•PART ONE
Here we go - embarking on another long-term endeavor, the study of another important Washington Parish Family. Last time, it was the Magees. This time, it is the Warners. An admission upfront - I am at a distinct disadvantage this go-round. A double dipper as my beloved Mama Dell Clawson called me, I descend from the Magees - both William and Mary Margaret James Magee and Jacob and Mary Scott Magee. But my familiarity with the Warner family stems only from what I have read, written by renowned historian and author Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr., in his book "Kinsmen All Descendants of Wettenhall Warner and Related Families," first released in October of 1964. By mid-November of my birth year, all copies were either sold or reserved. This timing explained why my dad, a first-time forty-five-year-old father, didn't have an original book, something I had always wondered.
Dr. Williams's foreword was mind-boggling. The compilation of the mountain of material on Wettenhall Warner and his descendants was no small undertaking. Working in a world devoid of computers and cell phones, Dr. Williams toiled for years, interviewing area descendants and travelling far and wide, often with his sister and his wife - to Texas, Georgia, Virginia, the Carolinas, and other areas. There, they visited state archives and county courthouses, gathering and assimilating pertinent genealogical information. His first such trip was made in 1953. I would be remiss if I didn't add that his family wholeheartedly supported him in his mission. They even went on their own to research.
From what I gleaned, Dr. Williams - who descended from Wettenhall Warner - did it all for the kinsmen, as he called them. A positive project was his objective, and it lasted for years. Amassing friendships and mileage on the family car, he began his study as a fourteen-year-old boy and continued it for almost half a century, well into adulthood. Following the 1964 publication, there were second and third editions in 1968 and 1991, respectively. My source for this series of columns is the 1991 edition published by Williams Genealogical Publications, Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr. Wanting the reader to "find an appreciation for their ancestors," as he stated in his Preface, was his goal.
I do not have the knowledge, or the space, to do the Warner family justice, but I recognize their prominence in Washington Parish. Many here are Warner descendants. I aim to provide background on the patriarch Wettenhall Warner (1726/37-1818) and then to focus on his son Thomas Cargill Warner (1772-1833) married to Tabitha Cargill (1776-1854) and their descendants, over the coming year. As with the Magees, this will take time.
It all began in the Orangeburg District of South Carolina where Wettenhall Warner was a Justice of the Peace. Born in Ireland in 1736, he came to this area of South Carolina as a young man. Before 1756, he was a schoolmaster in Albemarle County, Virginia. Perhaps the best description of him came from a military roster, that of "A Roll of Capt. David Bells Company July 13th 1756" which described him, by the name of Whitnell Warner, as twenty years old, five feet five inches in height, Irish in origin, and a schoolmaster with hair light in color and complexion that was fair. He served as a private in the French and Indian War, volunteering in February 1756. By May 31, 1756, and again on June 7, 1756, he was shown as Wettenhall Warner on the roster.
Then, he came under the command of Captain Robert McKenzie in a unit of the Virginia Regiment which was commanded by Col. George Washington. In the 10th Company of the Virginia Regiment, returning on August 6, 1757, he was referred to as "Witnel" Warner. Notably, there is a family tale that Warner was distantly kin to George Washington, though no proof was given. Apparently, the Ellis family in Amite had in their possession a silver spoon which had been gifted to Warner by George Washington during the duration of the French and Indian War. What a treasure.
On July 29, 1766, in South Carolina, Wettenhall Warner married Elizabeth Cargill, who had been born in Virginia to John Cargill and Rachel Tinsley Cargill on February 4, 1749. Around this same time, he applied for a land grant of 150 acres in the area of the Saluda River, on a branch called Beaver Creek, in South Carolina where the couple settled. It is worth mentioning, without detailing Warner's service, that shortly thereafter, when the American Revolution took place, he aligned with the English, serving in the Tory Militia. After his return from his service by November of 1782, he became a Justice of the Peace in his district - Orangeburg County. And Warner acquired, at a minimum, twelve land grants during the period of 1785 to 1812 in South Carolina. Evidence was provided by Dr. Williams in his book. And like his father-in-law Cargill, Warner was also a surveyor.
The children of Wettenhall and Elizabeth Warner included: John Warner, born in 1767; Thomas Cargill Warner, born in 1772; Charlotte Warner, born in 1775, who married William "Billy" Morris; Sarah Clara Warner, born in 1778, who presumably died as a child; Nancy Warner, born in 1781, who also presumably died as a child; Polly Banks Warner, born in 1783; Elizabeth Cholfahn Warner, born in 1787; and James Lynch Warner, twin brother of Elizabeth Cholfahn born in 1787. Wettenhall Warner died in 1818 in Orangeburg District, South Carolina.
Stay tuned for the next column, next month, which will detail the life and prominence of Thomas Cargill Warner in South Louisiana.
Credit for this column: Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr., and his book "Kinsmen All Descendants of Wettenhall Warner and Related Families"
