William Whorton (1793-1850) and family of Stafford Co., VA
I'm seeking information on William Whorton (1793-1850) of Stafford County, Virginia and his wife Rebecca (1797-1882).They are buried in a family cemetery on a hill above Aquia Creek.Also in that graveyard are Mildred Whorton (1840-1914), Rebecca Whorton (1831-1874), John Whorton (1822-1873), Sallie Whorton (1825-1890), and Fannie Whorton (1828-1897).William Whorton's stone uses the title "Capt."These are fascinating folks and I would very much like to know more about them.In 1833 a large group of Stafford citizens signed a legislative petition asking that William, Barney, Lewis, and Lemuel Wharton, free Blacks, be allowed to remain in the Commonwealth.Several times in the petition the citizens impressed upon the legislature that the Whortons were in every physical respect white.Despite this, they had all been slaves belonging to Col. John Cooke who operated one of the sandstone quarries that cut much of the stone for the building of Washington.They had saved money and had purchased their freedom.According to the petition, some of the Whartons intermarried with whites.The petition worked and the family was allowed to remain in Virginia.In 1838 William Wharton purchased (or was given) 158 acres from Thomas Towson, another of the major stone suppliers for the building of Washington.Judging from the metes and bounds in the deed, this is the same property on which the Whorton cemetery now stands.
I am a historian in Stafford and would very much like to make contact with descendants of this family.I would like to know in what type of service William participated that earned him the rank of captain.Also, I would like to knowabout each of the other Whortons named on the gravestones.
Thanks,
Jerrilynn Eby