Author: Wharton, Thomas
Biography:
WHARTON, Thomas (1793-1879: ancestry.co.uk)
He was baptised on 3 Feb. 1793 at St. Mary Magdalene, Longfield, Kent, the son of William Wharton and Mary Young, who had married in London in 1787. Nothing is known of his education or early life. He married Mary Round (1801-78) on 2 Aug. 1830, at Saint Saviour’s, Southwark, Surrey (now South London). She was a woman from nearby Eynsford and they may either have been related or have known each for many years since he commemorated the death of her brother who died in 1815 (“Elegy on T. R.”). They went on to have at least three children. He described himself on the title-page of Poems (1833) as “Clerk of the Parish of Longfield, Kent”; he was also constable, overseer, fruit grower, and farmer of twelve acres, employing one labourer. He died at Longfield and was buried on 8 May 1879 at St. Mary Magdalene, with his age at death incorrectly given as 88 on his death certificate. His wife Mary had died in February the previous year. His volume had around 120 mostly local subscribers, with many taking multiple copies. It contained staple romantic verse such as an “Ode to the Winds” and an “Ode to the Nightingale,” but also covered more mundane topics such as “The Cottager” and “The Passing Bell.” He also wrote occasional memorial verse on family and friends. (ancestry.co.uk 15 May 2024; findmypast.co.uk 15 May 2024; GRO birth certificate of daughter giving mother’s maiden name) AA
Other Names:
- T. Wharton