He was the youngest son of Michael Warren and Catherine Plunkett, née Aylmer. A brother of his mother was Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer, admiral and commander-in-chief, had entered the navy under the protection of the Duke of Buckingham, as a lieutenant, in 1678, and helped secure positions for first Oliver Warren, Peter's older brother, and later, Peter.
Career
In 1716, when he was 13 years old, Warren signed on as an ordinary seaman in Dublin, Ireland and he and his brother initially served together. He rapidly rose in the ranks, becoming a captain in 1727. His ship patrolled American colonial waters to provide protection from French forces. He became involved in colonial politics and land speculation. In 1744, he was made commodore and commanded a 16-ship squadron off the Leeward Islands, capturing 24 ships in four months. In 1745, Warren commanded a group of ships, the so called 'Royal Family squadron', that supported the Massachusetts forces in the capture of Louisbourg. The prize system of the time allowed naval officers to profit from the capture of enemy ships, and this expedition earned Warren a fortune, a promotion to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue, and a knighthood. From July 1747 to 3 August 1747 he was appointed to the command of the Western Squadron. He was second in command of the British fleet on the Devonshire at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. His conduct in the battle won him further fame, a promotion to Vice-Admiral of the Red, and much prize-money. While on a visit to Ireland in 1752, he died suddenly in Dublin "of a most Violent fever." Warren's lands included several thousand acres on the south side of the Mohawk River west of Schenectady, New York, now known as Florida, Montgomery County, New York, roughly across from present day Amsterdam. He brought two nephews, William Johnson, eventually Sir William Johnson, and Michael Tyrrell to clear and manage the land. Tyrrell soon left, asking his uncle for support with a naval appointment. Tyrrell had a very distinguished naval career, rising to admiral. He became sick while headed to London from the West Indies, and was buried at sea. In 1741, Warren built Warren House, a mansion overlooking the Hudson River on his 300-acre estate in Greenwich Village. He also owned property on Long Island, the van Cortland Estate, and South Carolina. Eighteen months before his death, Warren purchased 151 acres along the Delaware River in what is today the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia. The land became the Magnolia Grove estate of wealthy Philadelphia merchant, Thomas Gordon, about 1764, and later, of Gordon's son in-law, John Saltar, of the Monmouth County, New Jersey, Saltar's. Fanny Saltar's "Reminiscences of Colonial Days in Philadelphia" were written at her home on the property, Magnolia Cottage.
Personal life
In 1731, he married Susannah Delancey, a daughter of Stephen Delancey, and sister of James Delancey, chief justice and lieutenant governor of the province of New York. She was also a descendant of the Schuyler family and the Van Cortlandt family. Together, Warren and his wife had six children, two of whom, a daughter and his only son died in 1744 during the smallpox epidemic in New York. He moved his wife and three surviving daughters to England in 1747. Catherine, his youngest daughter, was a few months old at the time of his death, and died at age three or four. Warren's daughter Susanna married Colonel William Skinner, who was a brother of American Revolution General Cortlandt Skinner, and both brothers were grandsons of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, and thus cousins of Susannah DeLancey. This meant that William Skinner and Susannah Warren were cousins, once removed. Warren's granddaughter, Susanna Maria Skinner, was married to Henry Gage, 3rd Viscount Gage, son of General Thomas Gage. As Thomas Gage's wife, Margaret Kemble, was the daughter of Susannah Delancey's cousin, Gertrude Bayard, this made Susannah Skinner and Henry Gage both second cousins, once removed and third cousins. .
| | | | Sir Nicholas Plunkett = Catherine Aylmer = Michael Warren of Warrenstown, Co. Meath. | | | | | Oliver & several sons & 1 dau Peter Warren=Susanah de Lancey | ______________________________________________________________________________________|________________ | | | | | | Charlotte Warren Anne Warren Susan Warren =Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon =Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton =Gen. William Skinner | | | | * Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon Susannah Skinner * George FitzRoy, 2nd Baron Southampton = Henry Gage, 3rd Viscount Gage
