Jim, I am enclosing copies of two original documents which we were able to copy while at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The first is dated June 22, 1777 and reads as follows:

“22^nd June 1777

This is to certify that John Ewing enlisted as a soldier with me the 14^th of June 1776 for a term of one year. Now the time being expired I therefore discharge him from the service given my hand this day above written.

/s/ George Eliot, Capt.

The second is another hand written document for the War Department, dated January 8, 1830 rejecting a pension for John Ewing as he served on the Marine Forces of the State of Virginia and was not on the continental establishment.

Doing research on George Eliot in efforts to find where John Ewing might have joined the Virginia Sea service we found that John Ewing served under him on the “Safe Guard” Galley as a Landsman. This was a Row Galley, a ship propelled with sails and oars, this vessel was stationed at the mouth of the Potomac in February 1777. John Ewing is included in the payroll (from March 1, to June 16, 1777) in the 1^st Vol. Navy Papers and from the Navy Journal.

George William Ewing

Battle Creek, MI

~~~~~

My family had documented information going back to my 5^th great grandfather, John Ewing, who was born about 1760 in Virginia and married to Alice Caswell. I’m positive that information is correct.

I now realize my information I gave you beyond John Ewing was incorrect. Another party had given me the information, and I blindly accepted it, without documentation. Oh, what an important lesson I learned!

As a side note, I saw George Ewing’s letter in your journal, and contacted him. As it turns out, he is my 4^th cousin twice removed. We are now corresponding, and my husband and I will be meeting he and his wife in February. I’m certain this will be a lasting friendship. I thank you for all you have done to make things like this possible. I look forward to meeting you in Nashville in June.

Janet Ewing Deaton

Madison, AL

~~~~~

Kudos for Volume 3, Number 4. We truly enjoyed, as always, the excellent Journal of Clan Ewing which you publish.

I especially enjoyed the article on page 9 [Vol 3 No.4] about William Ewing (1711-1781) taken from “The Ewings of Frederick County, Virginia by Evelyn Jones Ewing and James Earl Ewing, Jr., because he appears to be, from our research, the Uncle William Ewing who was named guardian of my Joshua Ewing, son of John Ewing., Jr., son of John Ewing of Carnshanagh.

On page 13, [Vol 3 No. 4] is the statement that perhaps William Ewing was on a list of Colonel George Washington’s company of local militia taken from a poll in Frederick County July 24, 1758. My Joshua Ewing appears to be the Joshua Ewing listed on a September 1758 militia list for Frederick County, along with John Jordan and others, including Hugh Stephenson who led the “Beeline March” to Boston during the Revolution. Hugh Stephenson was the son of Richard Stephenson, on page 15 of the Clan Journal, in the list of parties in the Hite versus Fairfax Suit. Hugh Stephenson was a step-brother of William Crawford, noted for surveying for Washington and other historical events, as well as Valentine Crawford.

Jean R. McClure

Columbia, Missouri

~~~~~

My wife, Marilyn, and I just returned from another exciting trip to the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana and on to Pendleton and Bourbon Counties in Kentucky in search of more information on our John Ewing of Pendleton County. We were able to uncover the original marriage bond between John and Alice Caswell, dated March 10, 1794 at the Clerks office in Bourbon County, Paris, Kentucky. The most interesting document is a declaration filed by John Ewing dated 21 December 1829 stating he was 75 years old and had entered the Revolutionary War at Staunton, Virginia in June 1776. Staunton, as it is known today, is in Augusta County, Virginia and it would put the year of John’s birth as 1754.

After reading the article about William Ewing in the November 1997 Journal from the Ewings of Frederick County, Virginia which indicates that William’s oldest son John was born April 10, 1754 I’m thinking this might be the same John. If you or anyone you know has further information on this please let me know.

George William Ewing

Battle Creek, MI 49017

~~~~~

I got your address from the Scottish publication “The Highlander” with hopes that you could assist me in a search for information of the Eagle Wing ships. It is my understanding that these ships were built, owned, and operated by Ewings.

I’m most interested in the Ship Eagle Wing that landed at New Castle, Delaware, on may 22, 1720. Members of the Finley family would have traveled on that ship. The four brothers, James, John, Samuel, and Andrew boarded that ship from Dublin, Ireland.

I’d appreciate any info you could pass on to me or leads to others who may know more about these ships and this particular voyage.

