Individual Details
Walter Newman
(Abt, 1665 - Abt, 1729)
"Those descendants of Walter Newman and his good wife Mary, who will be reading this narrative of the Newman family in March 1983, can prepare to celebrate the Tercentenary of the arrival of this pink-cheeked, eighteen year old youth at Perth Amboy, Province of East Jersey, from Dublin, Ireland:
" "The names of such persons as were imported in this province and brought to bee Registred in the Bookes of Records vpon the Account of Stephen Warne and Thomas Warne are as followes, dated this xxviyth day of february Anno dm. 1684. William Eelson Tanner by Indenture for three yeares. John Kigbin by Indenture of Apprenticeship four yeares. Anthony Ashmore by Indenture of Apprenticeship to Stephen Warne for the space of seven yeares. Walter Newman by Indenture of Apprenticeship to Stephen Warne for seven years. Patrick Kemane by Indenture of Apprenticeship for five years to Thomas Warne. Abraham Smith by Indenture for four years. Jane Hankinson for the Custon of the Country and her three children vizt. Thomas, Peter & Richard Hankinson. All these servants were imported in this province on or about the Last of March in the yeare 1683." (Lib. A. of Deeds, p. 171, Tenton, N. J. New Jersey Archives, 1683. William Nelson (Ed). NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS. page 62. Genealogical Pub. Co.)
" "Stephen and Thomas Warne were Dublin, Ireland, Merchants and were each listed as one of the Proprietors of the Colony." (Information from Dr. Newman A. Hall of New Hartford, Conn. p. 5, WALTER NEWMAN AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS, no date.)
" "The arrival of Walter from Dublin, Ireland suggests Irish origin; however, Mr. Newman A. Hall, the outstanding authority on this Newman family to the time of the American Revolution, believes that there is evidence of an earlier base location of Walter Newman's ancestors in Southern England." (Page 1, SUPPLEMENT TO FAMILY GLEANINGS, no date, Belle Newman Allen. NOTE: Your narrator would like to point out that Newman is an old surname in Cork and of the Midlands of Ireland. The name Newman is spelled both in English and Gaelic.)
"Then on February 7, 1689 we find that our Walter has completed his term of indenture by the following announcement in the local Provincial Court: "Deed. Walter Newman, late apprentice to Thomas Warne of Amboy Perth, carpenter. 30 acres ordered to be laid out in Monmouth County." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 166.)
"Walter remained in the Perth Amboy area for almost twenty years and sometime during that time married his wife Mary, family name never determined. We noticed above that Walter had completed his apprenticeship and was no longer an indentured individual. Then on June 5, 1695 the East Jersey Provincial records reveal: "Deed. John Hanton to Walter Newman, carpenter, both of Freehold, for 164 acres in Monmouth, called Neversinks side, near Cheesquakes, E. William Dockwra. S. land not laid out, W. Thomas Warne, N. the Scots Proprietors." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 167.)
"In 1696 Walter Newman was authorized certain identification of his domestic animals and the Town Book of Middletown, New Jersey on March 2, 1696 announced: "Walter Newman his Ear Mark is a hole in the Right ear and a Square or half Crap cut out off the fore part of the left ear. His brand marke is a treangle on the side of the buttock." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 230.)
"While Walter and Mary lived in New Jersey, nine of their fourteen children were born there. On August 9, 1704 Walter's wife Mary and their nine children were baptized by the Reverend Father John Sharpe, vicar of the St. Mary's Church, Burlington, New Jersey. The Church Register, still at the Church, reads as follows: "Walter Newman and his wife baptized and nine children. Names his wife Mary, his children John, Walter, Rachel, Martha, Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, William and Richard." Walter and his family remained in East Jersey until 1707." (Personal letter to your narrator from Dr. Newman A. Hall, March 29, 1979. Parish Register, St. Mary's Church, Burlington, New Jersey (original still in place).)
"Walter Newman, his wife Mary, and his growing family moved to Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1708. In the Archives of the CIty of Philadelphia, we find Walter involved in the following land transactions: 1. Thomas Ellison et. al. to Walter Newman, September 7, 1708. 2. John Camell to Walter Newman, December 3, 1712. 3. Walter Newman to John Camell, March 22, 1713. 4. Walter Newman to Henry Gibson, February 6, 1717 (date of sale 1712). These identify Walter Newman of Middletown, Monmouth County. The transactions in both 1712 and 1717 were completed after the move to Maryland.
" "Two of the Newman family children were born in Philadelphia County, viz Katherine and the first Jonathan." (City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, January 21, 1980. St. Stephens Church Parish Register of Births, marriages and deaths, 1692 - 1837, Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.)
"Upon examination of the Deeds of these land transactions of Samuel Newman, the reader will note that Samuel and wife Mary bought and sold two five hundred acre tracts of land while in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania." (THE LONG TREK OF THE NEWMAN FAMILY, 1683 - 1980, by Samuel William Newman, pages 1 - 4.)
(NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY: The following information is from W. N. NEWMAN, via Jan Strickland, December, 1998. Some of the following is a duplication of the above.)
"Walter Newman came to Perth Amboy, New Jersey in March, 1683/4 as one of eleven indentured servants to Stephen Warne, a carpenter from Dublin, Ireland. (From Records of East Jersey Province: Headland was granted to Walter Newman late apprentice of Stephen Warne of Perth Amboy, Carpenter - 2 July 1688) Thomas Warne, the father of Stephen, was a member of a group of 24 men known as the "Proprietors". The twenty-four men were : John Drummond, Robert Barclay, David Barclay, Robert Gordon, Arent Sonmans, William Penn, William Wast, Thomas Rudyard, Samuel Groom, Thomas Hart, Richard Mew, Ambrose Rigg, John Haywood, Hugh Hartshorne, Clement Plumsted, Thomas Cooper, Gawen Lawne, Edward Byllynge, James Bain, William Gibson, Thomas Barker, Robert Turner, and Thomas Warne. These men bought the New Jersey lands from the Duke of York in 1681/2. The Duke had received this land in a grant from King Charles II of England and it included some of New York, some of New England and encompassed all of New Jersey as we know it today.
"Indentured service was a form of contract labor common in colonial North America. Due to the shortage of labor in the colonies, efforts were made to attract European workers to cross the Atlantic and bind themselves with a type of contract, to a specified period of service (usually 4 to 7 years) in return for payment of their passage. The people who volunteered to enter into such an arrangement were called "free-willers" or "redemptioners". The "Proprietors" used this form of contract to colonize their land in order to provide a good return on their investment. Usually at the end of the period of indenture, former servants were given clothing, a gun and a certain amount of land. They were then quickly absorbed into the regular population. The House of Burgesses is a good example of this because former indentured servants constituted almost half of its membership in the middle seventeenth century. Also during this time period indentured servants were more numerous than slaves even in the southern colonies, and they continued to outnumber slaves in the middle colonies during the eighteenth century. There was certainly no shame in being an indentured servant. It was an honest way for a hard-working individual to have the opportunity to better himself. As Jesse J. Newman of Alabama said in 1974 in his book on the Newman family, "No national leaders nor famous person of any calling will be found here. Honest, hardworking, God fearing persons who are tillers of the soil, educators of the young, members of the business world, people upon which the life of our everyday world depends are found here. This legacy is one which Newmans of the present time have every reason to be proud of, yet grateful." Mr. Newman summed up three hundred years later the heritage that one hardworking indentured servant left to his descendants." ( 1). Newman, Kenneth L., Walter Newman Descendants Jacksonville, AL 1987 pg. 1; 2). Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc 1992.)
The time period of seven years most probably indicated that Walter Newman was a "free-wilIer." His apprenticeship was served in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
"List of persons, imported for account of Stephen and Thomas Wame. Indentured for three years, William Elleson Tanner, for four years, John kigbin, Norah Kae, for five Years, Patrick Kemane, for Seven years, Anthony Ashmore, Walter Newman, for Nine years, Abraham Smith, for the custom of the Country, Jane Hankinson and her children Thomas, Peter and Richard Hankinson. All came into the Province about March31, 1663-4."
Prospering very quickly, the indenture of Walter Newman was paid off in four years and in 1687 he received thirty acres of head land which he eventually conveyed to John Kigbin, one of the indentured servants who arrived in America with him. The next mention of Walter Newman is in a land transaction in 1695 between John Hanton of Freehold in the county of Monmouth. This transaction was for a tract of land containing 164 acres in the county of Neversinks Side near Cheesequake in the consideration of the sum of thirty pounds. During this time, Walter was also authorized certain identification of his livestock. This identification was listed in the Town Book of Middletown, East Jersey.
"Walter Newman his ear mark is a hole in the right ear and a square or half crop cut off the fore part of the left ear his brande marke is a triangle on the side of the buttocks." ( 3). New Jersey Colonial Documents Pg. 62, Liber A of Deeds Pg. 171.; 4). NewJeseyArchives 1st. series 21:167; 5). New Jersey colonial Documents, pg. 166. New Jersey Deeds, liter D, pg. 43.; 6). Ibid page 230. New Jersey Deeds Liber E, pg. 310.; 7). New Jersey colonial Documents page, 239.)
The lineage of the immigrant Walter Newman has never really been discovered by the Newman researchers, but when this name is entered into the International Genealogy of the Mormon Church, it appears numerous times throughout the British Isles. Newman is one of the more numerous surnames of English origin found in Ireland, but unlike most of those it is uncommon in Ulster. It is recurrent in Anglo-Irish records, occurring as early as the thirteenth century in Dublin. Also, the Warne family had definite connections to Dublin, Ireland, and the ship that Walter sailed to America on is believed to have departed from there. The ancestors of Lemuel Newman have always been told that they were Irish; therefore, with all these circumstances taken into consideration, there is a good probability that Walter came from Ireland. Of course since there is no substantial proof the reader must judge for himself.
