Jesse Wharton (1776-1833)

Jesse Wharton was born in Covesville in Albermarle County in Virginia on July 29, 1776, a year after his brother Austin Wharton (1775-1835). Both attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and graduated with the class of 1794. While his brother Austin went on to practice medicine in Cumberland County, Virginia, Jesse studied the law and was admitted to the Bar in his home county. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee with his practice and was elected as a Republican to the Tenth Congress in 1807 serving only one term. He remained prominent in Tennessee Republican circles and five years later was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George W. Campbell. He served from March 17, 1814 to October 10, 1815, when a successor was elected.

He continued his law practice in Nashville although President Andrew Jackson appointed him as a member of the board of visitors to the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York in 1832. He married and had at least one daughter, Sarah, who married Thomas Jefferson Green of North Carolina. Green was later a general in the Texas forces and a hero of the Texas Revolution. Wharton also raised and educated his brother William's orphaned sons, both of whom also later played a prominent role in the Texas War of Independence. Jesse Wharton died in Nashville on July 22, 1833.