Louis Oak Newhouse and Sadie Sherrill

CHAPTER THIRTY -SIX

LOUIS OAK NEWHOUSE and SARAH "SADIE" SHERRILL

Louis Oak Newhouse 8 January 1890 in the town of El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas to Alfred Morton Newhouse and Pearl Anna Enos both natives of Indiana. His parents separated when he was about 8 years old and his father returned to the mid-west and married twice more having no more to do with his two sons he had with his wife Pearl.

Louis “Oak” Newhouse’s father worked as a real estate agent in El Dorado which the occupation he gave in the 1895 Kansas State Census taken on 1 March.The family is listed as 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. That marriage lasted less than a year and his father married again in 1910 to Margaret Grady. It is doubtful that Louis Oak ever knew he had two step mothers.

After Louis Oaks Newhouse’s parents divorced, he left Kansas with his mother and brother to move to El Reno, Oklahoma where his grandfather William Thomas Enos had a farm. On the 21 June 1900 Louis Oak Newhouse was listed as living in the city of El Reno, Canadian, Oklahoma with his mother and older brother. They lived at 334 Evans Street. His mother supported herself and her two children as a music teacher. His mother listed her age as 29 years old, and 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.

Louis Oak Newhouse mother moved from El Reno before his grandfather William Thoma Enos, died 16 December 1903 back to Kansas. Probate records showed that his mother was living in Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas at the time of his grandfather’s death. Cowley County is located south of Butler County, Kansas where Louis Oak was born and just north of the Oklahoma line.

On 1 March 1905 15 year old Louis Oak was enumerated in the State Census of Kansas as living in the town of Winfield in Cowley County with his 36 year old brother and his 18 year old brother Richard Newhouse. In the 1906 directory of Winfield the family was listed as living at 1438 East 3rd Street. Louis Oak Newhouse who was 16 years was listed as a clerk. He and his brother Richard E Newhouse were living with their mother at the same address.

About 1908 after Louis Oak turned 18 years old he joined the United States Navy an served four years as a gunners mate. The 1910 census showed him as living in Kittery, York County, Maine, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He was stationed on the USS Wisconsin in the Long Yard which was docked for repairs. He was listed as an “ordinary Seaman” in the U.S. Navy and his age was given as 23 when he was actually only 20 years old.

When Louis Oak Newhouse was discharged from the navy he made his way back to the Midwest and settled in Sioux City, Iowa and not Wichita, Kansas where his mother lived. In Sioux City he met and married in 1913 a older divorce woman named Sadie Sherrill Rux.

His bride was born Sarah Laverne Sherrill but went by the nickname “Sadie”. She was also known as “Tiny”. She was the daughter of Jesse Sherrill and Olive Blanche Lander and born 4 October 1882 in Watseka, Iroquois County, Illinois. When 2 days after she turned 15 years on 6 October 1897, she married 31 year old Charles John Rux in Crawford County, Iowa. She was three months pregnant at the time.

Sadie Rux gave birth to her first child Fannie B Rux on 6 April 1898 in Ida County, Iowa. Another daughter was born 9 January 1899 conceived shortly after the birth of her sister. She was named Olive P Rux who died between 1905 and 1910. The 1900 United States census stated that Charles Rux supported his family as a “well digger.”

A series of three more daughters were born before Charley and Sadie separated. Adeline F "Addie" Rux was born 7 October 1902 at Ida Grove, Ida County, Iowa followed by Elsie Marie Rux born 31 March 1905 also in Ida Grove, Iowa. Sadie was 24 years old when she gave birth to her youngest daughter Sylvia M Rux who was born 22 September 1907 in Ida County, Iowa.

The 1910 Census showed that Sadie had left Charles Rux, lived in a boarding house in Sioux City, and was working in a café as a waitress. She stated that she was married. Charles Rux was still living in Ida County but boarding with a family as a farm laborer. The daughters of this family were placed in an orphanage in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri according to the 1910 Census.

Sadie was 8 years older than Louis Oak when they married but he was able to provide a home for her daughters and was able recover them from the Kansas City orphanage. Louis Oak’s first child was named Richard Sherrill Newhouse was born 20 May 1915 in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. “Oak” Newhouse was a traveling shoe salesman.

On Sadie Newhouse’s 34th birth, 4 Oct 1916, her eldest daughter 18 year old Fannie B Rux married Ross Rockenfeld in Woodbury, Iowa. Sadie gave birth to another daughter named Lois Anna Pearl Newhouse born 10 November 1917. Family records said she was born in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, however on 15 June 1917 Louis Oak Newhouse registered for the draft in Sioux City and other census records state that she was born in Iowa.

In the World War I draft registry Louis Oak Newhouse 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. The children would have been his son Richard Newhouse and the 9 year old would have been his step daughter, Sylvia Rux. Sadie’s other daughters probably were living with their married sister.

By 1919 Louis Oak had moved his family to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where was he was Vice President at the Stanley Shoe Store. His residence is at 424 West Sixth Street. Louis Oak Newhouse was enumerated on 2 January 1920 as still living in Sioux Falls with his family supporting them working as a salesman in a shoe store there. Sioux Falls, South Dakota was nearly 560 due north of Tulsa where his mother and brother lived.

Louis Oak Newhouse was listed as age 29 born in Oklahoma and living at 424 West 6th Street in Sioux Falls’ 2nd Ward, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. His wife Sady Newhouse probably was the informant as that his father and mother's Birthplace was also given as Oklahoma. His occupation “Salesman” at a shoe store most likely at the Starley Shoe Store. His wife’s age was given as 35 born in Illinois. Children in the household were 14 year old “Elsie Newhouse” born in Iowa, 12 year old “Sylvia Newhouse” born in Iowa, 4 year old Richard Newhouse born in Nebraska, and 2 year old Lois Pearl Newhouse born in Iowa.

The two oldest children in the household were actually Louis Oak’s stepdaughters Elsie Marie Rux and Sylvia M Rux. The census also showed that this family was sharing this house with Fred Gassart’s family of 5 people.

Louis Oak Newhouse left Sioux Falls in 1921 but where he went is not known. He was not back in Sioux City, Iowa until 1927 and as that he was a traveling shoe salesman he could have been in Nebraska, South Dakota or even Minnesota.

Sadie’s daughter Addie Rux married on 7 Oct 1921 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa, to Henry D E Miller. Her sister Elsie Marie Rux at the age of 16 married six months later Charles Maynard Shadduck on 21 Mar 1922 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. That same year it is said that their mother Sadie had a daughter born in September 1922 named Esther Sarah Newhouse according to some family records but her birth place is unknown. Sadie Newhouse’s youngest daughter by her first marriage Sylvia M Rux at the age of 17 married Arne (Arnold) B Gubrud on 12 May 1925 in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha which is where her mother and stepfather may have been living. By 1925 all of Louis Oak’s stepdaughters were married and on their own.

The 1927 Polk Direction for Sioux City showed Louis Oak and Sadie Newhouse as living at 515 Perry Street and its simply said “traveling” for his business so probably it meant he was traveling salesman. By the end of 1927 the family appears to have been in Norfolk, Nebraska 83 miles west of Sioux City, where their youngest daughter , Erma Jean Newhouse was born 15 December. However the five years between 1927 and 1932 is a mystery to where he and his family were living. They can’t even be located in the 1930 United States Census.

The family appeared back in the Sioux City, Iowa 1932 city directory which listed “Oak and Sadie” Newhouse as residents of 217 Kansas Street. His occupation was given as salesman for the Meyers Bro. Saddlery Company. Louis Oak Newhouse and his family lived in Sioux City for the next eight years during the Great Depression and lived at various addresses there but primarily at 217 Kansas Street.

In 1933 “Oak” Newhouse was still working as a Salesman for the Meyers Brothers Saddlery Company, but he and Sadie were listed as living at 4327 Fillmore. Their eldest daughter, 16 year old Lois Anna Pearl Newhouse married on 24 Nov 1933 in Sioux City, Iowa,to 20 year old Arthur Stokes Jr. son of Arthur Stokes and Lillie Belle Fox of Sioux City.

The following year Louis and Sadie had moved to 912 Fifth Street and in 1935, when he was 45 years old, they lived at 421 Bluff Street. All these years his occupation was “salesman” according to the directory but whether he worked for the Meyers Brothers is unknown. His 20 year old son Richard S. Newhouse married on 7 Nov 1935 in Sioux City, Iowa, to Edna Yudka the daughter of Russian immigrants Adam Yudka and Anna Marie Shpakowsky. He followed his father into the shoes sales business.

In 1936 the family moved back to 217 Kansas Street where they would live until leaving Sioux City in 1940. He was a salesman except for in 1939 when he was a clerk for MW & Company. The 1940 census said that Louis Oaks worked 52 weeks in 1939, at 48 hours a week and only made $1200 for the year. That breaks down to about $25 a week to live on. The 1940 directory of Sioux City listed Louis Oak Newhouse a resident at 217 Kansas Street with his Spouse Sarah Newhouse. His occupation was given as a salesman once again.