Diana L. Overly

Delta, OH 43515

~~~~~

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Page 183

THE BIG SPRING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

NEWVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

(Extracted from History of the Big Spring Presbyterian Church,

Newville, PA 1737-1898

by Gilbert Ernest Swope, 1898)

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 1 - February 1998, pages 8-15]

Source: This article was furnished by Betty Carson, Lexington, South Carolina. Thanks Betty for typing and preparing this article for publication.

The settlement of the Cumberland Valley and the constitution of its churches, is directly traceable to that great providential movement which took place among the Scotch Irish Presbyterians settled in the province of Ulster, in the north of Ireland, which runs back to near the beginning of the 18th century, and which led to a steady and increasing stream of immigration from that Province to this country, and which added greatly to the strength and character of the Presbyterian Church in America. And this state of things in Ulster, was only a part of that wider movement which took place in Scotland, England, France, and Holland, as well as in Ulster. The history of Presbyterian colonization in America, is largely the result of papal and proleptic persecutions in Europe. By the act of uniformity passed in 1662, two thousand Presbyterian ministers were cast out of the Church of England. A considerable number of whom found refuge in this country, chiefly in New England.

The ejected ministers were prohibited from preaching or praying in public, even in fields or other retired places. To enforce these oppressive laws, exorbitant fines were imposed, torture was freely resorted to extort evidence, the prisons were filled with victims of oppression, soldiers were quartered upon defenseless families, and allowed the greatest license and many were massacred upon the public highways. It is no wonder that the Scotch Presbyterians abhorred episcopacy. In their views and experience, it was identical with oppression, despotism, and impiety.

Considering their long continued persecution, the wonder has been expressed, that they did not rise up en masse and forsake the country. The hope of overthrowing episcopacy and of regaining their liberties, constrained the majority of them to withstand their oppressors. Emigration from Scotland by reason of such oppression, while not so great as might have been expected, was yet considerable. Four thousand Presbyterians are reported to have come into New England prior to 1640, many of whom were from Scotland. In 1729 a church was organized in Boston, composed of Scotch and Irish Presbyterians. The First Church in New York City, composed chiefly of Scotch and Irish Presbyterians, was organized previous to 1716, and called the Rev. James Anderson, a Scotch Presbyterian minister from New Castle, Delaware, to become their first pastor.

The emigrants from Scotland to east New Jersey were many and influential. They came in such numbers, says Bancroft, as to give to the rising commonwealth, a character which a century and a half later had not effaced. But it was to Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, that a larger and increasing stream of emigration from Scotland and the North of Ireland came. The latter in much larger numbers than the former.

The Presbyterians in Ulster were rendered exceedingly uncomfortable by reason of the tyranny and exactions of their despotic monarchs, by the restrictions and penalties imposed by parliament, the intolerance and persecutions instigated by the Bishops and the rapacity and greed of the landlords. Among the laws enacted intended to harass and annoy them, was what was called the Test Act, which prohibited them from holding any office in Dublin or the province. This was followed by the Marriage Act by which they were forbidden to be married by their own ministers, and rendered liable to arraignment for immorality in the ecclesiastical courts for such marriage. Worse than all, what was known as the Schism Act, was passed in 1714, which would have swept the Presbyterian Church of Ireland well nigh out of existence, had not Queen Anne died before it could be enforced.

These and other like acts estranged the people from their country and caused them to turn their attention to the new colonies then being planted in America, where they might secure for themselves and families’ future homes, and the blessings of civil and religious liberty, denied them in their own land. The consequence was that as far back as 1713, both ministers and people began to come to America. Some six thousand Scotch Irish are said to have come in 1720. Later on they are reported to have come at the rate of twelve thousand from year to year. Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, which in the outset included Franklin, was chiefly settled by them. From 1736 onward, they crossed over at Harrisburg in great numbers and settled in this vicinity along the Conodogunit and the Big Spring more numerously than elsewhere, by reason of the junction of these two streams of water at nearly right angles. Out of these sturdy, rugged Scotch Irish people, the Big Spring Presbyterian Church was organized.

