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    Warren, William Whipple

    Sessions Served    Other Information

    Territorial House 1851 (District 6)

    Party when first elected:  Not Available

    Counties Served:  Benton, Mahkahto (defunct), Pembina (defunct), Wahnahta (defunct)

    BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

    Date of Birth: 5/27/1825
    Birth Place: La Pointe, Wisconsin
    Birth County:
    Birth Country: United States
    Date of Death: 6/1/1853
    Gender: Male
    Religion:
    Reported Minority: American Indian
    Other Names:
    City of Residence (when first elected): Crow Wing
    Occupation (when first elected): Ojibwe Interpreter and Historian/Farmer

    EDUCATION

    Mission School, Mackinaw, Michigan; Elementary School;
    La Pointe Schools, Wisconsin; Elementary School;
    Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, New York; Secondary;

    OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

    FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

    Spouse: Matilda Aitken (married on August 10, 1843)
    Children: Five children (four while in office): Alfred A., Cordelia "Delia" H., Anna, and William Tyler (while in office); Madeline (born after he left office)
    Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

    GENERAL NOTES

    Lake Superior and Madeline Island are also listed as places of birth.

    He came to Crow Wing and Gull Lake, Minnesota in 1845.

    "William W. Warren was born at La Pointe, Wisconsin, and was a mixed-blood Chippewa Indian. His father was descended from the Plymouth Pilgrims. His mother was of three-fourths Chippewa blood." (Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 453)

    "His mother was the granddaughter of Chief White Crane of the Chequamegon Ojibwe" tribe.

    He ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives in the 1851 election. He contested James Beatty's election on grounds that some of the votes cast for Beatty were illegal. The Territorial House of Representatives determined that James Beatty should retain the seat.

    He and six other members of the House resigned in protest over the 1851 apportionment bill. They argued the census count was incorrect. For more information on the resignations, see Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 456 and the links in the Other Information section below.

    He died in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Total Days Served: 88

    SESSIONS SERVED

    2nd Territorial Legislative Session (1851)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 06
    Elected: 9/2/1850
    Residence: Crow Wing
    Term of Office: 1/1/1851 to 3/29/1851 (unfinished term)
    Counties Represented: Benton, Mahkahto (defunct), Pembina (defunct), Wahnahta (defunct)
    Occupation: Ojibwe Interpreter and Historian/Farmer
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Militia
    • Territorial Affairs (Chair)
    Reason for unfinished term: Resigned
    Session Notes: He and six other members of the House resigned in protest over the 1851 apportionment bill. They argued the census count was incorrect. For more information on the resignations, see Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 456 and the links in the Other Information section below.
    Ran in next election? Yes. Defeated in general election

    OTHER INFORMATION

    Articles & Books By
    Warren, William W. "History of the Ojibway People." St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1984.


    Articles & Books About
    Schenck, Theresa M. "William W. Warren: The Life, Letters, and Times of an Ojibwe Leader." University of Nebraska Press, 2007.

    Antell, Will. "A Biography of the Ojibway Historian Who was the Only Indian Representative to the Legislature of the Territory of Minnesota 1850." Minneapolis: Dillon Publishing, 1973.

    Neill, Edward D. Section on the 1851 Apportionment Bill. The History of Minnesota: from the Earliest French Explorations to the Present Time, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott and Co., 1873, p. 548-549.

    Warren v. Beatty, Contested Election. Minnesota Journal of the Territorial House, Appendix, 1852, p. 255-264.

    Resignation of Seven Territorial House Members Over the Apportionment Bill. Minnesota Journal of the Territorial House of Representatives, March 29, 1851, p. 191.

    Interpreter, Legislator, and Historian of the Ojibwe People, William Warren, 1825-1853.


    These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.

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