John and Sarah were adventuresome. He was born in England, at least one child was born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, and the 1881 Census found them in Pistill, Wales. This was all before they sailed across the pond to the United States. He and his sons worked as "sett makers" in Pistill. This was the hard work of making paving bricks for road work.

Sarah, with children Reuben and Florence, arrived separately from the rest of the family. On 4 Oct 1890, they arrived in New York Harbor (likely Ellis Island). They were listed as immigrants on the manifest of the SS GALLIA. What an amazing and courageous act for a 50-year-old woman to take her 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter across the ocean to change their stars.

MOTHER: -- Hallam
FATHER: William Needham

WIFE: Sarah Musson
m. 1862, Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England

CHILDREN
1. William Needham

2. John Thomas Needham
m. Agnes Wedge

3. Joseph Needham
unmarried?

4. Harry Needham

5. Reuben Needham
m. Lillie Snodgrass

6. Florence Needham
m. John Henry Gray Brant

FURTHER INFORMATION:
1. 1881 Wales Census
Name: John Needham
Age: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1844
Relation: Head
Spouse's name: Sarah Needham
Gender: Male
Where born: Mountsorrell, Leicestershire, England
Civil Parish: Pistill
County/Island: Caernarvonshire
Country: Wales
Street address: 3 New Terrace
Condition as to marriage: Married
Occupation: Sett Maker
Registration district: Pwllheli
Sub registration district: Nevin
ED, institution, or vessel: 17
Piece: 5561
Folio: 77
Page Number: 17
Household Members: Name Age
John Needham 37 sett maker
Sarah Needham 39 sett maker's wife
William Needham 17 sett maker
John T. Needham 15 sett maker
Joseph Needham 13
Harry Needham 8
Reuben Needham 6
Florence Needham 2
Joseph Wood 20
Albert Hayden 21
Source Citation: Class: RG11; Piece: 5561; Folio: 77; Page: 17; GSU roll: 1342335

2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
Name: John Hallam Nedham
Registration Year: 1862
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
*Registration district: Barrow upon Soar
Inferred County: Leicestershire
Volume: 7a
Page: 320
Records on Page: Name:
Sarah Musson
John Hallam Nedham
Source Information: FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
*Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough.

3. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967
Name: John Needham
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 73
Birth Date: 7 Apr 1843
Birth Place: England
Death Date: 27 Dec 1916
Death Place: Dunbar, Fayette, Pennsylvania, USA
Father: Wm Needham
Mother: Hallam
Certificate Number: 123787
Source Citation: Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number Range: 122121-125340