posted by Sandy on Ancestors of Thomas Watrous, Stories Within Stories

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James Newberry is one of the most interesting ancestors in our lines.  He was born in New York to John Newberry and Jemima Benedict.  His father was from New York and his mother from Connecticut.  He was the eleventh child of thirteen born to his parents.   In 1811 he married Mary Smith.  They became the parents of ten children including direct ancestor Hannah Maria Newberry who married George Morris.  In 1831, on a trip through Kirtland, Ohio, James heard the message of the Restored Gospel preached by missionaries of the very young church.  He was converted and baptized as was his wife Mary.  He was ordained an Elder in the Priesthood by the hand of Joseph Smith, the Prophet.

James  followed a very dotted trail, back and forth from state to state before he settled down.  From New York he moved to Ohio where he and Mary lived when they became members of the Church.  Then to Pennsylvania and back to Ohio.  Then to Missouri where they joined a group of Saints.  James built a nice two-story brick home but did not get the chance to live in it.  James and his family spent 1842 and 1843 in Nauvoo, Illinois where his wife Mary died in 1842. While in Nauvoo, James received his Patriarchal Blessing by the hand of Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s brother.  In it his lineage was declared.  He was of the tribe of Mannasseh.  Thus his Native American bloodline seemed clear.  There were many Native Americans who were “Christianized” in the 1600 and 1700s.  Perhaps that is the explanation of James and his connections to the Native American tribes.   James was involved in helping the Saints flee Nauvoo for other places including Iowa and Missouri.  After Mary’s death, he continued to live in Nauvoo with his daughters.  In 1847, in Iowa, James married Elizabeth Haskins.  They became the parents of  seven children.  Elizabeth died in 1855 as a result of the birth of her last child, Daniel. Later in that year, James married Sybil Pulsipher who was a Native American.  They did not have any children.  After her death her married a young Native American woman whose name is not known to us.  Some of James’ children stayed with and around him.  Most of his daughters moved west and settled in Utah or in California.

James applied for redress for his losses in Missouri.  He was driven with the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri to three different dwellings and then to Caldwell County.  He was driven with the others to Iowa.

When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob at Carthage Jail,  James was unable to gain a testimony of the succession of the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and vocally opposed Brigham Young and his plans for migration west.   He sympathized with the Reorganized Church which is today called The Community of Christ.  Although it is believed that James and some of is family were members of this church, which broke off from the main church upon Joseph Smith’s death, their records are private and no membership rolls have been shared with the public at large.  However, when James died, he life his assets to this church.

James’ life in Iowa provided many places for his ethnicity to be recorded.  His land purchases were in the Half-Breed Tract, his affiliations with Native American Tribes,  3 of 4 wives were Native Americans.  This fact cause great difficulty for our direct ancestor Hannah Maria Newberry who married George Morris.  Her ancestral summary will explain her difficulties.

James was buried in the Old Mormon Cemetery which was a burial place reserved for Mormons traveling through Iowa who died on their journey and Native Americans of any tribe.  Four young grandchildren are buried with James as well as other members of his family.  A marker was placed on the grave of James A. Newberry in 2004 by descendant contributions.

The migration of James A. Newberry

New York to Ohio to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois to Iowa

Tags: Benedict, california, Haskins, illinois, iowa, missouri, Morris, new york, Newberry, ohio, pennsylvania, Pulsipher, smith, the mormon church, utah