Bio of WARREN, George Henry (b.1845), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical

Vol II, pg 82-85
GEORGE HENRY WARREN
Through a period of fifty-six years George Henry Warren has been a resident of
Minnesota and following his early identification with educational development of
the state he has contributed in notable measure to its material progress through
his operations in pine and mineral lands and his later activity in the field of
real estate. He has ever been actuated by a most progressive spirit that has led
to a ready recognition and utilization of opportunities and though he has now
passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey he yet gives direct
personal supervision to various interests which he has acquired. While his
business affairs have closely connected him with the history of Wisconsin and of
Minnesota and his residence has been maintained at Minneapolis since 1872, he is
a native son of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Oakfield, New
York, January 16, 1845, his parents being James and Sarah (March) Warren. The
ancestral line is traced back through his grandfather, Henry Warren, to the
Varrennes of Warren (ne)s, who landed in England with William the Conqueror and
after several centuries of connection with old Alvion members of the family
removed from Devonshire, England, and became residents of Stafford, New York.
Henry Warren, the grandfather, was the inventor of the first grain separator
used in New York, or probably in America. His son, James Warren, also engaged in
the manufacture of threshing machines, carriages and sleighs and both possessed
mechanical skill and ingenuity in notable measure and were representative
citizens of the community in which they lived.
In his father's factory and in the rich forests of western New York, while
assisting his father, George H. Warren received an early training in the
selection of kinds and qualities of woods and of trees that proved invaluable to
him in later years. His education was obtained in the public schools of his
native town of Oak-field, the educational system of the place having been
advanced to high standards. Later he prepared for college in the Cary Collegiate
Seminary in Oakfield and then attended the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima,
New York. He afterward matriculated in the Genesee College, then at Lima, New
York, an institute now known as the Syracuse University situated in Syracuse,
New York. Mr. Warren was graduated with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1866
and then in 1872, after more than five years devoted to teaching and to study,
his Alma Mater conferred upon him the Master of Science degree.
Immediately following his graduation Mr. Warren sought the opportunities of the
growing west and during the scholastic year of 1867-8 occupied the position of
principal of the high school at Hastings, Minnesota. He afterward served for two
years as principal of the high school and as public school superintendent in
Faribault, Minnesota, and his power and ability in this field of labor won him
recognition as one of the best known educators of the state. While engaged in
school work he made several trips to Minneapolis and because of the early
training which he had received under his father's direction in the forests of
New York, he was strongly impressed by the thriving timber and lumber interests
represented in this city. In 1870 an attractive offer to enter the timber land
business in the Northwest induced Mr. Warren to withdraw from the profession of
teaching and enter a field more congenial and one which offered better prospects
for financial advancement. In 1871 he began his work as a surveyor and timber
land examiner in the pine forest of Wisconsin and continuously engaged in that
work for many years, acquiring wide experience and a comprehensive knowledge of
the timber resources of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which he put to practical use,
when in 1871 he entered the land business and acquired extensive holdings of
pine and mineral lands. He established his home in Minneapolis in 1872 and
through the intervening period has conducted his business affairs with this city
as headquarters. His interests have been developed to extensive proportions and
his activities have ever been of a character which have contributed to the
progress and improvement of the city as well as to the advancement of his
individual fortunes. Aside from all his other activities Mr. Warren has become
known through his authorship of a most interesting volume entitled, "The Pioneer
Woodsman as He Is Related to Lumbering in the Northwest." This book is published
in a most attractive form and, moreover, is used by authorities for its
contents, while to the general public it is most interesting reading, giving a
graphic picture of conditions with which the woodsman had to deal in pioneer
times and the methods which he followed in claiming and developing the natural
timber resources of the country. The friends of Mr. Warren are justly proud of
this work which he has written, containing much valuable information and also
much for the reader who is merely seeking entertainment. It gives a very clear
picture of pioneer conditions which confronted the lumbermen of the Northwest
and adds to the fame and prominence which Mr. Warren has already attained.
In the year in which he removed to Minneapolis Mr. Warren was married, on the
6th of November, to Miss Jennie L. Conkey of Faribault, Minnesota, and to them
were born a daughter and a son: Aurie Sarah, who was born September 13, 1873,
and died March 28. 1876; and Frank Merton, who was born December 1, 1875, and is
now associated with his father in the conduct of various business interests.
From the beginning of his residence in Minneapolis, Mr. Warren has manifested
the keenest and most helpful interest in everything pertaining to the public
welfare and especially in the advancement and improvement of civic and
educational conditions. In 1889 he was elected to the city council from the
thirteenth ward and was made chairman of the committee on railroads. It was
during the period of his incumbency in that position that the street railway was
required to change its system of motive power from horse to electric and as
chairman of the council committee Mr. Warren took a prominent part in framing
the ordinances relating to the electrification and to the control of the local
traction system. In the early days he became a member of the Business Men's
Union, the predecessor of the Commercial Club, and also joined the Athletic
Club. In later years his membership has been extended to the University, the
Minneapolis and the Minikahda clubs. He belongs also to the Psi Upsilon, a Greek
letter fraternity, and he is an exemplary representative of Masonry. His
devotion to the public welfare can be cited in many tangible instances. In 1892,
because of his acquaintance with men of affairs in the northern part of the
state, whereby he had inside information regarding a movement to secure the
School of Mines for Duluth, he was able to do a valuable service both to the
city and to the State University. Knowing that the outcome of a fight with
Duluth for this school would be uncertain, Mr. Warren urged the Business Men's
Union to appoint a committee to raise money for a building for an ore testing
plant at the university and as chairman of this committee which was appointed he
secured the funds for the building and kept the School of Mines at Minneapolis.
He is a life member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and of the
Academy of Natural Sciences, belongs to and is a supporter of the Civic &
Commerce Association and of the Society of Fine Arts. His interests and
activities thus cover a broad field and his labors have ever been a contributing
element to progress, advancement and improvement.