WILLIS MCNEW
The following information was provided by Gary MCNEW.
I'm Gary McNew, descendant of the Willis McNew/Susanna LeMasters line.
My 3-great grandfather was Willis.
My 2-great grandfather was James Allen.
My 1-great grandfather was Daniel Harvey.
A direct connection of my Willis-James-Daniel line and the Willis/Susanna line that appears to be well documented in various forums could not be found.
There was only a reference of a sister of my grandfather named Laura J. and a mention of a family plot in Marysville, IN.
Marysville was of interest to me since it's in Clark County, IN, which is mentioned in the Willis/LeMasters postings.
I found a Beeswick Cemetery, also known as "Walnut Hills", close to Marysville that had McNew referenced.
Buried there, and the inscriptions on the markers, were:
Julia A. McNew "Daughter of W & S McNew" "Born Feb 1840" "Died Sep 22 1841"
Mary L. McNew "Daughter of JA & EL McNew" "June 1 1869" "Aged 1Y 4M 13D"
John T. McNew "Son of W & S McNew" "Born Mar 28, 1848" "Died Jan 10, 1858"
Infant Son of JA & EL McNew "Born Died Oct 16, 1869"
Laura J. McNew "Born Oct 14, 1871" "Died Aug 23, 1888"
Elizabeth L. McNew "Born Apr 12, 1847" "Died May 16, 1886"
Beneath the side of the joint marker, on Elizabeth's side was a simple 4-inch by 4-inch stone,
simply engraved with "E.H.M."
My take on this is that "W&S McNew" refers to Willis and Susanna. And that "JA & EL McNew" refers to James Allen and Elizabeth Leah. I'm unsure of the simple "E.H.M" and it's significance at the foot of Elizabeth's monument - perhaps initials given to a still-born child, perhaps Elizabeth died during childbirth also. Unknown to me.
If you have any suggestions, additions, or corrections, please email me
