My Genealogy Hound

JOHN G. WARNER. This gentleman is the owner and occupant of an estate which has been in the possession of the family sixty-eight years, and which comprises a fine tract of land in Madison Township, Clark County. His father, Isaac Warner, was born in this county, February 28, 1809, near where the village of Selma now stands. He was a lineal descendant of William and Mary Warner, who emigrated from England to America in 1754, settling near Redstone, Md., where they died. William Warner having served in the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War, received for his services a land warrant, and located one hundred and sixty acres where Philadelphia is now built. The ground being of a rough character, was not occupied by him or brought under the plow, although the papers which established the claim were in the possession of the family until the middle of the present century. At that time some of the heirs endeavored to make the claim good, but the papers were burned by the father of our subject. In the family of William and Mary Warner was a son Isaac, who when a young man came to this section of country and who was the oldest inhabitant here, his residence dating from 1798. He married Miss Mary Winder, daughter of John Winder, of English stock and of Quaker religion. This couple were the grandparents of our subject.

The present home of John G. Warner is also his birthplace, his natal day having been January 9, 1842. He was attending Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, when the war broke out, his class containing three young men. Two of these entered the army, they being our subject and Marion A. Ross, who was captured by the rebels at Atlanta, Ga., and hung. Each of the youths had a sweetheart, and the one who did not enter the army told the young lady who was the object of his attentions that the Government would not have him. She scornfully replied that she did not want a man whom the Government did not desire.

Young Warner was not yet eighteen years of age when the war began, but “the shot heard round the world” had not ceased to re-echo over the land when he determined to enter the Union service. It being necessary for minors to have parental consent, and it even then being difficult for them to secure entrance into the army, our subject placed the figures eighteen in his shoes, in order that he could truthfully say that he was “over eighteen.” The 17th of April, 1861, he saw his name enrolled in the Seventeenth Ohio Infancy, with which he served three months under the first call of President Lincoln. He was the first to go from Antioch College, which in the months to follow was almost deprived of male students. Young Ross, mentioned above, was the second to enlist from the institution.

Mr. Warner re-enlisted August 3, and three days after his enrollment was at the side of Gen. Lyon when he was killed at the battle of Wilson’s Creek, Mo. The young man then served under Gen. Fremont, and in 1862 went with Grant on the Tennessee campaign, taking part in the battle of Shiloh, where he was detailed for service on Gen. Sherman’s staff. He continued his services as an aid to the beloved “Tecumseh” until after the evacuation of Corinth, his most important duty being to give the pickets the countersign. On the 3d and 4th of October, 1862, he took part in the battle of Corinth, and in 1863 was present at the taking of Vicksburg, the interval being spent in duties which proved as onerous and hazardous as those of the noted contests of the war, although they do not occupy so conspicuous a place on the pages of history.

After the fall of Vicksburg, Mr. Warner was placed on detailed duty on account of sickness, and ere long was mustered out of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry, returning to his home for a time. He then re-enlisted, becoming a member of the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Ohio Infantry, in which he served until September, when he was finally mustered out. During the three years of his army life he had seen some very hard service, but his duties under his last enlistment seemed but play. After leaving the army he entered the commercial business, but not liking it, he sold it out ere long and obtained possession of the old farm, where he has since continued. He is a thoroughbred Republican, his interest in the party not being satisfied with the casting of an occasional vote, but leading him at all times to do all that he can for the good of the organization in whose principles he believes, he has been prominently spoken of for county offices, but has ever refused to run, not being a politician in the sense of desiring office. His personal character is a manly and upright one, and his social qualities are such as to win the good will and friendship of those about him, while in the conduct of his financial affairs he manifests an enterprising and progressive spirit.

The home of Mr Warner is one of culture and refinement, being presided over by a lady who possesses many graces of mind and heart, and having under its roof a band of interesting and talented young people. The wife of Mr. Warner bore the maiden name of Anna Murray, and the rites of wedlock were celebrated between them in 1865. Her grandfather, Mungo Murray, was born in Scotland June 3, 1775, and was married to Catherine McCune in May, 1798. Shortly after their marriage they emigrated to America, spending the remainder of their lives in the Empire State. There their son George, the father of Mrs. Warner, was born July 16, 1807. He came to Clark County, Ohio, in the spring of 1817.

To Mr. Warner and his estimable wife seven children have been born, two having been removed from them in infancy. Mungo P., who is now in charge of the telegraph office at Selma, is a graduate of Antioch College and a young man of great promise, having mental abilities of a high order, and is already displaying a firmness of character which speaks well for his future; Lydia, a young lady at home, is also a graduate of Antioch; she manifests a decided talent for music, and a speciality is being made of this capability. Isaac, although still quite a young lad, manifests the bent of his mind, and is becoming quite a fancier of horses; Emma is a miss in school: and Angy is the baby of the family.