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WEST, WILLIAM (ca. 1737-1791). BORN: ca.
1737 in Fairfax County, Virginia. IMMIGRATED:
in 1762 to Charles County. RESIDED: in Charles
County, 1762; Anne Arundel County, 1762-1767;
St. Mary's County, 1767-1772; Harford County,
1772-1779; Baltimore Town, Baltimore County,
1779-1791. MARRIED in April 1768 Susannah
(1737-ca. 1787), daughter of Dr. James Walker
(?-1759) of Anne Arundel County and wife Su-
sannah Gardner. Her brothers were John (1733-
1794); George (1736-?); James (1740-?); and
Charles (1744-?), who married Ann Cradock
(1755-?). Her sisters were Margaret (ca. 1742-
1801); Agnes (1746-?), who married William
Young; Mary (1732-?); and Catherine. Her first
cousin was Agnes Walker (1731-1783), who mar-
ried William Lux (by 1730-1778). CHILDREN. SON:
George William (1770-1795), a portrait painter.
DAUGHTERS: Margaret (ca. 1772-1844), who
married John Beale Howard (1770-?), son of
John Beale Howard (by 1739-1799); Sybil (ca.
1774-?), who married in 1797 Francis Utie Hol-
land, son of Francis Holland (ca. 1745-1795).
PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: attended the Col-
lege of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Vir-
ginia, 1756-1760. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: An-
glican. SOCIAL STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: awarded
honorary doctor of divinity degree by Washington
College, Kent County, 1785. OCCUPATIONAL
PROFILE: Anglican minister, ordained in London
in November 1761 and served in the following
parishes: Port Tobacco and Durham Parishes,
Charles County, curate, 1762; Westminster Par-
ish, Anne Arundel County, probationer, 1762,
rector, 1763-1767; St. Andrew's Parish, St. Mary's
County, rector, 1767-1772; St. George's Parish,
Harford County, rector, 1772-1779; St. Paul's
Parish, Baltimore County, rector, 1779-1791.
Governor Horatio Sharpe (1718-1790) wrote that
West had been recommended to him by George
Washington as a "well behaved young man."
Francis Asbury, the leader of American Meth-
odism, heard West preach at St. George's Church
and commented that he gave "a plain useful ser-
mon, which contained much truth." While at St.
Paul's, West tried to prevent schism and ani-
mosity between the Methodists and Anglicans in
Maryland. He served as secretary of the Epis-
copal diocesan convention in 1784 and was elected
president of the convention in 1790. PUBLIC CA-
REER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: 1st Convention,
Harford County, 1774 (appointed, but did not
attend). STANDS ON PUBLIC/PRIVATE ISSUES: ac-
tive in the founding of Washington College and
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St. John's College; one of the founders of the
Baltimore Academy; provided in his will for the
manumission of his slaves. WEALTH DURING LIFE-
TIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY: probably 17 slaves in
Harford County, 1776; assessed value £365.0.0,
including 5 slaves, Anne Arundel County only,
1783; devisee of one-third of the estate of Thomas
Harrison (?-1782), the total value of which was
estimated at £150,000. In April 1790, the other
two devisees under Harrison's will, Daniel Bowley
(1745-1807) and Richard Ridgely (1755-1824),
mortgaged their two-thirds interest in the unsold
portion of Harrison's estate to West to secure
payment of £6,197.2.6 current money, which was
the value of West's one-third interest of Harri-
son's property that the three had recently sold.
In his will, West provided that after deducting a
fair amount for his service as executor of Harri-
son's estate, the remainder would be divided among
Harrison's heirs in England. LAND AT FIRST ELEC-
TION: probably none in Maryland. SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND
DEATH: acquired 120 acres with his wife and 120
acres in his name only, all in Anne Arundel County,
in the devision of his father-in-law's land, 1777;
sold and leased the land of Thomas Harrison (?-
1782) in Anne Arundel, Harford, and Baltimore
counties and Baltimore Town as executor and
devisee of Harrison's estate, 1782-1790. WEALTH
AT DEATH. DIED: on March 30, 1791, in Baltimore
Town of the "putrid fever." PERSONAL PROP-
ERTY: TEV, at least £1,741.19.6 (including plate,
14 slaves, and 338 books); FB, after first account,
£1,596.16.6. LAND: probably 240 acres in Anne
Arundel County and land in Virginia.
WHARTON, JESSE (?-1676). BORN: probably
in England. IMMIGRATED: in 1670, as a free adult
from Barbadoes, West Indies. RESIDED: in Charles
County. MARRIED probably second, Elizabeth (?-
ca. 1710), daughter of Henry Sewall (?-1665) and
Jane Lowe (?-1700/1). Elizabeth was the step-
daughter of Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore
(1637-1714/15). Her brother was Nicholas Sewall
(ca. 1655-1737). Her sisters were Jane, who mar-
ried Philip Calvert (1626-1682); Anne, who mar-
ried first, Benjamin Rozer (?-1681), and second,
Edward Pye (?-1696); and Mary. Elizabeth sub-
sequently married William Digges (ca. 1650-1697).
CHILDREN. SONS: Cecilius; Henry. PRIVATE CA-
REER. EDUCATION: literate, probably well edu-
cated. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Catholic. SOCIAL
STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: in the West Indies by
December 1654, when he was called a "chirur-
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