William Warnick was born 2/22/1798, son of Joseph Warnick and Sarah. He married Catherine Fazenbaker; their license was dated 2/3/1817. Catherine was born about 1801. She was a daughter of Hessian soldier George Fazenbaker who served in the Revolutionary War for the British side. Catherine was a sister of Elizabeth Fazenbaker who married William's brother Joseph Warnick.

In 1844, a deposition concerning the estate of William's father, the pioneer Joseph Warnick, stated that William possessed the "Onion Patch," part of Joseph's estate. The "Onion Patch" contained about 150 acres three miles from Lonaconing. It had formerly been the home of William's sister Jane (Warnick) Robinson. Subsequently, the Onion Patch would come to be owned by his brother John Warnick.

Elizabeth's father was a settler on Military Lot 3869 when Francis Deakins conducted his survey for the state of Maryland in 1787. The Fazenbaker farm was about two miles north of land owned by the pioneer Joseph Warnick. By 1799, George came to own two other Military Lots, 3858 and 3859, which were less than 1/2 mile northeast of some of the pioneer Joseph's property.

In 1860, five of William and Catherine Warnick's grandchildren were living with them: Susan and Jane Warnick, children of son Joseph; and John, Jefferson, and Thornston (spelling is nearly illegible), children of daughter Elizabeth who also resided in the household. The surname of Elizabeth and her children was given as Warnick, but it was listed as Keyes in later census records.

At the time of the 1870 census, William and Catherine were the only two members of their household.

In 1880, 83-year-old William was living with his daughter Elizabeth Keyes in Barton. Catherine was not listed and may have died by that time. It was recorded that William's father was born in Ireland. This is the earliest assertion found by this writer that the pioneer Joseph Warnick came from Ireland.

Scharf's History of Western Maryland reported in 1882 that William was the oldest resident of Barton. He would have been about 85 at that time. Ceph Moore wrote in the 1880s that William Warnick died on Friday 1/1/1886, age 87 years, 10 months and 9 days. Ceph recalled that William was an old acquaintance of his father, Levi Moore (11/15/1807-2/28/1883), and mother, Nancy Broadwater (11/10/1813-1/19/1892). An old Bible record in the family of 2 Elizabeth Warnick Ross noted that William died 1/15/1886, thus differing by two weeks from the date recorded by Ceph Moore.

The children of William and Catherine: Joseph W. "Elbow Joe" (born in February 1827), James (born about 1828 or 1829), Elizabeth (born about 1830, 1832, or 1835), Mary Jane (born about 1834), and William (born 11/21/1837).

I have compiled information about hundreds of descendants of William Warnick and Catharine (Fazenbaker). The second edition of my book, Warnick Families of Western Maryland (535 pages, 1995) is available at the Genealogical Society of Allegany County, the library of Allegany College, and the Library of Congress. My collection of information about the western Maryland Warnick family is in a constant state of refinement. Inquiries about western Maryland Warnick families are welcome.

This page was created January 13, 1999.Walt Warnick's Western Maryland Family History Home Page