Nevada Genealogy Trails Washoe County Francis G. Newlands Biography

The future historian who does justice to the real benefactors of the West — to those who have done most in thought and action, must place Senator Francis G. Newlands in the first rank.

Why ? Not for one reason or two reasons, but for any number of reasons, the senior senator from Nevada is the sons or three First, because author of the National Reclamation Act which is making the desert blossom as the rose; the act which committed the government to the policy of paternalism and made federal moneys available for private enterprise.

It was the Nevada Senator, who, when private capital found it impossible to handle the problems of irrigation, conceived the idea of having the government undertake the work of reclaiming the arid lands of the West. It was the Nevada Senator who conceived the idea of building reservoirs to conserve the flood waters for irrigation in dry seasons.

It was in compliment to the Nevada Senator that the first four million dollars of government money expended under this act went to Nevada.

The act was one of the most important ever passed by Congress. It will mean to Nevada, permanent prosperity ; to the West, continued progress ; to the entire country, freedom from the congested life of the cities.

The master mind of a thinking man was necessary to conceive this gigantic plan and other master minds were quick to grasp the magnitude of it and to assist in making it one of the most important issues of the day.

Not a Republican and yet not essentially a Democrat, is Senator Newlands. He is an American. Men and measures claim his attention and party prejudice is not allowed to enter where the best welfare of the greatest number is at stake.

He is a true-hearted, big man, a wise friend of the people, a fine speaker and a tactful statesman. A self-made man is Francis G. Newlands. He was born in Natchez, Mississippi, and when little more than a boy developed a taste for affairs of state. He secured an appointment as clerk in Washington and worked his way through Columbia Law School, Washington, D. C. He also attended Yale for a time, but was called from school before he was able to receive his degree. He was admitted to the bar in 1870 and began practice of his profession in San Francisco. Possessed with an analytical mind, a fearless nature and the gift of oratory, it was not long until he attained a high place in legal circles. In 1889 he moved to Nevada and soon afterward became prominent in the politics of the state. Three years later he was made candidate of the Silver party for Congress and served four terms. While in the lower house he was active as a committeeman and he occupied a prominent place on the currency committee, the committee on ways and means and the committee on foreign affairs. It was in 1902 that he was elected to the Senate and four years later was again returned to Washington for further service to his state and his country.

He has a beautiful home in Reno overlooking the Truckee river and a charming wife who is a leader in social life in Nevada and a welcome addition to any Washington circle. She was formerly Miss Edith McCallister, daughter of Hall McCallister of San Francisco. His first wife, who died in 1880, was Miss Clara Adelaide Sharon, a daughter of former United State Senator William Sharon.

Source:
Who's who in Nevada By Bessie Beatty 1907
Contributed by Barbara Z.