From Poverty to Purpose: Tracing the Legacy of Clinton Ellsworth “Pop” Warner Sr., Morehouse Educator and Patriarch
At Black Ancestries, our mission is to help families of African descent uncover their histories, celebrate their heritage, and preserve their legacy. Every family we work with has a story to tell, some full of triumph, others full of transformation. The story of Clinton Ellsworth Warner Sr. encompasses all these elements.
A Life That Defied the Odds
Clinton Warner Sr. was a pioneering Black educator whose life journey, from Philadelphia’s infamous “Hell’s Half Acre” to the hallowed halls of Morehouse College, exemplifies resilience, excellence, and the power of education to uplift not just individuals, but entire generations. When his family approached Black Ancestries to uncover the origins of this Morehouse legend, they were aware of his life and impact, but his origin story was shrouded in mystery.
The official records were inconsistent. Warner Sr. gave varying details about his birthplace and parentage over the years, reflecting painful uncertainty born of a childhood touched by poverty and likely shaped by informal adoption. That confusion fueled our drive to uncover the truth.
A Breakthrough in Philadelphia
Drawing on a range of historical sources, from census records to military documents to school registers, our research team, Paul Heinegg and Ayo Heinegg Magwood, traced Clinton Warner Sr.’s parents to a Maryland-born laborer and a Pennsylvania-born domestic worker. Both lived in Philadelphia’s Eighth Ward, one of the city’s most impoverished Black neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. This community, often referred to as “Hell’s Half Acre,” was also home to a progressive beacon of hope: the Eighth Ward Settlement House.
This is where young Clinton found family. Orphaned or separated from his birth family, he was informally adopted by community leaders associated with the Settlement House, including the legendary Frances Ritter Bartholomew, known to all as “Ma Thol.” Through this unconventional support network, Clinton charted a path forward.
From Hampton to Morehouse: Education as Liberation
Settlement House sent Clinton to Hampton Institute in Virginia where by 1913 he graduated with both trade and academic diplomas, completing two programs in just six years. He was a scholar-athlete, serving as captain of the football team, and a military leader, earning the rank of lieutenant. In his World War I draft registration, he listed his address as the Eighth Ward Settlement House and his employer as John Hope, Morehouse College’s first African American president.
It was the beginning of a lifelong relationship with education and service.
Warner joined the Morehouse faculty as a professor of manual training in 1920, shaping young minds through discipline, purpose, and craft. His wife, Mabel C. Hubert, had served as secretary to the widow of Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee, when she met Warner and married him. The daughter of two distinguished Black educators and first cousin to Dr. Charles Dubois Hubert, the fifth president of Morehouse, Mabel shared Clinton’s deep commitment to education, service, and civic life. Together they built a family firmly rooted in those enduring values.
In the late 1920s, the Warner family left Morehouse and moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where Clinton owned a store and continued his calling as an educator, while Mabel pursued her advanced degree. Later, the family relocated to LaGrange, Georgia, where Clinton Sr. became principal of East Depot High School and Mabel taught English. Their children graduated from East Depot, a school that also produced Morehouse educated luminaries such as Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr. and Judge Horace Ward.
In the late 1940s or early 1950s, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays personally invited Clinton Warner Sr. to return to Morehouse, where he became superintendent of buildings and grounds. Warner and Dr. Mays shared a lifelong friendship, a bond that stretched back to their early days at the College. Warner was also a founding member of the Eta Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, further cementing his status as a leader in Black civic life.
A Legacy That Still Shapes History
Clinton Warner Sr. passed away in 1977, but his impact lives on, through Morehouse, through the students he taught, and through his progeny. His son, Dr. Clinton E. Warner Jr., entered Morehouse in 1940, the same year Dr. Benjamin E. Mays began his presidency. He went on to become a civil rights activist and prominent Atlanta physician whose legacy was chronicled in the Atlanta Inquirer as a “Civil Rights Giant.” The torch continues to be passed:
His grandson, Clinton “Trey” Warner III, reflected after learning the details of his grandfather’s life during our Black Ancestries reveal session:
Thank you so much for an informative presentation. It was an eye opener and has grown my sense of pride in my grandfather’s accomplishments. Many thanks and continue to provide answers to other families!
As a Morehouse alum myself and the Founder and CEO of Black Ancestries, this story resonates deeply with me. It reminds us that even from the humblest beginnings, amid uncertainty and hardship, our ancestors paved paths to legacy and impact.
Clinton Warner Sr.’s life bridges the struggle and the triumph of the Black experience in America and highlights the transformative power of education. His story reminds us that history is not just about the past. It’s about the future we shape by understanding it.
And it’s an honor to help tell it.
Andre Kearns is the Founder & CEO of Black Ancestries. To learn more, visit blackancestries.com.