Louis Oak Newhouse had moved from Sioux City to Nebraska where on 19 April 1940 the family is located back in Norfolk, Madison County where their daughter Erma Jean Newhouse had been born in 1927. The 1940 United States Census had them living at 112 South 8th Street at a house they were renting for $5 a month. His occupation was a Salesman. In this census Louis Oak was said to have finished high school. Louis was 50 years old, Sarah was 52 years old and the old child still in the house hold was 13 year old Erma Jean Newhouse.

In 1940 Sadie Newhouse’s married children by her two husbands were scattered. Her oldest child by Charles Rux , Mrs. Fannie B Rockenfield, was living in Janesville, Wisconsin. Mrs. Adeline Miller was living in Watertown, South Dakota. Mrs. Elsie Shadduck was a resident of Buhl, Idaho and Mrs. Sylvia Gubrud was located in Waukegan, Illinois. Richard S Newhouse was in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Mrs. Lois Stoker lived in Sioux City, Iowa. The one child of Louis Oak and Sadie L Newhouse that is unaccounted for is the daughter Esther Sarah Newhouse. She would have been 17 year old in 1940 but she is not found in any census under that name. She could have been married but there’s no record of a marriage.

Louis and Sadie Newhouse did not linger long in Norfolk, Nebraska as that they moved in 1941 to Austin in Mower County, Minnesota where he got a job as head of the shoe department for Montgomery Ward & Company. By the end of the 1930s Montgomery Ward had become the country's largest retailer in America.

On 27 April 1942 Louis Oaks had to fill out a Draft Registration Card during World War II. He stated his address was 102 South Franklin, Austin, Mower County, Minnesota. He gave his age as 52 having been born 8 January 1890 in El Dorado, Kansas. He gave as the person who would always know where he lives his mother “A P Newhouse” of 1024 Quincy Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was employed by “Montgomery Ward & Co”. His physical description was given as being 5 feet 9 inches and weighing 230 lbs. He had blue eyes, gray hair, and a light complexion.

The 1943 directory of Austin, Minnesota listed him as “Louise O Newhouse” and department head presumably still at Montgomery Ward. His address was given as 102 Franklin Street as it was in the 1945 directory. He had a telephone according to the directory of 1945. However in 1945 his Occupation was given as “Auditor.”

Again in 1947 the Austin directory listed him as “Louise O Newhouse” but next to him and his son Richard were the words “moved to Sioux City.” The 1947 directory of Sioux City listed “L.O. Newhouse” and Sarah as living at 1119 Jennings Street and his occupation was again listed as auditor. His daughter Erma Jean Newhouse is listed twice but both times living at 1119 Jennings Street. She is listed as a telephone operator for Sears and 2ndly as an assembler for Wincharger Company that made small the Wincharger radio unit would become the most produced wind generator over the next 60 years.

On 12 November 1947 both Louis Oak and his wife Sadie were killed in an automobile accident near Iowa City in Wright County, Iowa. They were buried in the Logan Park Cemetery in Sioux City Woodbury County in Section 12, Lot 226. Louis Oak Newhouse was 57 years old and his wife Sadie was 65 years old.

SHERRILL FAMILY

Sadie L Sherrill descended from an English man named Adam Sherrill who was born in 1570 in Devon, England and married Mary McCormick in 1585. Their son was William Sherwill born in 1585 in Plymouth, Devon, England, who married Johane Stinson. After she died he then married Anisia Nicols on November 12, 1610, in Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. He died on November 12, 1638 in Cornwood, Devon, England, at the age of 53.

When Adam Sherrill was born in 1610 in Ermington, Devon, England, his father, William, was 25 and his mother, Johane Stinson, was 20. He married Mary Harvie on July 16, 1632, in his hometown. He died on February 1, 1668, in Ermington, Devon, England, at the age of 58.

William Samuel Sherrill was born on June 7, 1635, in Ermington, Devon, England. He married Margery Upright in Ugborough, Devon, England. She was born 9 August 1635 in England and she died 9 Nov 1698 in Devon, England. He died 1 June 1687, in Ermington Parish, Devon, England.

When William Sherrill was born on November 16, 1666, in Ermington, Devon, England, his father, William, was 31 and his mother, Margery Upright, was 31. William Sherill was the immigrant ancestor to America and he married Margaret Rudisil in 1690. William Sherill, commonly known as the “Conestoga fur trader William”, appears to have been living in the Pequea Creek area of Chester County, Pennsylvania (eventually, Lancaster County when it was formed in 1729 from Chester County) as early as 1710. In 1702 he purchased 150 acres known as Price's Forest in Cecil County, Maryland. William was also called "the Indian Trader" - serving as an Indian guide in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He and his sons, William, Jr. and Adam are credited with helping to open the Susquehanna Valley, Virginia to early settlers in the 1740s. He died on April 25, 1747, at Sherrills Ford, in North Carolina, having lived a long life of 80 years.

