Edward Allen Warren

Edward Allen Warren (May 2, 1818 – July 2, 1875) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas and a prominent Democratic politician, lawyer, and jurist in Mississippi and Arkansas during the mid-nineteenth century. His congressional service encompassed two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, during a significant period in American history, in which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Arkansas constituents.

Warren was born in Greene County, Alabama, on May 2, 1818, to Robert H. Warren and Lydia A. Minter Warren. He received his early education in Alabama and, rather than attending a formal law school, pursued the study of law independently. In October 1838 he married Mary Elizabeth Warren, with whom he had two children. Seeking professional opportunity in the growing Southwest, he moved to Mississippi, where he completed his legal preparation.

In 1843 Warren was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Clinton, Mississippi. His legal career quickly led him into public life. In 1845 he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he served until 1846. His service in the state legislature marked his entry into Democratic Party politics and provided him with early legislative experience that would shape his later career in Arkansas and in the national Congress.

In 1847 Warren relocated to Camden, Ouachita County, Arkansas, and opened a law practice there. He entered Arkansas politics as a Democrat and, in 1848, was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives. During the 7th Arkansas General Assembly he served as Speaker of the House, a position that placed him at the center of the state’s legislative affairs. Between 1850 and 1851 he served as a judge of the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas, further enhancing his reputation as a lawyer and public official and broadening his experience in both statutory and judicial functions.

Warren was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress, serving from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855, as a U.S. Representative from Arkansas. After a brief interval out of federal office, he was again elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress, serving from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859, representing Arkansas’s 2nd congressional district. Over the course of these two terms, he contributed to the legislative process during a turbulent era leading up to the Civil War, participating in debates and decisions affecting both his state and the nation, and consistently aligning with Democratic Party positions of the period.

Following his years of government service, Warren returned to private life and devoted himself to his family and to the continued practice of law. He remained a respected figure in Arkansas legal and political circles, though he did not again hold major public office after his congressional service. He spent his later years in Nevada County, Arkansas, maintaining his professional activities while also supporting the endeavors of his children.

Edward Allen Warren died on July 2, 1875, at the residence of his son, E. A. Warren Jr., in Prescott, Nevada County, Arkansas. He was interred in Moscow Church, reflecting his family’s ties to the region. His legacy in public service was continued in part by his son, E. A. Warren Jr., who in 1876 founded The Prescott Dispatch newspaper in Prescott and later served as the town’s mayor in 1881.