The
Newberry story as I know it
began when my
family whispered rumors of our Native American heritage.
I decided to make a point of finding out what I could
and hoped to renew knowledge of my heritage and family,
with pride.
My Great Great Grandmother, Hannah Maria Newberry
Morris made a last photographic record of herself which
hung in my Great Grandmother's home until her death in
1931.The photo mysteriously disappeared, but through
detective work I located another copy that I have used
in this study.
The photo showed her as an elderly gray haired, work worn
woman in her 60's. She is wearing a curious necklace
which was purported to be Native American in origin, and
supposedly bear claw. I have stared at that photo for hours
trying to see the bear claws to no avail. I finally
decided to start asking questions of people who might have more
information. The necklace has been the only solid clue to her
ethnicity. I have found several people who have assured
me that it is indeed a Native American 'family
necklace'. More on that later.
At the same time I started querying people in N.Y. state
about my relatives and found many willing people who have
gifted me with huge amounts of research on the family. Ditto
for family in Iowa.
Our
Newberry's lived reclusive lives in an effort to protect their
children.
They hid their Native American heritage to
escape persecution and the prospect of extinction. They
intermarried with and lived as white men and avoided speaking
of their heritage. Wherever they went, they only spoke in
half-truths to avoid the treatment forced upon their tribal
cousins. Events such as the Trail of Tears, and numerous
other death marches forced on the tribes by a land hungry
civilization, required them to hide their ethnicity or risk
continued genocide.
Hannah's parents
set out from Warwick, N.Y. for the Ohio frontier around 1819. They headed
for "Western Reserve",
a part of Ohio that was set aside by the Connecticut Land
Company for people who were leaving the east. This land
was supposed to be reserved for people who lost their land in
the east for one reason or another. Someday we hope
to know our family's reasons. Hannah's parents specifically
sold their ownership in the inherited family land to
siblings, who in turn eventually disposed of it..
Hannah Maria Newberry was born in Strongsville, Ohio on
March 23, 1823. However, the whole story begins
generations before she is born, in Connecticut and New York. Her
father James Newberry born in N.Y. in 1791 was
probably from Iroquoian or Delaware stock, and her mother
Mary Smith, Northern Cherokee. By
this time many of
the tribes had intermarried with white men and the Newberry's
claimed to be Caucasian in the early (1790) census
records.
In some cases it is the
information that is missing that is most telling!
Physical characteristics have diminished through each
succeeding generation. However, a friend of mine who is a
Cherokee Elder believes,
"the heart contains the flame that shelters our ethnicity,
no matter our physical
appearance."
The
necklace has lead me on a saga of intrigue, and continues to fuel the fire
to find more information. I hope you will
enjoy the information as it is presented.
The
necklace home |