John's family tree:

John
JOHN ALBERT³ NEWQUIST (JOHN², PETER¹) was born November 09, 1885 in Chicago, Illinois, and died September 02, 1966 in Steger, Illinois.  He married ANNA KUNDE June 27, 1914.  She was born March 13, 1885, and died July 16, 1969. 
 
Children of JOHN NEWQUIST and ANNA KUNDE are: 
7. i. VIRGINIA⁴ NEWQUIST, b. September 29, 1917. 
8. ii. ROBERT DELNER NEWQUIST, b. June 22, 1923. 
9. iii. GEORGE CALVIN NEWQUIST, b. January 11, 1927. 

8.  ROBERT DELNER⁴ NEWQUIST (JOHN ALBERT³, JOHN², PETER¹) was born June 22, 1923.  He married EMALINE SCHEIDT April 05, 1942.  She was born February 17, 1924. 
 
Children of ROBERT NEWQUIST and EMALINE SCHEIDT are: 
 i. ROBERT DAVID⁵ NEWQUIST, b. January 13, 1948; m. SHIRLEY JAN KLEIN, August 16, 1969. 
 ii. NANCY ANN NEWQUIST, b. December 27, 1952. 
23. iii. WENDY MARIE NEWQUIST, b. June 30, 1956. 

9.  GEORGE CALVIN⁴ NEWQUIST (JOHN ALBERT³, JOHN², PETER¹) was born January 11, 1927.  He married YVONNE KEHL May 16, 1956.  She was born August 16, 1938. 
 
Children of GEORGE NEWQUIST and YVONNE KEHL are: 
 i. GREGG C.⁵ NEWQUIST, b. May 23, 1960. 
 ii. KEVIN J. NEWQUIST, b. May 12, 1962. 
 iii. DENNIS E. NEWQUIST, b. December 26, 1963. 

22.  DAVID BRUCE⁵ SCHMUECK (VIRGINIA⁴ NEWQUIST, JOHN ALBERT³, JOHN², PETER¹) was born August 31, 1952 in Chicago Heights, IL.  He married SHARON AVIS APPLEBAUM in Chicago, IL.  She was born September 08, 1956. 
 
Children of DAVID SCHMUECK and SHARON APPLEBAUM are: 
 i. MICHAEL AUSTIN⁶ SCHMUECK, b. October 23, 1982, Chicago, IL. 
 ii. ERICA LYNN SCHMUECK, b. June 11, 1985, Chicago, IL. 

23.  WENDY MARIE⁵ NEWQUIST (ROBERT DELNER⁴, JOHN ALBERT³, JOHN², PETER¹) was born June 30, 1956.  She married STEVEN WAYNE BOWER July 01, 1978 in Chicago Heights, IL.  He was born September 29, 1954 in Chicago Heights, IL. 
 
Children of WENDY NEWQUIST and STEVEN BOWER are: 
 i. BRIAN CHRISTOPHER⁶ BOWER, b. February 22, 1983. 
 ii. SCOTT PATRICK BOWER, b. January 20, 1986. 
 
 
 

"Mr. and Mrs. John Newquist celebrated their golden anniversary Thursday with a dinner and reception for friends and relatives at their home in Steger, Ill. Mr. Newquist was born 84 years ago in Sweden and came to Minneapolis, Minn. in 1869 and to Chicago about two years later. A cabinet maker and stair builder, he has had a hand in construction of several loop buildings as well as in the Columbian exposition of 1893. Mrs. Newquist was Miss Genevieve Coughlin of Dubuque, Ia., and is 72 years old. The couple have five children and have lived in Steger for 30 years. There Mr. Newquist has been a general contractor and builder. The sons and daughters are Walter P., John, Harvey, Elmer, Leonard, and Mrs. Mary Steevens. All except Harvey, who lives in Racine, Wis., are residents of Steger." 

Among the guests mentioned in another news clipping about the anniversary are Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Newquist and two children, August  Newquist and son, Willard, and Mrs. Charles Newquist, all of Chicago. 
 
 

According to The History of Chicago, Vol. III, by A. T. Andress, John came to Chicago in 1871 (the year of the Chicago Fire) and worked at the National School Furniture Co. In 1875 he struck out on his own as a stair builder.  

According to grandson Bud Newquist, Jenny came to Chicago (probably around 1880) to work as a nanny for the Charles Comiskey family.  

In 1882, against what must have been deep protest from her family, the Irish Catholic Jenny Coughlin met and married the Swedish Protestant John Newquist. Grandson Bud, who was raised by his grandparents,  tells us: "The marriage did not have the approval of her family, and I don't believe they ever met Grandpa Newk. He was not a Catholic at the time of their marriage."  

Jenny, on the other hand, was devout.  "She had a strong belief in her religion," Bud said. "She never missed Mass, and walked there in all kinds of weather, including knee-deep snow." What possessed the religious Jenny to marry a man not of her faith is unknown. But during their years together, her faith must have been influential. On Christmas Day 1923, two weeks after his 75th birthday, John Newquist was baptized Catholic. 

The couple had some eventful years together, not the least of which were their days in Chicago, where John built stairs for such businesses as the Mandel Bros. store, the Imperial Building, and John V. Farwell's & Co., Chicago's oldest dry goods firm. He also constructed stairs for Farwell's home, as well as for four houses of Potter Palmer. It is believed that John and Jenny had a house in downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue, south of the river. 

According to Mabel Newquist, Jenny "enjoyed her stay in Chicago, but admitted to living extravagantly." Family stories paint a picture of a well-to-do couple who traveled in the city's highest social circles, hobnobbing with the mayor and the Potter Palmer family. According to Bud Newquist, President Benjamin Harrison once borrowed John's horse and buggy while in Chicago. 

John was also involved in the construction of buildings for the Columbian Exposition, the 1893 world's fair in Chicago. Here, it seems,  is where their fate turned.  

MORE to come . . .