Warrington Karthaus Lavake Warwick (1862-1897)

Portrait from the Theta Beta Phi, 1898.

   Through a year of Coronavirus uncertainty, pronounced political disagreement, and a genuine feeling of apprehension, 2020 comes to a close today at midnight. In a small amount of positivity in an otherwise uncertain year comes the unveiling of our 2020 Strangest Name of The Year. Since 2013 the final article of the year is devoted to an especially odd named figure, and Massillon, Ohio's own Warrington Karthaus Lavake Warwick is this year's honoree. Despite his death at the age of just 34, Warwick carved a notable career for himself in Ohio, being the executive of three coal companies, among other business interests. Warwick earns placement here on the site due to his being a delegate to the 1892 Democratic National Convention from Ohio, and for his service on the state Democratic Executive Committee.

  Warrington Karthaus Lavake was born in Massillon, Ohio on December 23, 1862, the son of Lewis Lavake (1813-1864) and the former Maria E. Karthaus (1830-1918). Widowed in November 1864, Maria Karthaus LaVake remarried in 1865 to John George Warwick (1830-1892), a leading figure in Stark County. A man with vast business holdings in the Buckeye State, Warwick was elected to one term as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, serving from 1884-86. In 1890 he defeated then-incumbent Congressman (and future President) William McKinley for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Warwick served until his death in August 1892, dying in Washington, D.C.

  After his mother's marriage to John G. Warwick, Warrington Karthaus LaVake took his stepfather's last name and was legally adopted by the future Congressman. He would attend the Massillon public schools and at age 13 enrolled at the Nazareth Hall School in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. He graduated two years later and beginning in 1878 studied at the Harcourt School in Gambier, Ohio. Upon graduation in 1880 he enrolled at the Kenyon College in Gambier, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He remained connected to his old fraternity throughout his life, and in his final years was a trustee for the General Fraternity of Beta Theta Phi.

  Warwick left Kenyon College in his sophomore year to join his stepfather's office, and until John Warwick's death in 1892 he remained his "confidential assistant and the real manager of all his extensive business interests." Warwick married in Pittsburg in 1885 to Jessie Moore Gillespie, to who he was wed until his death. The couple had one son, John Gillespie Warwick (1886-1937).

  Beginning in the 1880s Warrington Warwick entered Democratic politics in Stark County, being named chairman of a Young Democrats meeting at Bammerlin's Hall in Massillon. He was later selected as president of that organization, named the "Paige Guards." In 1889 his name was prominently mentioned for the Ohio state senate from the Stark-Carroll County district. In the year following he was elected as a delegate to the Ohio Democratic State Convention and took an active role in his stepfather's campaign for Congress against six-term incumbent William McKinley. That November John G. Warwick stymied the future president's bid for reelection, besting him 20,059 votes to 19,757. Warrington Warwick's "tact and general popularity were of the greatest assistance" during this period and were acknowledged in his Beta Theta Phi memorial, which notes they "contributed largely to the successful result of his father's campaign." Sources also denote W.K.L. Warwick as a member of the Ohio State Democratic Executive Committee, but no mention is given as to his dates of service.

  Following his service as a delegate to the Stark County Democratic Convention of 1892, W.K.L. Warwick was elected as part of the Ohio delegation to that year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Representing the state's 18th district, Warwick and fellow delegate John C. Welty may have been Democrats but were ultimately opposed to the nomination of Grover Cleveland, with the Stark County Democrat noting:

"In this district there was a most decided fight between the Cleveland and Anti-Cleveland Democrats in the selection of delegates and the most pronounced ant-Cleveland victory, both Warwick and Welty being opposed to any man from New York."

 Warwick's sentiments toward a New York presidential nominee later changed, with his coming out as "an ardent admirer" of New York Governor David Bennett Hill. After Cleveland's nomination, Warwick was interviewed by the Massillonian, where he noted:

"Stark County Democrats never sulk...and we are solid for the ticket as nominated. Stark County will be at the front this fall with an increased Democratic majority. Of course Ohio is a Republican state, but we will worry them considerably before the election is over. The nomination of Stevenson for second place is highly satisfactory to the New York delegation, and to Hill men in this state as well. He is our kind of a Democrat, and will greatly strengthen the ticket throughout the country. I think this is a Democratic year, and confidently expect the election of Cleveland and Stevenson."

