The Newberry Families of Lee County, Iowa

ABRAHAM B. NEWBERRY.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

After a long and useful life, Mr. Newberry passed to his rest at his home in Des Moines township, August i. 1898, his widow surviving until 1904. He was an active and hard-working man. a good citizen and a kind neighbor, and those who knew him best, speak of him in the highest terms. He was largely engaged in stock-raising. and was very fond of fine cattle and horses. To him. it is said, his neighborhood was greatly indebted for fine strains of equine blood. He was prominent in many ways in the community in wbicli he lived, and from time to time held local offices of honor and re- -sponsibility. In politics he was a Republican, and in the more exciting times of the past was outspoken and active in his championship of what he considered the right. Living as he did not far from the border line of freedom and slavery, the political issues of the old days were forever taking on moral aspects, and he did not hesitate to meet the issue. In later days, when the passions of the Civil War had burned to ashes, he made politics a matter of men and principles, and sought for the best men to fill the positions, for which character and ability should be the main qualifications. He was a good and faithful citizen, and will long be missed from the community where his life was mainly spent.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

Mr. Newberry was married December 24, 187, to Miss Ella F. Washburn. She was born November 7, 1854, in Des Moines township, a daughter of Stephen S. and Melissa H. (Sprott) Washburn. Her father was born in Leeds county, Canada, and came into Iowa Territory in time to be classed as one of the very early pioneers of Lee county. Melissa H. Sprott was a daughter of Jaiiies and Annie Sprott, who came from Pennsylvania and settled near Keokuk in 1845. Her father bought land and became prominent and influential. He was called "Colonel Si)r(itt." and was a member of the legislature at one time. Mrs. Newberry remembers him as coming in a buggy and a "stovepipe bat" when she was a little girl. He came to their house in a buggy, a thing then very seldom seen; and wearing a "plug hat," another rarity. He brought blooded sheep into Lee county, and did much to improve the general stock level at that time. The family came from Pennsylvania by the river route.

Mr. and Mrs. Newberry have two sons: Arthur Devere, who graduated from the

Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1898, and is now practicing his profession in Kingston, Iowa. He is a man of imposing physique, stands six feet and two inches in his stocking feet, and weighs 325 pounds. His appearance is fine, he makes a good impression, and is commanding a large practice. Their other son, Van Werden Clark, is station agent of the Santa Fe Railroad at Argyle, Iowa. He married Miss Jessie Marshall, a daughter of John Marshall, of Fort Madison, who was an early settler in that city. To this union has come one child, Lloyd Devere, who was born August 31, 1904.

Mr. Newberry is a man of fine standing, irreproachable character and personal popularity. He is quiet in his ways, reliable in all his transactions, and is known as a good citizen.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WINFIELD WEST NEWBERRY.

W'iufield West Newberry is one of the younger representatives of a notable family in Lee county, and worthily sustains an honored name. While engaged in farming and always a hard worker, he is a well-informed citizen, and keeps abreast of the doings of the Avorld. Agriculture is to him not a narrowing but a broadening occupation, and its opportunities for thought and reflection, its close contact with the order of nature, and its deep insight into the play of eternal forces, makes for a large and lasting culture.

Mr. Newberry was born in Des Moines township, Lee county, Iowa, February 29, 1856, a son of James W. and Edith (Benedict) Newberry, of whom a biographical sketch appears on another page of this work.

lie was given a coninion-sclincil education, aiul became an intelligent and thoughtful man. He remained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage, and assisted his father in the management and work of the family homestead. After he married he established his home on an eighty-acre farm, to the south of the southeast quarter of section 8, and here he has lived and labored until now he is known as a successful cultivator of the soil, and the owner of 147 acres of the choicest land. To this he has given close and constant attention with the exception of about a year in 1883 and 1884, which he spent in Sutter county, California.

Mr. Newberry was married February 7, 1877, to Miss Sarah E. Case, a native of Indiana, where she was born February 23, 1855. Her parents, Thomas J. and Mary J. (McBride) Case, were among the pioneers of Lee county, making their arrival here as early as 1857. They were honorable and upright people, and stood very high among the early settlers. An interesting sketch of their career appears on another page of this work, and shows that their character, general intelligence and industry, united with integrity and public spirit were mighty factors in their pronounced success.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.