Warner Lewis (November 1804 – 4 May 1888) was an American politician. Born in Goochland County, Virginia, in November 1804, Lewis moved westward in adulthood, working in the mines of

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

by 1827. While a resident of the region, he was appointed clerk of the United States District Court of Michigan Territory. He served in the Black Hawk War, and moved to what became Dubuque, Iowa, in 1833. During the first session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, Lewis was elected chief clerk of the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives. When Iowa Territory was formed in 1838, Lewis served on the first and second Iowa Territorial Legislative Assembly from 12 November 1838 to 1 November 1840, as a Democrat representing District 8. He occupied the District 10 seat in the fourth Legislative Assembly, which met from 6 December 1841 to 4 December 1842. During this term, Lewis was elected speaker of the house. During Robert Lucas's governorship of Iowa Territory, Lewis was appointed major general and organizer of the Iowa militia. From 1845, Lewis served as register of the United States General Land Office at Dubuque. In 1850, he returned to the state legislature, as a member of the Iowa Senate from the multi-member District 15. Prior to the 1852 Iowa Senate election, Lewis was redistricted to District 24, which was also a multi-member district. He stepped down from the state senate in 1854. From 1853, during the

presidency of Franklin Pierce The presidency of Franklin Pierce began on March 4, 1853, when Franklin Pierce was inaugurated, and ended on March 4, 1857. Pierce, a Democrat from New Hampshire, took office as the 14th United States president after routing Whig Party nominee W ...

, Lewis was appointed Surveyor-General for Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Pierce's successor

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

reappointed Lewis to a second term in that position. Lewis's tenure in local government included 24 years as

Dubuque County Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...

recorder. He died in the city of Dubuque on 4 May 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Warner People from Goochland County, Virginia 1804 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American legislators People from Michigan Territory Members of the Iowa Territorial Legislature County officials in Iowa Politicians from Dubuque, Iowa Democratic Party Iowa state senators Military personnel from Iowa American people of the Black Hawk War Speakers of the Iowa House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives American surveyors