Joseph Wharton (1707–1776)

Joseph Wharton (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1707; died there on July 27, 1776) was a successful American merchant, and the owner of "Walnut Grove," a country place on Fifth street, near Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, in which the Mischianza of 1778 was held. The house was the finest of its day near that city. It was torn down in 1862, to make room for a schoolhouse. He was called "Duke Wharton", because of his stately bearing.