  Just weeks following his time at the Democratic National Convention Warwick suffered the death of his stepfather John, who died in Washington, D.C. In the days following John G. Warwick's passing, W.K.L Warwick was bolstered to fill his vacant seat in Congress, with the Stark County Democrat noting "it would be a gracious and fitting testimonial to the memory of Gov. Warwick to elect his very worthy son, W.K.L Warwick, to fill out the unexpired term."

From the Stark County Democrat, September 1, 1892.

  Ultimately, it was at the instigation of Warwick's friends that his name was bolstered as a candidate, and in November special election it was Lewis P. Ohlinger (a former Wooster postmaster) who won the vacant seat. Upon the death of his stepfather, W.K.L. Warwick succeeded him as president in the former's business interests. Until his own death in 1897 he was the president and treasurer of the Warwick Coal Co., was president of the Upper Pigeon Run Coal Co., was president of the Massillon Savings and Banking Co., and was a founding organizer of the Massillon Social Club. Warwick would be a partner in the firm of Warwick and Justus, a Massillon flour milling concern, and in the 1890s served as vice president and member of the Board of Directors for the Stark County Democrat newspaper. 

From the Northwestern Miller, Vol. 43.

  Warwick remained active in his business interests until his death. In the months prior to his death, his health began to fail, and by March 1897 had relocated to Hot Springs, Arkansas in the hopes of improving his condition. He died there on March 15, aged 34, his cause of death being attributed to "bowel trouble." The death of Warwick was heavily felt in Massillon and at his alma mater Kenyon College. Remarked as a man who possessed "many charming qualities of character", The Northwestern Miller further memorialized Warwick as:

"A man who could make a lifelong friend of a casual acquaintence, and, while in business circles, he was respected for his ability and honesty, he was loved by all and by people in every path of life for his many manly qualities and his own true worth."

 Following funeral arrangements, Warwick was interred in his family's mausoleum at the Massillon City Cemetery and was survived by his wife and son John.

From the Coshocton Democratic Standard, March 19, 1897. 

Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs (1862-1932)

Portrait from the Lubbock Avalanche July 14, 1922.

   A highly regarded figure in Texas educational history, Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs parlayed a nearly three-decade tenure as Terrell City superintendent of schools into a prominent role in Texas state government, serving as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for nine years, dying in office in 1932. Born on January 2, 1862, and raised in the small West Virginia town of Gauley Ridge, Starlin M.N. Marrs was one of ten children born to Francis Marion and Kathryn Lloyd Paddleford Marrs. Starlin attended the National Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio, and graduated from this college with his B.S. degree in the class of 1884.

   In the mid-1880s, Marrs relocated to Texas and married there in 1886 to Annie Ross Heslep (1862-1904), with whom he would have three children: Cecil Douglas (born 1894), Starlin Marion (1897-1974) and Mary C. (born ca. 1900). Following Annie's death in 1904, Marrs would remarry to Ida Caddell (187-1960) in June of 1909. Beginning in 1885 Marrs entered into the superintendency of the Stephenville, Texas school system, remaining here until 1888 when he accepted the position of superintendent of schools in Hamilton (serving from 1888 to 1890). He went on to serve as superintendent in the town of Cleburne from 1890 to 1893 and in the latter year settled in Terrell, Texas, where he was city school superintendent until 1898. 

   In 1898 he resigned as superintendent, having been appointed as chief clerk of the Texas Department of Education. He served a short time in this post and in 1900 was returned to the office of Terrell City School Superintendent, holding office until 1919. In that year he and his wife removed from Terrell to Austin, where Starlin assumed his duties as assistant state superintendent of education. Succeeding outgoing superintendent E.L. Dohoney in the post, Marrs served here until being elected as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in November 1922.

   Entering into his official duties in 1923, Marrs' nine-year tenure as superintendent is recorded by the Texas State Handbook website as being a "champion of rural and financially weak school districts", as well as being a supporter of "school consolidation, the strengthening of county school administration, and the provision of transportation to high school for students who otherwise would be unable to attend." In 1924 Marrs ran for a second term as state superintendent and in the November election coasted to an easy victory, defeating Republican candidate F.E. Illsley by a vote of 599, 935 to 91, 504. Reelected to third term in 1926 with over 230,000 votes, Marrs ran for a fourth term in 1928 and again won a resounding victory, garnering 582,190 votes on election day.

