 West Hill Cemetery Sherman, Texas  Turner Ashby Wharton 1862 - 1935 Floy Hurt Wharton 1869 - 1963  Catherine Wharton Gray 1902 - 1995 The Sherman Democrat October 25, 1935 pg. 1 HEART ATTACK IS FATAL TO DR. WHARTON Presbyterian Pastor Ermeritus Had Suffered for Years of Angina Pectoris Had Been Listening to Radio Report of Game Members of the Family Expected To Be Here for Final Rites at Church Funeral services for Dr. T.A. Wharton, pastor emeritus of the First Presbyterian Church, were held Sunday afternoon at the church, with interment at the Memorial cemetery. Dr. Wharton passed away at 8:45 p.m. Friday in his home, 1211 N. Woods street, succumbing to heart trouble which caused him to retire from the pastorate in March 1919. With Mrs. Wharton he had returned in mid-September from a month's trip to Kentucky to visit 2 daughters. While he had not been very strong since then, he had been considered as improving. Friday night he had been listening to a radio report ot the Sherman and Highland Park football game at Dallas when a heart attack struck him. After treatment he felt better but did not return to the radio game report and died shortly thereafter. There will be no preaching services at the church Sunday morning and the body will lie in state there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. SERVICES AT CHURCH Services were conducted by Dr. William M. Anderson, pastor of the First Presbyterian church at Dallas and member of the board of trustees of Austin College, and by Dr. T.S. Clyce, president emeritus of Austin College - both long warm friends of Dr. Wharton. Pallbearers were deacons of his church and honorary pallbearers the elders of the church. All of the children are expected to be here for the funeral services except the 2 daughters recently visited. Since his retirement from the active pastorate, Dr. Wharton had retained an active interest in church and civic affairs. At intervals, he preached sermons at his church, spoke to Bible classes, to luncheon clubs or other organizations. He continued to be a student of affairs and, seated in a chair, had addressed luncheon club groups on international trends. In summer months in recent times, prayer services and young people's meetings were held on the lawn at his home, the groups coming to him for their services. His interest in the young people included their sports and he was a football fan, supporting particularly the high school and college teams. Turner Ashby Whartonm D.D., pastor emeritus of the First Presbyterian Church of Sherman, had lived here since 1909, and until March 1919, at which time his son, Conway T. Wharton, D.D., took his place, was pastor of the Sherman church, serving it for 20 years. He came to Sherman from Columbia, Tennessee, where he was pastor of the Presbyterian church. In addition to his work as minister, Dr. Wharton served in numerous capacities in the civic development of Sherman. He was a member of the committee which wrote the charter of the city of Sherman; was chairman of the health department of the chamber of commerce for a number of years and during the world war was chairman of the speakers bureau and did other forms of committee work. During the influenza epidemic of 1918, he served the city as health officer, going into stricken homes and offering aid and relief in place of doctors and nurses who were, in many cases, suffering from the disease. For his service in this work the city presented him with an automobile at Christmas following the epidemic. MODERATOR OF TWO SYNODS As a member of the synods of Tennessee, Virginia and Texas, Dr. Wharton took part in church government to a large extent and had been moderator of the Texas and Tennessee bodies at different times. He was the author of "An Essay on Robert E. Lee," published after having been delivered as an address to the Confederate veterans of the state of Tennessee, of articles and papers as well as book reviews in current literature, magazines, and newspapers. Dr. Wharton was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1862, in the same year that O. Henry, then known as WIlliam SIdney Porter, was born. Both boys attended together the Mrs. Edgeworth private school under Mrs. Edgeworth, a famous school mistress of her day. O. Henry (or Porter), Wharton and Elbert W. and Alphonso