Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Ancestor #1 of 52- W.T. Newman

Have you heard about the 52 Ancestors Challenge?  Read this article by Amy Johnson Crow:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The basic idea is to write about one ancestor per week for 52 weeks.  If you use social media then use the hashtag: #52Ancestors

Did you know that you have 30 ancestors on a five generation pedigree chart?  Here are the stats: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents and 16 second great-grandparents. That surely will give you a good start in identifying which ancestor to write about. 

While pondering my 5 generation pedigree chart, I was reminded that my fab find of the week was an obituary for my second great-grandfather, William Thomas Newman.

The maiden name of his wife was actually Louisa Joyce Fowler, daughter of John Fowler
and Catherine Nelson. Frank Mayher was the stepfather of Louisa J. Fowler.
I lost touch with Ella Mae Newman of Boulder City, Nevada and only have these two
photocopy images of William Thomas Newman and his wife, Louisa Joyce Fowler.
Here is the clipping from the newspaper that I found online:


Here is the transcript:

William Newman, aged 75, died at the home of his son-in-law, Joseph McCrory, in Jordan township, Wednesday morning May 6th. He went suddenly, having suffered a stroke of apoplexy. He was an old resident of Monona county and had a wide acquaintanceship. He was a brother of John Newman, and an uncle of C.O. Newman, a Ticonic merchant. The funeral was held at Ticonic today and the body laid to rest in the family cemetery lot at Smithland.  SOURCE: Onawa Weekly Democrat, May 14, 1914, Page 7, online paper at Onawa Public Library website.  http://www.onawa.lib.ia.us/

Have you found obituaries and pictures for everyone on your five generation pedigree chart?  I have most of mine but I am still searching for a few.  Check the websites of the public libraries in the vicinity of where your ancestor died.  Read the website and contact them to see what their policy is for providing obituaries. I have found most public libraries to be very helpful in providing obituaries and most do it for free! Perhaps you will get lucky and find that they have put their newspapers online like they did in Onawa, Iowa!

Now I have to make a pilgrimage to the Smithland Cemetery and pay my respects to my second great-grandfather, William Thomas Newman.

William Thomas Newman Gravemarker (1838-1914); Smithland, Woodbury County, Iowa; Ancestry.com user Mary Kay Bothwell, [username: tbothwell1] originally shared this on 20 Jun 2011

Happy Hunting for  #52Ancestors

3 comments:

  1. Hi — this may be pointless, but I was searching my grandmother Ella Mae Newman’s birth year and came across this. Unfortunately she passed away in 2011, which would contribute to losing touch with her. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. I came across this looking for my grandmothers year of birth.. I noticed that you said you lost touch with her Ella Mae Newman. She passed away in 2011.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I came across this looking for my grandmothers year of birth.. I noticed that you said you lost touch with her Ella Mae Newman. She passed away in 2011.

    ReplyDelete