| Entry Type | Person |
| Surname | Wharton |
| Forenames | James "Jem" |
| Also Known As | Jemmy the Black, Jem Molineaux, Young Molineaux, The Moroccan Prince |
| Place | Liverpool |
| Epithet | boxer |
| Dates | 1813-1856 |
| Gender Identity | Male |
| Cultural Heritage | [Black] |
| Biography | James Wharton was undefeated pugilist (bareknuckle boxer) active between 1833 and 1840. Having apparently learnt to box while working as a cabin boy aboard 'The Hopewell'. |
| Key Events | 16 Dec 1851 - Wharton is a second at the fight between Henry Paulson and Tom Paddock at Cross 'O The Hands, near Turnditch. In March 1852, Wharton and 14 others (including Paulson and Paddock) were tried for the riot and assault that occurred at the event. Wharton was sentenced to 10 months hard labour. |
| Family Tree | Sources provide conflicting evidence as to whether Wharton was born in Tangiers, Morocco or London. He is said to have been "half-Nubian" indicating that one of his parents was Black (Nubia being one of the earliest civilisations of ancient Africa in a region in what is now Sudan). |
| Source | Peter Fryer (2018) 'Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain', pp. 456-457.
'The fight between Paddock and Paulson - Commital to the Assize of the principals and four others', Nottinghamshire Guardian, 25 December 1851, p. 2.
'The late prize-fight in Derbyshire', Nottingham Review, 26 December 1851, p. 3.
'The late fight and riot at the Cross-O'-Th'-Hands, Turnditch', Derbyshire Courier, 27 December 1851
'Pugilistic riot at Turnditch: Derbyshire Lent Assizes', The Era', 21 March 1852, p. 5.
See also National Portrait Gallery, NPG L259, Portrait of Jem Wharton by William Daniels, 1839. Link: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw275512 |
| Authorised Form of Name | Wharton; James "Jem" (1813-1856); boxer |
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