by Alec Newell
"Aggie" Newell was the 4th of nine children born to Professor M. Alexander and Susannah
Rippard Newell. Her biography is less
notable than those of her husband Albert, and son Alexander Newell Scott, but
more on them later.
The first
child born to the couple had also been named Agnes, but "died young." She is listed in the ship's manifest in which
the family immigrated from Liverpool: "On May 1, 1848 on the ship AZ, M.
Alex Newell, 23, a merchant, his wife Susannah 19, Agnes, an infant, and a
servant arrived in New York City."
We know from
her 1884 obituary, that 28 year old "Aggie" had married Lt. Albert
Blackstone Scott, bore him a son in 1882, and died. Her funeral was held at her father's home on
Carollton and Lafayette Ave. in Baltimore.
In the 14 month period between July of 1883 and Sept. of 1884, that
house would see the funerals for four
female members of the Newell family.
Having so many deaths in such a short period of time must have been devastating
for the survivors.
Aggie's
younger brothers, George and Harry, had left home for Florida in late
1880. Her mother Susannah, died in July
of 1883 (age 55) and was followed less than two months later by the third
sister Annie. Aggie died in March of
1884, and the oldest surviving sister, Mary C. Newell "Mini" died
that September, leaving Professor Newell alone in the house with two teen age
daughters, Irene and "Belle".
"Belle"
married a Paul Pratt in Havre de Grace Md. (1892), and from a 1900 census we
see that Aggie's son, Alexander Newell
Scott, is listed as a 'farm laborer' living with his Aunt "Belle" and
Uncle Paul Pratt.
By March of
1885, or just a little more than a year from his first wife's death, Professor
Newell is remarried to Charlotte (Price or Wilson) Davies Newell, whose
birthdates are variously given as 1847, 1849, 1855, and 1859. Whichever date you pick, she was certainly
much younger than he was, younger even than several of his daughters, and with
so many inconsistencies in the information we have about her name(s) and
birthdates, it also makes me wonder if perhaps Ms. Charlotte had a flair for self
reinvention as well.
In October
of 1885, grandson M. Alex Newell is born Harry and Gertrude of Orlando, and two
months after that, and just a scant nine months from the nuptials with his
young bride, Charlotte presented Professor Newell with a third son, James
Alexander Newell. A daughter, Josephine "Jo"
Cushing Newell would follow on Jan. 10 1889 (or 1892). At this point Professor Newell had sired 11
children by two wives, but only six of the children were still living. That's a 44.5% mortality rate among his
children.
To further
complicate the family tree, Aggie's only child, (Professor Newell's grandson)
Alexander Newell Scott and Josephine C. Newell, (Professor Newell's only
daughter by Charlotte) marry and produce a son named Alexander Newell Scott Jr.
Search billions of records on Ancestry.com
m. 30 Jun 1924, Baltimore, Baltimore Co., MD
Children
Afterword on
Aggies's husband, Albert Blackstone Scott
For years there had been rumors afoot that Agnes Newell had been married to a "Dr. Scott," and hence a family connection to the Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. When allusions to a Lieutenant A. B. Scott began to surface, the bogus conjectures about a "Dr. Scott" faded. I began to suspect that Agnes' son, Alex Newell Scott, might have been the product of an illicit liaison between the spinster-aged Agnes (26) and the "shadowy" Texas born U. S. Army Lieutenant. Had it all been an elaborate Victorian smokescreen to hide a family scandal? The truth turned out to be a much better story.
Following up on a recent tip I received from my sister, Connie Newell Langston, the "shadowy" Lt. Scott turned out to be a noteworthy candidate for research on his own merits.
Albert B Scott, was a "born soldier" raised in the home of his maternal grandfather, a Brevetted Brigadier General Robert H.K. Whitely who had headed up part of the infamous "Trail of Tears."
Albert was appointed to West Point by Ulysses S. Grant, served with distinction in several Indian Wars, and was wounded in a final chase with Geronimo, in Arizona. During the Spanish American War (with Teddy Roosevelt) he fell, severely wounded, during the Battle of San Juan and was mistaken for dead. He was later brevetted to the rank of Major for his gallantry, and died from complications to his wounds at home in 1906. He is buried in Milledgeville, Ga.
He had served as commandant of Cadets at the Maryland Agricultural College, and the Georgia Military Academy, and was admitted to Bar Association at Milledgeville, Georgia in 1895.
Following Aggie's death, Albert had married the daughter of Brigadier-General J.B. Howell (died Civil War) and fathered two daughters with her, one of whom was called Agnes. The attachment below is taken directly from the Annual Reunion by U. S. Military Academy Association of Graduates, June 13, 1907.
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Monday, April 12, 2004
Agnes "Aggie" Newell Scott (1856 - 1884)
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