   Starlin M.N. Marrs won his fifth term as state superintendent in November 1930, besting his Democratic opponent by a vote of 271, 602 to 36, 549. Marrs would die in office on April 18, 1932, having suffered a heart attack while visiting College Station, Texas where he had been slated to give an address at Texas A&M University. He was survived by his wife Ida and was later interred at the State Cemetery in Austin.

                                                                From the Lubbock Avalanche, April 21, 1932.

Ellenwood Bunker Coleman (1862-1919)

   The first profile for August takes us to Nantucket County, Massachusetts and one of that area's more oddly named residents, Ellenwood Bunker Coleman. Mr. Coleman was a prominent physician in Nantucket for many decades and was later elected to one term in the Massachusetts General Court during the late 1900s. 

  Ellenwood Bunker Coleman was born on May 31, 1862, in Nantucket, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Coffin Coleman. Ellenwood received his education in Nantucket at the Coffin School and at age 16 went to sea on board the whaling ship Niger. Coleman remained at sea for several years before fracturing his ankle while serving on the St. David, a ship traveling from New York to San Francisco. This injury proved to be a catalyst for Coleman, who after entering the Marine Hospital in San Francisco as a patient, decided to pursue a career in medicine. In 1886 he enrolled at the Chicago Homeopathic College and graduated from this institution in 1888. 

  Coleman returned to Nantucket following his graduation and established a successful medical practice. He married on June 15, 1887, to May Anna Brayton (1865-1929), and this union produced four daughters, Eda (1888-1952), Alice (1891-1918), Frances (1895-1921) and Rozelle Brayton (1901-1974).

   In addition to his medical practice Coleman was also a member of the Massachusetts Homeopathic Medical Society, and in 1889 was elected as a member of the Nantucket Public School board. His tenure on the school board lasted over fifteen years and from 1901-04 served as its treasurer. Coleman also held a seat on the Nantucket Board of Selectmen, County Commissioners, and Board of Health from 1899-1904. In addition to his local political activities, Coleman had extensive involvement in a number of civic and fraternal organizations in Nantucket, including being a past master of the Union Society of Masons, a member of the Nantucket Odd Fellows Lodge, and treasurer of the John B. Chase Engine Company No. 4.

  It wasn't until 1906 that Coleman became active in state politics, and it was in this year that he launched a campaign for the Massachusetts State House of Representatives. On election day he eked out a narrow win over W.C. Dunham, with 281 votes to 260. During his one term in the legislature (1907-1909) Coleman served on several committees, including the following: Fisheries and Game, Election Laws, and Education. 

            This portrait of Coleman appeared in the Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators, 1908 edition.

   Following his legislative service, Coleman continued with his earlier medical practice and in 1915 was elected to another three-year term as a member of the Nantucket School committee. Coleman is also listed as being a member of the Nantucket Historical Society for many years and served on the Building and Finance committees for this organization. He died at age 56 on February 27, 1919, and was preceded in death by his daughter Alice, who died aged 27 in 1918. Coleman's wife May survived him by a decade, dying in January 1929 at age 63. Ellenwood Coleman and his family were all subsequently interred in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

                              A death notice for Coleman appeared in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.

  In an interesting addendum to this article, I've located the name of Ellenwood B. Coleman in a family genealogical work detailing the history of the Coffin family of Nantucket, Massachusetts! This book was brought to my attention by my grandmother Barbara Coffin Lundin (1929-2011), and because of this particular book, I've found that our earliest descendent, Tristram Coffin (1609-1681) had a great number of sons and great-grandchildren, including a certain John Coffin (the second). 

  Down through John Coffin's lineage, there was a descendant of his named Elizabeth Ellenwood Coffin (1820-1881), who married Henry B. Coleman (1815-1894), and eventually, this union produced a son, Ellenwood Bunker Coleman! Exhausting what little resources there are detailing the history of the maternal side of my family, it's quite interesting to relate that this oddly named Massachusetts legislator is a sort of "shirt-tail" relation to my family!  Below is a scanned passage from The Coffin Family, published in 1962, detailing the lineage of John Coffin and his later descendants. Ellenwood Coleman's name is located below the lineage of his father, Henry B. Coleman.