1793 Letter from Kearny Wharton to John Barclay Esq., written during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793.

—

---

Kearny Wharton (1765–1848) writes to fellow Philadelphia lawyer John Barclay to inform him that he has set off to Chester, Pennsylvania. He instructs his servant to hand-deliver his letter to Barclay so Barclay where know where to write Wharton.

The letter’s content suggests that Wharton had fled Philadelphia in such a hurry during the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic that he forgot to tell Barclay where he was going. By October, 1793, when this letter was written, the epidemic was well underway in Philadelphia.

Wharton was the son of Thomas Wharton, Jr., who had served as the President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania in 1777 and 1778. Kearney “was a lawyer, but followed chiefly the business of a merchant in Philadelphia.  He was a member of the council of the city, and its president at one time.” (Lucy Wharton Drexel, accessed online)

Sold