The first account of Walter Newman's family appears in the parish register of St. Mary's of Burlington, page 9. This record dated August 9,1704 states that Walter Newman had his wife Mary baptized along with nine children, John, Mary, Rachel, Martha, Walter, Sarah, Rebecca, William, and Richard. These entries were inscribed by Reverend John Sharpe who at this time was traveling in East Jersey. Since Walter was not baptized with his family, some Newman researchers think that this could signify that he may have been baptized before he came to America. There has been no statement found recording the marriage of Walter and Mary, but it appears from the presence of nine children by 1704 that Walter married soon after he completed his indenture. If we make the assumption that Walter was a young man when he came to America, we can make an estimate of his birth being around 1663. Mary's family name has not been confirmed nor do we know where her family came from. There is a good likelihood that she too may have been Irish.
According to two deeds dated Sept 10,1708, Walter sold his land in New Jersey to Thomas Ellison and then purchased 500 acres near Manatawny, Philadelphia County, Province of Pennsylvania from the same gentleman. From 1712 until 1717, there are three more land transactions by Walter Newman who is mentioned as being from "Manatawny, Philadelphia County, on the east side of the Schulkill River." The Newman family appears again round 1716 in Cecil County Maryland where Walter obtains a lease for 280 acres of land in Bohemia Manor from Ephraim A. Herman. This lease specifically refers to the surviving sons (son John had died.) of Walter Newman as being, Walter, William, Richard, Samuel and Jonathan, confirming that this is the same Walter Newman that had his family baptized in New Jersey. The two younger sons, Samuel and Jonathan, were born after the baptism of the other sons. It also notes that the property adjoined the Thomas Moore plantation. This information later becomes very significant when we identify the children of Walter in Virginia. ( 8). New Jersey Deeds, Liber C-2, pg 502: Phil. Co., PA Land Records, Liber E-6, v7, pg 153; 9). E6 Vol 7, pg. 153; E7 Vol 8, pg. 250-256, E6Vol 7, pg. 351-353; E7 Vol 10, 1712 recorded 1717 Department of Records, Philadelphia.)
The vital records of St. Stephen's Parish of Cecil County Maryland, a member of the world-wide Church of England at this time, lists the five youngest children as: Elizabeth born Feb 2,1707, Kathrin born Aug. 28,1709, Jonathan born Feb. 4,1711 (died in infancy Oct. 20, 1714), Samuel born Mar. 15,1713, and Jonathan born Aug.5, 1716. The names of the first four children were all listed at one time implying that the entries were made several years after the births. It may appear peculiar to us today to name a second child the same name of a deceased child but was not unusual at that time. These church records show the marriages and births of the children and grandchildren of Walter implying that the family was very active in the Parish life. Research has proven that there were at least fourteen children born to Walter and Mary.
Here are some of the listings in the church register concerning the children of Walter and Mary: Rebecca married Daniel Allen Feb. 7, 1719 (some of the members of this family may be related to the Allen family found with Samuel and his wife in Virginia. Mary (widow) married (1) John Glenn May 23, 1717. (2) John Cockrell Mamh 4, 1 72& Martha married John Crow October 18, 1718 (a Crow family will be found with Samuel and wife in South Carolina.) Sarah married John Comes January 16, 1716. Kathlene married David Pnce. Rachel married John Evitt (they had three children whose births were registered in the Parish records: Walter born July 11, 1712, Mary born January 17, 1715 and John born April 27, 1719.) John Newman and Elizabeth Malone married April 9, 1713. Walter Newman married Elizabeth ?? October 31, I 716 Walter; son of John, buried November20, 1714.
The positive location of where Walter, the immigrant, is buried is not known but he is most likely buried in this church cemetery. His grave was probably marked with a wooden cross that has vanished with time.
