Contents [hide]

Wharton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Wharton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Early Origins of the Wharton family

The surname Wharton was first found in towns and civil parishes in Westmorland, Cheshire or Lincolnshire named Wharton. The oldest local was in Cheshire where the place name was listed as Wanetune 1 in the Domesday Book of 1086. Years later this village was to be known as Waverton in 1216. Literally the village probably meant "farmstead by a swaying tree," from the Old English "waefree" + "tun." 2

But we must look to Westmorland (now known as Cumbria) for Wharton, a civil parish near Kirkby Stephen in the Eden District for the oldest records of the surname. "The Hall, once a large quadrangular building with a tower at each angle, was the princely residence of Philip, the celebrated Duke of Wharton, and his ancestors, but is now occupied as a farmhouse. The estates and manorial rights of the Whartons are now possessed by the Earl of Lonsdale." 3

During the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541), the manor of Langdale in Westmorland was sold to the Wharton family.

Early History of the Wharton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wharton research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1407, 1420, 1495, 1520, 1545, 1555, 1568, 1572, 1588, 1613, 1614, 1615, 1617, 1622, 1625, 1632, 1648, 1664, 1670, 1673, 1676, 1681, 1684, 1685, 1695, 1696, 1698, 1715 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Wharton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wharton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wharton, Warton and others.

Early Notables of the Wharton family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

John Wharton (fl.1407-1420), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Guildford in 1407 and 1420; Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton (c. 1495-1568); Thomas Wharton, 2nd Baron Wharton (1520-1...
Thomas Wharton (1614-1673) was an English physician and anatomist, eponym of Wharton's jelly. Jesse Wharton (died 1676) was an English settler from the colony in Barbados in 1670 and became the 7th Pr...
Sir George Wharton, 1st Baronet (1617-1681), was an English Royalist soldier and astrologer; and Henry Wharton (1664-1695), was an English writer and librarian. Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (1613...
Anne Wharton (1632?-1685), née Lee, was an English poetess, born in Oxfordshire. She was the second daughter and coheiress of Sir Henry Lee, third Baronet, of Ditchley. "On 16 Sept. 1673 she married...

Wharton Ranking

In the United States, the name Wharton is the 3,254^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Wharton family to Ireland

Some of the Wharton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wharton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wharton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Phillipp Wharton, aged 14, who arrived in Bermuda, (Somers Islands) in 1635 aboard the ship "Truelove" 5
George Wharton, who settled in Virginia in 1643
Edward Wharton, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1663 5
Ralph Wharton, who arrived in Maryland in 1667 5
Margaret Wharton, who landed in Maryland in 1667 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wharton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jane Wharton, who landed in Virginia in 1701 5
Thomas Wharton, who settled in Boston, in 1712
Thomas Wharton, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1712 5
Richard Wharton, who landed in Virginia in 1714 5
John Wharton, who arrived in Annapolis, Maryland in 1733
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wharton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Wharton, who arrived in Maryland in 1806 5
Joseph Wharton, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1811 5
Robert Wharton, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1811 5
George Wharton, who arrived in New Jersey in 1812 5

Wharton migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Wharton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Jonathan Wharton, English convict from Durham, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on July 29th, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6
Mr. Thomas Wharton, English convict who was convicted in Leeds, Yorkshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Richard Wharton, English convict from Hereford, who was transported aboard the "Argyle" on March 5th, 1831, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Mr. James Wharton, (b. 1788), aged 46, English convict who was convicted in Hereford, Herefordshire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Joseph Wharton, (b. 1833), aged 11, English convict who was convicted in Birmingham, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 9th May 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10

Wharton migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Wharton Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Gilbert Wharton, who landed in Barbados in 1701 5
William Wharton, who landed in Barbados in 1728-1729 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Wharton (post 1700) +

Charles M. Wharton, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Governor of Delaware, 1928; Delegate to Delaware convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933
Philip Fishbourne Wharton (1841-1880), American artist
John Franklin Wharton (1894-1977), American lawyer and founding partner of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
John Austin Wharton (1828-1865), American lawyer, plantation owner, and Confederate general during the American Civil War
John Austin Wharton (1806-1838), American statesman, lawyer and a soldier, Adjutant General at the Battle of San Jacinto
Joseph Wharton, American entrepreneur and industrialist who established the world’s first collegiate school of business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1881
Edith Newbold Wharton (1861-1937), American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
Vincent Neil Wharton (b. 1961), American vocalist and musician
Joseph Wharton (1826-1909), American merchant, industrialist, and philanthropist, founder of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founded the Bethlehem Steel company
Charles E. Wharton, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Ohio 8th District, 1908
... (Another 36 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Wharton Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Generosus nascitur non fit
Motto Translation: The gentleman is born not made.

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 151 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1823
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Argyle voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1831 with 251 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/argyle/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies