Alfred Morton Newhouse and Pearl Anna Enos

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

ALFRED MORTON NEWHOUSE and PEARL ANNA ENIS [ENOS]

Alfred Morton Newhouse was born 23 February 1864 during the American Civil War. He was born in Jackson Township to Lewis Jackson Newhouse and his 2nd wife Nancy Pogue. He was named for his uncle Alfred Morton Newhouse and grew up on his father’s prosperous farm. He was eldest child of those born to Lewis and Nancy. His father had had 1 half sister and 4 half brothers by his father’s 1st wife Mary Ann Hackelman who died in 1862.

Alfred Newhouse was listed in his father’s household in the 1870 United States Census taken 20 August. His father Lewis lived in Jackson Township in Rush County on a farm worth $25,200 with personal property worth $5410. The family was on of the wealthiest in the Township.

Ten years later in the 1880 United States Census, Alfred was listed on 14 June as 16 years old living with his mother and father and attending school. His grandmother Polly Newhouse was included in the household along with six other siblings and a 19 year old female servant named Ida M Rhodes. The wealth of the family was not included in the census.

At the age of 21 Alfred M Newhouse married Pearl Anna Enos on 6 May 1885 in Rush County, Indiana. His father gave him his inheritance in the form of $2000 and almost immediately afterwards the young couple traveled by train to Butler County, Kansas and settled in the community of El Dorado where their first child Richard Enos Newhouse was born on 12 September 1886. Their second child Louis Oak Newhouse was born also in El Dorado on 8 January 1890. He had hoped to make it rich as a land speculator however the Panic of 1893 nearly wiped him out.

Alfred Newhouse worked as a real estate agent for the time he lived in El Dorado which the occupation he gave in the 1895 Kansas State Census taken on 1 March. The family is listed as living in El Dorado in a household that included, “A M Newhouse” age 31, “Pearl Newhouse” age 27, “Richard E Newhouse” age 8, and “Oak Newhouse” age 5.

The marriage of Alfred M Newhouse and Pearl Enos ended probably in 1898. After leaving Pearl Anna Enos Newhouse behind in Kansas with two small children Alfred M Newhouse returned to Indiana where he met and married a divorcee named Perdetta Jane “Jennie” Sutton Callaway. S

Perdetta Jennie Sutton had divorced Frank Callaway by whom she had five children. They were between the ages of 20 and 12 when Alfred and she were married 30 March 1899 in Madison County, Indiana. The marriage lasted probably less than a year as the 1900 United States Census of Indiana showed that on 2 June of that year Alfred M Newhouse is listed as a divorced man living 145 miles southwest of his exwife Jennie Callaway. She is listed in Elwood, Pipe Creek Township, in Madison County as of 2 June 1900 listing with two younger daughters where she is listed as divorced and a dressmaker by occupation. Her obituary showed that she kept the married name of her first husband.

“The Elwood Call-Leader, , Monday, April 21, 1947 Perditta Callaway Dies Perditta Jane Callaway, 88, died at 8:30 o clock this morning at the home of her daughter. Mrs. Maude Theanders of 123 North 10th street. Mrs. Callaway has been in failing health for the past two years, and has been seriously ill for the past two weeks. She was born on Sept. 21, 1850, in Rush County, the daughter of John and Hanna Sutton. She married Frank Callaway in 1876 and to this union were born seven children, four of whom are living. Mr. Callaway died July 7, 1926. The deceased was a member of the East Main Street Christian church and the Priscilla club. The survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Theanders at whose home she died. Mrs. Grace McCormick of Indianapolis and Mrs Fern Taylor or Hill Valley, Calif. There also survives one son, Claude Callaway of Indianapolis. There are eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. The body was taken to the Jackley Funeral home where it will remain. Funeral arrangements have not been completed.” The obituary does not mention that she was twice divorced.

Alfred M Newhouse as of 2 June 1900 was living in a hotel owned by George McBride in the town of Elmore, Daviess County, Indiana according to the United States Census. He listed his age as 35 when he was 36 and his birthdate as February 1865 when he was born in 1864. He gave his marital Status as divorced and his occupation as a Real estate Agent.

After Alfred and Pearl Enos Newhouse divorced, Pearl left Kansas to move to El Reno where her father William Thomas Enis had a farm. Pearl A Newhouse was listed in the 1900 United States Census as living 745 miles away from her ex husband and 210 miles south of El Dorado, Kansas. On the 21 June 1900 Pearl is listed as living in the city of El Reno, Canadian, Oklahoma. She is supporting herself and her two children as a music teacher. She rented a house at 334 Evans Street and she listed her age as 29 years old, born in August 1870. She said she was the mother of only two children, both living. She also stated she was widowed instead of divorced. She listed her two sons as Richard E Newhouse and Louis Oak Newhouse ages 12 and 10 born in September 1887 and January 1890. They were both born in Kansas.

Pearl Newhouse’s father, William Thomas Enos, died 16 December 1903 from a sickness due to an “abscess and nervous prostration.” Her mother Nancy Ellen Ross Enos and Pearl Newhouse were the only heirs to the 160 acre farm he left behind near El Reno in Canadian County, Oklahoma. As that her father was heavily in debt for $2000 when he died, the farm was sold at action and little was left as an inheritance.

Pearl Newhouse left Oklahoma and moved back to Kansas by 1 March 1905 where she is located in the State Census of Kansas. She is living in the town of Winfield in Cowley County as “A P Newhouse” age 36 and her sons Richard Newhouse age 18 and Oak Newhouse age 15.

In the 1906 directory of Winfield they were listed as living at 1438 East 3rd Street. She listed herself as the widow of “A Morton Newhouse” which she did for the rest of her life. Louis Oak Newhouse who was 16 years is listed as a clerk. He and his brother Richard E Newhouse are living with their mother at the same address. Pearl and her sons were living in Winfield when they were enumerated in the 1910 Census. Cowley County is located south of Butler County, Kansas where her sons were born and just north of the Oklahoma line.

Pearl Newhouse was listed as still living at 1438 East 3rd Street in Winfield, Cowley county, Kansas as of 19 April 1910. She listed herself as a 42 year old widow who owned her own home free of a mortgage. She said she was the mother of two children and that she had no occupation. Evidently she was being supported by her 23 year old son Richard who was working for the city as an electrician. Her youngest son Louis Oak Newhouse had left home and had joined the navy. The 1910 census showed him as living in Kittery, York, Maine, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, stationed on the USS Wisconsin Long Yard as an “ordinary Seaman” in the U.S. Navy. He listed his age as 23 when he was only 20 years old and probably was sending his paychecks home to his mother.

By 19 April 1910 “A M” Newhouse had moved some 135 miles from Daviess County Indiana to Lovington, Illinois. He is listed as a 46 year old real estate agent who was boarding at a hotel where his 3rd wife worked as a cook. Sometime prior to this date Alfred M Newhouse married Margaret Grady the daughter of Irish immigrants from County Tipperary. She had been previously married to Garrett Cunningham and had one child living but was not enumerated in the household. Margaret was 38 years old.

In 1911 Pearl Newhouse moved with her son Richard Newhouse to Wichita, Kansas. They were living at 409 North Lawrence Avenue. She still stated she was the “widow” of Alfred M Newhouse” even if he had twice married since divorcing her. She must have had sold her house in Winfield as she was only renting in Wichita. Her son Richard was now working as an electrician for the Southwestern Electric Company. The family left Wichita by 1912 as there are no more mention of them in the Polk Directory.

When Louis Oak Newhouse got out of the service he married in 1913 a divorce woman named Sadie Sherrill Rux of Sioux City Iowa. In 1914 Richard Newhouse however had moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma and was living at 118 West 7th Street and working as an electrician for the Electric Supply Company. His mother is not listed in the Tulsa directory and may have just been included in Richard’s household.

Richard Newhouse married a 16 year old girl woman named Ethel Arter on 2 October in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was 29 years old and she was 24. What is strange about this marriage is that it appears that the couple did not live together for almost 8 years.

In 1916 both Pearl and Richard are listed as living at 21 South Utica Avenue in Tulsa where he is still an electrician working for the Electric Supply Company. The following year Richard is listed as a foreman at the Electric Supply Company living at 1111 South Cheyenne but Pearl is not listed separately nor is Ethel listed in his household.

On 5 June 1917, Richard Enos Newhouse registered for the World War I draft. He was described as medium height, slender, with blue eyes and black hair. He said he was 30 years old working as an electrician for the Electric Supply Company. He lived at 1109 South Cheyenne and said he was supporting his mother. Although he stated he was married no wife was mentioned.

On 15 June 1917 Louis Oak Newhouse registered for the draft. He was described as medium height, medium build with blue eyes and brown hair. He said he was 27 years old working as a shoe clerk in Blotsky Department Store in Sioux City, Iowa. He lived at 912 5th Street with a wife and two children ages 9 and 2. He also stated that he served in the navy for 4 years as gunners mate 3rd class.

Alfred and Margaret Grady Newhouse by 2 January 1920 had moved to the village of Hammond in Unity Township, in Piatt County, Illinois. There Alfred bought a home free and clear of a mortgage. In the 1920 census he said he was 55 years old and married to “Maim” Newhouse which must have been a nickname as he was married to Margaret for the remainder of his life. He gave his occupation still as a real estate agent.

The 1920 Oklahoma Census was taken on 5th February listing Pearl Newhouse in the household of her son Richard. She is listed as “Anna Pearl Newhouse”, a 52 year old widow with no occupation. Richard E Newhouse who was now 33 years old was listed as head of the household and now Superintendent of the Electric Supply Company. They rented a house at 1324 Carson Street in Tulsa. Richard listed his marital status as married although there was no wife in the home. Ethel Arter is listed as living with her widow mother Mrs. Sarah Arter on the 6th of January in the town of Venita in Craig County, Oklahoma. She said she was 25 years old when she was closer to 28 years. She gave her marital status as “Single” and her she worked for Southwest Bell telephone company and her occupation was “Traveling Automobile”.

Pearl’s son Louis Oak Newhouse was living in Sioux Falls with his family in 1920 and supporting them working as a salesman in a shoe store there. Sioux Falls, South Dakota was nearly 560 due north of Tulsa. As that Louis Oak Newhouse’s father left his mother when Louis was only about 8 years, Louis Oak Newhouse’s children grew up knowing next to nothing about his side of the family.

The 1923 Polk Directory for Tulsa showed his wife Ethel as living in Richard E Newhouse’s household. They are living together at 816 ½ East 3rd Street in Tulsa. Richard Newhouse was listed as Secretary and Treasurer for the Electric Supply Company. Pearl Newhouse is in a separate address at 816 East 3rd Street. The 1926 and 1927 directories showed that Pearl Newhouse “the widow Alfred Morton Newhouse” and her son and daughter in law were living at the same residence and Richard had the same position at the Electric Supply Company. In 1928, however Richard Newhouse bought a house at 1024 Quincy and living with him was his wife Ethel and mother Pearl. This house is still standing and is located near the corner of 11th Street and Quincy and about two blocks from the Oaklawn Cemetery. Historic Route 66 runs through Tulsa via 11th Avenue.

The last census in which Alfred Newhouse was enumerated was the 1930 United States census taken on 2 April. He is listed as “Mortin A Newhouse” still living with his 58 year old wife Margaret in Hammond Village, Unity Township, Piatt County, Illinois. He owned his home which was valued at $1000 and stated he had no radio set which was a census question that year. He said he worked in the “Broker Industry” in Real Estate. Another question asked was “Age at First Marriage” and he stated 46 disregarding his marriage to Pearl Enos when he was 21 years old.

Pearl Anna Enos Newhouse in the 1930 Census was enumerated on April 5th in the household of her son Richard and daughter in law Ethel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They lived at 1024 South Quincy Ave in a house Richard owned valued at $6000 and the census also showed that he owned a radio set. His occupation was given as an “Engineer” in the Electrical Industry. Pearl Newhouse stilled listed herself as a widow aged 63. The 1930 directory showed that Richard was still working for the Electric Supply Company. The census also showed that Richard and Ethel never had children.

Pearl Newhouse rode out the Great Depression during the 1930’s living with her son and daughter in law on Quincy. Richard Newhouse stayed employed the entire time. She is not listed in the 1931 directory but was mentioned in 1932 as “Mrs. Pearl Newhouse” but was back to being a widow in 1933. In 1932 Ethel Newhouse was listed as the secretary for the Social Order of the Beauceant which was a female auxillary to the fraternal Masonic order of the Knights Templar.

Alfred Morton Newhouse died 1 Aug 1934 in Hammond according the Illinois Death Index and was buried the next day on August 2nd in the towns’s cemetery. His widow Margaret lived another ten years dying 19 September 1944 in Monticello, Piatt County, Illinois. Interestingly their tombstone reads Grandfather and Grandmother but which grandchildren put the monuments there is unknown. Alfred only had the two sons and Margaret the one child. In the 1940 Census Margaret was living with her granddaughter Thelma and her husband Marshall Conour and they probably paid for the monument. After 1934, Pearl Newhouse was an actual widow whether she knew it or not.

The 1940 United States Census of Oklahoma listed “Anna Pearl Newhouse” as a 73 year old widow. She was still living with her son Richard Newhouse and her daughter in law Ethel at 1024 Quincy Avenue. In this census she stated that she had attended 4 years of high school. Richard Newhouse had worked himself up to Vice President of the Electric Supply Company but his home had lost its value due to the Depression to only $3500. He was also working 60 hours a week with his new responsibilities.

On 23 April 1942 Richard Newhouse had to sign up a Civilian Draft during WW II when he was 55 years old. He was still working at the Electric Supply Company which he had now for 25 years. The business was located at 815 East 3rd Street. He was still living at 1024 Quincy. He was described as 5 foot 9 ½ inches weighing 147 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair.

Two days later Louis Oak Newhouse was registered for the Civilian Draft. He was 52 years old and living at 102 South Franklin Street in Austin, Minnesota. He was working for Montgomery Ward and Company. He was described as 5 foot 9 inches weighing 230 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair. He gave his mother as the person who would always know where he lived.

Pearl Anna Newhouse died at the age of 76 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her exact death date has not been found but cemetery at Rose Hill Memorial stated that she was buried 16 November 1946. She probably died on the 14th. She was buried in Section Peace (24) L-389 #1

Her son Louis Oak Newhouse and his wife were killed in an automobile accident the following year after moving from Austin, Minnesota to Sioux City, Iowa leaving the only descendants of Alfred Morton Newhouse and Pearl Anna Enos. Richard Enos Newhouse had no posterity.

Richard Enos Newhouse lived out the remainder of his life in Tulsa and died there 23 January 1980 at the age of 93. He was buried in Section Peace (24) L-389 #2 in the Rose Hill Memorial Cemetery. His widow Ethel Arter Newhouse died 24 October 1984 at the age of 93 and is buried also in Rose Hill Memorial Park, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Section Peace (24) L-389 #3