Newkirk

The Curious Case of Dr. Adamson B. Newkirk
By Carol Bradford

Adamson Bentley Newkirk, M.D. and his wife, Lucy M., probably came to Hyde Park in 1873. He was 54 years of age at the time, and she was 48. They joined the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church by letter of transfer from First Congregational Church of Memphis, Tennessee. Their oldest child, Clara Barker Newkirk also joined transfer in early 1875. Three children: Jennie C., John N., and Adamson B., Jr., joined by profession of faith in January 1877. A son, Joseph T., joined by profession in March 1880, and the youngest child, Malvina A., joined and was baptized in August 1881. Common practice at the time was for children to become full members of the church at about age 12.

The Newkirk family may have been related to the Barker family, who were already members of the church. Joseph N. Barker and his wife, Frances, had joined the Hyde Park church in February, 1872, by transfer from First Presbyterian of Chicago, which was located downtown at that time. (Note that this move occurred shortly after The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, at which time many Chicago residents migrated to the suburb of Hyde Park.) Joseph served as an elder of the Hyde Park church from July 1872 until his death in May 1902. He was the Sunday School Superintendent from 1875 to 1878. Mrs. Barker was active as an officer of the Women's Foreign and Home Missionary Societies. The Barkers lived at first on Lake Park Avenue, and then in the mid-1880s built a house at 5000 South Greenwood, which still stands. A relationship between the two families is suggested by the middle name, Barker, being given to the Newark's first child, and by the fact that both families had a daughter named Malvina A. In addition, Dr. and Mrs. Newkirk are buried in the Barker family plot at Oak Woods Cemetery.

The eldest son, John, was apparently the first to leave home, transferring his church membership to Sedalia, Missouri in September 1879. The following spring, Adamson, Jr. transferred to First Presbyterian of Falls City, Nebraska. In November 1882 Jennie also transferred to Falls City, a town now of about 5000 people located in the far southeast corner of the state. Just a month later, on December 18, 1882 their mother, Lucy Newkirk, died of pneumonia and was buried in the lot owned by Joseph N. Barker at Oak Woods.

The Session (governing body) Records of the church show that at a meeting held on April 14, 1883 "Mr. Ferdinand Mayers appeared before the session and preferred charges against Adamson B. Newkirk of taking improper liberties with girls. His statement was supported by letters from other parties. The Committee on Dr. Newkirk's case reported that he admitted improper conduct, but said that nothing criminal was intended; Elder [Joseph N.] Barker said that Dr. Newkirk consented to waive formalities and expressed a desire to proceed at any time the session chose." They scheduled a meeting for two weeks later to further consider the charges.

The Session was operating in this matter under the Rules of Discipline of the Presbyterian Church, which have remained basically unchanged since their origin in Scotland in the early years of the Reformation Era of the 16th Century. In those days, the church, rather than the civil government, was the guardian of moral behavior, and it was not uncommon for allegations of immoral conduct to be brought to the attention of the elders of the church for actual trial, determination of guilt or innocence, and punishment. The censures available are rebuke, temporary exclusion (from office, membership, and participation in the sacraments), and removal. In the late 19th Century church membership was an essential part of one's personal and social life. To be barred from the sacraments was a very visible act which would immediately identify a person as not being in good standing in the church. The community might easily make the assumption that such a person had been found guilty of immoral conduct.

Dr. Newkirk did not appear at the meeting held on April 27, 1883, having given his consent for the Session to proceed without him. "A communication from Dr. Newkirk was then read; following which each member of the session expressed his views at length. The paper presented by Dr. Newkirk admits the offense charged and offers some explanations designed to mitigate the gravity of the offense." The Session decided that it could not determine the gravity of the offense "without a careful examination of witnesses. Such an examination would, in our judgment, be of serious injury to the girls, and its evil effects would more than counterbalance any good that might be expected to result. It is the judgment of the session that Dr. Newkirk be suspended from the privileges of the church until such time as the session may deem it wise to restore him. It is not deemed wise to publish this judgment farther than to the parties making complaint." The members of the Session at the time were Pastor, Rev. E. C. Ray, and Elders Hassan Hopkins, Homer N. Hibbard, Joseph N. Barker, George Stewart, John C. Welling, and William Olmsted. All were business and professional men who would probably be considered part of the elite of Hyde Park.

When next we hear of Dr. Newkirk it is in a letter addressed to the Session, written from Falls City, Nebraska on November 19, 1883. In it, Dr. Newkirk "respectfully and strenuously" urged them to consider whether the time had not already come for them to restore him to the privileges of the church and grant a letter of dismissal to the First Presbyterian Church of Falls City. He reminded them "that the only guilt-which I admitted was 'playful improprieties,' without thought of committing an offense.
"I sincerely repented and do repent of the wrong which I thus unintentionally did and only realized through the above charges and its attendant circumstances. Earnestly and humbly did I ask forgiveness.

