Francis Emroy Warren

Background

Francis Emroy Warren was born in Hinsdale, Massachussets, the son of Joseph Spencer and Cynthia Estella (Abbott) Warren. His first American ancestor was Arthur Warren who emigrated from England about 1635 and in 1638 settled in Weymouth.

Education

Francis' early schooling was interrupted because of his family's financial condition, but later his own efforts enabled him to attend Hinsdale Academy.

Career

His appointment as manager of his employer's farm before he was eighteen years old is evidence of early developing leadership. At the age of eighteen he joined the 49th Massachusetts Regiment to fight for the Union. Near Port Hudson, La. , he was one of a group of volunteers to prepare the ground for an artillery charge. Most of his comrades were killed, but Warren escaped with a scalp wound. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for "courage above and beyond the call of duty. " Soon after the war, he went west and in 1868 settled in Cheyenne, Wyo. , becoming manager of a furniture store. Associating himself with the growing cattle and sheep interests of that section, he became one of the great cattle men of the West, and sheep men of a later day referred to him as the patriarch of their industry. In 1883 he formed the Warren Livestock Company. When the National Wool Growers' Association was reorganized in 1901, he became its president. As soon as he became a resident of Wyoming he began to take a conspicuous part in public affairs. His first election was to the board of town trustees. He served on the Cheyenne city council, as mayor, as a member of the Territorial Senate, and as treasurer of the Territory. In February 1885 President Arthur appointed him governor. He was removed by President Cleveland in November 1886, but was again appointed by President Harrison in March 1889, serving until Wyoming became a state in July 1890. Elected the state's first governor, he resigned in a few days to become United States senator. In this capacity he served until March 1893. He was reëlected two years later, and continued in that office until his death. He was the last Union soldier to serve in Congress. He was a delegate to five Republican national conventions between 1888 and 1912. Before the World War he was chairman of the Senate committee on military affairs, and after the war, of the committee on appropriations. He was actively helpful in securing the establishment of the Petroleum Field Office of the federal Bureau of Mines at the University of Wyoming in July 1924. No problem of the important appropriations committee was too intricate for him to master. Representing as he did the first equal-suffrage state, he supported the equal-suffrage amendment to the Constitution. Warren began his career amid the raw beginnings of the West, stood with it during its formative struggles, and lived to see its dreams turning into realities.

Achievements

• He is best known for his years in the United States Senate representing Wyoming and being the first Governor of Wyoming. A soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, he was the last veteran of that conflict to serve in the U. S. Senate.

Works

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  • Message Of Francis E. Warren, Governor To The Legislature Of Wyoming, Ninth Assembly, 1886

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Views

Quotations: Concerning the Eighteenth Amendment he said: "I cannot give my support to the joint resolution, because I believe and I think my State believes the same way, that the police power should be provided by State legislation . I have believed and I believe now, that progress can be truly made faster where we go just fast enough in these lines of reform so that our laws are obeyed and administered actively and completely".

Personality

Characteristics developed in the simplicity of his New England background combined with those of frontier life to give Warren a strong personality. A splendid physique, tireless energy, willingness to work hard, keen judgment, executive ability, and a capacity for friendship made possible his valuable service. Interest in military affairs was natural for one who appreciated the task of settling the Indian country. The problem of reclamation of arid lands commanded his attention always, and he is called the "Father of Reclamation".

Connections

He was twice married: first, January 26, 1876, to Helen Smith of Middlefield, Massachussets, who died March 28, 1902; second, on June 28, 1911, to Clara Le Baron Morgan. By his first wife he had a son and a daughter, the latter becoming the wife of John J. Pershing.

Father:

Joseph Spencer Warren

Mother:

Cynthia Estella (Abbott) Warren

Spouse:

Clara Le Baron Morgan

Spouse:

Helen Smith