- William H. Wharton
William Harris Wharton (
April 27 ,1802 –March 14 ,1839 ) was an earlycolonist , political leader andorator inTexas .Wharton was born in
Virginia and was raised by an uncle following the deaths of his parents. He graduated from the University of Nashville and was admitted to theTennessee bar in 1826. Wharton moved to Texas, and onDecember 5 ,1827 , married Sarah Ann Groce, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Their only child was a son,John A. Wharton (1828–1865), who served in theAmerican Civil War as a Confederatemajor general . They established a farm known as "Eagle Island Plantation."Wharton served as a delegate to the
Convention of 1832 from the District of Victoria. Following that convention's unsuccessful attempts to form a new state separate fromCoahuila y Tejas (then a part ofMexico ), he served as president of the follow-upConvention of 1833 and openly advocated complete independence from Mexico, in contrast to the moderate view held byStephen F. Austin . He later served as a delegate from the District of Columbia to the Texas Consultation of 1835.Wharton entered military service during the
Texas Revolution , serving as acolonel and judge advocate general. He participated in the siege of San Antonio de Bexar. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as one of three commissioners to theUnited States to secure aid for theTexian s. After the revolution resulted in the formation of theRepublic of Texas in 1836, Wharton supported Austin's unsuccessful candidacy for president, losing toSam Houston . Wharton served as a member of the new republic's Senate from the District of Brazoria in 1836. In November, President Houston appointed Wharton as minister to the United States, hoping to secure political recognition and possible annexation. Returning to Texas in 1837 by sea, Wharton was captured by a Mexican ship and carried toMatamoros , where he was imprisoned. He escaped (allegedly by wearing anun 's habit) and returned to Texas to be re-elected to the Texas Senate in 1838. He introduced the Texas "Lone Star" flag to Congress onDecember 28 , and may have designed it.Wharton accidentally shot and killed himself while dismounting from his horse near Hempstead in
Waller County, Texas onMarch 14 ,1839 . He was buried at Restwood Memorial Park inClute, Texas .Both
Wharton County, Texas andWharton, Texas (the county seat) are named for him and his sonJohn Austin Wharton , a fellow Texas politician.External links
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* [http://www.bchm.org/Photos/p2306.html Texas state historical marker for Wharton]
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