Bartholomew-Hendricks County IN Archives Biographies.....Newsom, David T. 1837 - ************************************************ 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, 5:55 pm Author: B. F. Bowen (1904) REV. DAVID T. NEWSOM. For about forty years the Rev. David Newsom has labored for the moral development of his fellow men as a minister of the gospel, and throughout this period has maintained his residence in Bartholomew county, whence he has gone forth to proclaim the "glad tidings" to those about him. He is also one of the older native sons of the county and an honored representative of a prominent pioneer family, for his birth occurred on the old homestead farm in Sand Creek township on the 17th of January, 1837. His parents were Willis and Sarah (Hall) Newsom. The father was a native of Wayne county, North Carolina, and on emigrating westward located first in Orange county, Indiana, but soon afterward came to Bartholomew county, where he established his home in 1827. In the early part of the century this was a wild region, almost upon the border of civilization, and Willis Newsom belonged to that band of courageous frontiersmen who aided in reclaiming this district from the domain of the red men and making it a cultivable and productive tract. Hardships were to be met in the undertaking and difficulties were to be overcome, but he resolutely pressed forward in the task and became one of the early and prosperous farmers of his locality. In his family were twelve children, but only two of the number are now living: David T., and Millicent, who is the widow of John R. Davis. David T. Newsom lost his parents, who both died when he was about three years old. He was then reared by his brother John until the latter's wife's death, and then by his brother Nathan. He aided in gathering the crops in the late autumn and in the winter attended the public schools until he has mastered the branches of learning therein taught, when he further continued his studies in the Friends' Boarding School, now Earlham College. There he remained for two years when, owing to ill health, he was obliged to abandon his studies. After somewhat recuperating he turned his attention to teaching, which profession he followed in the district schools of Bartholomew and Hendricks counties. He was a successful educator, clear and concise in his explanation and helpful in his efforts to enable the pupils to retain a correct and practical knowledge. Much of his life has been devoted to the instruction of his fellow men, not only in the schoolroom, but also from the pulpit, his ministry in behalf of the church covering forty years. His service has been almost uninterrupted during this-period. He has labored as an evangelist, visiting several states in the interest of the church, making no specified charge for his work but accepting that which the congregations have desired to give him. Earnest and zealous, the influence of his life and teachings have been felt for good in many a household and they who have followed his teachings have risen "to a clearer air and a broader view," and have found that the greatest happiness comes from the consciousness of duty ably and cheerfully performed. He resides on a valuable farm near Azalia and which formerly was the Isaac Newsom homestead. On the 3d of March, 1860, Mr. Newsom was united in marriage to Miss Lydia J. Newsom, daughter of Luke and Elizabeth (Parker) Newsom. The children born of that marriage died in early life, and the wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 3d of December, 1880. On the 13th of July, 1882, Mr. Newsom was again united in the holy bonds of matrimony, his second marriage being with Miss Ruth Woodard, a daughter of Zachariah and Harmony (Cox) Woodard. She was born in Parke, county, Indiana, May 23, 1851, and is a graduate of the State Normal School of the class of 1879. She engaged in teaching for a number of years, including two years spent in the Bloomingdale Academy, and is a lady of natural refinement, whose home is the center of a cultivated society circle. She now has two daughters: Eva M., who was a student in Earlham College and is now a teacher in Sand Creek township; and Mabel H., a student in the Sand Creek township high school. In his political views Mr. Newsom has followed in the footsteps of the entire family and given his support to the Republican party since casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, of whom he was a warm admirer. Both he and his wife are held in the highest esteem in the community in which they reside. They are people of more than ordinary intelligence and their labors have been so discerningly directed along lines for the benefit of their fellow men that many acknowledge their indebtedness for kindly counsel and generous assistance. Mr. Newsom has always lived in Bartholomew county and though he has frequently left its borders to labor in the interests of Christianity, this portion of the state is dear to him as his home and the place of his nativity, and he has taken much interest in its progress. 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. Bowen PUBLISHER File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/bartholomew/bios/newsom699gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb