Her grandfather (John Warren) was "one of the selectmen of Watertown, MA, and a prominent citizen, though some amusing entries found in the town records ... would indicate the source whence some of his descendants have drawn their independence of character, and departure from the early established orthodox views. First, we find 'John Warren fined, Oct. 1651, twenty shillings for an offence against the laws of baptism'; second 'John Warren fined, April 4, 1654, for neglect of public worship, fourteen Sabbaths, at five shillings each, total £3 10s' ... The Warren family was most creditably and prominently known in the colonial and state history of Massachusetts, notwithstanding the eccentricities of their ancester."154