According to the probate date on the will of Walter Newman, he died around 1729 in Cecil County Maryland. He left his property to his two youngest sons, the oldest of the two was Samuel, who is the grandfather of Lemuel Newman. The will read as follows:
WILL OF WALTER NEWMAN
In the name of God Amen, I Walter Newman of Cecil County in the Province of Maryland, farmer, calling to mind the modality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say principally and first of all I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth to be buried in Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Almighty Power of God; and touching such oddly estate whereas ft hath pleased God to Bless me in this life, I demise, dispose, and bequeath the same in the following manner and form: Imprimis, I do appoint and ordain my well beloved wife, Mary Newman, my sole executor of this my last will and testament I do order my plantation with all my movables to be freely possessed and enjoyed by her during her life. Item, I do appoint and ordain my plantation and all my lands thereunto belonging as likewise my buildings and other improvements now in my possession be equally divided between my two youngest sons, Samuel and Jonathan Newman, when they come of age of twenty one years, That is to say an equal division in quantity and quality. Nevertheless they shall not disturb or molest their own mother during her life in the free enjoyment and possession of all and singular the premises above mentioned and in the case either of my two youngest sons should happen to die without issue then I do ordain that his division or part of inheritance so dying shall be possessed and enjoyed by Walter Newman, my eldest son, in the same condition and tenor as it shall be possessed by him so dying. Item, I do ordain all of my movables of what kind soever to be disposed by my executrix amongst the rest of my children according to her own discretion. And I do hereby revoke all other wills and testaments or legacies by me in any way heretofore made or bequeathed, ratifying and confirming this my only last will and testament. In witness whereof I have set my hand and seal this twentieth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twenty five. Walter Newman x His mark and seal - signed, sealed, published, pronounced and declared as my last will and testament in presence of Thomas Ward, Thomas More William More x x his mark his mark.
Cecil County, February 9, 1729. Then personally appeared Thomas Moor and William Moor two of the subscribing witnesses to the within will before me, and on their corporeal oaths solemnly administered did declare that they saw and heard Walter Newman the testator sign, seal, publish, and declare the same as his last will and testament and that the time of doing thereof he was of sound and disposing mind, memory, and understanding to the best of their knowledge. S. Knight Comr
Examining the signatures on this will, the reader can see that Walter was not an educated man because he signed his name with a mark, and due to the fact that he had to indenture himself for passage to America it is the belief of this researcher that Walter came from a humble background. ( 10). Philadelphia Co. Pa land records Liber E-7, V 10 pg. 434; 11). Peden, Henry C Jr., Early Anglican Church Records of Cecil County pg 20.)
Around 1733 Mary Newman, the widow of Walter, married Thomas Moore a widower neighbor. This was the same Thomas Moore who witnessed the will of Walter Newman. Members of a Thomas Moore family can be found again in Virginia with Walter's two younger sons, Samuel and Jonathan. There is a strong possibility that these are family members of the same Thomas Moore of Cecil County Maryland. Further research needs to be done on the Moore family before it can be proven. ( 12). Cecil Co Willis, Cecil Co Maryland.)
(The following information is from "The House of Newman," December 1998, www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/7259/newman.html>:)
"Walter NEWMAN, his ear mark is a hole in the right ear and a square or half crop off the fore part of the left ear, his brande marke is a triangle on the side of the buttocks"
In the Parish Register of St. Mary's of Burlington is recorded August 9, 1704 "Walter NEWMAN had his wife, Mary, baptized along with nine children"....Since Walter Newman's baptism is not recorded, it is believed he was baptized before coming to America.
There are various transactions of Walter Newman which are recorded from 1708 through 1717. These land transactions seem to carry the family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and into Cecil County, Maryland.
Two of Walter's children are named Jonathan. It may appear peculiar to us today to name another child the same as a deceased child, but was not unusual at that time.
(Received from Ray Jackson, via Jan Strickland,10 April 1999:)
Walter Newman landed in the New Jersey area as an indentured servant. Indentured service was a form of labor common to the colonial North America. The service contract was for a period of time which was usually seven years. At the end of the period of indenture, the servants were given clothing, a gun and a certain amount of land and they were absorbed into the regular population. Walter's apprenticeship was served in Monmouth County, New Jersey. It is believed that his indenture was paid off in four years. In 1687, he received thirty acres of land which he eventually conveyed to John Kigbin, one of the indentured servants who arrived in America with him.
In 1695, Walter purchased 164 acres from John Hanton of Freehold county of Monmouth for thirty pounds. This acreage was in Neversink's side near
Cheesequake. The Town Book of Middletown, East Jersey list the livestock brand authorization.
"Walter Newman, his ear mark is a hold in the right ear and a square or half crop off the fore part of the left ear. His brande marke is a triangle on the
side of the buttocks"
In the Parish Register of St. Mary's of Burlington is recorded August 9, 1794 "Walter Newman has his wife Mary baptized along with nine children..." Since Walter's baptism was not recorded, it is believed he was baptized before coming to America. Also there is no record of the marriage of Walter and Mary, but it appears from the presence of nine children by 1704 they married soon after he completed his indenture. Records of Mary's family name have never been confirmed, nor it is not know where her family can from. It is assumed that she was Irish.
