Walter Loomis Newberry was an American businessman and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, best known for his bequest

Bequest

A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...

 that resulted in the creation of the Newberry Library

Newberry Library

The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...

 in Chicago.

Newberry received an appointment to the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

, but had to decline for health reasons. In 1822, Newberry and his brother Oliver went into the shipping business in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. They moved to Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 in 1826 and founded a successful dry goods

Dry goods

Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...

 company. Newberry joined a syndicate that included William Astor

William Backhouse Astor, Sr.

William Backhouse Astor, Sr. was an American businessman and member of the Astor family.-Origins and schooling:...

 and Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...

, investing in real estate in what would become Chicago, Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

, and Green Bay

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...

; he moved to Chicago in 1833 and continued to prosper in banking and real estate. He became President of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was a railroad running west from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois...

, the first railroad built from Chicago.

Newberry died in 1868 on the steamship Periere while en route to France. His will provided for his wife and daughters during their lifetimes, and further provided that if his daughters Julia Rosa and Mary Louisa died without issue, half his remaining estate would go to found a public library in Chicago. Mary Louisa died in 1874, and Julia Rosa in 1876, neither having married or had children. By the time that Newberry's widow, Julia Butler Newberry, died in 1885, the Chicago Public Library

Chicago Public Library

The Chicago Public Library is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 79 branches, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city....

 was already well-established as a circulating library. The trustees of Newberry's will therefore used the bequest to establish the Newberry Library as a noncirculating reference library.

Brother

Oliver Newberry (born East Windsor, Connecticut

East Windsor, Connecticut

East Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 11,162 at the 2010 census.The town has five villages: Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Windsorville.-Area:...

, 17 November 1789; died Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, 30 July 1860), a brother of Walter Loomis Newberry, served during the war of 1812, and also during the Black Hawk War

Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....

. In 1816 he settled in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, but in 1820 he went to Detroit, where he established himself in business. Soon after his arrival in Detroit, he secured government contracts to furnish all supplies to the numerous forts and Indian trading-posts in the northwest. He was unable to obtain suitable transportation, and was compelled to build a vessel for his own use. Afterward, he constructed other vessels during successive years until he became one of the largest owners of shipping on the lakes.

In 1833, he built the “Michigan,” his first steamboat, which was the largest that until that time had been launched for the lake trade. Several warehouses were constructed by him along the river front in Detroit, where his various schooners, brigs, and steamboats were loaded. He was elected an alderman in Detroit in 1831, and he was associated in the early history of Michigan railroads. For many years, he carried all of his business papers in his hat, and was rarely seen uncovered. He was known as the “commodore” of the lakes, and was sometimes called “the steamboat king.”

External links

• Newberry Library history page
• Newberry Library page on Julia Butler Newberry and her family
• Henry J. Galpin, "Annals of Oxford, New York" (1906)
• Columbia Encyclopedia entry
• Julia Butler Newberry and family papers at Newberry Library
  Newberry Library
  The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...