Charles Warren DAKE was born in July of 1839, Ohio, the son of John and Amelia (DuBOIS) DAKE. Charles moved to Iowa in 1855. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Charles enlisted at Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa, as a 2nd Sergeant on August 9, 1862, at the age of 33 years, and was assigned to Company G of the 29th Iowa Infantry. Charles was promoted to full 1st Sergeant on July 1, 1864, and again promoted to full 2nd Lieutenant on May 31, 1865. He was mustered out of service at New Orleans, Louisana, on August 10th of 1865.

Charles married circa 1861 to Nancy E. (?). about 1861. He was Ringgold County's Treasurer from 1868 to 1871.

The DAKE family moved to Kearney, Buffalo County, NE sometime prior to 1877 where he was the president of a bank. Charles was the co-founder of the Kearney-Black Hills stage line, established late winter and early spring of 1877. Charles's partner in this venture was R. S. DOWNING who had moved to Kerney from Lowell, Kearney County, Nebraska. They applied for and were granted a contract to carry mail from Kearney to Deadwood, South Dakota. The route had been laid out the previous summer and road ranches had been established along the way to provide supplies to the travelers. The Kearney and Black Hills Route went northwest out of Kearney. Tracks made by wagons on this trail can still be seen in a pasture north of the Buffalo Hills subdivision on Cottonmill Road. Once the route reached the Wood River it followed the river to Armada, a mile north of present-day Miller. From Armada the route went into Custer County, continuing in a northwesterly direction to the Middle Loup River. At this junction a road ranch had been established called Dakesberg. The Kearney and Black Hills Route followed the Middle Loup River almost to its source in the sandhills, then turned in a more north, northwest direction toward the Black Hills and Deadwood. The advantages of the Kearney to Deadwood route were loudly proclaimed in local newspapers. The Central Nebraska Press noted, "[Charles] was President of the Kearney Bank in May 1879 when it defaulted."

Among the many events in the history of Kearney that caused great excitement was the failure of the Kearney Bank , pictured at right, in May of 1879. Prior to its failure, the bank was regarded as one of the solid institutions of Kearney. Charles Warren DAKE, the President of the bank, was one of the most public-spirited men of the county, and was universally loved and respected. Depositors, and the citizens in general, had unlimited confidence in his business integrity. For some weeks there had been a rumor that the affairs of the bank were in an unsafe condition; yet the confidence of the depositors was so great that but few gave these rumors credence. A very few, however, withdrew their deposits. About this time the investigation of County Treasurer Van SICKLE was attracting public attention, and but few suspected the real condition of the bank, and when, one morning, the bank was declared closed, the depositors were taken completely by surprise. Some few, however, took the precaution to at once have their deposits secured. A great number of the depositors were working men, whose deposits represented their savings of many years. When it became public knowledge that the bank had closed, the citizens of Kearney were at first dumbfounded with surprise. Then arose a general panic with the citizens nearly crazy with excitement. Besides immediate losses, all branches of business suffered as the result of this failure. A feeling of distrust, and a general lack of confidence, pervaded the entire business community, and as a result of this the businesses of the town was seriously effected for some time. Many poor people who had deposited here lost their all. At first there was a general feeling of indignation manifested toward Mr. DAKE with many believing that he had enriched himself from their deposits, though this was hardly true, as he too lost all his property. Though many of his actions were inexcusable, and though there had been general mismanagement of the affairs of the bank, the failure was misfortune rather than intentional dishonesty. Mr. DAKE had always been foremost in every public enterprise for the purpose of benefiting the city or county. This very public spiritedness caused him to embark in venturesome enterprises and speculations, that caused not only his own ruin, but that of many of the depositors. Among the enterprises in which he was engaged were the Black Hills Stage Route, of which he was the proprietor, and the school section additions to the city of Kearney. Besides this, he was careless in his business affairs. He loaned money recklessly to parties without taking proper security, trusting to their honesty alone, and, as a natural result, lost heavily. Some of the men to whom he had loaned money failed, and were unable to pay to the bank any of their indebtedness; while many others could not or would not meet their obligations when due, thus making its suspension absolutely necessary.

The day previous to the closing of the bank Mr. DAKE made an assignment of all his property, both real and personal, to E. C. CALKINS and Nathan CAMPBELL, for the benefit of his creditors. The liabilities of the bank were great and the assets small, with a great deal of the property in such a condition that the money could not be realized at once; therefore, a proposition was made to the creditors that they allow a new bank to be started from the assets of the Kearney Bank, the creditors to take one-half of the money due them in capital stock in the new bank, and the remainder in certificates of deposit, which were to be paid in twelve monthly installments. This proposition, however, was not accepted, and only a small percentage of the money due the depositors has ever yet been paid.

C. W. DAKE, having put all of his property in the hands of the assignees, and finding that no arrangements could be made by which he could again go into business and pay his debts from his earnings, left the city, penniless, and the last known of him by his Kearney friends he was keeping a boarding-house in Colorado.

By 1890, Charles and his family moved to Pine in Jefferson County, Colorado, where he ran a boarding house. He was a member of the Colorado Legislature from Jefferson County. Nancy appears in the 1910 Federal Census as being widowed and residing in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Jefferson County, Colorado, sponsors a Charles Warren DAKE Historical award.

1) Albert Harlan DAKE, born Jun 1862, IA; married Pearl (?)
2) Lucy M. DAKE, born 1866, IA; married Mr. BRYDEN
3) Ernest Clifton DAKE, born May 1869, married Sadie E. (?)
4) Maude Amelia DAKE married Mr. MIDDAGH

Charles Warren DAKE's sister Francis Abigal "Fannie" DAKE, was born in Briscol, Ontario County, New York on February 22, 1817. She married on October 15, 1840 t0 Cyrus B. DAMON, Medina Co., OH. Cyrus was born on February 22, 1817, Briscol, Ontario County, New York, and died January 16, 1914, Shannon City, Ringgold County, Iowa, with interment at Harmony Cemetery, Union County, Iowa. Fannie died at Shannon City on July 30, 1906. Fannie and Cyrus were the parents of:
1) Eunice A. (DAMON) STRADLEY
2) Charles B. DAMON
3) John H. DAMON
4) Shara E. (DAMON) ROATE
5) Rosanna Almira DAMAN, born 11 Mar 1854 near Swan, IA
     married Joel Wheeler BRADFIELD 12 Sep 1870, Mount Ayr, Ringgold Co. IA
6) Welthy A. (DAMON) EDWARDS
7) Francina Maria (DAMON) PHILLIPS
8) Aurelious DAMON

SOURCES:
American Civil War Soldiers, ancestry.com
Iowa Genealogy Society, pioneer certificates
WPA Graves Survey