NOAH NEWSOM FAMILY

THE NOAH NEWSOM FAMILY OF ROBINSON CREEK, KENTUCKY, 1775-1950

researched and written by a descendant, Fern Rosik Glasgow

Matilda Baldwin listed “Virginia” as her place of birth in the 1870 Pike County, KY census. She was a Cherokee Indian – some say full-blooded, some say half-breed. She was born in 1846. Her parents were Solomon and Sarah Elliot Baldwin. Martha Baldwin, born in 1850, was probably her sister, and Andy Baldwin was her younger brother. According to the 1870 Pike Co. census, Martha Baldwin, with her one-year-old son, Alexander, was in the household of Jarvey Newsom, son of Frederick (Fed) Newsom. Andy Baldwin visited the Newsoms and Holts while they were living in Iowa.

Matilda married Henry Holt about 1866. Matilda and Henry lived on a fork, called Straight Fork, on the Bear Fork of Robinson Creek not far from Fed Newsom. It was very rough terrain when they lived and their log cabin stood on just a little flat place.

Henry Holt was a puzzle. He claimed to have served nine months in the 5th Tenn. Cavalry, Co. B, but no record of a “Henry Holt” in either the Confederate or Union units has been found. His grandson, Charles Little, describes him thusly: “Some say that Henry Holt wasn’t a Holt at all, but had just taken that name when he came out of the ranks of the Yankee Army, seeking a safe place in those Kentucky hills to hide out from the government. The Authorities wanted to prosecute him for his part as a bushwacker in the Civil War.

Henry was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian from Tennessee. He blew in here to hide from the law. Henry was an industrious cuss–went up on Bear Fork and carved out a farm. He planted a big orchard, set out beehives, and had all kinds of vegetables and fruits. He was known for his Ginseng patch that he harvested and sold.”

The Henry Holts had nine children up there on Bear Fork in addition to the three that Matilda had brought into the marriage. The Holt children were Mary (1867), Evan (1869), Andrew (1872), Darkis (1874), Perion (1875), Silas (1877), Reeney (1878), Liza (1880), and Francis (1882). The 1900 census lists a granddaughter, Rhoda Caudill, age ten, living with them.

Matilda died of a heart attack in 1908 at the home of her son, Andy Holt. She was churning butter and talking to her daughter-in-law, Eliza Jane Holt, at the time. She was 62 years old.

Henry Holt died in 1913 at age 77.

He had remarried to Rilda Adams on Dec. 4, 1909 in Floyd Co., KY, and they had one child, Martha, born in 1911 when Henry was 75 years old. Matilda and Henry and some of their children are buried in the Indian Cemetery on Bear Fork. Three of Noah Newsom’s children are buried there, also. Indians were not allowed to bury their dead in the white folks’ cemetery. People were always digging in the Indian cemetery to find Indian artifacts. The cemetery is still there, though overgrown.

Henry Holt’s stepsons thought he was mean to them. By 1870 John W. was living with his grandfather, Fed Newsom, over in Floyd County. In 1873, when he was eight years old, Noah went to live with the Tom May family, who lived at Jones Chapel on Robinson Creek. Tom and his wife, Mary, raised Noah and gave him a good education. They had several children of their own.

Some time after Noah and Mary Elizabeth Moore were married, they lived on Bear Fork just over a steep hill from the Henry Holts. Although Matilda (called Granny Holt), was on good terms with the Noah Newsoms, visited them and helped out when the babies were born (she was a midwife of a sort). Henry was not allowed on the place. Henry visited them once when Henry’s grandson, Landon Holt, who lived with Henry, ran away from home, and Henry and Matilda came looking for him. They lived as neighbors for perhaps twelve years and the children were all good friends.

Noah’s daughters thought that Noah hated Henry because Henry was a “Rebel.” But evidently Henry was not a Rebel, but a bushwacker hiding from the Union Army. Noah himself was probably sympathetic with the Rebel cause, having named his first-born “John Calhoun Breckenridge Newsom” in honor of John Cabel Breckenridge, who became a United States Senator from Kentucky in 1861 but was expelled for joining the Confederacy.