" "The names of such persons as were imported in this province and brought to bee Registred in the Bookes of Records vpon the Account of Stephen Warne and Thomas Warne are as followes, dated this xxviyth day of february Anno dm. 1684. William Eelson Tanner by Indenture for three yeares. John Kigbin by Indenture of Apprenticeship four yeares. Anthony Ashmore by Indenture of Apprenticeship to Stephen Warne for the space of seven yeares. Walter Newman by Indenture of Apprenticeship to Stephen Warne for seven years. Patrick Kemane by Indenture of Apprenticeship for five years to Thomas Warne. Abraham Smith by Indenture for four years. Jane Hankinson for the Custon of the Country and her three children vizt. Thomas, Peter & Richard Hankinson. All these servants were imported in this province on or about the Last of March in the yeare 1683." (Lib. A. of Deeds, p. 171, Tenton, N. J. New Jersey Archives, 1683. William Nelson (Ed). NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS. page 62. Genealogical Pub. Co.)
" "Stephen and Thomas Warne were Dublin, Ireland, Merchants and were each listed as one of the Proprietors of the Colony." (Information from Dr. Newman A. Hall of New Hartford, Conn. p. 5, WALTER NEWMAN AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS, no date.)
" "The arrival of Walter from Dublin, Ireland suggests Irish origin; however, Mr. Newman A. Hall, the outstanding authority on this Newman family to the time of the American Revolution, believes that there is evidence of an earlier base location of Walter Newman's ancestors in Southern England." (Page 1, SUPPLEMENT TO FAMILY GLEANINGS, no date, Belle Newman Allen. NOTE: Your narrator would like to point out that Newman is an old surname in Cork and of the Midlands of Ireland. The name Newman is spelled both in English and Gaelic.)
"Then on February 7, 1689 we find that our Walter has completed his term of indenture by the following announcement in the local Provincial Court: "Deed. Walter Newman, late apprentice to Thomas Warne of Amboy Perth, carpenter. 30 acres ordered to be laid out in Monmouth County." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 166.)
"Walter remained in the Perth Amboy area for almost twenty years and sometime during that time married his wife Mary, family name never determined. We noticed above that Walter had completed his apprenticeship and was no longer an indentured individual. Then on June 5, 1695 the East Jersey Provincial records reveal: "Deed. John Hanton to Walter Newman, carpenter, both of Freehold, for 164 acres in Monmouth, called Neversinks side, near Cheesquakes, E. William Dockwra. S. land not laid out, W. Thomas Warne, N. the Scots Proprietors." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 167.)
"In 1696 Walter Newman was authorized certain identification of his domestic animals and the Town Book of Middletown, New Jersey on March 2, 1696 announced: "Walter Newman his Ear Mark is a hole in the Right ear and a Square or half Crap cut out off the fore part of the left ear. His brand marke is a treangle on the side of the buttock." (NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS, page 230.)
"While Walter and Mary lived in New Jersey, nine of their fourteen children were born there. On August 9, 1704 Walter's wife Mary and their nine children were baptized by the Reverend Father John Sharpe, vicar of the St. Mary's Church, Burlington, New Jersey. The Church Register, still at the Church, reads as follows: "Walter Newman and his wife baptized and nine children. Names his wife Mary, his children John, Walter, Rachel, Martha, Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, William and Richard." Walter and his family remained in East Jersey until 1707." (Personal letter to your narrator from Dr. Newman A. Hall, March 29, 1979. Parish Register, St. Mary's Church, Burlington, New Jersey (original still in place).)
"Walter Newman, his wife Mary, and his growing family moved to Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1708. In the Archives of the CIty of Philadelphia, we find Walter involved in the following land transactions: 1. Thomas Ellison et. al. to Walter Newman, September 7, 1708. 2. John Camell to Walter Newman, December 3, 1712. 3. Walter Newman to John Camell, March 22, 1713. 4. Walter Newman to Henry Gibson, February 6, 1717 (date of sale 1712). These identify Walter Newman of Middletown, Monmouth County. The transactions in both 1712 and 1717 were completed after the move to Maryland.
" "Two of the Newman family children were born in Philadelphia County, viz Katherine and the first Jonathan." (City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, January 21, 1980. St. Stephens Church Parish Register of Births, marriages and deaths, 1692 - 1837, Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.)
"Upon examination of the Deeds of these land transactions of Samuel Newman, the reader will note that Samuel and wife Mary bought and sold two five hundred acre tracts of land while in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania." (THE LONG TREK OF THE NEWMAN FAMILY, 1683 - 1980, by Samuel William Newman, pages 1 - 4.)
(NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY: The following information is from W. N. NEWMAN, via Jan Strickland, December, 1998. Some of the following is a duplication of the above.)
