Albert Wharton was interviewed by Patty Dilley as part of the Reynolda Oral History Project. Born on November 27, 1987, Albert Wharton was the seventh of ten children in a family of tenant farmers on the property of A.C. Wharton–property that would later become part of Tanglewood, owned by R.J.’s brother, Will Reynolds. A.C. Wharton became farm superintendent at Reynolda in 1913. After he was hired, Albert Wharton along with his brothers Monroe and George “Buck” Wharton came to work at Reynolda, residing in Five Row.

Albert Wharton, along with his brother Monroe, worked on the farm. Buck Wharton worked as a garage mechanic and drove the Reynolda school bus and the bus that transported workers who lived in town out to Reynolda. Buck became the chauffeur for J. Edward Johnston, Katharine Reynolds’ second husband. In the 1930s, Albert worked on the domestic staff for the Babcock family while his brothers Buck and Monroe were employed by Dick Reynolds. Throughout his interview, Wharton discusses Five Row, the Five Row school, his early job at the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and his work at Reynolda and for the Babcock family.