The branch of the Newman family that this tree relates to, derives from the borders of Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire in Southwest England. The tree as I have it, goes back to Salisbury and Fifehead at the beginning of the 15th Century. There is nothing very remarkable about the family other than the fact that it is mine. Several people over several generations (not only Newmans) carried out most of the research work that I have presented in these pages. My contribution has mainly been as a compiler of information obtained through other people's efforts.
The Newman lineage of the tree now extends through 20 generations, starting with Robert Newman of St. Thomas's, Salisbury, who died in 1402 and currently ending with Holly May Newman who arrived in this world on 16th December 2000. If we assume that Robert Newman was born around 1350, then we can calculate that the family's average generation period is 32.5 years (a little longer than one might have expected).
Through the early years that we have records, it seems that the Newman family followed the custom of the gentry in those days by making the priesthood a popular choice of career especially for younger sons in the days when primogeniture was the custom. Newmans were vicars in several of the small towns and villages in the Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire border areas from as early as 1405 when John Newman (brother of Robert Newman of St. Thomas's, Salisbury), is recorded as having been Rector of Fifehead, to as late as the 1950s when Rowey Newman (whom I remember well) was vicar of Hawkridge and Withypool.
From 1610 to 1799 several generations in at least two branches of the family lived in grand style. Richard Newman appears to have acquired Sparkford Manor along with the estates of North Cadbury and South Cadbury in 1610 (at the extraordinarily young age of 26), and Evercreech Park in 1653. His son Colonel Richard Newman went on to purchase Fifehead Manor in 1660. Fifehead Manor and Evercreech Park were passed down through the line of Col. Richard Newman's eldest son (Richard), Fifehead being sold in 1747 on the death of Sir Samwell Newman and Evercreech in 1773. Sparkford and the Cadbury estates were passed down through the line of Col. Richard Newman's youngest son, Francis Holles Newman, Sparkford being sold in 1793 and Cadbury estate in 1799 (or perhaps 1790), both being sold to pay the debts of Francis Newman, who was "committed for crime to the High Court" before making a new life for himself in America*.
Apart from Colonel Richard Newman who fought for the King in the Civil Wars of the 17th century, few other members of the family appear to have pursued political influence or had it thrust upon them. Two exceptions were Col Richard Newman's grandson, Sir Richard Newman, who became MP for Milborn Port in 1700 and the aforementioned Francis Holles Newman, who was appointed Sheriff of Somerset in 1745.
With no estates or fortune to support him, Francis Holles Newman's great-great-grandson Edwin Newman (my great-great-grandfather) took the family into business and the professions by establishing a firm of solicitors in Yeovil, (Somerset) in the mid 1800s. He chose as his partner my other great great-grandfather Francis Paynter whose grandson James took over the firm after Edwin's death. I suspect that some of Edwin's many sons may also have worked for the firm; certainly my grandfather Walter Ernest Newman did so, as described elsewhere in these pages in an interesting story which takes us far from Somerset to the wilds of Northumberland!
Edwin's sixth son, Walter, was the first of the family to join the army, and from all accounts enjoyed a successful career in which he rose to the rank of Major General and travelled to many parts of the world. His "portable" mahogany dining table which travelled with him is still in the family. In later life it seems he gambled away what money he had, playing whist at his club. His son Edwin Montague Browne Newman followed his father into the army but with less good fortune, losing his life at the age of 24 when he was killed in battle in the Sudan in 1885. My father, Harold Ernest Montague Newman, was the only other member of the family to follow a military career, which introduced him to India in the 1920s and 30s, and to Burma and later Germany during World War 2.
100 years ago there was a propensity for large families. My great-grandfather, Walter Newman (the soldier) and my great-grandmother Henrietta Newman were two of 12 children born to Edwin (the solicitor). Yet there do not seem to be multitudes of Newmans descending from them, and the only living relatives carrying the Newman name that I know are my sister (who now lives in Greece) and my children, and John Newman (and his family) in the UK. Several branches of the family emigrated - some to America, some to Canada and some to Australia and some to New Zealand. Indeed, my own branch moved to Australia in 1970, where my three offspring now live.
As explained on a separate "dedication" page, I have dedicated this web-site to my father Harold Ernest Montague Newman, who at present has no other headstone to be remembered by.
Note: For those who would are interested in a more fanciful history of the Newman family, a page is included about the Newmans of Wessex that includes several errors of fact that are listed at the bottom of the page).
Notes:
The work on the early part of the tree is credited to Rev Grosvenor Bartelot F.S.A. who wrote a book called "The History of Fifehead Magdalen Church and Manor". From about 1700, the tree is supposedly derived from the records of the Somerset Historical and Archeological Society Proceedings for 1890. From around 1850, the compilation is credited (at least in part) to Rev R.A. Newman (Rowey) during the 1950s. My father did some work on it - I think mainly he consolidated the information passed on to him, and I in turn did the same when I transcribed the "tree" onto a large sheet of tracing paper which I was able to copy and send to some family members. This web-site is an extension of that work and includes contributions from many sources, particularly in relation to non-Newman branches of my family history.
I hope I have given adequate credit for contributions and I offer my sincere apologies if I have failed to do so; anyway, I should especially like to thank my cousins Ian Caldwell, Marion Paynter and Oliver Suffield for the very valuable assistance they have given me; and my very special thanks go also to Ray Farnsworth now living at Freelands in Alnwick.
* Since I first wrote this page, I have been contacted by Jerry Gandolfo, one of many American descendent of Francis Newman who I had hitherto understood to have died in the USA without issue. Shortly afterwards I was contacted by Cliff Ranson, another descendent of Francis who offered yet more information about his fascinating life-story. I have also been contacted by John Newman (living in Devon in the UK) and three of his cousins living in New Zealand. All these people have provided me with valuable information, for which I am very grateful. I have also become a member of the Newman Name Society who have given me permission to reproduce part of their April 1998 issue of The Newman Chronicle relating to the Fifehead Newmans.
It is hoped that the web site will attract feedback from family members and others who knew or knew of members of the family. If anyone finds the site of interest or can help me add to it or correct it, please contact me (Chris Newman) at chris@newman-family-tree.net .