"Walter Newman came to Perth Amboy, New Jersey in March, 1683/4 as one of eleven indentured servants to Stephen Warne, a carpenter from Dublin, Ireland. (From Records of East Jersey Province: Headland was granted to Walter Newman late apprentice of Stephen Warne of Perth Amboy, Carpenter - 2 July 1688) Thomas Warne, the father of Stephen, was a member of a group of 24 men known as the "Proprietors". The twenty-four men were : John Drummond, Robert Barclay, David Barclay, Robert Gordon, Arent Sonmans, William Penn, William Wast, Thomas Rudyard, Samuel Groom, Thomas Hart, Richard Mew, Ambrose Rigg, John Haywood, Hugh Hartshorne, Clement Plumsted, Thomas Cooper, Gawen Lawne, Edward Byllynge, James Bain, William Gibson, Thomas Barker, Robert Turner, and Thomas Warne. These men bought the New Jersey lands from the Duke of York in 1681/2. The Duke had received this land in a grant from King Charles II of England and it included some of New York, some of New England and encompassed all of New Jersey as we know it today.
"Indentured service was a form of contract labor common in colonial North America. Due to the shortage of labor in the colonies, efforts were made to attract European workers to cross the Atlantic and bind themselves with a type of contract, to a specified period of service (usually 4 to 7 years) in return for payment of their passage. The people who volunteered to enter into such an arrangement were called "free-willers" or "redemptioners". The "Proprietors" used this form of contract to colonize their land in order to provide a good return on their investment. Usually at the end of the period of indenture, former servants were given clothing, a gun and a certain amount of land. They were then quickly absorbed into the regular population. The House of Burgesses is a good example of this because former indentured servants constituted almost half of its membership in the middle seventeenth century. Also during this time period indentured servants were more numerous than slaves even in the southern colonies, and they continued to outnumber slaves in the middle colonies during the eighteenth century. There was certainly no shame in being an indentured servant. It was an honest way for a hard-working individual to have the opportunity to better himself. As Jesse J. Newman of Alabama said in 1974 in his book on the Newman family, "No national leaders nor famous person of any calling will be found here. Honest, hardworking, God fearing persons who are tillers of the soil, educators of the young, members of the business world, people upon which the life of our everyday world depends are found here. This legacy is one which Newmans of the present time have every reason to be proud of, yet grateful." Mr. Newman summed up three hundred years later the heritage that one hardworking indentured servant left to his descendants." ( 1). Newman, Kenneth L., Walter Newman Descendants Jacksonville, AL 1987 pg. 1; 2). Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc 1992.)
The time period of seven years most probably indicated that Walter Newman was a "free-wilIer." His apprenticeship was served in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
"List of persons, imported for account of Stephen and Thomas Wame. Indentured for three years, William Elleson Tanner, for four years, John kigbin, Norah Kae, for five Years, Patrick Kemane, for Seven years, Anthony Ashmore, Walter Newman, for Nine years, Abraham Smith, for the custom of the Country, Jane Hankinson and her children Thomas, Peter and Richard Hankinson. All came into the Province about March31, 1663-4."
Prospering very quickly, the indenture of Walter Newman was paid off in four years and in 1687 he received thirty acres of head land which he eventually conveyed to John Kigbin, one of the indentured servants who arrived in America with him. The next mention of Walter Newman is in a land transaction in 1695 between John Hanton of Freehold in the county of Monmouth. This transaction was for a tract of land containing 164 acres in the county of Neversinks Side near Cheesequake in the consideration of the sum of thirty pounds. During this time, Walter was also authorized certain identification of his livestock. This identification was listed in the Town Book of Middletown, East Jersey.
"Walter Newman his ear mark is a hole in the right ear and a square or half crop cut off the fore part of the left ear his brande marke is a triangle on the side of the buttocks." ( 3). New Jersey Colonial Documents Pg. 62, Liber A of Deeds Pg. 171.; 4). NewJeseyArchives 1st. series 21:167; 5). New Jersey colonial Documents, pg. 166. New Jersey Deeds, liter D, pg. 43.; 6). Ibid page 230. New Jersey Deeds Liber E, pg. 310.; 7). New Jersey colonial Documents page, 239.)
The lineage of the immigrant Walter Newman has never really been discovered by the Newman researchers, but when this name is entered into the International Genealogy of the Mormon Church, it appears numerous times throughout the British Isles. Newman is one of the more numerous surnames of English origin found in Ireland, but unlike most of those it is uncommon in Ulster. It is recurrent in Anglo-Irish records, occurring as early as the thirteenth century in Dublin. Also, the Warne family had definite connections to Dublin, Ireland, and the ship that Walter sailed to America on is believed to have departed from there. The ancestors of Lemuel Newman have always been told that they were Irish; therefore, with all these circumstances taken into consideration, there is a good probability that Walter came from Ireland. Of course since there is no substantial proof the reader must judge for himself.
