My Contribution: I was an active leader in the Household of Ruth, No. 1, a women’s organization that worked alongside the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. I belonged to the Household of Ruth at a time when discrimination kept Black people out of fraternal or- ders. I also supported the work of my husband, Hamilton Newman, to extend political rights to people of color in my community.
My Legacy: Through my leadership in the Household of Ruth, I created an organization that fostered charitable work and incredible social and economic good for the African American community in Harrisburg.
About Me: “This Order is also the main living embodiment of the answer to the thirty-year old challenge to us as colored citizens to— “do something.” We have accomplished it. We have not simply copied others. We have created the Household of Ruth, the sisterhood of our lodges…” — William Howard Day, Harrisburg Telegraph, October 26, 1888.
Full Name: Charlotte Newman
Birth Date: ca. 1830
Death Date: after February 2, 1892 and before August 1896
Place of Birth: Virginia
Sex: Female
Race: Black
Places of Residence: Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 1726 Walnut Street, 266 Walnut Street
Connection to the Old Eighth Ward: Husband was a member of the election board of the Third precinct of the Eighth Ward; attended Bethel A.M.E. Church and Wesley Union A.M.E. Zion Church
Family Members: Husband: Hamilton Newman. Daughter-in-Law: Sarah Newman. Children: Stanton Newman, Thornton Newman, and Felix Newman. Grandchil- dren: Charlotte Newman Butler, Ruby Newman Moore, and Dr. Felix R. Newman.
Education: Education: No education listed on federal census records
Occupations: Keeping House. Freedom Seeker (formerly enslaved in Virginia prior to finding freedom in Harrisburg)
Church Membership: Bethel A.M.E. Church
Activism: Household of Ruth, No. 1 (officer).
Connections: Household of Ruth, No. 1 with Josephine L. Bibb. Joseph B. Popel, Joseph Thomas, John P. Scott, Morris Layton, Sr., William H. Marshall, Benjamin Foote, John W. Simpson, Cassius M. Brown, John Gaitor, and William Howard Day.
Digital Harrisburg 