Vespasian Warner (April 23, 1842 – March 31, 1925) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Biography

Born in Mount Pleasant (now Farmer City), De Witt County, Illinois, Warner moved with his parents to

Clinton, Illinois Clinton is the largest city and the county seat in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,898 at the 2023 census. The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817–1823. Clinton Nuclear ...

, in 1843. He attended public schools in Clinton, and

Lombard College Lombard College was a Universalist college located in Galesburg, Illinois. History Lombard College was founded in 1853 by the Universalist Church as the Illinois Liberal Institute. In 1855, however, a major fire damaged much of the college, p ...

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal cit ...

. He also studied law in Clinton. Enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in Company E, 12th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, June 13, 1861. He was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

June 23, 1861, second lieutenant February 4, 1862,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

of subsistence February 10, 1865. He was brevetted major March 13, 1865, and was mustered out July 13, 1866. After his military service, he enrolled in the law 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 a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1905). He served as chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws ( Fifty-fifth through Fifty-eighth Congresses). In 1904, Warner ran for

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

as a Republican, but he failed to win his party's nomination. The Republican nominee Charles S. Deneen won the general election. After the election, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

nominated Warner for the job of United States Commissioner of Pensions, heading an agency within the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

which was roughly equivalent to today's

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

. 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.

Vespasian Warner Public Library District

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 a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

. The Vespasian Warner Public Library opened to the public in 1908 and continues operation to this day.

References

Vespasian Warner Public Library District ''Our History'' http://www.vwarner.org/about-us

External links

*
Vespasian Warner Public Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Vespasian 1842 births 1925 deaths Union army officers Harvard Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Farmer City, Illinois People from Clinton, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives