The Experiences of Uncle Jack: Being a Biography of Rev. Andrew Jackson Newgent

by W. Ed. Snyder

Once upon a time, so long ago that the chronology of it has become hidden in the mists of historical uncertainties, a man with his family emigrated from the hill section of northern Ireland to the vicinity of Dublin. What his real name was also belongs to the realm of the unknown, but among the unsophisticated rural inhabitants with whom he had cast his lot he was characterized simply as the “new gentleman.” In course of time, the somewhat cumbersome title became abbreviated to “new gent,” the original appellation finally passing from common usage entirely. That this new gentleman was a person of some force of character may be inferred from the distinction he seems to have achieved among his new neighbors and the fact that the name has been honored by men of rank and eminence among his descendants, a conspicuous example being Lord Robert Newgent (or Nugent), the celebrated Irish scholar and statesman.

Among the later descendants were three brothers who decided to cast their fortunes with the land of dreams and fancies across the Atlantic. Their names were Edward, William, and Thomas Newgent. On reaching America Edward directed his course toward the sunny South, William remained somewhere in the East, while Thomas struck out toward the vast region of unbroken forests on the western slopes of the Alleghenies. His pilgrimage terminated somewhere in the bounds of Kentucky. He secured a tract of land near Cincinnati, and in process of time met, wooed, and won a wealthy daughter of Virginia. He was contemporary with the Boones in reclaiming this great region of possibilities for civilization; helped to survey the State; taught school on both sides of the Ohio River, winning for himself the title of “Irish Schoolmaster,” which, in this case, carried with it no small degree of distinction. He was a soldier in three wars, that of the Revolution, of 1812, and the Blackhawk War, for which services he received a pension from the Government. He professed religion at the ripe age of eighty, and was spared to redeem in part his long neglected opportunities by spending almost a quarter of a century in active Christian service, his long and eventful life closing, according to an uncertain tradition, in the 103d year of his age. He was the father of Charles Newgent, who was the father of Andrew Jackson Newgent, the hero of this simple narrative.

In Charles Newgent the elements of character peculiar to his race were exceptionally strong. A most marked propensity was his fondness for a joke. He would take more interest in concocting some new trick to be played on a neighbor or in devising a scheme for merrymaking than in a critical study of the Sermon on the Mount, or in solving an intricate theological problem. But while the religious faculty remained somewhat dormant, he was warm-hearted and generous, a good neighbor and citizen, according to the simple requirements of the times. In educational attainments he was far above the average. He was a prominent figure in local political circles, being a Jeffersonian Democrat of a rather emphatic type. His ever ready wit and fluency of speech made him a master on the stump and a formidable antagonist in political debates. The ability to give a humorous turn to any remark or incident served him well upon such occasions. His peculiar temperament gave him special aptitude as an auctioneer, in which capacity he had no superior. People would attend his sales as much to be entertained by his witticisms as for the bargains he might have to offer, and those who came to laugh often remained to settle a bill for something they had no thought of purchasing.

At the age of nineteen, in the year 1825, he was married to Mary Pugh, of Shelby County, Kentucky, his native county. Her parents had come from Scotland and were substantial citizens.

Soon after their marriage they moved to Parke County, Indiana, and settled on a tract of land which the wife had received as a dower from her father.

Pioneer life in Indiana need not here be enlarged upon. A solitary dwelling in the interminable and trackless forest; the building consisting of a single room built of unhewn logs, roofed with hand-split clapboards; the chimney covering one entire end of the building; the rough doors swung on wooden hinges; the small windows with greased paper or the tanned skins of animals through which a bit of daylight finds its way with difficulty; the huge fireplace used for both cooking and heating purposes; the few pieces of hand-made furniture—these were some of the outward aspects of domestic life out on the ragged edge of civilization. The cabin of the Newgents was typical of those of their neighbors, the nearest of whom lived some fifteen miles distant. The larger wild animals were frequent visitors and the war whoop of the Indian had scarcely died away.

After a brief residence at this place they moved to Sullivan County. Here, on Saturday, September 15, 1838, the subject of this sketch was born. He was the youngest of seven sons. Subsequently the family circle was enlarged by the addition of two daughters. The father’s political bias was again asserted in the name, Andrew Jackson, assigned to this youngest son, after the great hero of early Democracy. The name often has given occasion for humorous touches by the owner, especially in referring to his early life. By the neighbors and older members of the family, he says, he was dubbed General Andrew Jackson. Later the military title was dropped and he became plain Andrew Jackson, and by successive stages the name was further abbreviated until the boy was doomed to answer to the simple cognomen of “Jack.” Whether this was a process of evolution or of degeneration, he was destined to win for himself a title that would stand for real worth and attainment; that would represent the love of little children, as well as the esteem of men and women, when the affectionate appellation of “Uncle Jack” would become a household term in multitudes of homes.

Perhaps it is to the Scotch blood of his mother that he owes the more solid elements of his character. The Scotch character stands for thrift, energy, and integrity, so that wherever the hardy Scotchman goes he carries with him the best elements of citizenship. These combined with the quick wit and genial temperament of the sons of Erin produced in our subject a personality rich in depth and resourcefulness.

The emigration instinct, always strong in the pioneer, again became active, and the family set out for a new destination. This time it was Paw Paw Bend in Knox County, Indiana, so named because of its location in a bend of White River, and the prolific growth of paw paw trees for which the fertile lands were especially adapted. Our subject was then about eighteen months old. Here he spent the years of early childhood. Some incidents numbered among his earliest recollections and which serve to illustrate the home life and social conditions in which these years were passed, will not be out of place in this connection.