Baldwin County GaArchives History .....History of Baldwin County - Newell Biography 1925
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 7, 2004, 5:41 pm

p. 418-423

NEWELL

    The Newell family, which has played a rather conspicuous part in the
settlement and development of Milledgeville, had its origin in this country at
Farmington, Conn. Thomas Newell, the original ancestor, came over from
Hertfordshire, England, in 1632. The annals of the family indicate that its
representatives were officers of distinction during the Revolutionary War.

    Shortly after Milledgeville became the capital of Georgia, there came to
this state, from Southington, Conn., a young man seeking his fortune—Isaac
Newell by name. Milledgeville was only a frontier town when he settled there.
With the exercise of his New England thrift and industry, he built up a very
large commercial business and opened up what was probably the first branch store
ever opened in Georgia. His main business was at Newell Hall, which, by the way,
was the general civic auditorium, but he established branches both in Gordon and
Eatonton and in the latter town in 1826, married Parmela, daughter of Matthew
Duncan, and in this way became related to the Ectors and the Napiers. The
colonial home now standing was built by the same contractor who came out to put
up the first governor's mansion. Here grew up a family of rare distinction which
made the old home, prior to the war between the States, a social rendezvous of
the aristocracy of that day.

    Here grew up Mary Warren Newell, born 1827, a character known over the state
of Georgia as "Big Aunty," who died a few years ago at the age of ninety-three—a
woman of remarkable versatility and social charm. She had three husbands during
her life—Sam R. Hodges, of Columbus, Dr. E. P. Hartwell, native of Brunswick
County, Virginia, who had large estates in South Georgia and upon whose
plantation "Big Aunty" spent the greater part of her life. She ran into a kind
of octogenerian courtship, up at Tate Springs, Tenn, and later on married Dr.
William McCorkle.

    In this old Newell home was also brought up Isaac Newell, Jr., who married
Mrs. Keziah Callaway, in 1867. He died a year later at the age of thirty-eight.

    Here also was born Walker Newell, in 1836. He graduated at Oglethorpe
University in his eighteenth year, was admitted to the bar and died July 4, 1859.

    In this home was also reared Joseph B. Newell, who graduated at Jefferson
College, Philadelphia, as a physician. When war was declared, he raised a
company, became attached to the Longstreet corps of Lee's army, and was in all
the great battles of the army of Northern Virginia. He became Lieutenant-Colonel
of the Second Georgia Regiment, but survived the war only a few months and died
at the age of thirty-four.

    Sally Hackett Newell, noted throughout the old days of the state capital for
her wit and beauty, was also brought up at this old place. She died Jan. 24,
1863, in her twentieth year.

    The youngest son was Tomlinson Fort Newell, who graduated in law at the
University of Georgia. Immediately after his graduation, he started in to raise
a company for the Confederate cause. He belonged to the Stonewall Jackson corps
of Lee's army and was, until captured, in most of the battles of Northern
Virginia. He was wounded in the battle of Slaughter's Mountain and also at
Gettysburg, where his left foot was taken off by a cannon ball. After his
capture at Gettysburg, he was for eighteen months, a prisoner of war at Fort
McHenry and Fort Deleware.

    The tragedy of the Civil War could be no better illustrated than by the
experience of this happy family, only two representatives of which survived one
year after the conflict. When Sherman came through Milledgeville, there were
large plantations belonging to the family, and all of which were devastated, the
cattle driven off, and it was a family saying that only one lone peacock
survived. This escaped the sharpshooters of the Federal Army.

    Captain Tom Newell came back from Appomattox to face apparent wreck and
ruin. He became a reconstruction mayor of the old state capital and during the
dark days, when the ascendancy of the blacks seemed imminent, and when the
carpet-baggers and interlopers attempted to put the heels of the negroes on the
necks of their former masters, he, with a coterie of strong young men, brought
order out of chaos and succeeded in re-establishing white supremacy.

    He married Ann Lane Colquitt, daughter of General Alfred Colquitt, who
afterwards became governor and U. S. Senator. She was a woman of herioc
Christian fortitude and wonderful charm. In spite of the fact that during the
latter part of her life she was an invalid, her deeds of charity are still
remembered and her good works yet told about the community. Under her guidance,
the old Newell home became again a kind of community social center. Here grew up
another family—the present generation of Newells.

    The career of Captain Tom Newell covered one of the most important periods
of Georgia's history. He retired from the law to look after large plantations in
Milledgeville and South Georgia. He was a member of the Constitutional
Convention of 1877 and, while having a natural bent for politics, never went out
for office, although he was the first man in Georgia to publicly challenge Tom
Watson in debate, when that individual announced his apostasy from the
Democratic party. He was also a classmate and roommate of Sidney Lanier, during
their Oglethorpe University days. His lectures and writings on Lanier have given
the basis for some of the most authentic data of the South's most noted poet.

    Meanwhile, he reared a family of seven children. There was Alfred C. Newell,
who graduated at the University of Georgia; who occupied a chair for a year or
so in the old G. M. College; who went into newspaper work, became one of the
editors of the Atlanta Constitution and, later on, a political writer for the
Brooklyn Eagle and the New York World. He married, in 1903, Ellen Hillyer,
daughter of Judge George Hillyer, of Atlanta. Returning from New York, he
established an insurance business in Atlanta and has recently retired as
president of the Chamber of Commerce of that city. There are two children—
Ellen, now at Sweet Briar College and Anne Lane— just reaching her eighteenth
birthday.

    The next son was Isaac Newell, now a colonel in the U. S. Army, stationed at
Governor's Island, New York; a graduate of West Point, who was breveted for
gallantry during the Spanish-American War, and who served over seas in the World
War, as colonel of the 51st infancy. He was also military attache, at Pekin, for
the U. S. government and has had a rather picturesque and distinguished record
in war service. He married Maxwell Jenks, daughter of a Chicago capitalist.

    Tomlinson Fort Newell, Jr., the next son, lives in New York. He is in the
stock and bond business and is vice-president of the Georgia Society in the
Metropolis.

    Fred T. Newell, next in line, lived for a period in New York and later on in
Washington. He was the head of the Department of Standardization of New York,
and Secretary of the Charities Department of New York City. He became personnel
officer of the U. S. Shipping Board during the World War, where he had charge of
more than 10,000 government employees. He is now connected with the Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce in an official capacity.

    Mary Hartwell Newell, the oldest daughter, graduated at the University of
Missouri after finishing at the Georgia Normal and Industrial College, in
Mil-ledgeville, and went in for social service work. She also graduated from the
Chicago School of Philosophy. She now has charge of a large section of, what
corresponds to, the Associated Charities work at Harvey, Ill.

    Dorothy, the next daughter, after securing her degree at the University of
Missouri, married Dr. William Schultz, who has the chair of medicine and
pharmacology at the University of Maryland, at Baltimore. She is very prominent
in woman's work and organizations in Washington, D. C., has two children, and
lives on a beautiful estate near Baltimore.

    Elizabeth Colquitt Newell, the youngest of this tribe, who graduated at the
University of Missouri, and secured her master's degree at the Wisconsin
University, became a teacher, and married Dr. William Koepp, a student at the
University of Wisconsin, who now occupies a chair at the high school of Tucson,
Ariz.

    The old Newell home still stands, and is still in the family, but is now
used as a dormitory for the girls at the State College.

    Captain Newell met Miss Ann Lane Colquitt, as she then was, at a
commencement, at Oxford College. She had graduated with honors at Patapso
School, conducted by the famous Mrs. Archer, near Baltimore. She had accompanied
her father, General Alfred H. Colquitt, during a good many campaigns of the
Civil War and the exploits of Captain Newell rather appealed to her ideals of
southern chivalry.

    She was a grand-daughter of General Hartwell Tarver, of Twiggs County,
reputed to be the largest slave holder in the South.

    Her mother had died when she was quite young, leaving Ann Lane Colquitt,
afterwards, Mrs. Tom Newell, in the care of her aunt—Mrs. Samuel Carter. Her
girlhood was passed at the old Carter place, at Scottsboro.

    Mrs. Newell was a woman of rare charm, forceful personality and devoted to
social uplift duties in the days before such work became in vogue. Her charities
consisted in doing, as well as giving. Captain Newell had a family horse, known
to the community at large, as "Whiskers." The family steed made its regular
round of charitable missions among the poorer classes each week.

    During the latter part of her life, Mrs. Newell was an invalid, but her
wonderful fortitude and Christian strength unified her household with a devotion
that had its lasting effect upon her seven children, now scattered and gone from
the old homestead.



Additional Comments:
From: 

Part V

HISTORY of BALDWIN COUNTY GEORGIA

BY MRS. ANNA MARIA GREEN COOK

ILLUSTRATED

ANDERSON. S. C.
Keys-Hearn Printing Co.
-1925—


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