The lands in the “Kittochtinny,” or Cumberland Valley, were not purchased from the Indians until October 1736, and were not for sale before that time. But for several years prior to that period the agents of the proprietors knew the feelings of the Indians to be favorable had encouraged settlers to come hither, and had issued to them special licenses for the securing and settlement of such lands beyond the Susquehanna as might please them.

After the lands of the valley were finally thrown open to settlers, there was a great influx of emigrants, many coming from the old-settled counties of Lancaster and Chester, and many directly from Ireland. Most of the settlers being Irish and Scotch Irish, very few of other nationalities were found here until a much later date. These people first sought the land bordering on the streams of water and of timber which grew along the water courses. Thus we find that very soon after the land was thrown open for settlement, the inviting lands of this vicinity attracted a large population to the borders of the Conodoguinet Creek and the Big Spring. One of the first acts of our forefathers after locating land and building homes for themselves and families was to provide a spiritual home or place for the worship of God.

The Presbyterians who settled in the neighborhood of the Big Spring organized a congregation not later than the spring of 1737. On the 22nd of June the people of Hopewell petitioned Presbytery for their concurrence in drawing a call to the Rev. Thomas Craighead. About this time the name of this people was changed from the people of the Conodoguinet to the people of Pennsboro and Hopewell, the line having been run in 1735 from the north to the south mountain by way of the Big Spring dividing the valley. All east of that line was called Pennsboro and all west of it Hopewell. By the “people of Hopewell” referred to in the call to Rev. Craighead no doubt were included the congregation at Middle Spring as well as Big Spring. They were both known by the general name of “Hopewell” and individually Big Spring as Lower Hopewell and Middle Spring as Upper Hopewell. The congregation of Upper Pennsboro objected to the call to Rev. Craighead and the establishment of a church on the Big Spring as an encroachment upon their territory, as there was a rule of Presbytery not allowing congregations to be located within ten miles of each other. The Presbytery appointed a committee to look over the territory and confer with the people on the calling of a pastor and the location of a house of worship. This conference was held at the house of James McFarlane on the Big Spring in 1737. The committee reported to Presbytery in November of 1737, and notwithstanding the urgency of the congregation and the impatience of Rev. Craighead, action was deferred until the next year. On August 31, 1738, Presbytery appointed Mr. Alexander Craighead to install Mr. Thomas Craighead the second Friday in October and that he “send an edict to be published timeously before.” Mr. Craighead’s pastorate was a short one for he died the following year. At this time he was well advanced in age, but his mental powers continued in their full vigor. On one of these occasions near the close of April 1739, at a communion season in the Big Spring Church, when having preached until quite exhausted, he waved his hand being unable to pronounce the benediction and exclaimed: “Farewell! Farewell! and sank down and expired in the pulpit. Tradition says that his remains were buried beneath the present church edifice, but this is very doubtful as this church was not built until fifty years after his death. It is more probable that he was buried beneath the church he built and in which he preached, as was the custom at that time.

The Big Spring congregation was without a regularly installed pastor until 1742. They had been supplied during this time by Mr. James Lyon of Ireland, who was then under the care of the Presbytery of New Castle, and by others sent out by Presbytery of Donegal. On December 27, 1742, Rev. John Blair was installed pastor of the Big Spring Church in connection with the Middle Spring and Rocky Spring congregations. The sessional records of the Middle Spring Church (1742) show that the minister and elders of Big Spring, Middle Spring, and Rocky Spring, met at Middle Spring in order to settle the division of the minister’s labors among the three congregations. They agreed that the minister’s labors be “equally divided in a third part to each place, as being most for the glory of God and good of his people.”

The Glebe or land belonging to the church, consisted of 89 acres and some perches. A warrant for this tract was issued from the Land Office of the Province, March 2, 1744, to William Lemond, James Walker, Alexander McClintock, and David Killough, for the use of and in tract for the Presbyterian congregation of Big Spring. This trust was called “Reliance” and was held under the original warrant until the 23rd of September, 1794, when it was patented by the State authorities. The congregation built a stone parsonage on the glebe on the high ground on the north side of Main street near the Big Spring. The church was incorporated February 27, 1785, under the style and title of “The First Presbyterian Church in Newton township in the County of Cumberland.”

On September 9, 1790, the trustees met and laid off sixty lots of ground, sixty feet front and one hundred feet back. They instructed Mr. VanHorn to make a drawing of the same. The plan drawn consisted of one street, Main street, to run from the spring to the west, with Glebe alley running parallel on its south, and Cove alley on its north; to be crossed by the streets Corporation, High, and West; the former two to extend north to the boundary of the glebe. Building lots were laid out on these streets, and all the remaining land of the tract was divided into parcels of from two to five acres for pasture and tillage.

On September 16, 1790, the trustees met and agreed that the town should be called Newville and that the lots already laid off be disposed of by lottery, at a rate of six dollars a ticket reserving one and forty-four, which shall be sold at public vendue. That all the lots fronting on Main street be subject to a ground rent of ten shillings. No. 1 of the reserved lots to be subject to a ground rent of twelve shillings, and No. 44 to sixteen shillings and eight pence. That adventures pay one-third of the price of their tickets in hand, and give their obligation for the balance, payable in three months. Lot No. 1 was purchased by William McLaughlin, senior, for the sum of eighty pounds currency, and Lot 44, by George McKeehan, for the sum of eighteen pounds, twelve shillings.

Sixty lots were drawn at about three pounds each. On the 12th of December, six were sold for six dollars the lot. The balance of the lots were not drawn but were sold at private sale. The pasture lots were sold at from $24 to $27 per acres. About eight acres of the northeast corner was reserved for parsonage use, and subsequently sold to Rev. S. Wilson. The reason lots Nos. 1 and 44 were more valuable was their water privileges, they bordered on the spring. All of the lots were deeded in limited fee with a reserved incumbrance, which was to yield an annual six percent rent to the church. The incumbrance on the front lots, as given in the foregoing resolutions, was $22.22 each making an annual quit rent of $1..33; on the back lots, $17.90 each with a quit rent of $1.07; and upon the out lots, $13.33 per acres, with a quit rent of eighty cents.

The collection of these rents was always annoying and the records abound in different methods that were employed for their collection. Some were of a rather severe character and would hardly be tolerated today. On one occasion, we find that “Pews will be declared vacant and given to others if rent is not paid at the end of the year.” On another, “Resolved that all persons who are indebted to the congregation, be notified to pay in six weeks, or suit will be instituted for recovery of the same. Provided that in no case, suit be brought against any desolate or indigent female, or any other individual whom the trustees may consider from sickness, poverty, or like cause, to be unable to pay at present.” For many years the collectors of the church funds were given five percent of their collections for their trouble and to stimulate them to greater activity. The trustees of the church in 1836, resolved to abolish the quit rents by collecting the incumbrance and giving the owner of the property a deed in fee simple. Many took advantage of the offer, but some of the quit rents were held by the church as late as 1884.

It was also, “upon the motion of the elders of Big Spring, left to them, the people, and Mr. Blair, to converse among themselves in respect to the subscriptions of the Big Spring Congregation.” Mr. Blair during his ministry there resided at Middle Spring on a farm of two hundred and twelve acres the warrant of which bears date October 5th, 1743. It is said that “he and his wife, with their hired servants, lived in a style quite above their plain country parishioners.” Just how long Mr. Blair continued in this field of labor is uncertain. Webster in his history, and Sprague in his annals of the American Pulpit, who quotes from Webster, both give the date of his leaving the “Three Springs” as December 28, 1748. The last record in the session book kept during his ministry at Middle Spring is dated February 8th, 1749. All agree that Mr. Blair was driven from his field of labor by the incursions of the Indians. There were no Indian troubles in 1749, but after the defeat of Braddock July 9, 1755, and the retreat of Dunbar, this valley was swept by fire, sword, scalping knife, and the tomahawk of the cruel savage. Hundreds of people left the valley for the interior counties and others took refuge in the larger towns and forts of the valley.

