John Willard Newell, Sr., passed away at the home of his son J. W. Jr., about 3 o’clock last Sunday afternoon, March 27th, at the advanced age of almost 90 years. On the previous Tuesday there seemed to be a hemorrhage in his right leg, which was injured some time ago, and it gave him great pain. The circulation of the blood in the leg seemed to be stopped and it became black and of course poisoned the system very rapidly. He was conscious for about a day before the end came. The funeral service was held from the house at 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Chas. D. Hering officiating, being assisted by Rev. A. F. Newell, who was no relation, though they were both born in New England. Mr. Newell was born in Pelham, Mass., July 5, 1837 in the same house in which his father was born and died.

He was the second of seven children and learned the shoemaker trade of his father. At age 18 in company with his older brother, he left for Peoria, Ill. He worked on a farm for two years and then started for the then new town of Omaha, going down the Mississippi to St. Louis and then up to Omaha by boat. That is he came by boat all but the last eighty miles for his money gave out and he had to walk the balance of the way. He landed in Omaha in 1857 when there wasn’t much of a town. In the spring he farmed what is now Hanscom Park. The next spring he outfitted for Pike’s Peak but never got farther than Elm Creek, where he traded with the Indians and later returned to Omaha. In the fall of ’61 he started a livery and feed barn on the corner of 15 & Dodge Streets. A year later he started a bakery, in company with P. A. Demorest, who also later became a resident of this county. They were located on the corner the Paxton Hotel now occupies and had the first cracker making machine to be shipped to Omaha. He joined the first hook and ladder company organized in Omaha, the hooks and ladders being carted about the city with man power, all taking hold of a long rope. In the spring of ’63 he started freighting to Denver and other western points, going once as far as Salt Lake City.

On November 8th, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Waite in Council Bluffs, Ia. In February of ’68 they moved to the new town of Cumming City, this County, and Mr. Newell operated a general store and served as postmaster. When Blair was built and Cuming City was moved here he went onto a farm west of town, later starting a store on what is now the Sas corner in the company with the late J. G. Smith. Again he went back to farm life and for eight years farmed near Herman. In 1882 he started a flour and feed store in this city which he conducted for almost twenty years, being succeeded by his son-in-law, John McKay. Since he retired he has made his home in Blair continuously. Mr. Newell joined Omaha Lodge No. 2, I.O.O.F. in December of 1862 and was a member continuously, never being in arrears in dues, for 64 years, a record few can match. He was a charter member of Blair Lodge No. 14 when it was instituted and has been a member here ever since. He was awarded a 50-year jewel and later a 60-year jewel set in diamonds by his fellow lodge members, who always held him in the highest esteem.

Mrs. Newell died seven years ago this month and he has made his home with the children mostly since that time. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Newell, two of whom died in infancy. Oscar was killed in a railroad accident in 1917 while practicing his profession of veterinary. John Jr. and Mrs. John McKay live here. There are three grandchildren, Willard McKay, of Omaha, Madeline McKay of New York City and Mrs. Wallace Edington of Washington D.C. A brother M. D. Newell also lives in Blair and three sister at a distance, Mrs. Lida Selden in Whittier, Calif., Mrs. J. L. Skinner of Coffeeville, Kans., and Mrs. Martha Davis, of Great Falls, Mont. The seven children of his family were never all together at the same place. Some 12 years ago six of them were here, one brother, Lucius, being in Montana at the time.

The wealth of fresh and beautiful flowers at the funeral service speak volumes for the esteem in which Mr. Newell was held in this community. He was always and everywhere so much the gentleman, kindly and considerate a true type of the ideal citizen of any community. His tall form will be missed from the streets, which he trod upon up to within a week of his death. The bereaved family has the sincere sympathy of their many friends.

#2 Printed in the March 31, 1927 Enterprise, Blair, Nebraska

PIONEER OF ‘57 IS CALLED

J.W. Newell, Pioneer Settler, Who Came to Nebraska in 1857, Passes to Reward at Age of Nearly Ninety Years

TO OMAHA BY STEAMBOAT

Many Out-of-Town Friends Pay Tribute to Washington County Pioneer Business Man.

J.W. Newell, pioneer settler of Nebraska and a resident of Washington county since 1868, passed away at the home of his son, J.W. Newell, Jr., in this city on Sunday, March 27, 1927 at the ripe old age of nearly ninety years. Had he lived until July 5th, he would have passed his ninetieth year.

Mr. Newell came to Omaha in 1857 by steamboat just one year after the first settlement of Omaha. At that time Omaha was but a struggling village with a few stores, a blacksmith shop and a brickyard. The town, however, on account of its location on the river, making it a shipping point, was the mecca for wagon trains freighting to and from the other wildernesses of the west. For a time after his arrival, he worked on a brickyard and later farmed on the ground where Hanscom park is now located.

After farming for a few years, he opened a feed stable which he ran for some time, but retired from this business to enter the bakery business in company with P.A. Demorest and John Bross. Their old stand of business was where the Paxton hotel now stands and it was here they brought the first cracker-making machine to Omaha. While in business here he joined the first fire department, a hook and ladder company which served …..(torn off)...conducted for a number of years. But the farm again appealed to him and he took a farm near Herman. In 1882 he again entered business, this time the flour and feed business which he followed until 1902, when he retired permanently.

Mr. Newell was a man of wide experience, an interesting character and in his passing another of the early settlers has gone from us forever and his life history is completed. His was an interesting life, filled with early day happenings, his experience on the trail and in the wilderness were such as will never again be repeated. He knew the west in its making as but few men now living knew it.

He was a member of Lodge No. 2, I.O.O.F. of Omaha, which he joined in December, 1862 and later a charter member of the lodge at Blair, thus carrying a continuous membership of over sixty-four years. For this longevity of service he was, some years back, awarded the Fifty Year Jewel by that organization, which later was changed to the Sixty Year Jewel, which he wore continually and of which he was justly proud. He is survived by a son, John W., Jr., a daughter, Mrs. John McKay, both of Blair; three grandchildren, Willard McKay of Omaha, Madeline McKay, New York, and Mrs. Wallace Edington, Washington, D.C. He is also survived by one brother, M.D. Newell of Blair, and three sisters, Mrs. Lida Selden, Whittier, Cal., Mrs. J.L. Skinner , Coffeeville, Kan., and Mrs. Martha Davis of Great Falls, Montana. (illegible) children preceded him in (illegible) and a son, Oscar, was (illegible) railroad accident in (rest of article torn off)

Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.

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