The Warner Families of Henry County, Illinois

LAWRENCE C. WARNER.

Lawrence C. Warner, well known in business circles of Western township as president of the Warner Elevator Manufacturing Company and the owner of three hundred acres of valuable land, was born on the old Warner homestead in this township on the 27th of February, 1861, a son of Wilder W. and Olive (Washburn) Warner. The father, a native of Massachusetts, was there reared and educated, receiving a good education in the common schools ef that state. He came west to Illinois in 1849 and for a time was engaged in teaching school in Rock Island, Illinois, then known as Stephenson, and later in Andover, Henry county. Subsequently he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Western township, which formed a nucleus of his later extensive possessions, paying seventy-five cents per acre for this tract. He was here married to Olive Washburn, also a native of the Old Bay state, who came to Henry county with her parents in 1835, when about four years of age. She was a daughter of Nathan W. and EHzabeth (Sheldon) Warner, who upon their arrival in this county took up their above in Colona township. Here she received a good education in the common schools of Rock Island and also became a pupil in Old Oxford, a select school in Qover township. She was united in marriage to Mr, Warner about 1853 and they took up their above upon the farm which he had purchased in Western township. He later added to his possessions, until he became the owner of seven hundred acres in this and Colona township. He took an active part in bringing the railroad to this section of the county, the road passing through his land, upon which was established the station known as Warner's Station. Here he erected an elevator and began buying and selling grain. Previous to this he had been engaged extensively in feeding and shipping cattle and had been very successful in his undertaking. He became well known in local republican circles, being elected to fill various offices such as assessor and collector, and for several years served as justice of the peace and also as supervisor of Western township. He also represented his district in the state legislature in 1871-72. He was one of the early members of Mount Pleasant Baptist church, which was organized in the home of his maternal grandfather, Nathan W. Washburn. The congregation afterward moved to Orion and a branch was established at Warner's Station in 1893. In 1896 he built himself a handsome mansion on the old homestead but lived but a few years to enjoy it, passing away on the 31st of January, 1898, his remains being interred in Western cemetery.

In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Wilder W. Warner were six children, namely: Wilder W., the eldest, married Ella Lockwood and has two children. He now makes his home in Sedalia, Missouri. Mary E. resides at home with her mother, Wilmot S., who married Fannie Wood, resides in Geneseo and is associated with our subject in the manufacturing business as secretary and treasurer of the company. He has two children. Lawrence C, of this review, is the next in order of birth. Frank C, who married Harriet Sanford, by whom he has four children, makes his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he is treasurer of the Great Western Printing Company. Alice M. became the wife of Clarence M. Bills and makes her home in Geneseo, where Mr. Bills is engaged in the real estate business. She is the mother of three children.

No event of special importance came to vary the routine of daily life for Lawrence C. Warner during the period of his boyhood and youth, which were spent on the home farm. He attended the district schools during the winter months, acquiring a good knowledge of the various phases of the English language. He remained with his father, assisting him in his different business enterprises, until the death of the latter, after which he and W. J. Blodget acted as administrators of the estate. Mr. Warner took, along with other property, his father's elevator and store, which he later sold in 1902. In 1903 they organized the Warner Elevator Manufacturing Company and began the manufacture of portable elevators for farm use. In 1905 they extended their business to include the manufacture of gasoline engines, also for farm use, and today they have one of the largest manufacturing industries in the county. They have worked up an extensive trade, shipping their product to all of the greatest grain producing states of the union and also to Canada. Mr. Warner has been president of the company since its inception, and as its head has directed his efforts toward the further upbuilding and growth of the business, the gratifying proportions which it has already assumed being due in no small measure to his excellent administrative ability and executive control.

It was on the 23d of June, 1891, in Western township, that Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Isabelle Carson, a native of Yonkers City, New York, and a daughter of David and Jean (McGee) Carson. The parents came to Henry county in 1861, the father now making his home in Western township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warner has been born one daughter, Inez Jean, who is now in her sophomore year in Rock Island high school. The entire family are members of the Baptist church, in which Mr. Warner is serving as a trustee. He is stalwart in his support of the republican party, and, like his father, has never sought nor desired public office as the reward for party fealty, although he has been called upon to serve as justice of the peace and also as a member of the school board. Fraternally he holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Colona, having filled all of the chairs therein and having been sent as a delegate to the state lodge. His interests in public affairs is deep and sincere and is manifest in the substantial cooperation which he has given to plans and measures for the public good. He stands as an excellent representative of the business life of the times, alert and enterprising, watchful of opportunities and recognizing and improving advantages as they come.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ORMAN R. WARNER.

Orman R. Warner, formerly identified with agricultural interests and now the secretary of the Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company, of Kewanee, came to Henry county in September, 1845, and is therefore among its oldest residents in the length of time with which he has been associated with its interests.

He has lived to see remarkable changes here as wild land has been converted into rich fields, while towns and villages have been builded and all of the industrial and commercial interests of the older east have been introduced. In the work of general progress Mr. Warner has borne his part as the years have gone by and his value as a citizen is widely acknowledged. He was born in Canada, on the 22d of March, 1835, and was therefore a youth of ten years when the family home was established in Illinois. His parents were Ralph and Clara Warner, who came from Canada and on reaching their destination settled in Burns township, the father securing eighty acres of wild land from the government. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon this place, but with characteristic energy he began its development and soon converted the tract into rich fields. He continued to carry on farming there until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-eight years of age, while his wife survived to the advanced age of eighty-two years.

Orman R. Warner was educated in the country schools and remained on the farm until twenty-four years of age, during which period he became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and cultivating the crops. About 1869 he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres adjoining his father's original tract of eighty acres and thus started out upon an independent venture as an agriculturist. For a long period he successfully carried on general farming and as his financial resources permitted invested from time to time in land until his property holdings were extensive. He has since sold all but the original eighty acres which his father took up from the government. It is his purpose never to sell this, hoping that it may be handed down from father to son through successive generations.

On the 31st of December, 1857, Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Cosner, of Burns township, a daughter of Henry and Ann Cosner, who were farming people of that community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warner were born three children: Lartie May, now Mrs. H. C. Doty, a resident of Palmyra, Nebraska; Samuel C, a resident farmer of Bums township; and Morton K., who is a merchant of Kewanee.

Mr. Warner continued to reside upon the farm until 1888, when he removed to Kewanee and for six years thereafter lived retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former labor. In 1894, however, he was elected secretary of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, which position he has since filled. He is also a director of the Kewanee Building & Loan Association and is thus prominent in a financial way in connection with important business concerns of the district. Throughout his life he has manifested keen discrimination and sound judgment, combined with unfaltering perseverance, and these qualities have brought him substantial success. The Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, of which he is now secretary, was organized in 1875 with M. R. Potter as president, Levi North, as secretary, and E. M. Vail, as treasurer. They protect against losses by fire and lightning among farmers and in the small towns, making assessments for losses. The business is owned and managed by farmers and retired farmers, and the amount of insurance now in force is one million, eight hundred thousand dollars. The present officers are: president, N. W. Tibbetts; vice president, George W. Fuller; secretary, O. R. Warner; treasurer, H. A. Calhoun.

In 1909 Mr. Warner was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife who passed away on the 6th of January, of that year. She was an exceptionally good woman, devoted to the welfare and happiness of her family, and her life was characterized by many good deeds to her friends, to the poor and needy and to all with whom she came in contact. Mr. and Mrs. Warner traveled life's journey together for more than half a century, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years went by. At the time of her demise one of her warm friends with whom she had been intimately associated in the work of the church wrote of her:

"Mrs. Warner came to Kewanee to make her home twenty-one years ago. She united with the Methodist Episcopal church and at once identified herself with the work of the Ladies' Aid Society. In the years that have followed, in sickness and health, her interest in the welfare of her church and the work of the Aid Society has never lessened.

"For ten years she was president of this society and so faithfully did she perform the duties of the office, so highly did we value her presence and counsel that at the end of the term of active service she was unanimously elected 'honorary president of the society, an office she still held at the time of her death. The only criticism we ever heard of her was, 'she knew not how to spare herself.' So earnestly did she desire the success of every enterprise undertaken by the society that many times she carried the burdens of responsibility that should have rested upon younger, stronger shoulders. We knew so well her energy and whole-hearted interest that we have wondered if we had not become too much accustomed to her frail health and perhaps sometimes overtaxed her strength. Yet we know she loved the work and we do not believe she ever felt it burdensome.

"When the word came to us that she had passed away we did not feel that she was lost to us, but only gone before, for as the poet has sweetly said: 'There is no death! What seems so is transition: This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of life elysian, Whose portal we call Death.'

"We will miss her presence with us, her voice in the prayer meeting, raised in testimony and prayer we will hear no more, in the home there will be a vacant chair, yet we feel that our loss is her gain. And now that she has gone and we are left to carry on the work, we earnestly desire that a double portion of her spirit may fall upon us.

"If we were asked to sum up her character in two words we would say, 'faithful and true,' and the prayer of our hearts is that we may as faithfully perform the work that is given us to do; may fill as well the nicht to which we are assigned; and when the time comes for us to lay down the cares and pleasures of life, may we, each one, as richly deserve to hear the words, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of the Lord.'

'Rest in peace, thou gentle spirit, throne above, Souls like thine with God inherit. Life and Love.' " Mr. Warner has been somewhat active in public affairs, his fellow townsmen calling him to various offices. In 1866-67 he served as collector of Bums township and for seventeen years was it assessor. He was also school director for seventeen years and the cause of education found in him a stalwart champion. In January, 1858, he joined the Methodist Episcopal church, served as a trustee of the congregation in Burns township and upon his removal to Kewanee was made a trustee here. His life has been in strict conformity with his profession and he stands today as one whose many sterling traits have gained for him the high honor and respect which are uniformly accorded him. He well deserves mention in this volume as one of its representative pioneer citizens and his example may well serve as a source of encouragement and emulation to others.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

MORTON K. WARNER.

Morton K. Warner, the junior partner of the firm of Spickler & Warner, dealers in men's furnishing goods in Kewanee, is one of Henry county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Burns township, November 29, 1867. He is a son of O. R. Warner, one of the honored pioneer residents of the county, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. He was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. After mastering the preliminary branches of learning in the district schools he continued his studies in Heding College, at Abingdon, Illinois, and after his college days were over came to Kewanee, where he accepted a clerkship in a clothing and men's furnishing goods store. He was there employed for five years and on the expiration of that period purchased an interest in the business, the firm becoming Huntington, Spickler & Warner in 1893. Upon the death of Mr. Huntington, in 1900, the business continued under the firm style of Spickler & Warner, which has since been maintained. They carry a large and well selected line of clothing and men's furnishing goods, doing a business of creditable proportions. Their trade is constantly growing and their enterprise is such as causes them to be classed with the foremost merchants of the city. Mr. Warner is also vice president of the Kewanee Building & Loan Association and is a man of laudable ambitions, resolute purpose and unfaltering energy — qualities which are enabling him to push steadily forward on the high road of life to the goal of success. Mr. Warner was united in marriage on the 26th of November, 1890, to Miss Bird Gleason, of Kewanee, a daughter of Lucien P. and Ella Gleason, the former a traveling salesman. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warner have been born two children who are yet living, Leslie Harold and Eleanor. They also lost two, Wilma and Wendell. Mr. Warner is a devoted member and active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as trustee and steward for fifteen years. He is a generous contributor to the support of the church and does everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Mrs. Warner was also a member and prominent worker in the same church until her death, which occurred July 14, 1909. Fraternally Mr. Warner is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modem Woodmen of America, but is not more esteemed in those organizations than he is in business and social circles.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.