A successor to Rev. John Blair was not called until 1759 when the congregations of Carlisle and Big Spring united in a call to Rev. George Duffield, D.D. Rev. Duffield was installed the third Wednesday of September, 1759. One third of his time was to be given to Big Springs and two thirds to Carlisle. In 1761, an effort was made by the Big Spring congregation to obtain one half of his labors. At the next meeting of Presbytery it was decided in view of Mr. Duffield not being physically able to endure the fatigue of giving one-half his time to Big Spring, that he should continue as agreed upon when he took the call. In 1769 his relationship to Big Spring was dissolved because of his promised salary being in arrears.

On April 9, 1777, Rev. William Linn, D.D. became pastor of the Big Spring congregation. In 1784 he resigned to become Principal of Washington Academy, Somerset, Maryland. This left a vacancy of three years in the pulpit. On the 21st of March, 1786, a call was extended to the Rev. Samuel Wilson and he was installed June 20, 1787. His pastorate was one of activity and prosperity for the congregation. Many accessions were made to the church, a new church building was erected, and the Borough of Newville laid out on the church lands. After a faithful ministry of almost thirteen years, Mr. Wilson closed his pastoral on March 4, 1799.

In Rev. Samuel Wilson’s call to the congregation of the Presbyterian Congregation of Big Spring, the twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six, the following subscribers were recorded: John McKeehan, Samuel McCormick, Hugh Laughlin, David Ralston, Robert Patterson, John Bell, S. Cunningham, James Graham, Hugh Patton, Margaret McKean, Jno. Ewing, Solomon Lightcap, William Giffen, Robert Bovard, William Hodge, Charles Leiper, Wm. McFarlane, John Reid, John Hodge, Sr., William Duncan, James Irwin, John Brown, John O’Neal, William Douglass, Alexander Officer, James Officer, Thomas Espey, James Gillespie, Samuel Hawthorn, James Robinston, Alexander Leckey, John McFarlane, Richard Woods, James Johnson, Robert Bell, Alex. Laughlin, Sam’l Finley, Samuel Blair, Thomas Jacob, Thomas Buchanan, Joseph McKibben, John Allison, John Bell, Jos. Pollock, Jas. Laughlin, Robert Hutchison, Atchison Laughlin, John Mitchell, Samuel Mathers, William Wilson, Francis Donald, James McQuon, James Wilson, George Little, John Brown, Jarmon Jacobs, John Davidson, Alexander Thompson, Robert Shannon, Joseph Parks, William McCracken, Samuel Lindsay, Matthew Wilson, William Lindsay, John Whiten, Jr., Elizabeth McCullough, Thomas Grier, Ann Browster, John Lusk, David Lusk, William Lusk, Alexander McBride, Jr., William Milligan, Agnes Irwine, William Hunter, William Walker, Robert Walker, Robert Patterson, James Turner, Adam Bratton, Joseph Walker, William Hunter, James Huston, Catherine Brown, Margaret McClure, James Armstrong, Jared Graham, and Margaret McFarlane. Many of these people, Jno. Ewing subscribed the sum of 1 pound, were subscribers for the annual salary of Rev. Samuel Wilson in the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds, Pennsylvania Currency in specie.

The elders in 1790 and during the ministry of Rev. Samuel Wilson were: William Lindsay, John Carson, Robert Lusk, John Lusk, William Bell, Thos. Jacob, Samuel McCormick, Robert Patterson, John Robinson, Hugh Laughlin, John Bell, John McKeehan, David Ralston, John Caldwell, and William Stevenson.

Occupants of Pews in 1790

1. Rev. Samuel Wilson

2. John Davidson, Andrew Patterson

3. Robert Patterson, Andrew Patterson

4. James Graham, Jared Graham

1. Samuel Woods, William Woods, Joseph Pollock

6. John Lemond, Thos. Glenn, W. Woods

7. John McKeehan, James Huston

8. Alexander Officer, William Douglas

9. Matthew Davidson

10. Samuel Blair, William Mitten

11. William Clark

12. Benjamin McKeehan, George McKeehan

13. William Given, William Wilson

14. Thomas Johnson, John Boyd

15. Joseph Connelly, John Connelly, William French

16. John McDonald, John Davidson, A. Leckey

17. James McCune, William Auld, John Monroe

18. Thomas Espey, James Johnson

19. William Brattan, John Brattan

20. John Ewing, William Ewing

21. James McFarlane, Widow McFarlane

22. William McFarlane, Alex. Buchanan, Alex. Boyle

23. James Laughlin, William Laughlin

24. John Hays, James Woodburn

25. James Graham, Samuel Lindsay

26. George Lafevre

27. Samuel Reauge, Mary Reauge, R. Beard, D. Crawford

28. John Espey, George Espey, John McDowell

29. John Beale, James Johnson

30. John Rippet, John Shannon

31. Widow Cummins, James Kirkpatrick

32. Richard Woods, Gabriel Glenn

