Wharton, Samuel, 1732-1800

Samuel Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 1732, the son of Joseph Wharton, a successful merchant. Wharton followed in his father's footsteps and became a prosperous merchant in his own right, and was one of the founding partners of Baynton and Wharton. In 1763, they added a partner, George Morgan, thus changing the name of the firm to Baynton, Wharton and Morgan. Amongst other financial ventures, the firm speculated in trade west of the Alleghenies, most notably with the Indians living in the region. However, with the occurrence of Pontiac's uprising in 1763, Wharton and his partners suffered financial losses amounting to 86,000 pounds in New York currency. To compensate for this loss, the Six Nations and the traders signed a treaty on May 3, 1768 at Fort Stanwix, granting the traders title to a large tract of land, encompassing one quarter of the current state of West Virginia. In order to validate the claim under English law, Wharton was sent to London by his partners, who now also included Thomas Walpole and Benjamin Franklin, to appear before the Board of Trade. Lord Hillsborough, the President of the board recommended the rejection of their claim outright. One of Wharton's partners, Benjamin Franklin, produced a pamphlet to counter Lord Hillsborough's rejection of the claim. However, it was Wharton's arguments that swayed the Committee into overturning all of Lord Hillsborough's recommendations, and the King in Council approved their claim, otherwise known as the Walpole Grant, on August 14, 1772.

From the description of Samuel Wharton manuscript, [ca. 1770-1772]. (New Jersey Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 53018196

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