Addie (Dockstader) Newth, who has back of her an ancestry distinguished in the history of the Empire state, was born in Fonda, New York, on March 23, 1868, her parents being Adam Berry and Sarah Louise (Helmer) Dockstader. Adam Berry Dockstader, a Civil war veteran, was born in Fonda, on July 4, 1835, and died in Dallas, Texas, on February 7, 1881. He was an attorney at law in Fonda, but in later life was a railroad promoter on construction work in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. He was the son of Henry I. and Maria (Berry) Dockstader, who were both born in Montgomery county, New York, and spent their lives in that section. The great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, John H. Dockstader, saw service in the Revolutionary war. Sarah Louise (Helmer) Dockstader was born in Ilion, on February 5, 1836, and died there on November 2, 1874. She was the daughter of Lawrence and Sophia (Jennings) Helmer. Lawrence Helmer, a cabinetmaker by trade, was born in Herkimer county in 1802, and died in Ilion on March 22, 1887. He was the son of Adam F. and Anna Margaret (Harter) Helmer, and Adam F. was the son of Frederick A. and Barbara E. (Bowman) Helmer. Frederick A. Helmer was born in 1725 and died on March 5, 1804. He was a private in the Tryon County Militia under Colonel Peter Bellinger. His parents, Lendent and Aphelone (Harter) Helmer, came with the early Palatinates and had land granted in Burnett Field Patent in Herkimer county. Sophia (Jennings) Helmer, maternal grandmother of Mrs. Newth, was born on Long Island in 1803, and died in Ilion on August 15, 1885.
Addie (Dockstader) Newth was educated in the Ilion high school. She was united in marriage, on December 19, 1907, at Fonda, New York, to Norton J. Newth, who was born on May 10, 1842, at Litchfield, New York, and died in Ilion on March 10, 1912. He was a veteran of the Civil war. In early life he was a farmer, but came to Ilion in 1874 and was in the hardware business until his death. He was the son of John Newth of Litchfield, who started the hardware business in Ilion. He was previously married to Orphelia Smith of Litchfield and to this union three children were born: Walter Brant Newth, born on December 10, 1867, at Ilion, is now president of the N. J. Newth Hardware Company of that place; Dora Newth was born in Ilion and educated in the Ilion high school. She married Carlton C. Watts, manager and treasurer of the Newth Hardware Company, and they have one child, Carlton Newth Watts; Bessie Newth was born in Ilion and graduated from the Ilion high school and the Teachers Training class, then taught for a time in Herkimer county. She married C. B. Garlock, traveling salesman for the Fuller & Warren Company of Troy, New York, manufacturers of furnaces and stoves. He is also first vice president of the N. J. Newth Company. They are the parents of two children: Grace and John Newth Garlock.
After the death of her husband in 1912, Mrs. Newth took charge of the office of the N. J. Newth Hardware Company, of which he had been president. She is a member of the Mohawk Valley Chapter, D. A. R., having nine Revolutionary ancestors, and is financial secretary of General Nicholas Herkimer Association. She is also a member of the Ilion Chapter, Eastern Star; the Women's Relief Corps; the Ilion Hospital Board; the board of the Old Ladies Home; and the Circle of Ilion. She is a member of the First Presbyterian church, has taught in Sunday school and has been treasurer of the missionary society of the church. In politics she is affiliated with the democratic party but is an independent voter.