Smith grew up together and were playmates until Porter left for Texas in 1881. Egbert Smith is now head of the general foreign...on committee of...headquarters in Nashville, and...as he was known to the...of the standard O. Henry biography. TALES OF O. HENRY Dr. Wharton told many tales of his boyhood acquaintance with O. Henry. The short story writer and cartoonist had difficulty with algebra. He used to trade cartoons for algebra homework. Dr. Wharton said, and one day Mrs. Edgeworth saw O. Henry doing a cartoon of her. She gave him a note and told him to take it to the head trustee. O. Henry read the note, sealed the envelope and gave another boy an apple to take it to the trustee. A few minutes later the note-bearer returned, hunting the cartoonist to thrash him. The note said, "Please whip the bearer soundly for misdemeanor in class." As a youth Dr. Wharton was sworn the order of the Ku Klux Klan and rode under the hood on his father's horse, acting as official gate-opener for the troups of klansmen who were too mahrauding in reagalia to dismount conveniently. He recalled many events of the reconstruction period in the south. Dr. Wharton was acquainted with Woodrow Wilson as a young man, whom he met in Greensboro, North Carolina. He knew Thomas Edison but not personally, as a reticent young man who worked during the summer at Capp's mine in Micklenburg count, North Carolina, quietly and absorbedly laboring in laboratory work. EARLY PASTORATES As a young man Dr. Wharton developed physically on his father's plantation and became an ardent player of games and sports, later in his university days taking up base ball, tennis and chess with hunting and fishing in the summertime. In later life, he was a golf and domino enthusiast. In his university life Dr. Wharton was more or less of an atheist in belief, but was converted and became a member of the Presbyterian church. He took pre-medical course in connection with his university work. Deciding upon the ministry, he later entered the Union Theological seminary at Richmond, Virginia, where he received the degree of B.D. Dr. Wharton's first pastorate was at Steele Creek, North Carolina, a famous old church in Southern Presbyterian history because of its age and service in sending out ministers and missionaries. He held a pastorate in Virginia at Abingdon. In Hampden Sidney he met and married Miss Lucy Taliaferro, daughter of Col. C.C. Taliaferro. To them were born 4 children, Nan, Jess, Conway and Lawrence. Mrs. Wharton died in 1895. In 1899 Dr. Wharton married Miss Floy Hurt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd B. Hurt of Abingdon, Virginia. Three children were born in Columbia, Tennessee, where Dr. Wharton was pastor of the Presbyterian church from 1899 to 1900, namely Catherine Floyd, Turner Ashby, Jr., and Floyd Watson. Parke Streete Wharton was born in...(part of the column missing) CHOSEN MASONIC CHAPLAIN While in Tennessee one of Dr. Wharton's best friends was Lieutenant Edward Ward Carmack, a candidate for governor of the state in 1906. Dr. Wharton and his daughter, Catherine, were in Nashville at the time and just across the street from the scene of Senator Carmack assassination. It was a political and planned assassination, Dr. Wharton said. The murder of Carmack was one of the most brutal and most highly... occurrences in southern political history. He was an incorrugible southern statesman and gentleman running on anti-liquor and anti-vice ticket. He was the author of the famous 'Ode to the South" and other papers. Dr. Wharton was a Blue Lodge Mason and was at one time grand chaplain of the Masonic Lodge of Texas. SURVIVING RELATIVES An attack of influenza, comeing after the general epidemic of 1918, weakened Dr. Wharton's heart. In 1926 he was ill with heart trouble which was pronounced angina pectoria. In 1928 at Austin he suffered a...and was in a hospital for some time. Since then he has had to retire from practically all activities, occasionally preaching at his church or speaking before luncheons clubs. Several months ago complications arose in his physical...which made a major operation necessary. His children are: Dr. Conway T. Wharton, graduate of Austin College and Austin Theological seminary, who served for 13 years as a missionary to Balfa, Congo Beige, Africa, and