Oliver Warner (April 17, 1818 – September 14, 1885) was a Massachusetts clergyman, politician, and librarian who served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature and, from 1858 to 1876, served as the 14th Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Early life

Warner was one of nine children born to Rhoda (Bridgman) and Oliver Warner on 17 Apr 1818 in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

Education

Warner graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1842. After his gradation from Williams, Warner attended Gilmanton Theological Seminary.

Marriage

On May 29, 1844, Warner married Jane S. Daniels.

Early career

From 1844 to 1846, Warner officiated as a Congregational clergyman in

Chesterfield, Massachusetts Chesterfield is a rural hill town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, east of Pittsfield and west of Boston. The population was 1,186 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. In 1852 and 1853, Warner was a tutor at the Williston Seminary in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is on the southeastern edge of the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 c ...

Massachusetts legislature

Oliver served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1854 and 1855 and in the Massachusetts Senate from 1856 to 1857.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Warner served as the

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the government of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The Secretary of the Commonwealth oversees the Corporations Division, the Elections Division, the ...

for 18 years to 1876.

1872 election

In the 1872 election, Warner's majority was greater than any other Republican statewide office candidate.

1875 election

In 1875, Warner ran for re-election, but he lost the Republican nomination for

Later career

From 1876 to 1879, Warner was the librarian of the Massachusetts State Library.

Second Marriage

On October 2, 1882, Warner married Miss. Harriet M. Newhall of

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

Death

Warner died in

, on September 14, 1885.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Oliver 1818 births 1885 deaths Politicians from Northampton, Massachusetts Secretaries of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party Massachusetts state senators Williams College alumni 19th-century American politicians