Biography - Lawrence Warren
LAWRENCE WARREN. No family in Shelby County has been more closely
identified with the development of its vast resources than the gentleman
whose name introduces these paragraphs. He is the proprietor of a beautiful
and well-appointed farm, picturesquely situated on section 9, Tower Hill
Township. The estate, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres, slopes
toward the south and with its attractive residence, substantial farm
buildings and cultivated fields forms a picture not easily forgotten. It is
our pleasure to present on another page a view of this fine place. Step by
step Mr. Warren worked his way until his worldly affairs were placed on a
substantial basis, and to-day he is numbered among the well-to-do men of the
county. While advancing his financial interests he has not neglected the
better things in life, but has discharged in an able manner the duties of
citizenship, and helped to elevate the intellectual and moral status of the
section in which he has made his home.
For the history of the parents of Mr. Warren the reader is referred to the
sketch of J. R. Warren on another page of this volume. Lawrence Warren, who
was the fifth in a family of six children, was was born in Pickaway County,
Ohio, May 14, 1829. In his native place he passed his childhood and youth
uneventfully, attending the district schools during the winter season and
aiding in farm work during summer. He has made agriculture his calling in
life, although he has followed carpentering to some extent.
When ready to establish a home of his own, Mr. Warren was married, August
24, 1854, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of John and Catherine (Reinhammer)
Stout, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Stout were married in the
Keystone State, whence they removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, and there the
father died. The mother survived him a few years and passed away in Sandusky
County, Ohio. They had six children, the eldest dying in Pennsylvania. Mrs.
Warren, who was the third, was born in Walnut Township, Pickaway County,
Ohio, January 1, 1832, and was reared to womanhood under the parental roof,
acquiring a good education and a knowledge of housewifely arts.
Immediately after their marriage Mr. Warren brought his wife to Illinois,
making the journey in an emigrant wagon and locating in Christian County.
After a sojourn there of two years, he came to this county and purchased the
farm in Tower Hill, which is still his home. Of his union ten children were
born whose record is as follows: James M., who died at the age of twenty
years; Emanuel F., who is a professor in the Western College at Toledo,
Iowa; John, a farmer; Nelson, who married Miss Anna B. Rosenberry and is a
farmer; Lewis H. and George W., farmers; Mary I., who died when nineteen
years old; Nora J.; Otis W., and Edward N.
Every measure calculated to contribute to the progress of the community
finds a firm friend in Mr. Warren, who is well known as a public-spirited
citizen. In politics he is a Prohibitionist. He was the first Township Clerk
in Tower Hill, has served as Highway Commissioner and held various school
offices. Religiously he is a member of the Methodist Church, while his wife
belongs to the United Brethren Church. Of a genial and hospitable nature, it
is not strange that his position among the citizens of this section is an
influential one, and that he numbers his friends among the worthiest
wherever he is known.
Extracted 11 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1891 Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties Illinois, pages 294-297.
