He Made His Mark: Linwood John Henry Newman

It was a cloudy day with rain threatening when the 81-year-old Linwood John Henry Newman died at the Alexandria Hospital on September 9, 1962. Six months before his death, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Reflecting on Linwood’s life, he survived the odds and gave his family and grandchildren a middle-class life.

Linwood was a son of a former slave. He was a farmer, a self-employed mason, and a carpenter. He married his first wife, Nannie Daniels, in 1913. They settled on his property in Burke, Virginia, off Braddock Road. He and Nannie had four children: Julius, Elease, Julian, and Grace. By 1919, the couple had divorced. In 1921, Linwood married his second wife, Elizabeth Daniels. They had eight children: Alberta, Lillian, Justine, Marion, Kolan, Herman, Laverne, and Winona.

Linwood was concerned about his children’s education because there were no colored schools nearby. He prepared to move his family to Alexandria around 1926.  He moved his family temporarily to 601 North Pitt Street. He built 510 Pendleton Street and purchased an additional home at 512 Pendleton Street. Linwood used the property at 601 North Pitt Street as his business address. In Alexandria, he found work as a mason, carpenter, and builder. His grandson, Linwood Smith, remembers his grandfather walking to his contract jobs. Some of the jobs he walked to were in Manassas, Virginia. He walked from Pendleton Street to Manassas with a family member pulling a wagon with his tools. Linwood faced hardship during the Depression. He lost his houses at 510 and 512 Pendleton Street. He moved his family to his property on North Pitt Street. After the depression, he was able to buy back his two properties on Pendleton Street. He learned to survive from his father, who was a hard-working man. His father, John Henry Newman, achieved homeownership in 1886 when he purchased nine acres of land on the property where he worked as a slave for Richard Fitzhugh.

Linwood John Henry Newman was born in 1880 on the Ravensworth’s tract in Fairfax, VA. His parents were John Henry Newman and Lillie Nelson Gatewood.

Two of Linwood’s grandchildren, Jesurena and Linwood Smith, live in Old Town, Alexandria. They have fond memories of their grandfather. He left his mark in Alexandria and made his grandchildren proud of his achievements.

(c) 2024 – Char McCargo Bah