Class of 1916

Birth:  28 Jul 1897, Rowan County, North Carolina
Death: 1 Mar 1989, Siler City, Chatham County, North Carolina

Parents:
Paul Monroe Stirewalt (1853-1913)
Zilphia Annie Sapp Stirewalt (1868-1954)

Siblings:
William Bickley Stirewalt (1877-1947)*
Gustavus A. Stirewalt (1881-1883)*
Lucia A. Stirewalt (1885-1886)
Victor Lee Stirewalt (1888-1904)
Craig Cletus Stirewalt, Sr. (1890-1960)
Cletus Ray Stirewalt (1894-1946)
Clifford Paul Stirewalt (1908-1983)

* half sibling

Spouse: Wiley Blaine Newsome (1891-1978)
Marriage: 30 Jun 1920, Rowan County, North Carolina

Children:
Wiley Blaine “Diddy” Newsome, Jr.  (1922- 1931)
Geraldine Newsome Brickhouse (1924-2003)

Burial: Salem Cemetery, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA
Source/Photo: honeychile, www.findagrave.com, # 28214050.

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The Rowan Record (China Grove, N. C.), 26 Oct 1917, p. 4.

FAITH

Miss Mary Stirewalt has been elected principal of the school at Whiteville, NC, and has gone there to teach school this winter.

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Salisbury Evening Post (Salisbury, NC), 28 Aug 1919, p. 2.

ROCKWELL ITEMS

… Miss Mary Stirewalt of Faith has been secured to teach the eighth and ninth grades in the Rockwell High School. Miss Stirewalt is a graduate of Mont Amoena Seminary and we are glad to welcome her to our town.

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Salisbury Evening Post (Salisbury, NC), 2 Jul 1920, p. 3.

Stirewalt – Newsome.

Wednesday evening at 8 o’clock, June 30, a simple but pretty wedding was solemnized at the home of Mrs. P. M. Stirewalt of Faith when her only daughter, Mary Ada, became the bride of W. Blaine Newsome of Germantown, N. C.

Prior to the ceremony, Rev. H. A. Welker sang, “Because,” accompanied by Miss Marie Davenport of Pineville, N. C.

Amid the soft strains of Traumerie the beautiful and impressive ring ceremony of the Lutheran church was used, Rev. C. P. Fisher officiating.

The bride was beautiful in her wedding gown of white satin and georgette her veil falling from a wreath of forgetmenots. She carried a shower bouquet of sweet peas. The bridesmaids carried elaborate bouquets of pink sweet peas with pink tulle.

The bride is a beautiful and popular daughter of Mrs. P. M. Stirewalt. She is a graduate of the 1916 class of Mont Amoena Seminary, Mt. Pleasant, N. C., and has been a successful teacher in the public schools of the state.

The groom is the son of the late H. W. Newsome, of Germantown, N. D.

Immediately after the wedding about fifty invited guests were served with a salad course and ice cream and cake.

When all had partook to their satisfaction the bride and groom motored to Salisbury where they boarded No. 138 for the capitol city, Washington, to spend their honeymoon.

The many friends of this popular couple wish them success and happiness.

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The Charlotte News (Charlotte, N. C.), 23 Jul 1920, p. 5.

PINEVILLE ITEMS

… Misses Marie and Bessie Davenport who attended the marriage of their cousin, Miss Mary Stirewalt and Mr Bayne [sic] Newsome, of Salisbury, last week, have returned. The bride is a niece of Mrs. Davenport and has visited here often where her charming personality won her hosts of friends. The groom, Mr. Newsome is the American representative to China, and the young couple sailed for China, their future home, last Tuesday. Miss Marie Davenport played the wedding march at the marriage which was a most brilliant social event.

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Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, N. C.), 31 Jul 1931, p. 7.

Letter Tells How Little Boy Lost His Life In China
(Special to Daily News)

Rocky Mount, July 30. – Details of the accident which took the life of Wiley Blane [sic] Newsome, Jr., 9, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Newsome of Shanghai, China, were disclosed in a letter received here today by Mrs. F. M. Davenport, grandmother of the little boy.

While he was playing in the garden of the home of his parents, a flower pot fell upon his head, cutting a gash about an inch in length. It was treated but did not appear serious and apparently was healed within a short time. About a week after the accident his face began drawing and later tetanus developed. He died from the effects of the complications.

