Joseph (c. 1787-1831) and Rachel Rabb (1790-1872) Newman were married in 1806 in Ohio. Following Joseph's service in the War of 1812 in Illinois, they lived in Arkansas Territory on the Red River before moving into Texas in 1820. In 1823, they left the Red River area to join Rachel's parents, William and Mary Smalley Rabb, as members of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" colony.
As pioneers in this colony, the Newmans received land grant no. 59 from Mexico - a league and a labor of land in what became Wharton County, including this site. An early census listed Joseph Newman as a farmer and stock raiser. They had ten children - Mary, William, Louisa, Minerva, Sarah (known in Texas history as Sally Scull), Elizabeth, Thomas, Ali, Joseph, Jr., and Andrew - and experienced firsthand the austerity of the Texas frontier.
Upon Joseph's death in February 1831, he was buried at a now-unknown location on his league of land. Four years after Joseph's death, Rachel gave her interest in the Newman lands to her children, but continued living on her original homesite. She also inherited Rabb property in Matagorda County from her parents. By 1854, the entire Newman League had been sold out of the family. Rachel moved to DeWitt County, where she married again. She is buried in the Salt Creek Cemetery on the DeWitt-Karnes County line.
Joseph
and Rachel Newman's children lived on to serve their state and country in a variety of ways. As Texas pioneers, the Newmans helped settle a new land and built a foundation for those who came after them.
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