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F. A. WARDEN, senior member of the firm of Warden & Son, proprietors of the Rushville Republican, was born in
Clermont county, Ohio, January 2, 1839. His father, Moses Warden, was a native of Pennsylvania, and in his youth was converted to the Christian religion and became a preacher of the gospel; be learned the trade of a saddler, and followed this vocation in addition to his ministerial labors. When quite a young man he went to Ohio, and there was married to Margaret Anderson, a native of Brown county, Ohio. Mr. Warden lived in Bethel, Clermont county, and there worked at his trade and preached in the Methodist Episcopal Church; later he purchased a farm near Bethel, and engaged in agriculture; there he passed the last days of his life. His only brother, Richard Warden, settled in the same county, and there spent the remainder of his life. The mother of our subject died in 1851. There was a family of seven children: Anderson, William, Martha L., Salathiel L., Margaret L., Sarah E., and Francis A.Francis A. was a lad of twelve years when his father died, and one year later the mother passed away; he was then cared for by his older brothers and sisters, and was reared and educated in his native county. At the age of seventeen years he began clerking in a drug store at Felicity, Ohio, and was thus employed for two years; at the end of this period he became a partner in the business, which was continued until 1876. In that year he came to Shelby county, Illinois, and engaged in mercantile trade, which he conducted eight years. Ray Warden, son of Francis A., having learned the art of printing, engaged in the business at Stewardson and Cowden, Shelby county, conducting a paper at each place for a year; at the end of twelve months he went to Augusta, Hancock county, and published the Augusta Eagle for eight years; during all this time his father was a partner in the business, and in January, 1891, they (F. A. Warden and son, S. R. Warden,) came to Schuyler county, and established the Rushville Republican. This is a well edited sheet, newsy, and a loyal supporter of Republican principles.
Mr. Warden was married in 1863, to Olive B. Leffingwell, a native of Williamsburg, Ohio, and daughter of Sidney and Melissa Leffingwell. Five children have been born to them: S. Ray, F. Ella, Louise, Mary E., and Jessie.
During the late civil war, Mr. Warden supported the Government of the Union; he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has since affiliated with the Republican party; he and his wife are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He belongs to Rushville Lodge, No. 9, A. F. and A. M., to the Knights of Honor Lodge, No. 990, and to Augusta Camp, M. W. A.
Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois, Biographical Review Publishing Co., Chicago, 1892, pages 156-157.
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