Jesse Wharton

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Jesse Wharton (July 29, 1782 – July 22, 1833) was an American attorney and politician who represented Tennessee in both houses of Congress. He was born in Covesville, Virginia, studied law at Dickinson College, was admitted to the Virginia bar, and practiced in Albemarle County. After moving to Tennessee, he married Mary Philips in 1804. They had five children before she died in 1813. He later married Elizabeth Auston Rice and had five more children.

Wharton was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Tennessee’s 3rd district and served from March 4, 1807 to March 3, 1809. He was later appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by George W. Campbell, serving from March 17, 1814 to October 10, 1815. After leaving the Senate, he returned to his law practice and, in 1832, was named to the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy. He died in Nashville in 1833 and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. His grandson Wharton Jackson Green later served as a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina.