John A. Warner

As printed in 1908

JOHN A. WARNER, residing on his excellent farm of fifty acres, which is situated in Coventry Town.ship, is a member of one of the pioneer families of this section. He was born in Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, December 5, 1847, and is a son of Adam K. and Elizabeth (Renninger) Warner.

Adam K. Warner was born in Pennsylvania and was brought to Ohio in infancy by his parents, Henry and Mary Wai-ner, who settled at a very early day in Coventry Township. For a number of years they lived in the same old log house, which had been their earliest home. On one occasion the other members of the family returned to find the aged father sleeping his last sleep, in his old arm chair. He was the father of eight stalwart sons, all of whom became leading men in Summit County, and all survive, with the exception of Adam K. and Daniel. They were named as follows: John, Abraham, Solomon, William, Samuel, Daniel, Adam K. and Jacob. Two of the above, William and Jacob, served in the Union army during the Civil War and are members of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Adam K. Warner assisted his father and brothers to clear off the farm and with the latter attended the old log school-house where they learned to read and write. In early manhood he was married to Elizabeth Renninger, who was born in Coventry Township and died here in 1895, aged sixty-six years. She was the eldest of eight children born to her parents, John and Mary Renninger, who journeyed to Ohio from Pennsylvania, with an ox team. They settled in the woods in Coventry Township and, like other early settlers, cut 'down many dollars' worth of valuable timber in clearing up their land. John Renninger died on his farm in advanced age. His widow died at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Weaver, at Loyal Oak. The Renninger children were: Elizabeth, Catherine, Rebecca, Mary, Susan, Solomon, George and John. They have numerous descendants and it is a pleasant custom with them to hold family reunions at stated times. Adam K. Warner died in 1897, aged seventy-two years. The children of Adam K. Warner and wife were: Henry, who is deceased; John A.; Mariah, who married D. Rothrock; Jane, who married

R. A. Messner; Levina, who married Frank Bowers; and George and Frank.

John A. Warner attended the district school in boyhood and was well grounded in reading, writing and arithmetic, the foundation stones of all book learning, but he began hard work on the farm when but twelve years old, even then being able to handle a plow very effectively. Although he has carried on farming for many years, he has a natural talent for working with machinery, and when he was nineteen years of age he learned wagon-making and conducted a shop of his own at East Liberty, until 1874. He then turned his attention to the threshing business, and he operated a threshing machine and a steam sawmill up to recent years. He was one of the early threshers traveling through this section and was a very capable and successful one. In 1894 he purchased his present farm from George Shutt, since when he has carried on general farming and has done many dollars' worth of improving on his valuable property.

On December 21, 1871, Mr. Warner was married to Hattie 0. Rininger, who is a daughter of Christian and Rachel Rininger, who reared a family of seven children, namely: Lucinda, Mary, William, Christina, Maria, Hattie 0. and Sadie. The father of Mrs. Warner died in Green Township, aged seventy-five years, and the mother, aged sixty-two years.

Mr. and Mrs. Warner have had three children, namely: Ofie, who died aged two years and five months; Chloe, who married Byron Bowers, residing near Mr. Warner, has three children, Ralph, Howard and Myron; and Russell Glen, who resides with his father. The Warners are Democrats. They belong to the Evangelical Church.

As printed in Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens (1908). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.