is now pastor of the FIrst Presbyterian Church of Sherman; Mrs. T.C. Vinson of Paint Lick, Kentucky, who with her husband, Rev. T. Chalmers Vinson, was also a missionary to the Congo for 8 years; Dr. Lawrence Wharton, pastor of the University Presbyterian church, Austin, and a member of the Presbyterian Theological seminary faculty, Austin; Mrs. C.E. Allen, Danville, Virginia, whose husband is pastor of a Presbyterian church there; and is a former member of the AUstin college faculty; Miss Chatherine Wharton, a deputy United States clerk; Turner A. Wharton, Jr., employe of the Texas Power & Light Co.; Floyd W. Wharton, chemist for the Interstate...Oil Refining company; and Parke Streete Wharton who is teaching chemistry at Austin College. Dr. Wharton is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 2 half brothers, Rob and Henry Wharton, Greensboro, North Carolina.  The Bryan County Eagle October 26, 1935 pg. 1 NOTED MINISTER OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SUCCUMBS Sherman, Oct. 26 - (AP) - Dr. T.A. Wharton, 73, pastor emeritus of the First Presbyterian church and long prominent in Texas Presbyterian affairs, died here last night of a heart ailment. Turner Ashby Wharton intended to be a physician. Instead he became a clergyman and served as moderator of the Texas and Tennessee Presbyterian synods before his retirement in March 1929. A schoolmate of William Sidney Porter, the O. Henry of short story fame, in Mrs. Edgeworth's famed school near Greensboro, North Carolina, the young Wharton was within 2 months of a medical degree when pneumonia, threatening a lung infection as an aftermath, intervened. At that time the University of North Carolina required only 3 years of study for a medical degree. Wharton being ill 2 months before graduation. The university, however, offered him the degree because of his excellent work, provided he pay the requisite $50 fee. Wharton did not have the money. Later he entered the Union Theological Seminary at Richmond, where he received the B.D. degree. Dr. Wharton told many tales of his boyhood acquaintances with O. Henry. The short story writer, an excellent cartoonist, had difficulty with algebra. He used to trade cartoons for algebra home work, Dr. Wharton said, and one day Mrs. Edgeworth, head of the school, saw O. Henry doing a cartoon of her. She gave him a note and told him to take it to the head trustee. O. Henry read the note, sealed the envelope and gave another boy an apple to take it to the trustee. A few minutes later the note bearer returned, hunting the cartoonist to thrash him. The note said: "Please whip the bearer soundly for misdemeanor in class."a As a youth Dr. Wharton was sworn into the Ku Klux Klan and rode under the hood on his father's horse to many meetings, alighting to open gates for klansmen who were handicapped. His physique developed rapidly in his father's plantation near Greensboro where he was born July 8, 1862. His first pastorate was at Steele Creek, North Carolina. He also served at Roanoke and Abingdon. At Roanoke he married Lucy Talliaferro, who bore 4 children, Nan, Jess, Lawrence and Conway, who succeeded his father as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Sherman when ill health forced him to retire in 1929. The first Mrs. Wharton died in 1895, and 4 years later he married Floy Hurt. By the second marriage, he became the father of 4 more children, Catherine Floyd, Turner Ashby, Jr., Floyd Watson, and Parke Streete. After filling the North Carolina pastorate, Dr. Wharton moved to Tennessee, and in 1909 he was transferred to the Sherman church which he served for 20 years. An attack of influenza in 1918 weakened his heart, compelling him to retire and become pastor emeritus of the Sherman church 11 years later. Besides Dr. Conway Wharton, who succeeded his father at the Sherman church, his children now are: Mrs. T.C. Vinson of Paint Lick, Kentucky, a former missionary to the Congo; Dr. Lawrence Hay Wharton, pastor of the University Presbyterian Church, Austin; Mrs. C.E. Allen, Danville, Kentucky; Catherine Wharton of Sherman; Turner A. Wharton, Jr. of Sherman; Floyd W. Wharton, chemist, of Chicago; and Parke Streete Wharton of Sherman. He has 14 grandchildren. Dr. Wharton was a Mason, a member of the committee which wrote the Sherman