Biography of Newell Whitney Kimball: 10th Mayor of Logan
Date of Office: 1896-1898
Terms of Office: 1
Age when elected: 44
Newell W. Kimball was born 19 May 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Heber Chase Kimball and Sarah Ann Whitney. He married Martha Walters Winder 28 November 1870 in Salt Lake City, Utah and they had nine children. He died July 24, 1931 in Logan, Utah and is buried in the Logan Cemetery[1].
Newell W. Kimball's father, Heber C. Kimball, became the first counselor to President Brigham Young when the first presidency of the church was organized December 27, 1847. He came to Utah in 1847 with Brigham Young.
Newell W. Kimball attended public schools and then became a student in the Deseret University of Salt Lake and when nineteen years of age he was married and removed to Bear Lake, Utah, where he remained for nine years. During that period he was engaged in stock raising and farming. He afterward removed to Logan, where he has made his home since 1880. During the early years of his residence here he was a contractor and builder and also engaged in the implement business. For sixteen years he was manager of the Cooperative Machine Company and was also manager for the Studebaker Company for several years. In 1915 he founded the Kimball Auto Company, distributors of the Oakland and Chandler cars, and they also handled a complete line of automobile supplies and accessories and conducted a garage and modern repair shop. In this line they had the leading establishment in Logan by reason of its excellent situation and the business methods of the house.
Mr. Kimball's wife, Martha W. Winder, born in Liverpool, England came to Utah with her parents in 1853 in the John W. Young company. Their family home was at 365 West Center Street in Logan, a very attractive and beautiful place.
Mr. Kimball's father died when he was fifteen years of age and from that time he not only provided for his own support but also assisted in the care of his widowed mother and the younger sons and daughters of the family. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the First Ward. He served in the bishopric of the Second Ward of Logan for sixteen years, as counselor to the stake president, as first counselor and previously as a member of the high council. In 1882 he was sent on a mission to the southern states.
In politics he was a democrat and his fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public office. He was a member of the city council for two terms, a member of the board of county commissioners for three terms and mayor for one term. He was keenly interested in everything that has to do with the welfare and progress of the county along political and civic lines and cooperates heartily in any plan or measure for the betterment of the community or the commonwealth. He also belonged to the Logan Commercial Boosters Club. His activities have been broad and varied, touching the general interests of society, and his labors have always been directed along lines, which mean progress and advancement[2].
[1] Family Group Record (FamilySearch Ancestral File v4.19)
[2] Warrum Noble, ed., Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical (Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1919) 4:321-323
