About 1837–1909

Fourth Generation: James Warner < William Warner < William Warner < William Warner

As far as I know, this is the only photo that exists of my great great grandfather, James Warner (left). He is enjoying a picnic with his grandson, Harley (peeking at the camera over James’s left hand), his two daughters (I’m fairly certain), Daisy and Sadie (I don’t know which is which), and two more grandchildren,  Cecil and Ruby. I don’t who the baby is. The picture would have been taken about 1906 or 1907. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it)

James Warner was the son of William Warner and Sarah Leitch. He was born in Montreal on March 14, probably in 1837 (although there is some confusion about the year).

He had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers, that we know of. It appears that only one of them, his sister Hannah, lived to adulthood. His siblings were as follows:

  1. William Warner
  2. Sarah Warner
  3. Hannah Maria Warner
  4. William B Warner

He also had a younger half-brother who died in infancy:

  1. William Henry Hudson

Sometime about 1840, James moved with his mother and father from Montreal to Yorkville, Ontario. Yorkville is now almost in the heart of downtown Toronto but was then a prosperous village a few miles north of Toronto’s city limits.

He married an Irish girl named Margaret Ann Quinn in Toronto on March 26, 1856. They were both eighteen.

They would have ten children, although there is some doubt about whether the first, Martha, was actually theirs. Assuming she was, though, James and Margaret’s children were as follows:

  1. Martha Warner
  2. William James Warner
  3. Robert John Warner
  4. Hannah Maria Warner
  5. Thomas Benson “Tom” Warner
  6. Elizabeth “Daisy” Warner
  7. Sarah “Sadie” Warner
  8. Edward Warner
  9. Ella Warner
  10. Harold Rix “Harry” Warner

James worked all his life in the printing business. For most of that time he was “compositor” (what we would call a typesetter).

He died in Toronto on January 29, 1909, at the age of 71, and was buried in Toronto Necropolis Cemetery.

You can visit his grave (virtually) here.

A Cockroach Alive in a Lady’s Ear