city charter, chairman of the city health department, a health officer during the influenza epidemic in 1918, chairman of the speakers bureau during the World war, and active for the chamber of commerce. His last pastorate before coming to Texas was a Columbia, Tennessee Approximately 800 persons joined with relatives and the family at the First Presbyterian Church, which he served as pastor for 20 years, here Sunday afternoon to pay the last tribute to Dr. T.A. Wharton. Large floral offerings from Dr. Wharton's many friends covered the rostrum of the church. Music was furnished by a quartet from the church choir, including Joe Brown and Leland Murphy, Austin college students, and Mrs. Chauncey Kolb and Mrs. S.A. Hayes. The short but impressive services were conducted by Dr. T.S. Clyce, president emeritus of Austin college; Dr. William M. Anderson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Dallas; and Dr. Wharton's son, who succeeded him as pastor of the local church, Dr. Conway T. Wharton. Many out-of-town friends, including pastors of churches in other cities, were present. Burial followed at Memorial Park directed by Dannel-Scott, directors. The services were made more impressive in a prayer by Dr. Conway Wharton at the close of the service. Dr. Clyde opened the service with prayer and Dr. Anderson read numerous passages from the Bible. MOTHER OF U.S. COMMISSIONER DIES Mrs. Turner Ashby Wharton, 93, mother of United States Commissioner Mrs. Catherine Gray, died at 11:45 a.m. Friday in a Sherman hospital following a lengthy illness. Her home was at 1211 N. Wood. Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church. Rev. Allen Smith conducted the services. Burial was in West Hill Cemetery under the direction of Dannel Funeral Home. Mrs. Wharton was born October 19, 1869 at Abington, Virginia, daughter of Floyd Breckenridge Hurt and Catherine Elizabeth Fulkerson. She was the former Floy Hurt. After graduating with a major in art from Stonewall Jackson College, Mrs. Wharton studied painting in Cincinnati, Ohio and taught art in Bedford, Virginia. It was at Bedford that she met the man who was later to become her husband, Dr. Turner Ashby Wharton, a Presbyterian minister. They were married in October 1899 in Abingdon. She moved with her husband to Sherman in 1909, when Dr. Wharton became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Wharton was a teacher in the church school and a leader in women's church activities. A Sunday School class still carries her name. She is survived by one son, Dr. T.A. Wharton of Dallas; 3 daughters, Mrs. T.C. Vinson and Mrs. Gray of Sherman and Mrs. C.E. Allen of Newbern, Alabama; and a number of grandchildren. In addition to her 4 children, Mrs. Wharton reared 4 step-children. Several grandchildren lived with her while their parents served as missionaries in Africa.  Turner A. Wharton, Jr., M.D. 1904 - 1974 Dr.
Turney Ashby Wharton, 69, of Mill Creek on Lake Texoma died Friday at a
Sherman Hospital following an extended illness. Graveside
services were held Monday afternoon in West Hill Cemetery conducted by
the First Presbyterian Church, under the direction of Dannel and Son
Funeral Home. Dr. Wharton was born in Columbia, Tennessee, son of Dr. Turner Ashby Wharton and Floy Hurt Wharton. He came to Sherman in 1911 when the family moved from Columbia. His father became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church here. He was educated in Sherman public schools, Austin College, Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and at the Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, where he received a degree in medicine in 1944. He retired from practice in 1969, in the Department of Health, Communicable Diseases Control of the City of Dallas. He lived after retirement at Mill Creek on Lake Texoma. He was a member of national, state and Dallas medical associations. Dr. Wharton was married April 22, 1930 to Ruth Jones of Denison. She died in 1955. He is survived by a son, Turney Ashby Wharton, III of Freeport; daughters, Mrs. Julia Sweet of Andrews; and Ruth Penny of Sherman; 4 grandchildren; sisters, Mrs. Charles E. Allen of Newbern, Alabama; and Mrs. Catherine W. Gray of Sherman.  West Hill Cemetery Elaine Nall Bay ©2016 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |