AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



11 



No. 63 —nomas &. Newman. 



We thought it very appropriate to be- 

 gin the new year, in this department, 

 with a sketch and picture of Mr. New- 

 man, the well-known ex-editor of the 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN. 



American Bee Journal. It would be 

 quite unnecessary for us to offer any 

 formal introduction of Mr. Newman to 

 his and our old readers, but to many of 

 the new ones his name and labors are 

 not so familiar. 



For nearly a score of years Thomas G. 

 Newman owned and edited the Bee 

 Journal, until June 1, 1892, when we 

 purchased it, since which time he has 

 devoted his energies to the management 



of the National Bee-Keepers' Union and 

 the bee-supply business. 



Thomas Gabriel Newman was born on 

 Sept. 26, IS'SS, at Chedzoy, near Bridg- 

 water, Somerset, England. When 10 

 years of age, he became fatherless ; and 

 with the whole family, of mother, one 

 sister and three brothers, was " turned 

 out upon the wide world" in poverty. 

 His father was considered " well-to-do," 

 but had been induced to indorse some 

 bank paper for a large amount, and it 

 took all the property the father left at 

 his death to satisfy the demands of the 

 banks; the family was therefore finan- 

 cially ruined. 



The boys all had willing hands ; and 

 though Thomas G. was the youngest, 

 and not yet quite ten years of age, he 

 helped to support the family, as much as 

 he could, and worked so hard and so 

 many hours (nights and mornings when 

 out of school), that his growing powers 

 were checked, and though his brothers 

 were quite tall, he is only 5 feet and 

 4>i' inches in height. 



At about 11 years of age he left 

 ^school and went to work in a printing 

 office. This was before many modern 

 inventions in the printing line had been 

 made, and he worked an old-fashioned 

 wood hand-press, before even the use of 

 " rollers" was invented for inking the 

 type. Then wooden balls were used, 

 covered with leather, and packed inside 

 with cotton batting, for inking the type. 

 Two of them were used, one in each 

 hand ; some ink placed on one of them, 

 and by striking them together scores of 

 times, the ink was " distributed." Then 

 they were used in the same manner on 

 the type before being " pressed." In 

 those days, to print 100 impressions per 

 hour was good work; but now with 

 modern inventions fifty or more thou- 

 sands impressions are taken in the same 

 time. 



So much "progress" and "improve- 

 ment" have been realized within the 

 brief space of one lifetime, that Mr. 

 Newman takes pride in telling his 

 friends of the magnificent strides of in- 

 ventive genius, in this one industry, 

 within his own recollection. 



Thomas G. was delighted with the art 

 of printing, and during his apprentice- 

 ship of seven y^ars, he learned every 

 part of that trade, as well as book- 

 binding. 



At the age of 20 he married Miss 

 Eliza Powell, and with his mother (of 

 whom he was then the only support) 

 and his wife, he started for the United 

 States of America, to " grow up with the 

 country." 



