Research Guidelines
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to track the surname of Wharton throughout history. In doing so, we will be able to see
how our ancestors have migrated throughout the world at certain points in time. Once there is a substantial amount of research,
it will also hopefully point to the origins of where the name came from. I will firstly focus on the UK but I also intend to
expand my research to other areas such as the USA, Canada and Australia.
It is documented that the majority of the Wharton's in the United Kingdom are most probably related to
Sir Thomas Wharton of Wharton Hall.
However, there will of course be anomolies to this where sometimes the name has been taken from a place name - such as Warton
in Lancashire for example. The Surname Database
website states "Wharton in Cheshire and Hertfordshire are derived from an Olde English pre 7th Century river name Woefer,
from "woefre" meaning wandering or winding plus "tun", settlement. Wharton in Lincolnshire has as it's first element the Olde
English "wearde" meaning beacon or "warod", shore, bank, plus "tun". Finally, Wharton in Cumberland is derived from the Olde
English "hwearf" meaning wharf or embankment, plus "tun".
On the Wikipedia page about the peerage of Baron Wharton
it refers to the first time the peerage was ever granted. It says "The Wharton knighthood dates from 6 October 1292 when King
Edward I granted to Gilbert de Querton "the Manor of Querton with its appurtenances." A descendant of Gilbert de Querton is the
above mentioned Sir Thomas Wharton who is known as the "1st Baron Wharton".
How I Research and Collect Data
It is of great importance that this study relies on researched sources for each entry made. Whilst I am ever grateful for
help and assistance of Wharton researcher's who send me their own research and notes, I will always ensure that before relying on
anything provided to me by other researchers, to check the validity of the sources. I usually use anything given to me as a guide and
then seek the original data first before making any amendments to my entries. This will ensure that the information available on this
website is always factually correct. However, I am only human and sometimes I do make mistakes so if you do spot any glaring errors such
as the wrong families linked or dates that do not add up, please do let me know. I will try to transcribe from the images rather than the transcrptions where I can. It is a daunting and laborious task and will mean that there will be many duplicates added
as I enter the information, but this should lead to fewer errors and hopefully locating information that might uncover brick walls
for not just myself but other researchers too. Overtime I can then link up all the duplicated date in order to create individual
family units that link back through history.
I have access to Ancestry and Find My Past Websites as well as other data collections and I will work on each
indivdual databases within them to extract all the relevant Wharton data I can find. This does not include any researcher's personal family trees and I will
never copy someone else's personal research. This can lead to a duplication of errors of which I do not want to replicate in my own research.
Of course, many researchers have done amazing work with their own family history, so I will use them as a guide sometimes in order to check my
own research. If I notice that another fellow researcher has something that might be useful for me to use in this study, I will always ask first
before using anything (such as photographs etc). Any documents/photographs that has been given to me will always be credited to the person who
provided them to me (and I am forever grateful for any donations!).
How You Can Help
If you have researched the name Wharton and have data that you can provide please write to me at
wharton@one-name.org and I can review the
data and submit it to this collection. It would also be of great assistance if you could send me copies of any registration
certificates you have (see below) as this can be costly and will save me money
if I need to order any for verification purposes.
Registration Certificates
If you have birth, death or marriage certificates that you have ordered in your own research I would be grateful if
you could send me copies so I can add them here. If you would like to donate copies of your certificates please email
them to wharton@one-name.org.I will always
ensure you are given the credit once they are uploaded.
My Own Personal Research
My personal family tree research personal website can be found at http://whartonfamilyhistory.co.uk.
I have also uploaded my own gedcom to this one-name study site as well so you will be able to look it
up here too. However, my own personal website has more indepth biography's of many of my ancestors. I have only just begun this
one-name study so have a long way to go,
if you would like to get in touch with me then please use the contact page
and feel free to ask me any questions.
