A Dying Miser's Secret

 

 

This, I think, will be the most interesting post of the year. I just can't imagine it getting any better than this one. This week the 52 Ancestors theme is 'Prosper'... and as we will find out, someway or another my 4th great grandfather, Jonathan  Newman, did just that.

Jonathan Newman was born March 9, 1824 in Rutherford County, NC. At this point in time I do not know for certain who his parents were, but others have them to be William Newman III and Delilah Ellison. The mother for sure seems plausible as Jonathan named one of his daughters Delilah.

Jonathan married Susan Ann Lankford, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Lankford, sometime before 1848, the birth year of their oldest, my 3rd great grandmother, Arminta Newman. Other children born to this union, listed in birth order are, Amanda, William, (possibly a Nathan), Elizabeth, Jacob (called Jake), Delilah Jane, Thomas, Johnson (or Johnston), (possibly a Babe), Susan Ann, and George W.

Susan, Delilah, Elizabeth, & Amanda. Actual order unknown.

Several of these children have been verified by listing their parents on their death certificates, such as Delilah Jane, Susan Ann and George W. others come from family groupings in the 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880 census records. There is also a court dispute over Jonathan's land that ran in the Western North Carolina Times in March of 1903 those listed are as follows: A. J. Newman, G. W. Newman, Thomas Newman, Arminta Stepp and Wm. Stepp, Elizabeth Lyda and W.W. Lyda, Amanda Case and W. S. Case, S.A. Bagwell and W.W. Bagwell, D. J. Allen and Carrie Newman vs. John Newman, Coatsworth Newman, Dock Newman and Fisher Newman (minor), Fred Newman (minor), and Bertha Newman (minor).

*I found it interesting that Arminta and her sisters, Elizabeth, Amanda, and Susan all married men named William.*

It would also seem that Jonathan's son Jacob murdered a man by the last name of Hoots after becoming intoxicated and looking for a fight. The year of these articles was 1884.

The Roanoke News 27 March 1884

I'm not certain if this next article is the same Jacob or not, but if it was, it would seem that karma caught up to him... His father did reside in Blue Ridge, Henderson County, North Carolina. And if he had killed Mr. Hoots and fled, it would make sense that he was now living in Tennessee. Though it is odd that they didn't mention the Hoots murder. The date of the article is 17 Nov 1887.




Given Jonathan's birth year, it would've been very likely that he would've fought during the Civil War. When I searched Fold3, I found no records for him enlisting but in the files under the Southern Claims Commision, I found a file containing 38 pages of information on Jonathan. When asked during his deposition, 'What force, compulsion, or influence was used to make you do anything against the Union cause?' his reply was, 'I was compelled to go into the services of the Confederacy or into the saltpetre business, which is the business I engaged in.' *Saltpetre was used to make gunpowder* His claim, of course, was denied. Below is an image of the final statement.





In his claim to the Southern Claims Commission there is quite a bit of information. Question #36 asks if he had any near relatives that served in the Confederacy to which he replied he had three brothers. He goes on to list them as David, James, and Thomas. He referenced the year 1863 and gave their ages as 35, 33, and 30, respectively. Thomas died while in service.  One of the witnesses for Jonathan's claim is Minerva Cornwell. In her deposition she states that she is 42 years of age and is a sister-in-law. The same source I have for the parents of Jonathan Newman does list his wife Susan Ann Lankford as having a sister named Minerva. She was born about 1836. And I have found a marriage record for Minerva Lankford marrying John B. Cornwell. She is widowed by 1864.

Other interesting tidbits from his claim is that he stated he was once arrested in Hendersonville but was released without giving bond and during the war he was threatened, published and denounced in the Newspaper. ( I have found no article - so far ) What I did find during those years was an article from Sept of 1863 where he was appointed to a committee to draft resolutions for a meeting alongside an A.J. Gibbs and Thomas Blackwell in Blue Ridge.  In his deposition for his claim he states that his farm was in Henderson County about six miles east of Hendersonville. It consisted of about five hundred acres, about one hundred in cultivation, two acres in waste, and the remainder in woods.

And now for the part that has to do with being prosperous. Within the first few days after his death on 31 Aug 1901, Jonathan Newman made all the papers. The reason you ask? Here are a few of the articles where you can read for yourself what had the community all a stir.



Just to put things in perspective... $4,000 in 1901 is equal to $108,431.90 today. I've never been able to find out if they found the bucket of gold.

Jonathon Newman's home on Howard Gap Road, Henderson Co., NC (location-across from Fellowship Baptist Church and Kingwood Hill subdivision). Jonathon Newman's sister-in-law, Minerva  Lankford Cornwell & her husband, John Cornwell lived north of this location about 1/4-1/2 mile on Howard Gap Road - just across a bridge and to the left.

Until next week,
Becky

And as always don't forget to check out these other genealogy blogs: Days of Our Lives and Untangled Family Roots.