Bartholomew County IN Archives Biographies.....Newsom, Cader 1832 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 21, 2007, 1:56 am Author: B. F. Bowen (1904) CADER NEWSOM. Upon the farm on which he now lives Cader Newsom was born. 'Tis a record of which few men of his age can boast, for Mr. Newsom is now seventy-six years old. It is difficult for the younger generation to realize what were the conditions which existed in the county at that day, so different was it from the present, but he can well remember when many of the homes were log cabins, when much of the land was uncultivated and when the work of progress and improvement seemed scarcely begun. It was the period of the "beginning of things" in Bartholomew county. Farm implements were very crude as compared to the improved machinery of the present and much hard labor was demanded of the farmers as they undertook the task of transforming their land into rich and productive fields. Gradually time and the white race have wrought great changes here and no one has taken more pride in what the county has accomplished or has more sincerely favored substantial improvement than has Mr. Newsom. Cader Newsom was born on the 27th of November, 1827, a son of Joel and Penninah (Woodard) Newsom. The Newsoms were of an old Wayne county. North Carolina, family and there the father was born, reared and married. The Woodard family was also from North Carolina and both families were of Irish descent. The great-grandfather of the subject was a native of the Emerald isle and became the founder of the family on American soil. The father of the subject had but limited educational privileges, but he learned much from experience and thus gained practical knowledge. He emigrated to Indiana about 1820, settling in Orange county, and about three years later came to Bartholomew county, casting in his lot with the pioneer residents. He was one of the first settlers of Azalia and in fact laid out the town, leaving a square in the center for a court house, thinking that some day the town would become the county seat. He established his home near the river, but the close proximity to the water caused the family to suffer from fever and ague and later the father entered the land upon which Cader Newsom now resides, three miles north of Azalia. On this farm he lived until his death, devoting his time and energies to its care and improvement. He was looked upon as a man who took much pride in the advancement of the neighborhood and aided in the substantial development of his part of the state. He was trusted and honored by all and served as administrator of many important estates. Both he and his wife held membership in the Friends church and passed away in its faith, he in 1844 and she in 1848. Cader Newsom was the seventh in order of birth in their family of ten and is the only one now living. At the proper age he began to assist in the cultivation of the farm, plowing, planting and harvesting. In the spring he tramped back and forth across the fields, turning the furrows and dropping the seed and later assisted in gathering the crops. During the winter he attended the common schools, thus gaining a knowledge of those branches of learning usually taught in such institutions. He had made arrangements to enter college, but was prevented by the illness of his parents. He was a student in the district schools when the Hon. B. C. Hobbs was a teacher of the neighborhood. At the death of his father he took charge of the home farm and became its owner at his mother's death. Part of his present house was erected by his father prior to his own recollection. It was on the 20th of February, 1850, that Mr. Newsom was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Lindley, a daughter of William and Michel (Holwell) Lindley. She was born in Orange county, Indiana, in 1829 and acquired a good education in the schools of the time. Mr. and Mrs. Newsom began their domestic life on the old Newsom homestead and as time passed he added to this farm until he is now the owner of two hundred and thirty acres. For many years he was extensively engaged in buying and shipping stock and in this way gained prosperity. He has kept his farm well improved with good buildings, which are always in a state of excellent repair, and everything about the place indicates the careful supervision of a progressive owner. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Newsom have been born six children, but only three are now living: Pennington, of Sand Creek township: Laura, who is the wife of Will Jeffries, of New Lisbon, Indiana, and Ella, the wife of Albert Engle, a resident of Jennings county. The parents are birthright members of the Society of Friends, have always been faithful to its teachings and precepts and have labored earnestly to promote its cause. For twenty years Mr. Newsom was an elder in the church. In politics he has been a Republican since the organization of the party and has been an earnest and helpful advocate of its principles and policy, doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. For twelve years Mr. Newsom served as township trustee and his long continuance in the office is certainly proof of his fidelity to duty and, his capability in office. Another evidence of the trust reposed in him by those who know him is the fact that he has been chosen administrator to settle as many as twenty estates. Additional Comments: Extracted from BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY INDIANA INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF INDIANA ILLUSTRATED 1904 B. F. 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