Notes |
- He was the only son of Col. Edward Warner.
Charles decided to settle in Trinidad after a visit with his cousin Ashton Warner, who was Chief Justice of Trinidad during the governorship of Sir Ralph Woodford (1813 - 1828). Charles became one of the most prominent Attorney Generals in the early history of Trinidad, serving from 1844 to 1870.
Charles Warner, born in 1805, was the only son of Col. Edward Warner. Charles decided to settle in Trinidad after a visit with his cousin Ashton Warner, who was Chief Justice of Trinidad during the governorship of Sir Ralph Woodford (1813 - 1828). Charles became one of the most prominent Attorney Generals in the early history of Trinidad, serving from 1844 to 1870.
He so influenced this period while in office, that "Warnerism" became a synonym for the policy of local government. He married twice, once to Isabella Carmichael, with whom he had six children, and to his second wife Ellen Rose Cadiz, with whom he had twelve. He endowed St. Margarite's church Belmont. He possessed lands at Belmont, where in fact the land holdings there were described as "the lands of black Warner and white Warner".
The black Warners of Belmont were the descendants of Ashton Warner, born in Savannah, U.S.A., in 1750. His grandson William, who lived in Dominica and died in 1793, was reputed to have had four sons with Mildred Johns, a woman of African discent. One of their sons, Ashton, came to Trinidad around the time that his namesake and relative Ashton Warner was Chief Justice, and he purchased lands at Belmont, closeby his cousin Charles Warner. Ashton married into the Zampty family of Belmont, who were descendants of Sergeant Zampty of the 3rd West India Regiment, which had been raised in Sierra Leone to do service in the Caribbean.
In 1873, Charles Warner built his home which he called "The Hall". The building was a beautiful, two-storied property, where his children grew up. Amongst them were Aucher Warner, who also became an Attorney-General of Trinidad, and Sir Pelham Warner, who would later achieve international fame as a cricketer. Streets in Belmont were named for them, as well as for other members of the Warner family. Charles Warner died in 1887, and his grave can still be visited in the Botanical Gardens on the grounds of President's House.
|