He was born on January 12, 1819, in Vernon, Oneida County, New York, the son of Andrew Warner (c.1791–1843) and Elizabeth C. (Young) Warner (b. c.1796). In 1837, the family removed to a farm in Sandy Creek, in Oswego County. On October 19, 1842, he married Mary Elizabeth Greene (d. 1859), and they had two sons.
On October 3, 1861, he married Chloe Monroe (1840–1916), and their son was Wilbert Charles Warner MD (1864–1927). He fought in the American Civil War attaining the rank of colonel, but contracted typhoid fever and was discharged.
In 1874, he ran as an Independent for Congress in the 24th District, but was defeated by Republican William H. Baker.
He died on December 26, 1887, in Sandy Creek, New York; and was buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery there.
