Warner, Anna S.

Beldin Warner was born in Eden Township, County of Compton, Province of Quebec, Canada, on September 26, 1841. He was raised on his father Chester Warner farm and worked in a Canadian sawmill before immigrating to California in September 1875 alongside his brother, Walter C. Warner. After working as a butter-maker in Santa Cruz, he moved to Fresno County in 1878 to work on the Centerville and Kingsburg ditch and eventually established a valuable 120-acre ranch near Selma.

Anna S. Warner, born Anna Swenson in Chicago, was reared in Iowa by adoptive parents after the early death of her mother, Betsy. She moved to Selma, California, in November 1881, where she completed her education, attended the Los Angeles Normal, and served as a Fresno County schoolteacher for over ten years. On July 7, 1898, she married Beldin Warner, and together they raised two sons, Norval and Cyrus, while contributing actively to the Methodist Episcopal Church and local Red Cross causes.