is unknown where, or even if, John Wharton undertook a formal education. One might reasonably assume that to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, or act as a “Gentleman Justice” at the local Court of the Quarter Session, John Wharton would have studied law somewhere. His tombstone includes the “Esq.” suffix; however, continuing research has yet to reveal anything about John Wharton’s educational background.
Knowledge of John Wharton’s background and any related written records could shed light on the design, construction, finishing and furnishing of Wharton Place. Some inferences can be drawn from similarly situated homes on the Eastern Shore; however, hard evidence has been sparse. Consequently, until more information surfaces to shed more light on John Wharton, the following list of dates and events associated with Wharton’s life will need to suffice.
1762: Birth, November 25, 1762
John Wharton was the fifth generation of Whartons on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and notwithstanding the shared last name, this Wharton line was not related to the Pennsylvania Wharton line on this side of the Atlantic. It is by sheer coincidence that this Virginia John Wharton was sea merchant, conducted business in Philadelphia and ultimately died there. He is not related to the John Wharton who, with Joshua Humphreys, established what would become the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
1784: Marriage, June 10, 1784 to Elizabeth Williams
Elizabeth Williams was also born on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and is discussed in a similar fashion on the following pages. John and Elizabeth Wharton did not have any children.
1810: U.S. Census for Accomack County Virginia (Accomack Parish) also shows 1 boy (Robert Bennett?) and 2 girls living at the house.
Unlike the previously described tax role, the U.S. Census included females and instead appears to exclude any slave holdings. Household members were segregated by gender and further categorized by the following age groups: under 10 years, 10-16 years, 16-26 years, 26 to 45 years and over 45 years.
As transcribed by Robert E. Rellihan for the “USGenWeb Archives” (Census Project: http://www.usgwarchives.org/census/), in the John Wharton household there were two men, one between the ages of 10 and 16 (possibly Roland Bennet referenced above), and one over 45 years old (John would have turned 48 in November 1810). There were three women in the Wharton household, two between the ages of 16 and 26 (as yet unidentified, perhaps extended family members) and one over 45 years old (Elizabeth would have turned 46 in May 1810).
1805: Roland Bennet (orphaned) indentured to John Wharton until the age of 21
According to Gail M. Walczyk’s published research regarding indentures in Accomack Country between 1798 and 1835 (http://easternshorestuff.com/misc/Indentures.htm):
29 July 1805 --- An Indenture made between the Overseers of the Poor and John Wharton to carry out an order made in County Court 29 July 1805 to bind Roland Bennet orphan of William Bennet until the age of twenty one, unto John Wharton who will provide sufficient Meat, Drink, Washing, Lodging, and Wearing Apparel, teach him reading, writing and arithmetic, the trade of a Farmer and also pay him Twelve Dollars at the expiration of the said time.
1795: Parrish Processions in Districts 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11 indicate John Wharton’s participation and thereby his being a landholder in these districts. (Bagwell Wharton, John’s brother, also appears in District 5)
The map of these Procession Districts is available on the internet at http://easternshoreheritage.com/processions/accomack_processions_map.htm
According to Gail M. Walczyk’s published research on “Processions” on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, (http://easternshoreheritage.com/processions/general_introduction.htm):
“Processions were a type of boundary survey in England and the United States, especially in Virginia and Kentucky. On the Eastern Shore of Virginia every four years the Vestrymen of the Church would meet and order that a processioning be taken. The job of the processioners was to decide upon property boundaries and to mark and describe them in the processioner's book. All landowners in a community would ride or walk along the boundaries of their property from marked trees to marked trees and from creek to creek. They would make sure the boundary markers were still there, note the ones missing and create new ones. On the Eastern Shore, when there was a dispute in the boundaries, the processioning of the disputed land would be stopped. A jury would be empanelled in court, and accompanied by a surveyor and the sheriff would go and view the lines and decide on the boundaries. This English custom was a means of avoiding disputes arising from poor surveys or loss of boundary markers such as trees and was also used to tithe the freeholders or owners of the land.”
1799: Tax List
The line entry for John Wharton in the 1799 tax assessment indicates one white male (presumably Wharton himself), seven black males, two horses and one two-wheeled carriage. There is no indication of women, other farm animals, personal property or material possessions.
This record is available on the internet by clicking on the following web link:
http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Accomack/1799PersonalB/28.jpg
1797: Virginia House of Delegates (Accomack)
Based on the records of the Virginia House of Delegates, John Wharton served as the representative for Accomack County in 1797.
1798: Virginia House of Delegates (Accomack)
Based on the records of the Virginia House of Delegates, John Wharton also served as the representative for Accomack County in 1798.