The              
                                                           Quiet 

                P atriarch

The Life of James Abram Newberry,
Native American Pioneer

By Sue Simonich

  Synopsis

     The Quiet Patriarch, details the James A. Newberry family who originally hailed from Warwick/Bellvale, New York . 

     The early Newberry family migrated from Connecticut to Duchess County , where they resided on the Oblong and Little Nine Patent in the 1740's. They began their tenure in Orange County in the 1760’s.  After 1800 some of the family continued residence in Orange and Duchess Counties , while others spread across New York and the U.S.

     James A. Newberry was the son of John and Jemima (Benedict) Newberry, who was born May 29, 1791. His enduring story traces the family migration from New York , through Pennsylvania and into Ohio , where they stayed only briefly. After living in Strongsville and then Brownhelm , Ohio he followed his destiny when he met with early Mormon missionaries in 1831 and was converted. 

     The objective narrative of the story, follows his movements through three migrations with the Latter-day Saints.  The first was from Lorain County , Ohio to Jackson County, Missouri in 1832. From 1833 to 1838 the family survived injustices inflicted upon the Mormon people as they were assaulted by the Missourians then run out of Far West at the end of  "The Mormon War" in 1838. 
Arriving in Illinois, they built up the city of Commerce, and renamed it Nauvoo, raising a shining city out of the swamps bordering
the Mississippi River.

     The Newberrys trekked to Nauvoo , Illinois and Lee County, Iowa, where the family settled. A relative calm descended around the collective people until 1844 when social upheaval began again, driving the Saints into another forced migration. This time their intent was to leave U.S. for the western frontier and ultimately the Rocky Mountains . After the ensuing flight from Nauvoo to Council Bluffs , Iowa , James Newberry stayed in Pottawattamie County until his death in 1880, preferring not to follow the migration to Utah .  The family was torn apart by this decision, when five of his daughters chose to leave Iowa . Some went to Utah and others continued on to California . A stubborn Yankee, Newberry set down roots and started another family in the mid 1840's.  Iowa is where many of these people remain today.

     The story is chronological and weaves various data together to provide an understanding of James' place in history and the drama experienced by those he loved and chose to call friend.

 I have a limited quantity of these on hand.  If you wish to order
 a copy, please send an email to me so that I can send an order
 form.  When the books I have on hand are gone, I am not sure
 if I will be reprinting until I know the interest level of my
 audience.

 The volume contains some photos of the family.  There are
 appendices, maps,  an extensive bibliography, and 575+
 notations and sidebars.