The first account of Walter Newman's family appears in the parish register of St. Mary's of Burlington, page 9. This record dated August 9,1704 states that Walter Newman had his wife Mary baptized along with nine children, John, Mary, Rachel, Martha, Walter, Sarah, Rebecca, William, and Richard. These entries were inscribed by Reverend John Sharpe who at this time was traveling in East Jersey. Since Walter was not baptized with his family, some Newman researchers think that this could signify that he may have been baptized before he came to America. There has been no statement found recording the marriage of Walter and Mary, but it appears from the presence of nine children by 1704 that Walter married soon after he completed his indenture. If we make the assumption that Walter was a young man when he came to America, we can make an estimate of his birth being around 1663. Mary's family name has not been confirmed nor do we know where her family came from. There is a good likelihood that she too may have been Irish.
According to two deeds dated Sept 10,1708, Walter sold his land in New Jersey to Thomas Ellison and then purchased 500 acres near Manatawny, Philadelphia County, Province of Pennsylvania from the same gentleman. From 1712 until 1717, there are three more land transactions by Walter Newman who is mentioned as being from "Manatawny, Philadelphia County, on the east side of the Schulkill River." The Newman family appears again round 1716 in Cecil County Maryland where Walter obtains a lease for 280 acres of land in Bohemia Manor from Ephraim A. Herman. This lease specifically refers to the surviving sons (son John had died.) of Walter Newman as being, Walter, William, Richard, Samuel and Jonathan, confirming that this is the same Walter Newman that had his family baptized in New Jersey. The two younger sons, Samuel and Jonathan, were born after the baptism of the other sons. It also notes that the property adjoined the Thomas Moore plantation. This information later becomes very significant when we identify the children of Walter in Virginia. ( 8). New Jersey Deeds, Liber C-2, pg 502: Phil. Co., PA Land Records, Liber E-6, v7, pg 153; 9). E6 Vol 7, pg. 153; E7 Vol 8, pg. 250-256, E6Vol 7, pg. 351-353; E7 Vol 10, 1712 recorded 1717 Department of Records, Philadelphia.)
The vital records of St. Stephen's Parish of Cecil County Maryland, a member of the world-wide Church of England at this time, lists the five youngest children as: Elizabeth born Feb 2,1707, Kathrin born Aug. 28,1709, Jonathan born Feb. 4,1711 (died in infancy Oct. 20, 1714), Samuel born Mar. 15,1713, and Jonathan born Aug.5, 1716. The names of the first four children were all listed at one time implying that the entries were made several years after the births. It may appear peculiar to us today to name a second child the same name of a deceased child but was not unusual at that time. These church records show the marriages and births of the children and grandchildren of Walter implying that the family was very active in the Parish life. Research has proven that there were at least fourteen children born to Walter and Mary.
Here are some of the listings in the church register concerning the children of Walter and Mary: Rebecca married Daniel Allen Feb. 7, 1719 (some of the members of this family may be related to the Allen family found with Samuel and his wife in Virginia. Mary (widow) married (1) John Glenn May 23, 1717. (2) John Cockrell Mamh 4, 1 72& Martha married John Crow October 18, 1718 (a Crow family will be found with Samuel and wife in South Carolina.) Sarah married John Comes January 16, 1716. Kathlene married David Pnce. Rachel married John Evitt (they had three children whose births were registered in the Parish records: Walter born July 11, 1712, Mary born January 17, 1715 and John born April 27, 1719.) John Newman and Elizabeth Malone married April 9, 1713. Walter Newman married Elizabeth ?? October 31, I 716 Walter; son of John, buried November20, 1714.
The positive location of where Walter, the immigrant, is buried is not known but he is most likely buried in this church cemetery. His grave was probably marked with a wooden cross that has vanished with time.
According to the probate date on the will of Walter Newman, he died around 1729 in Cecil County Maryland. He left his property to his two youngest sons, the oldest of the two was Samuel, who is the grandfather of Lemuel Newman. The will read as follows:
WILL OF WALTER NEWMAN
In the name of God Amen, I Walter Newman of Cecil County in the Province of Maryland, farmer, calling to mind the modality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say principally and first of all I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth to be buried in Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Almighty Power of God; and touching such oddly estate whereas ft hath pleased God to Bless me in this life, I demise, dispose, and bequeath the same in the following manner and form: Imprimis, I do appoint and ordain my well beloved wife, Mary Newman, my sole executor of this my last will and testament I do order my plantation with all my movables to be freely possessed and enjoyed by her during her life. Item, I do appoint and ordain my plantation and all my lands thereunto belonging as likewise my buildings and other improvements now in my possession be equally divided between my two youngest sons, Samuel and Jonathan Newman, when they come of age of twenty one years, That is to say an equal division in quantity and quality. Nevertheless they shall not disturb or molest their own mother during her life in the free enjoyment and possession of all and singular the premises above mentioned and in the case either of my two youngest sons should happen to die without issue then I do ordain that his division or part of inheritance so dying shall be possessed and enjoyed by Walter Newman, my eldest son, in the same condition and tenor as it shall be possessed by him so dying. Item, I do ordain all of my movables of what kind soever to be disposed by my executrix amongst the rest of my children according to her own discretion. And I do hereby revoke all other wills and testaments or legacies by me in any way heretofore made or bequeathed, ratifying and confirming this my only last will and testament. In witness whereof I have set my hand and seal this twentieth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twenty five. Walter Newman x His mark and seal - signed, sealed, published, pronounced and declared as my last will and testament in presence of Thomas Ward, Thomas More William More x x his mark his mark.
