•Wettenhall Warner Descendants - Part 8
William Dudley Jones Warner (1817-1877) was the thirteenth and youngest child of Col. Thomas Cargill Warner (1772-1833) and his wife Tabitha Cargill Warner (1776-1854). The Warner lineage was detailed in Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr.'s book "Kinsmen All Descendants of Wettenhall Warner and Related Families," my sole source for this series of columns - concluding today - on the Warner family.
Born in 1817, William Dudley Jones Warner married Mrs. Asenath Clark Rhodes (1817-1837) in 1835. Sad to say, she didn't last long after they were wed but long enough to have one child - Tabitha Asenath Warner (1837-1871), who was born December 27, 1837.
In 1852 Tabitha Asenath Warner married Giles William Kent (1828-1906) who served with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Together, they had eleven offspring: Pamelia Samatha Kent, who married G. J. McMahon; Eugene Bailey Kent, who married Annie ___; Stella E. Kent, who married L. J. Tate; Mary (Mollie) W. Kent, who married W. N. Sims; Lucien A. Kent, who married May ___; Hortense Dudley Kent, who married James Sawyer; Smith Anderson Kent, who married Bettie Griffith; Asenath P. Kent who was born March 29, 1870; John Ellis Kent who also was born March 29, 1870; William McMahon Kent, who married Annie Dakin; and Ollie Warner Kent, who married George L. Pellerin.
Second, William Dudley Jones Warner married Mary Margaret Edwards (1820-1860) in 1840. The couple had eight children. Their first born in 1842 was Thomas Edward Warner. His obituary in 1898 was an apt review of his distinguished life. I can't remember offhand a more beautiful obit. It described his education, as the son of a planter, in East Feliciana Parish and his illustrious service in the Civil War which not only won him a promotion to first Lieutenant but also resulted in his capture and confinement as a prisoner of war before he managed an escape. In 1867 he married Mary Elizabeth Hinkel, who was the daughter of a New Orleans merchant. Becoming a merchant himself, in addition to being elected Clerk of the District Court for Tangipahoa Parish, he and his wife had nine children. Warner's obituary, which Dr. Williams provided in his book, captured my attention, both for its description of the man and the man's people:
"Thomas Edward Warner, who died at his residence near Amite City, Louisiana, on the 15th Instant, was the older son of the late W. D. J. Warner and Margaret Edwards. His grandparents were Judge Thomas Cargill Warner and Gen. Daniel Edwards both men of influence and social position in the early days of this state and both Honorably connected with its political and military history. Judge Warner was with Jackson in the defence of New Orleans 1814-15, and was for years Judge of his district, while General Edwards was with Gen. Philimon [sic] Thomas in the movements that overthrew the Spanish domination of the Florida Parishes, and for years as Senator represented his district. His father and mother were worthy children of these patriot sires, holding high social positions, the former recognized as a leading citizen, exercising at times positions of high official trust."
And the obituary of Thomas Edward Warner continued with his impeccable character:
"Mr. Warner was a man of indomitable courage, but of a genial, sympathetic, kindly nature. He was handsome in person and of most engaging manners, and that natural leadership among men was to be expected. His mental capacity being of a very high order. It is not exaggeration to say that no man weilded [sic] a wider influence, and in the trying days of reconstruction and in all our contests for political supremacy he was a tower of strength for his people….
…During his eventful career he saw much of life's vicissitudes, but, in sunshine or in storm, Tom Warner was never known to turn his back on friend or foe. His hearth [or heart?] was as tender and loving as it was stout and brave, and there is grief in many a heart and tears in many an eye now that death has stilled its pulsations forever."
The second born of William Dudley Jones Warner and wife Mary Margaret Edwards Warner was Charles Dudley Warner (1845-1936) born at Pinder Ridge in Washington Parish. In February of 1884 he wed Thena Ann Chandler, and they had six children.
The couple's third child was Mary Warner who died of bilious fever in 1870 as a young twenty-five-year-old adult.
George Robert Warner (1848-1928) was born to the Warners in April of 1848. He married Sarah Amelia Nesom in 1870, and they had five children. His brother Daniel Edwards Warner, born in 1851, married Mary Ann Allen (1853-1876) in 1872, and the couple had four children. Then, Daniel married Rachael Tabor Golson with whom he had one child - Houston Edwards Warner.
The Warners' sixth child Nicholas Stone Warner died as an infant. His sister Sarah Goff Warner (1855-1935) was born in August of 1855, and she married Eldridge Dodson Harrell (1839-1914) in December of 1877. Their marriage was without issue.
Nicholas Stone Warner II (1858-1954), the Warners' eighth child, was born in June of 1858. He married Theodora Melvina Sessions (1868-1922) in 1887, and they had four children.
And finally, William Dudley Jones Warner married Lizzie White, third. With her, he had two children. William Chamberlain Warner, who was born in 1864, married Irene Craft and had eight children. And Preston Pond Warner, who was born in 1866, never married and died as a young adult.
That's a wrap, on the Warners - for the time being.