Matilda Baldwin-Young Bride

In the 1860 District 1, Pike County Census, Matilda Baldwin (14) was already married to Jackey Newsome (22) . They lived next door to Jackey’s parents, Frederick and Anzy Newsome and his brothers and sisters Jervy, Jackson, Mallisa, Euney, Margaret, David, Noah and Nancy. Next to them lived Jackey’s brother Robert (21) and his wife Feeny (16). A Devon (42) and Marinda Newsome (35) lived next door to Robert but I don’t know the relationship. Frederick Newsome owned his farm but young Jackey and Robert were still farm laborers.

The Memoirs of Miram Rosik…

It has been rumored that Matilda Baldwin was Indian (Cherokee) My nephew, Paul (Book’s boy) has a picture of her, and she looks pure Indian. It wasn’t long before my Grandmother, Matilda Baldwin Newsom, was married again, this time to a Rebel (much to the Newsom family’s chagrin) by the name of Henry Holt. Matilda and Henry had eight children (my father’s half-sisters and brothers). The first was Mary Holt, who was born on my father’s birthday, just two years after he (Noah) was born. The other children were Ivan, Andy (who later spent a lot of time with us in Iowa), Darkie, Silas, Perin, Reeney, and Liza. Later, Haley and Mary, who were half-sisters (Matilda’s second and fourth born) married brothers, the Littles (Rich Little and Marion Little).

Matilda and Henry lived nearby on another fork, probably called the Straight Fork. I remember visiting them one time; Andy and Mae and I went way across the hills. We took some kind of meet with us. They had a lot of apple trees and we brought apples home. It was very rough terrain where Matilda and Henry lived and their log cabin stood on just a little flat place. Haley was called “Hale.”

………. THE END OF MEMOIRS
The Heart of the Search: Why Lore Matters

The oral histories preserved by my family members served as the essential compass for my genealogical journey. While my primary goal has always been to document our lineage through verified primary sources, I recognize that these memoirs capture the emotional truth of life in the Kentucky hollows. Stories passed down by Fern Rosik Glasgow and Miram Rosik provided the initial clues about Henry’s alias and Matilda’s medical practice long before I found the documents to prove them.

I have chosen to archive these original memoirs here exactly as they were written. They offer a window into how previous generations viewed their own heritage and identity. By reading these stories alongside my verified research, you can see the fascinating process of how family legends are born and how modern technology eventually reveals the hidden reality of our ancestors

Lore vs. Reality: Navigating the Truth

This table demonstrates how the memoirs provided the clues that led to the major documented breakthroughs found on this site.

Navigating the Truth: Lore vs. Documented Research

Category	The Family Lore (Memoirs)	The Documented Reality (Research)
Ethnic Heritage	Matilda and Henry were “full-blooded Cherokee” and Matilda looked “pure Indian.”	DNA and records verify a Mayflower line through Sarah Elliott and concentrated Melungeon heritage from the Collins and Johnson families.
Henry’s Name	“Some say Henry Holt wasn’t a Holt at all” and took the name to hide.	Verified. Henry Holt used the alias Henry Collins to enlist in the Union Army and marry Matilda.
Military Service	Henry was a “Rebel” or “Bushwhacker” hiding from the government.	Military records prove he was a Union soldier in the 8th Tennessee Cavalry who deserted.
The Newsom Death	Lackey Newsom was killed by “friendly fire” washng up before breakfast.	Consistent. Lackey’s 39th KY Infantry records and pension rejections support his death in service in March 1865.
Burial Site	They were buried in the “Indian Cemetery” because Indians weren’t allowed in white folks’ cemeteries.	They are interred at the Sam Hall Cemetery in Pike County, though the “Indian Cemetery” moniker likely stems from the family’s Melungeon features.
Death Date	Matilda died in 1908 while churning butter.	Matilda’s headstone and local records confirm she passed away in May 1906.

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