Newman Virginia Roots

1878 map Sumner County, Tennessee, Library of Congress website. Charles lived in district 2.

Charles Newman & Catherine Chiles

Family

Charles Newman married Catherine Chiles 20 December 1820 in Orange County, Virginia.

Charles Newman’s parents: William Newman & Ann Finnell

Catherine Chiles’ parents: James Chiles

Children of Charles Newman & Catherine Chiles:

1. William A. Newman

William A. Newman married Rachel Caroline Redditt. They had two sons: James Tolbert Newman born in 1854 and Cyrus Fritz Newman born in 1857. Rachel died in 1858. William and his two sons were listed as living with his parents on the 1860 Census. William joined the Confederate Army and was buried in Camp Butler, Illinois 30 Apr 1862 (now a national cemetery). William’s sons James and Cyrus appeared with their Newman grandparents on the 1870 Census in Sumner County, Tennessee.

Catherine Chiles’ father, James Chiles, died 7 Jan 1852. His Revolutionary War pension says he was widowed with 3 surviving children: John Chiles, Polly Willoughby and Catherine Newman. The administrator of James Chiles estate was Clayton Mathews who lived in Louisa County, Virginia. He said his wife, Susan Mathews, was the daughter of one of the heirs of James Chiles. Several witnesses in the pension lived in Louisa County. But James Chiles was on taxes as a resident of Orange County, Virginia. (See National Archives record.)

Tax records in Orange County, Virginia show that Charles remained in Orange until 1826. The census records show Charles and Catherine Newman lived in Sumner County, Tennessee from 1830 to 1870. Charles moved about 575 miles away, through the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Gap. Charles left his parents and some siblings in Virginia, and moved west with some siblings and cousins. Charles’s two grandchildren moved further west to Texas.

The census from 1850-1870 indicate that Charles Newman lived in District 2 of Sumner County, Tennessee. The nearby town of Gallatin, was located on the line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was also located 3 miles north of the Cumberland River. Charles’ brother, Benjamin, lived in Jefferson County, Kentucky, of which Louisville is a part of. His sister Sarah Gee ran Gee’s Tavern near or part of Nashville, Tennessee.

There was a cholera epidemic in Sumner, Tennessee in 1873 which may have affected Charles Newman and his wife Catherine, or they may have just died from age related problems. Charles was listed as age 83 on the 1870 Census.

FindaGrave indicates that Charles Newman was buried by his sister Sarah Gee, in Nashville. Also on the same tombstone is listed Joseph Gee (the husband of Sarah), and his niece Ann Newman, the daughter of Abner Newman. Catherine was not listed on the tombstone. She probably died between the 1870 Census and 1873 when Charles died. Charles may have died while visiting his sister Sarah, or he may have moved to live with her after he was widowed. Death records were not recorded during this time period for Sumner County, Tennessee.

Estate

Enslaved Individuals

The 1830 Census shows Charles Newman had 1 enslaved female under age 10. She may have been born in either Virginia or Tennessee. Court papers would have been filed for her to move from one state to another. Charles’s father gave several of his children an enslaved individual, there is no indication Charles received an enslaved individual.

The 1840 Census says there was one female enslaved age 24-35. Probably a different woman than in the 1830 Census, because the girl from the 1830 Census would be under age 20 in the 1840 Census.

The 1850 Slave Schedule said there was one female age 37, one female age 5, and one female age 1. No names were given in these Census records. The woman on the 1850 Census age wise fits to be the same woman in the 1840 Census.

Land

Charles and his family moved to Sumner County, Tennessee between 1826 and 1830. They remained in Tennessee the rest of their lives. Charles father, William Newman, referenced in his will of 1837 that he had already given Charles a horse and 100 dollars. Charles was taxed for himself and a horse in 1822. He probably received the horse when he married. The hundred dollars may have been given to him at the time of marriage or when he moved west a few years later.

The 1850 Agricultural Census says Charles owned 90 improved acres and 5 acres of woodland. The 1870 Census gives the post office as Enon College area of Sumner County, Tennessee. We’ve not found Charles Newman in any deed or land grant records, so we don’t know how he got ownership of this land. We also don’t see Charles selling the land or laving a will.