William C. Warren

Who was William C. Warren?

William C. Warren was the first regularly employed law-enforcement officer in the city of Los Angeles.

William C. Warren was born on a farm in southwestern Michigan in 1836. He migrated to California. by June 1860 Warren was the deputy of City Marshal Thomas Trafford and was living with him. In December 1860 he married Juanita Lopez a daughter of the Paredon Blanco settler Jose Francisco Lopez. The couple had three daughters. The eldest, Ida, became the mother of the later Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz.

As a Deputy City Marshal, at the end of 1861, Warren assisted J. E. Pleasants, overseeing one of William Wolfskill's ranches, to pursue and capture several horse thieves, who were sent to the penitentiary.

Warren, a Republican, was elected Los Angeles City Marshal from 1865 to 1869 with the help of the Californio voters in this Democrat dominated city. As City Marshal once again in 1869, Warren also served as the first head of the local police force of six officers in a city that had about 5,600 residents. The city granted Warren $50 to furnish his headquarters and $25 a month for rent.