Content deleted Content added
Michael5046 (talk | contribs) |
HockeyFanNHL (talk | contribs) See grandfather source |
||
(41 intermediate revisions by 30 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{short description|American politician (1735–1778)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Thomas Wharton, Jr.
| image = Thomas Wharton (1735 - 1778), by Charles Willson Peale (1741 - 1827).jpg
| image_width =
| title = 1st [[
| vicepresident = [[George Bryan]]
| term_start = March 5, 1777
| term_end = May
| predecessor = [[John Penn (governor)|John Penn]] (as [[List of colonial governors of Pennsylvania|Governor of Pennsylvania]])
| successor = [[George Bryan]]
| birth_date = {{birth year|1735}}
| birth_place = [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]], [[Province of Pennsylvania]], [[British America]]
| death_date = {{death date and given age|1778|5|22|42–43}}
| death_place = [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| party =
| residence = "Twickenham," [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]]
| profession = [[Merchant]]
| signature = Signature of Thomas Wharton Jr. (1735–1778).png
| caption = Portrait of Wharton by [[Charles Willson Peale]]
}}
'''Thomas Wharton Jr.''' (
==Early life and family==
Wharton was born in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]] in the [[Province of Pennsylvania]]
|publisher= National Governors Association|accessdate= September 6, 2012}}</ref> in 1735. He was born into one of [[Philadelphia]]'s most prominent early [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] families. He was known as "Junior" to distinguish him from a cousin of the same name.<ref name="ANB">Marc Egnal. "Wharton, Thomas, Jr."; ''[[American National Biography Online]]'', February 2000. Accessed September 12, 2009.</ref> His father, John Wharton, served as [[coroner]] of Chester County. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Wharton, a native of [[Westmorland]], [[England]], came to Pennsylvania around 1683
In 1762, Wharton married Susannah Lloyd, the daughter of Thomas Lloyd and great-granddaughter of [[Thomas Lloyd (lieutenant governor)|Thomas Lloyd]], an early governor of Pennsylvania and a colleague of [[William Penn]].<ref name=patriots>Chapter on Thomas Wharton in ''Patriot Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society'' by Whitfield J. Bell 1997, DIANE {{ISBN
The Wharton family was involved in various areas of business and public service, including shipbuilding for the [[Continental Navy]]. Members of the Wharton family served in the [[Continental Congress]] and the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly|State Legislature]], as [[Mayor of Philadelphia]] and on the City Council, in positions of military leadership, and in other offices.
==American Revolution==
Wharton became a merchant and was well respected for his character as well as his business acumen. He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1761.<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, II: 229, 289, 317.</ref> Like many other colonial merchants, Wharton signed petitions and joined boycotts in protest of the [[1765 Stamp Act]] and the 1767 [[Townshend Acts]], but he was not an early leader of the resistance movement.<ref name="ANB" /> His rise to prominence in the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] cause followed Parliament's passage of the [[Boston Port Act]] in 1774.<ref name="ANB" /> At a public meeting held in Philadelphia on May 20, 1774, Wharton was chosen as a member of the [[Committee of correspondence|Committee of Correspondence]], and later was one of twenty-five citizens who formed the [[Committee of Safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]],
==President of Pennsylvania==
[[File:Coat of Arms of Thomas Wharton.svg|150px|thumb|Coat of Arms of Thomas Wharton]]
On September 28, 1776, Pennsylvania adopted a new [[Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776|state constitution]]. This document created an [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|Executive Council]] of twelve men. Although wealthy, upper class Pennsylvanians like [[
Wharton, and each of his successors in that office, may be referred to, quite properly, as [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania#Presidents of Council|President of Pennsylvania]]. However, the position is analogous to the modern office of [[List of
Wharton was elected March 5, 1777 and took office immediately, under the title ''His Excellency Thomas Wharton, Junior, [[Esquire]], President of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Captain General and [[Commander-in-Chief]] in and over the same.'' He held office until his death in 1778.
Line 45 ⟶ 47:
==Death==
On May 22, 1778,<ref name="ANB" /> with the Council still in Lancaster, Wharton died in Lancaster at the age of
A Commonwealth of Pennsylvania historical marker at Trinity Church commemorates both Wharton and Pennsylvania Governor [[Thomas Mifflin]], the first and last Governors and Presidents of Pennsylvania under the 1776 State Constitution. The marker was dedicated in 1975 and is located on Duke Street in Lancaster.<ref name=marker>Pennsylvania State Historical Marker for [http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/descriptresults.asp?secid=31&markertext=thomas+wharton&markertextsubmit=Search+by+Keywords Thomas Wharton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526123038/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/descriptresults.asp?secid=31&markertext=thomas+wharton&markertextsubmit=Search+by+Keywords |date=May 26, 2008 }}</ref> The text of the marker reads:
''Founded in 1730.<br>A session for an Indian treaty was held in the original church building in 1762.<br>The present edifice was dedicated in 1766.<br>Here are interred the remains of Thomas Wharton (1778) and Gov. Thomas Mifflin (1800).''
==See also==
*
==References==
Line 59 ⟶ 61:
==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|6330061}}
*[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_pennsylvania/col2-content/main-content-list/title_wharton_thomas.html National Governors Association]
*[
<br/><!--this break is to put visual space between the last information and the following template if needed-->
Line 69 ⟶ 70:
{{s-off}}
{{succession box | before=New creation |title=Member, [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania]], representing [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|the County of Philadelphia]] | years= March 4, 1777 – May 23, 1778 | after=[[Joseph Reed (jurist)|Joseph Reed]] }}
{{succession box | before=Himself, as President<br>of the Committee of Safety |title=[[
{{S-end}}
{{Governors and Presidents of Pennsylvania}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Thomas, Jr.}}
[[Category:1735 births]]
Line 80 ⟶ 82:
[[Category:Colonial American merchants]]
[[Category:Governors of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People disowned by the Quakers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Wharton family]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Burials in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Patriots in the American Revolution]]
|