William Allen Newell was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, on April 24, 1874. Newell was a Methodist minister for thirty-seven years, serving parsonages in Elk Park, Tryon, Asheville, Mount Airy, Salisbury, and Morganton. He was president of Weaver College in Weaverville, North Carolina, from 1913 to 1916. He died in Morganton, North Carolina, on February 26, 1940.