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Vespasian Warner | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Warner in 1904 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's19th district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph B. Crowley |
| Succeeded by | William B. McKinley |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's13th district | |
| In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | William McKendree Springer |
| Succeeded by | Robert R. Hitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1842-04-23)April 23, 1842 Farmer City, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 31, 1925(1925-03-31) (aged 82) Clinton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
Vespasian Warner (April 23, 1842 – March 31, 1925) was aU.S. representative fromIllinois.
Born in Mount Pleasant (now Farmer City),De Witt County, Illinois, Warner moved with his parents toClinton, Illinois, in 1843.He attended public schools in Clinton, andLombard College inGalesburg, Illinois.He also studied law in Clinton.Enlisted as aprivate in Company E,20th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, June 13, 1861.He was promoted tosergeant June 23, 1861,second lieutenant February 4, 1862,captain andcommissary of subsistence February 10, 1865.He wasbrevetted major March 13, 1865, and was mustered out July 13, 1866.After his military service, he enrolled in thelaw department of Harvard University, graduating in 1868. He returned to Illinois the same year to practice law in his hometown of Clinton, Illinois. His law partner was his father-in-law, Clifton H. Moore.
Warner was elected as aRepublican to theFifty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1905).[1]
He served as chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws (Fifty-fifth throughFifty-eighth Congresses).
In 1904, Warner ran forGovernor of Illinois as a Republican, but he failed to win his party's nomination. The Republican nomineeCharles S. Deneen won the general election. After the election, PresidentTheodore Roosevelt nominated Warner for the job of United States Commissioner of Pensions, heading an agency within theDepartment of the Interior which was roughly equivalent to today'sDepartment of Veterans Affairs. Warner served from March 4, 1905, until November 25, 1909.
He engaged in business in Clinton, Illinois, as a banker and realty owner and agent. He died in Clinton on March 31, 1925. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Warner's father-in-law, Clifton H. Moore, was an avid book collector. When Moore died in 1901, he left his collection of books to the city of Clinton, provided a proper library could be constructed to house it. In 1906, Warner donated $25,000 and a plot of land to the city for apublic library. The Vespasian Warner Public Library opened to the public in 1908 and continues operation to this day.
[1] Vespasian Warner Public Library DistrictOur Historyhttp://www.vwarner.org/about-us
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 13th congressional district 1895–1903 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 19th congressional district 1903–1905 | Succeeded by |
