Allen Wardner
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Allen Wardner (December 13, 1786 – August 29, 1877) was a
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
banker, businessman and politician who served as State Treasurer. He was also the
father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...
of Attorney General, Secretary of State and
United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...
.


Early life

Allen Wardner was born in
Alstead, New Hampshire Alstead () is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,864 at the 2020 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest. History The town was chartered by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher in 1735 as one ...
on December 13, 1786. His family moved to
Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...
in 1800 and Wardner was trained as a store clerk and merchant. He is presumed to have attended the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
in 1809, but there is no record at the school of Wardner having attended. One possible explanation is that he attended sessions with a tutor in preparation for taking the entrance exam, but did not take the exam. Whether he attended West Point or was educated elsewhere, he returned to Vermont in 1809 or 1810 to begin a business career.


Military service

In 1810 Wardner joined the Jefferson Artillery, a Windsor
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
unit made up of
Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
s, in anticipation of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. In 1825 the Jefferson Artillery took part in the parade and reception for
Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757â ...
during the stop he made in
Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...
as part of his tour of the United States. Wardner served in the unit for several years, and attained the rank of Captain. Afterwards, he was frequently referred to as "Captain Wardner."


Business career

Wardner operated a successful store, first as the junior partner of Dr. Isaac Green, and later as the senior partner of his brother, Shubael Wardner. He also became involved in banking, including serving on the board of directors of the Windsor Bank, and President of the Ascutney Bank. In addition to his mercantile and banking interests, Wardner was involved in several other ventures, including constructing the
Ascutney Mill Dam Ascutney Mill Dam, also known as the Windsor Upper Dam and the Mill Pond Dam, is an arch-gravity dam which is one of the oldest and among the earliest storage dams in the United States. It is made of cut granite and is located in Windsor, Vermont ...
to supply water power to mills and factories in Windsor, woolen mills, and construction and operation of the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge between Windsor and Cornish, New Hampshire.


Start of political career

By now an Anti-Mason, Wardner served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1831 to 1834. In 1832 he was appointed to the committee which oversaw construction of the second
Vermont State House The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the Sta ...
. In the 1830s he was also a member of the committee which oversaw operations at the Vermont State Prison in Windsor, and served as one of the state's Commissioners of the Deaf & Dumb, responsible to ensure that those with physical and mental disabilities who required assistance at state expense received it. From 1834 to 1835 Wardner served on the Vermont Governor's Council. In 1835 Wardner was an original incorporator of the
Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
.


State Treasurer

In the 1837 election the incumbent State Treasurer, Augustine Clarke, received the most votes, but fell short of the majority required by the Vermont Constitution. Clarke was an Anti-Mason and his party's popularity was on the wane. In cases where no candidate receives a majority, the
Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...
is empowered to elect a candidate. The legislature was split between Democrats, Whigs and Anti-Masons, and failed to choose a winner.
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Silas H. Jennison, an Anti-Mason who had run with Whig support, then appointed Wardner, who served from October, 1837 until October, 1838. He was succeeded by
Henry Fisk Janes Henry Fisk Janes (October 10, 1792 – June 6, 1879) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Janes was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts and moved with his parents to Calais, Vermont ...
.


Later life

Wardner remained active in business and banking, and also served in government positions including a term in the Vermont House in 1842 and a position on the board of directors of the Vermont State Prison. In 1848 Wardner was an incorporator of the
New Hampshire Central Railroad The New Hampshire Central Railroad is a freight railroad in New Hampshire and Vermont, United States. Founded in 1993, the railroad operates several branch lines owned by the state of New Hampshire. History The company initially began operations ...
. Following the death of his wife he began to withdraw from active management of his business ventures, turned over their management to one of his sons and retired in the late 1840s. He became a Whig after the Anti-Masonic Party dissolved, and joined the Republicans when that party was founded in the 1850s. In the 1850s Wardner was active in the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
, which opposed
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and advocated having
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
s relocate to communities in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and South and
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
.


Death and burial

Wardner died in Windsor on August 29, 1877. He was buried in Windsor's Old South Church Cemetery.


Family

In 1814 Wardner married Minerva Bingham, who died in 1841. They had 12 children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. They included: George, Edward, Henry, Helen, Charlotte, Elizabeth, and Martha. Helen Wardner was the wife of
William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...
. Several descendants named their sons after Allen Wardner. These namesakes include Allen Wardner Evarts (1848-1920), a New York attorney. He was the son of William M. Evarts and Helen Wardner. Allen Wardner's descendants also included another son of William M. Evarts, Maxwell Evarts. Maxwell Evarts (1862–1913), was a New York City and Vermont attorney, banker and business executive.New York City Bar Association
Year Book
1914, page 197


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardner, Allen 1786 births 1877 deaths People from Alstead, New Hampshire People from Windsor, Vermont American militia officers American militiamen in the War of 1812 Members of the Vermont House of Representatives State treasurers of Vermont American bankers American railroad pioneers 19th-century American railroad executives American abolitionists Vermont Democratic-Republicans Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Vermont Vermont Whigs 19th-century American politicians Vermont Republicans Burials in Vermont Activists from New Hampshire