"When my sentence was realized by me I felt it to be exceedingly severe; as time goes on I feel more and more strongly the severity of my punishment. I have tried to bear it with Christian patience and now after the endurance of it for over seven months, I am impelled to urge you, for the sake of Christian charity-of Christian justice to terminate my punishment."

After consideration, the Session voted to restore him and the clerk was directed to inform Dr. Newkirk of the action.

Exactly one week later, on December 18, 1883, the first anniversary of his wife's death, Adamson B. Newkirk died. The cemetery record shows "accident-thrown from buggy" as cause of death. He was buried on December 22, next to his wife in the Barker plot at Oak Woods. It is doubtful that he had received notice of his reinstatement by the Hyde Park church elders by that time. One can only speculate whether his death was truly accidental.

EPILOGUE

About a year later, Clara and the two youngest children, Joseph and Malvina, joined Jennie and Adamson Jr. in Falls City, transferring church membership there in March 1885. Clara returned to Hyde Park and rejoined Hyde Park Presbyterian on November 27, 1889. Her name is listed in the church directory of 1900, residing at 5313 Washington (now Blackstone) Avenue. In December 1903 she transferred her membership to First Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, California.
REFERENCES:

All quotations are from the Session Records of the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church, housed at the United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 East 53rd Street, Chicago, IL.
Jean Block: Hyde Park Houses, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.
Book of Order Presbyterian Church (USA), Louisville: Office of the General Assembly, 1988.
The author wishes to thank Soubretta Skyles for her assistance in locating records at Oak Woods Cemetery of Chicago, and Robert Worley, Chief Academic Officer at McCormick Theological Seminary for sharing his knowledge of Presbyterian polity and practice.

Dr. Newkirk was graduated from the Starling Medical College of Columbus, Ohio, March 1, 1849, and practiced medicine the balance of his life in Jamestown, Zenia, and Freesburg, Ohio; Memphis, TN; Manteno and Chicago, Illinois; and Falls City, Nebraska.

During the Civil War he was agent of the United States Government, and during President Grant's term of office he was Internal Revenue Collector for the 8th District of Tennessee located at Memphis.

He died at Falls City, Nebraska from injuries received by a fall making a professional call late at night.

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Adamson Bentley Newkirk, Jr. engaged in the practice of his profession at Falls City, Nebraska.

In November 1889 he removed to Los Angeles where he was eminently successful as a physician and surgeon until shortly before his death

was President of San Pedro Cancer Sanitarium for a number of years, specializing in radium treatment.

He died May 12, 1927, when the Los Angeles Commandery No 9, Knights Templar, of which he was an honored member took charge of his funeral service.

In addition to his arduous calling, Dr. Newkirk had long been engaged in collecting genealogical data of the male and female descendants of Cornelisse Van Nieuwkirk of Slichtenhorst, Holland, whose two sons, Gerret and Mattheus, came to New Netherland on the ship Moseman in 1659.

By great assiduity and in Collaboration with Dr Thomas J Newkirk [Thomas J Newkirk, author of Genealogy and History of the Newkirk, Hamilton and Bayless Families] of Evanston, Illinois, he accumulated a vast amount of family source material which, tabulated and bound in 47 folio manuscript volumes, nor form the Collection bearing his name in the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

He married at Falls City, Nebraska, June 7, 1787, Eva May Ingram, born at Highland, Iowa July 20, 1860, died Los Angeles, Ca; daughter of Rev J W Ingram and wife Julia Hicks.

It is owing to Mrs. Newkirk's interest in carrying out her husband's wishes that his collection has its present depository; in appreciation of her action the Society's Board of Directors elected her to honorary membership.

A son, William Bently Newkirk Falls City, survives.

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Buckners of Virginia: : "Lucy Mary Talliferro Barker, daughter of Jane C. and Wm. Barker, married Dr. Adamson Bently Newkirk. Issue:

1. Laura Matilda Bentley, married first Henry Jacob Shepherd, married second time to Andrew Kinkead Shepherd, issue second marriage Lucy Ethel and Adamson Clare.

2. John Naylor Bentley, married Alice Parker, issue Juliet Cullum and Lucy Barker- home San Diego.

3. Adamson Bently, married Eva May INgram - issue William Bently, home Los Angeles

4. Joseph Thornton Bentley, married Mrs. May Elizabeth Robinson Auer. home Los Angeles

5. Jane Champe Bentley, married Charles Edwin Smith, home Jerusalem, Palestine.

6. Clara Barker Bentley, home Los Angeles

7.. Malvina Ann Bentley - home Los Angeles."

Lucy was the sister of Joseph Nicholas Barker , an eminent lawyer in Chicago.