Wyche & Newsome Family Connections – A Backward Look

After each of our Wyche Family Reunions (1997 and 1999) I imagined, created, printed, and mailed a copy of “The Wyche Family Gazette” to everyone on our mailing list. My intention was to summarize the occasion for those who attended as well as for those who did not. Recently, during the planning of our upcoming Wyche-Newsome Reunion I found some information that will help us to understand the connection between the two families. We closed out our 1999 Reunion with a church service at New Hope Baptist Church in Southampton County, Virginia and we found this statement included in the church bulletin that was passed out that day. As you read this, please note that Benjamin and Nannie Freeman were my grandparents and Rufus and Annie Freeman Turner were my parents.

“The affiliation between the New Hope Church and our family members dates back to at least the 1890s. The Rev. Moyler Newsome, once the pastor of this church, was the brother of Mrs. Lucy Jane Newsome Wyche whose husband, William, of Southampton County, was the son of Frank and Martha Wyche, the ancestors whom we have honored this weekend. It is our understanding that the Newsomes and Freemans were founders of the church and were active members for many, many years. This is where they got their spiritual nourishment for life.

“The children of Benjamin and Nannie Wyche Freeman, William’s sister, were not only very active in Sunday School with its programs and plays at this church, but also attended the New Hope School which at that time was located next door. They were taught by Mr. J. Thomas Newsome and his wife, who was affectionately called “Miss Mary”. Mr. Newsome, the rural school teacher, became an outstanding Virginia lawyer and was so revered for his professional status and the fact that he published a newspaper in Newport News, Virginia that his family home has become a fast-growing museum.

“Another interesting tie is that Rev. Moyler Newsome was the minister who performed the marriage ceremony for Rufus and Annie Freeman Turner in 1917.

“Descendants of the Newsome and Wyche families are represented here today and we are pleased to worship with you.”

My mother was very fond of her Uncle William and often spoke of him and her Aunt Lucy. I never knew her Uncle William Atlas Wyche but we often visited Aunt Lucy for family gatherings at her home on Back River Road in Hampton, Virginia. I was impressed with her house and always enjoyed approaching it because it had a big bay window.

Mother also spoke often about Atty. Newsome who was a very important gentleman in the community as I was growing up. I remember hearing her say that she had asked Atty. and Mrs. Newsome for a Letter of Recommendation as she made plans to attend The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University). She received that letter and graduated with the Class of 1913. She was always pleased to say that there were 13 students in that Class of 1913.