Senator Byron W. Newberry View All Years

BYRON W. NEWBERRY

MR. PRESIDENT: Your committee, appointed to prepare suitable resolutions commemorating the life, character and public service of the late Byron W. Newberry of Clayton county, begs leave to report as follows:

Byron W. Newberry was born in Lorain county, Ohio, on September 1, 1853, being the first born son of James Newberry and Maria Westfall Newberry. With his parents he joined the westward migration of that period and in the spring of 1855 the family settled on the virgin prairie land in Cass township a few miles southeast of the town of Strawberry Point in Clayton county, Iowa. That farm, known as their homestead, remains in the Newberry family to the present day.

Mr. Newberry lived a long, vigorous and useful life in Clayton county and died at the age of 91 years, on March 17, 1944, at his home in Strawberry Point, Iowa. He was a tall, straight, keen eyed man with a strong body and mind—a product of the prairies of Iowa and of the frontier. He was raised in a home of culture and received his early education in the rural schools of that day, then entered Upper Iowa University at Fayette, from which he graduated in 1875. The following year he completed the law course at Iowa State University, was admitted to the bar and opened a law office in Strawberry Point on February 7, 1877, where he continued the practice until his death.

He was elected to the State Senate in 1902 and served in the Thirtieth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second and Thirty-second Extra Sessions. He was again elected to the Senate in 1916 and served in four more regular sessions which were concluded in 1924. Senator Newberry was the champion of many worthy causes and took a particular interest in legislation to improve our schools. He was an extensive land owner and sponsored laws to benefit agriculture, dairying and highways. He had an active part in the writing and enactment of the first pure food laws of Iowa.

In 1926, Governor Hammill appointed Mr. Newberry as a member of the State Board of Conservation and he was very active in the creation and improvement of our state park system, and personally inspected every park in the state of Iowa. The development of the Backbone State Park was due especially to his interest and his labors.

He was an ardent Republican and was always active in the deliberations and discussions at the conventions of that party.

Mr. Newberry was married in 1905 to Miss Eva Buckley, who was his faithful companion to the time of his death, and she now lives in the home in Strawberry Point. Mrs. Newberry was one of the first members of the Ladies Legislative League.

Senator Newberry was very active in all local and community enterprises which were of a worthy nature. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, a member and trustee of the Congregational church, president of the Clayton County Bar Association, member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar Association, organizer and president of the Strawberry Point State Bank, and promoter of the Cass Township Cemetery.

For many years he was engaged in the active practice of law with his brother, Charles Newberry, and the firm of Newberry Brothers was well known in northeast Iowa. Charles preceded him in death by a few years. Senator Newberry is survived by one brother, Dr. Frank J. Newberry of Los Angeles; two sisters, Kate G. Newberry and Mrs. Mary Kingsley of Strawberry Point; a nephew, Col. Paul N. Kingsley in the U.S. Army; a nephew, Claire Newberry, and a niece, Mrs. Marion Bacon of Los Angeles.

Senator Newberry lived a long, active, vigorous and useful life. His community and the state are much better for the service rendered by him, and his passing is a distinct loss. That his influence for good might continue after his death, he left much of his property to be used for public and charitable purposes.

Therefore Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Fifty-first General Assembly of Iowa, That in the passing of the Honorable Byron W. Newberry, the state has lost a most valued citizen and public servant, and the Senate tenders its sincere sympathy to his surviving widow.

Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Mrs. Byron W. Newberry, and that this resolution be spread upon the Journal of the Senate.

F. E. SHARP,

ARTHUR H. JACOBSON,

ROBERT C. REILLY,

ED VRBA,

IRVING D. LONG,

Committee.

The resolution was unanimously adopted.