Cecil County, February 9, 1729. Then personally appeared Thomas Moor and William Moor two of the subscribing witnesses to the within will before me, and on their corporeal oaths solemnly administered did declare that they saw and heard Walter Newman the testator sign, seal, publish, and declare the same as his last will and testament and that the time of doing thereof he was of sound and disposing mind, memory, and understanding to the best of their knowledge. S. Knight Comr
Examining the signatures on this will, the reader can see that Walter was not an educated man because he signed his name with a mark, and due to the fact that he had to indenture himself for passage to America it is the belief of this researcher that Walter came from a humble background. ( 10). Philadelphia Co. Pa land records Liber E-7, V 10 pg. 434; 11). Peden, Henry C Jr., Early Anglican Church Records of Cecil County pg 20.)
Around 1733 Mary Newman, the widow of Walter, married Thomas Moore a widower neighbor. This was the same Thomas Moore who witnessed the will of Walter Newman. Members of a Thomas Moore family can be found again in Virginia with Walter's two younger sons, Samuel and Jonathan. There is a strong possibility that these are family members of the same Thomas Moore of Cecil County Maryland. Further research needs to be done on the Moore family before it can be proven. ( 12). Cecil Co Willis, Cecil Co Maryland.)
(The following information is from "The House of Newman," December 1998, www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/7259/newman.html>:)
"Walter NEWMAN, his ear mark is a hole in the right ear and a square or half crop off the fore part of the left ear, his brande marke is a triangle on the side of the buttocks"
In the Parish Register of St. Mary's of Burlington is recorded August 9, 1704 "Walter NEWMAN had his wife, Mary, baptized along with nine children"....Since Walter Newman's baptism is not recorded, it is believed he was baptized before coming to America.
There are various transactions of Walter Newman which are recorded from 1708 through 1717. These land transactions seem to carry the family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and into Cecil County, Maryland.
Two of Walter's children are named Jonathan. It may appear peculiar to us today to name another child the same as a deceased child, but was not unusual at that time.
(Received from Ray Jackson, via Jan Strickland,10 April 1999:)
Walter Newman landed in the New Jersey area as an indentured servant. Indentured service was a form of labor common to the colonial North America. The service contract was for a period of time which was usually seven years. At the end of the period of indenture, the servants were given clothing, a gun and a certain amount of land and they were absorbed into the regular population. Walter's apprenticeship was served in Monmouth County, New Jersey. It is believed that his indenture was paid off in four years. In 1687, he received thirty acres of land which he eventually conveyed to John Kigbin, one of the indentured servants who arrived in America with him.
In 1695, Walter purchased 164 acres from John Hanton of Freehold county of Monmouth for thirty pounds. This acreage was in Neversink's side near
Cheesequake. The Town Book of Middletown, East Jersey list the livestock brand authorization.
"Walter Newman, his ear mark is a hold in the right ear and a square or half crop off the fore part of the left ear. His brande marke is a triangle on the
side of the buttocks"
In the Parish Register of St. Mary's of Burlington is recorded August 9, 1794 "Walter Newman has his wife Mary baptized along with nine children..." Since Walter's baptism was not recorded, it is believed he was baptized before coming to America. Also there is no record of the marriage of Walter and Mary, but it appears from the presence of nine children by 1704 they married soon after he completed his indenture. Records of Mary's family name have never been confirmed, nor it is not know where her family can from. It is assumed that she was Irish.
Events
| Birth | Abt, 1665 | Ireland | |||
| Marriage | Abt, 1687 | Monmouth County, New Jersey - Mary Catherine Brooks | |||
| Death | Abt, 1729 | Cecil County, Maryland |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Catherine Brooks (1670 - 1716) |
| Child | John Newman (1688 - 1722) |
| Child | Mary Newman (1690 - ) |
| Child | Rachel Newman (1792 - ) |
| Child | Martha Newman (1794 - ) |
| Child | Walter Newman Jr. (1696 - 1774) |
| Child | Sarah Newman (1698 - ) |
| Child | Rebecca Newman (1700 - ) |
| Child | William Newman (1702 - ) |
| Child | Richard Newman (1704 - ) |
| Child | Elizabeth Newman (1707 - ) |
| Child | Katherine Newman (1709 - ) |
| Child | Jonathan Newman (1711 - 1714) |
| Child | Rev. Samuel Newman (1713 - 1779) |
| Child | Jonathan Newman (1716 - 1748) |