What was the Warlock like before the movie?

I think that maybe the Warlock, at one point in his past, could have held a high position in the community, and accused innocent Putians of being withces, to cover up the fact that he himself was into black magic-until he was discovered--maybe before he killed Redfern's wife. Does that sound reasonable--or not? the novel supposedly said the Warlock had a name once, but it was long forgotten.

I seem to remember that in the second Warlock movie they briefly showed a painting of a Puritan who looked like the Warlock. There is not supposed to be any connection between the forst film and the reboots, but the picture was there, and it suggested a connection nonetheless.