It seems that John William Newstead arrived in Canada around 1900. Family lore  recalls him first arriving at the age of 13, when he joined an uncle and his  family in Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba, although it is not known whether the  uncle came from the Newstead or Williams side of the family tree.

By December 14, 1914, the young J.W. Newstead joined the Canadian Forces to  fight in the First World War. Both sides of his "Attestation Paper" can now be  viewed as images scanned online through the Library and Archives Canada site  at www.collectionscanada.ca. Immediately after the end of the First World War,  J.W. married his English bride, Rose Wheatley, and brought her with him to  Canada where they settled in the Muskoka Lakes District, Province of Ontario.

Back in England, J.W. Newstead's father was John Newstead, born 1863.  J.W.'s paternal grandparents were William James Newstead and Jane  Newstead "formerly Curtis." Many members of this family had ties with the  printing business and seem to have been mainly based in East London, around  St. Luke's, Shoreditch, and Bethnal Green.

This particular branch of the family tree was never very big. J.W.'s only  brother, George Newstead, was killed in a blitz attack during World War II.

The name "Newstead" is not very common in England in general, and there  were only a handful of London families with that name in particular.  Therefore, I have started to add some of these other London families into this  website. Perhaps this can be a step towards building a one-name study of the  London Newsteads. I welcome any additions or questions about these London  Newsteads. Many of the London-area Newstead families are probably related at  some point, and it will be an interesting adventure to discover how they are  related.