When Adam Sherrill was born on December 11, 1696, in Cecil, Maryland, his father, William, was 30 and his German mother, Margaret Rudisil, was 21. He married Elizabeth Corzine in 1722 in his hometown. Adam Sherrill received a bounty for killing a wolf in 1724 while living in Chester County, Pennsylvania. “To Adam Sherrell for one wolf head 1 shilling.” In 1749 through 1750, Adam “The Pioneer” Sherill son of William (“The Conestoga Fur Trader” was involved in a Chancery suit brought by John Keith against him and William Dunlap for nine pounds Pennsylvania money. This suit was apparently occurring simultaneously with Adam Sherill’s relocation to Burke County, North Carolina. He died on March 5, 1772, in Catawba, North Carolina, having lived a long life of 75 years.

When William B. Sherrill was born on May 1, 1723, in Cecil, Maryland, his father, Adam, was 26 and his mother, Elizabeth Corzine, was 21. He married Sarah Agnes White on April 12, 1743, in Augusta County, Virginia. He died on December 31, 1786, at the age of 63 in North Carolina.

Joshua White Sherrill was born on June 4, 1752, in Anson, North Carolina, the son of his William and Sarah White Sherrill. He married Martha Susannah Osborne in 1774 North Carolina. He died on August 27, 1817, in Terrell County, North Carolina, at the age of 65.

When Joshua Sherrill was born on April 4, 1781, in Lincoln, North Carolina, his father, Joshua, was 28 and his mother, Martha Osborne, was 19. He married Catherine Linebarger in 1805 in Lincoln County North Carolina. They lived east of the Catawba River in Lincoln County where they are located in the 1810, 1820, and 1830 Censuses. He acquired a land patent in Fountain County Indiana on 10 April 1829 but did not move there until after 1830. Joshua acquired another patent across the state line into Illinois on 1 Nov 1839 in Iroquois County, near the community of Watseka. He is located in Iroquois County in the 1840 and 1850 census. He died on June 7, 1855, in Iroquois, Illinois, at the age of 74 and is buried the Old Texas Cemetery.

John Sherrill was born in 1805 in North Carolina, the son of Joshua, and Catherine Linebarger. He moved with his father’s family to Fountain County Indiana where he married at the age of 26 Elizabeth Helm on 13 Oct 1831. She was the daughter of James Helms and Rachel Taylor. He moved to Iroquois County which bordered Indiana by 1840 and in 1848 he acquired a 40 acre farm there. They had seven children in 18 years before he died on June 9, 1854, in Iroquois, Illinois, at the age of 49. He was buried in the Old Texas Cemetery, just about 2 miles east of Watseka and was buried there. There is a Masonic hand clasp symbol on his gravestone indicating that he was a Mason. His son Joshua Sherrill was killed during Battle of Resaca near Kingston, Gordon County, Georgia on 14 May 1864 at the age of 20. Served in Company H, 42nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry. He enlisted on August 27, 1861.

Jesse [ middle name given as initial S and also as Albert] Sherrill was born in February 1848 in Watseka, Illinois. His father, John Sherrill was 39 years old and his mother, Elizabeth Helms, was 33. He married Olive Blanche Lander in 1873 in his hometown. Olive Blanche Lander was born on January 12, 1852, in Terre Haute, Indiana to William Lander, age 47, and Pheobe Courtright, who was 44. She married James C Goodhue on March 31, 1867, in Parke, Indiana. About 1884 the family moved to Ida County, Iowa. In the 1900 Census they were enumerated in Corwin, Ida County, Iowa. By 1910 Jesse Sherrill had moved to Pennington County, South Dakota where he owned a farm. The 1920 census showed that Jesse and his wife Olive were retired and living with his son Frank’s family in Willow, Cherokee County, Iowa. They had 10 children in 18 years. He died on July 22, 1926, in Union, South Dakota, at the age of 78, and was buried in Sioux City, Iowa. She died on January 12, 1929, in Creighton, South Dakota, at the age of 77, and was buried in Sioux City, Iowa.

Their daughter daughter Sadie Sherrill married Louis Oak Newhouse as her second husband and granddaughter Erma Jean Newhouse married Kenneth Delbert Jones. Kenneth Delbert Jones has a grandson named Kevin Louis Oaks Jones.