His parents, well known here, are connected with a tobacco company in China.

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Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, N. C.), 2 Aug 1931, p. 22.

Word Received At Concord Of Death of Newsome Child
(Special to Daily News)

Concord, Aug. 1. – Relatives have received word announcing the death of Wiley Blane [sic] newsome, Jr., nine year old son of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Newsome, of Shanghai, China.

While playing the little fellow fell turning over a flower stand, the flower pot falling onhis head and cutting an inch gash on his forehead. About a week later tetanus developed, every effort was made to save the child’s life, but in vain. He died Wednesday, July 1, about 3 p.m.

Mr. Newsome is connected with the British American Tobacco company, stationed in Shanghai. Mrs. Newsome was formerly Miss Mary Stirewalt, of Faith.

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Source: honeychile, www.findagrave.com, #28216348.

Wiley Blaine “Diddy” Newsome, Jr.

Birth: 20 Jul 1922, Jigongshan, Henan, China
Death: 1 Jul 1931, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

Diddie was the son of my great-uncle Blaine Newsome. Family history holds that he fell from a porch and suffered a scalp or head wound which became infected, leading to his death. His body was shipped back to the states and family lore revolves around his red curls which seemed to be even longer when the casket was opened than when he died.

I was contacted by another contributor who tells me that he was originally buried in Bubbling Well Road Cemetery, Sec. B, Lot 391, in Shanghai, pursuant to Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad. Apparently, he was disinterred to be brought home.

For me, I imagine an 8 year old boy looking forward to his birthday, but laid low by an unexpected result to his mischievousness, growing sick, and dying in a foreign land. The death of a child is always a sad thing, but the circumstances of Diddie’s death are particularly poignant, shrouded in mystery and dimmed by time.

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Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, NC), 5 Sep 1937, p. 12.

Wife and Daughter of Former Twin City Man Flee China

Flight by sea from China’s war-raveged Shanghai to peaceful Manilla, Philippine Islands, was described in a letter to an anxious mother of Winston-Salem yesterday.

Mrs. Ella Newsome, 2910 Patterson avenue, received the letter. It came across the Pacific Ocean in the mail deck of the huge, swift “China Clipper,” passenger plane that rces the sun from America to the Orient.

The letter was from her daughter-in-law, Mrs. W. B. Newsome. It was written when Mrs. Newsome and her daughter Geraldine, arrived aboard the Dollar Liner President Jefferson, in Manila.

W. B. Newsome, son of Mrs. Ella Newsom, has been Shanghai representative of a tobacco concern for 15 years. He lived here before going to China. He was expected by his wife to arrive in Manila on the ship President Hoover the day after the letter was written, August 21.

“We were two of 350 people leaving Shanghai on the President Jefferson, besides the regular passengers.” the letter said.

“As we were going down the river to our ship, we had a narrow escape. Our launch nearly capsized,” Mrs. Newsome said in her letter.

The letter was brief in its reference to the condition in Shanghai. It said simply that the international city of the Orient had become “a place of horror.”

Mrs. W. B. Newsome is the former Miss Mary Ada Stirewalt, of Salisbury. She has been in China with her husband for 15 years.

Her letter did not say what Mr. Newsome plans in the future. His mother said that he will return to the United States; that he probably won’t go back.”

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Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, NC), 3 Mar 1989, p. 12.

NEWSOME
Mrs. Mary Stirewalt Newsome, Sanford, N.C., died Wednesday evening at Meadowbrook Manor, Siler City. She was the widow of Wiley Blaine Newsome. She was born on July 28, 1897 in Rowan County to Paul Monroe and Annie Sapp Stirewalt. She lived her early life in Faith, N.C. After she was married, she lived in China for 20 years, then lived in Winston-Salem for 37 years. She had been a resident of Sanford for the past ten years. She was a member of Augsburg Lutheran Church. She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Geraldine N. Brickhouse, Sanford; three grandchildren, Blaine Brickhouse, Winston-Salem, Nancy Brickhouse, New York, N.Y. and Paul Brickhouse, Houston, Tx. and two great-grandchildren. Graveside services will be 3 p..m. Saturday at Salem Cemetery by Dr. Charles Huggins. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight at the Vogler’s Main Street Chapel.