Why Clint Newman left his family
From: David Newman
To: Karen Furlich
Date: 14 January 2012, 11:14:15 EST
Subject: CLINTON NEWMAN & family history.
Dear Karen:
Attached please find a historical write-up of our family starting with your great grandfather William. I have written this over a period of time and added to it as I have found more information. My sister Loraine (she is named after my grandmother, Lorana), has done a fair bit of research into the family over the years. She and I were able to acquire information from our father, Harold over the years. We were able to get him to share his experiences and memories with us at times which has proved very helpful. Dad was scarred by his family experiences with his father and never got over it. He became very bitter as he got older which was so sad.
The outcome of all this resulted in a family disconnect which I have been able to somewhat recover. After Dad died in late September 1993, my wife, Lois and I took Mom on a trip to Hawaii in February 1994. When we broke the news to her she immediately wanted to see Jack, so we went to Kauai. That was the first time I met him. Since then we have kept in touch with letters at Christmas and I like to telephone him from time to time. We visited him again last year in February and then in April were able to meet his son, Tom and his wife, Jo in New York City for the first time. In every case we have enjoyed our visits.
Much of the information I shared with you about your father, Eugene I gained from Jack and Tom.
Our findings of Clinton have revealed him to be a caring man. He did whatever he could for his mother and young brother in circumstances that were difficult for all of them. As a father he saw to it that his children had every opportunity to do well. Interestingly, Jack has told me that his father never shared with them anything about his father, William. He kept it to himself. Their breakup was complete. Most of this was not apparent to me until fairly recently. I am grateful to be able to share with his family the kind of man he was and am thankful for the kindness he showed to my father and the grandmother none of us ever knew.
I trust you will find this bit of family history informative and sincerely hope you are not discouraged by it. We cannot change the events in the lives of our forebearers. We need rather to live our lives in the best way we know how and to love those we are closest to.
Sincerely,
Dave
David Harold Newman
Why Clint Newman left his family
HISTORY OF WILLIAM & LORANA NEWMAN, their family CLINTON, CLARE & HAROLD NEWMAN 1892 - 1972
Earl Clinton Newman’s name was registered as such on his birth certificate, however he was always referred to as Clinton though he signed his name as E.C.Newman. Clinton was born on 20 June 1892 in Leamington, Ontario and was the oldest child of William and Lorana Newman. His sister, Lena Clare was born in 1895 and brother William Harold on 27 June, 1906. Lena Clare and William Harold’s names were registered as such as well, however, Lena Clare was always referred to as Clare and William Harold always referred to himself as Harold William and signed his name as such.
Upon completing high school Clinton began attending University with the intention of becoming a civil engineer. During the summer seasons he worked for his father William in the family construction business, Wm. Newman Construction Co. based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (photo: 1950 flood). The company specialized in pile driving, building bridges and wharfs. This would have taken place approximately 1912-13.
William would have two contracts operating simultaneously with him supervising one and Clinton the other. During the summer of that year he discovered that his father was involved with a woman who was his secretary. This concerned him enough that he advised his mother of it. When William found that Clinton had done this he was furious. As the time drew near for Clinton to return to his university studies, he became concerned because the project he was responsible for was not going to be completed until very late in the fall, so he appealed to his father to let him hire a civil engineer to complete the project so that he could resume his studies. University at that time was not based on the semester system, so if you missed too much of your studies you would have to forfeit the entire year. William refused to let him hire an engineer stating that he would have to complete the project before he was free to go. Clinton hired an engineer anyway, which angered his father. This resulted in a heated argument in which William refused to pay Clinton what he owed and told him that he would not receive any help from him in the future. It must have been a traumatic ending to their relationship as Clinton left Winnipeg to pursue his future in Ontario and later in the U.S. He was never able to complete his university education and never communicated with his father in the future other than a letter which he sent in the summer of 1918 insisting that William live up to his family responsibilities and provide for his wife and young son, Harold.
The reason for Clinton’s letter
William and Lorana had separated by that time and he had left her destitute. After their separation she and Harold left Winnipeg for Leamington in the early spring of 1917 to be with her family. A year later, in the summer of 1918 she and Harold went to Elmira, NY. to help Clinton and his wife, Jeannie with their newborn son, Bruce. Their apartment was small and the summer weather was hot and humid and Harold took to wandering the streets. Clinton was alarmed at this and his concern for his mother and 12-year old brother resulted in his letter to William. William would not pay Lorana and Harold’s transportation costs to Winnipeg, so Clinton paid for their travel expenses which was not easy for him as they were struggling financially at that time.
Upon arriving in August, 1918 they took residence in a rented, furnished house and Harold entered school early in September. A few weeks later the schools closed due to the Spanish Influenza epidemic so William took Harold out to a bridge construction site 50 miles away to work. While there, both William and Harold contracted influenza and returned to Winnipeg. Lorana nursed them until she too took sick. A doctor was called and noted that she was very ill and placed her in an already overcrowded hospital with double pneumonia. She died on November 14, 1918.
The effect on Harold
Harold was left in the care of his father. William placed him in a boarding house during the winter but would not pay for his lodging. His landlady would not put him out but instead provided a space behind the kitchen stove where he slept on a bed over a trunk containing his personal belongings. He was required to work off his lodging in addition to his schoolwork. There were other Newman relatives living in Winnipeg at that time but no contact with Harold was made. William would take him out of school early in the spring to work on construction, returning him late in the fall to his boarding house. One summer day a government construction inspector noticed a boy working on the job, and finding that he was the boss’s son and not being paid demanded that William pay him. At the age of 15 in 1921 Harold had saved enough money to buy some clothes (photo - in new suit) and to travel to Ontario where he obtained work. He was never able to complete his high school education. Later, as an adult, Harold worked in his father’s construction business for several years at different times becoming a specialist at contract tendering, pile driving as well as bridge and wharf building, however their relationship always suffered and each time he returned to his railroad employment, the last time being in 1950 followed by a move to Saskatchewan. He died in Red Deer, Alberta on 29 September, 1993.
Aftermath
Clare lived in Winnipeg in the 1916 – 1924 period also, working in a doctor’s office. She and her father got along well. Clare moved back to Windsor, Ontario around 1924, later marrying Clifford Morale. They had one son, Patrick. She died in 1954.
Clinton married Euginia Magdaline Swift in Welland, Ontario on June 9, 1917. They moved to Elmira, New York following the wedding and were blessed with three sons, Bruce, John (Jack) and Eugene who lived successful lives especially considering they were able to secure excellent educations and pursue worthwhile careers. He eventually lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for many years and had a successful career in the tool and die business serving industrial companies. He died there in January 1972.
William and Clinton never reconciled.
William died in Winnipeg on 6 January 1952 leaving nothing to his family. His construction company was dissolved to settle his lawyer’s claims.