Born in Tennessee on March 16, 1829. He came to Iowa with his father's family in 1841, settling first in Lee county. He moved to Mahaska county in 1843. He and his father, Dr. J. L. Warren, built what was known as the Warren mill, six miles northeast of Pella on the Skunk river, in 1846. This mill was burned down in 1850 and was rebuilt. In about 1882 this mill was again burned down, but was never rebuilt. He lived on his farm surrounding the mill until 1891, when he removed with his family to Des Moines, Iowa, where he resided until the time of his death in 1906. While living in Mahaska county he was elected to the State Legislature in 1881, and served in the Nineteenth General Assembly. He was a member of the Pioneer Law Makers' Association at the time of his death.