33. David Stevick, James Nicholson

34. James Irwin, Matthew Ramsey

35. Thomas Jacobs, David Ralston

36. Paul Martin, Thomas McGuffin, I. Dearborough

37. Robert Hutchinson, John Patton

38. James Turner, John Turner

39. Samuel Mathers, Joseph Mathers

40. John Reid, W. Hunter, A. Brown, D. Gallespie

41. James McKeehan, Jarman Jacobs

42. William Lusk, John Caldwell

43. Matthew Walker, Samuel Finley

44. Jere McKibben, Benjamin Stewart, James Brown

45. John Brown, James McCulloch

46. Robert McClure, James Laird, Matthew Wilson

47. John Huston, Thomas Norton, Alexander McBride

48. William Bryson, Hugh Allen

49. John Carson, Samuel Emmett, Joseph Parks

50. John McCune, Samuel Wier

51. Hugh Laughlin, Alexander Laughlin

52. Robert McFarlane, William Thompson

53. Samuel Morrow, Samuel McCormick

54. Robert Mickey, James Jack

55. Robert Shannon, William Stevens

56. Solomon Lightcap, Daniel McLaughlin

57. Robert Walker, James Walker, Samuel Wilson

58. James McGuffog, William McGuffog, John Robinson

59. John Work

60. Nathaniel Roberts, ____ Gillespie

61. Alexander McClintock, Adam Carnahan

62. John Morain, Dr. Laughlin

63. Adam Bratton, George Gillespie, Thomas Gillespie

64. Robert Mickey, Andrew Mickey, ___ Carnahan

65. Thomas McDonald, William McDonald, William Hunter

66. James Mickey, William Kilgore

65. Joseph Vanhorn, John Kelley, Joseph Kelley

66. William Duncan, John Doyle, Henry Clark

69. Alexander Elliott, Thomas Mathers

70. Samuel Walker, ___ McCune

71. Wm. Walker, Andrew Walker, D. Walker, Robert Officer

72. Thomas Kennedy, John Bratton

73. Samuel McElhenny and sons, John Morrow

74. Joseph Wilson, Jesse Kilgore, Robert Kilgore

75. Andrew McElwain, John Bell

76. John Purdy, David Ramsey, John Walker

John Brown, Widow Walker

LXXV. John McFarlane, John Mitchell, Samuel Mitchell

LXXVI. Alexander Thompson, William Thompson

80. James W. Appleby, James McCurdy

81. Robert McElwain, Nellie Stewart

82. David Williamson, Andrew Thompson

83. Robert Beale, Andrew Beale

84. James Hamilton, Robert Lusk

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Page 191

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 1 - February 1998, page 16]

Source: The following was taken from Physics Today, March 1997, pp 105-106

Calculating Women Had Major Wartime Roles at Los Alamos

We thoroughly enjoyed reading Robert Heidel’s article on the origins of scientific computing in the AEC labs (October 1996, page 33). Although he mentions several women involved in the later history of computing in the labs, he fails to take note of two women who played major wartime roles in setting up and operating the IBM machines at Los Alamos.

Naomi Livesay (later French), a young mathematician with experience using IBM machines at Princeton Surveys (an organization that collected and analyzed survey data on the costs of state and local government), was hired in February 1944, about three weeks before the machines arrived at Los Alamos. As the only member of the group with actual experience performing calculations on the machines, she helped set them up and supervised the team of GI’s and civilians running them and carrying out the hand calculations used when the shock wave hit an interface between two materials.

By late August 1944, pressure to complete the shock wave calculations had increased to the point where Livesay needed an assistant. So she hired Eleanor Ewing (later Ehrlich), then teaching mathematics at Pratt and Whitney.

The two young women supervised the crews carrying out the calculations and organized the day-to-day work. They shared an office with John von Neumann and gave him his first lessons in operating the IBM machines. One problem they faced was the risk of calculation errors being caused by the machines’ interaction with dust from the unpaved New Mexico roads. Fortunately, an IBM repairman had been drafted and was thus on call 24 hours a day!

Ruth H. Howes

Ball Sate University

Munice, Indiana

Caroline L. Herzenberg

Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne, Illinois

Editor’s note: Mrs. Eleanor Ewing Ehrlich is a member of Clan Ewing in America.

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Page 192

THE TRAIN

by Keith Brister

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 1 - February 1998, pages 17-19]

[Editor’s note: Katie¹⁰ Brister (Vickie⁹ Baker, Betty⁸ McMichael, Gertie⁷ Ewing, James⁶, James⁵, James⁴, Alexander³, John², Alexander¹, Robert^A) is the daughter of Rev. Keith and Vickie Brister and a great niece of your editor.]

Last spring our family moved to Duncanville, Texas (a suburb on the southwest corner of Dallas). God called us to this new place and we knew He would bless us in many, many ways. Our daughter, Katie, received one very special blessing that none of us could have ever imagined. We’ve shared this story with many, and now you. We hope it will bring a smile and a little encouragement to your day. You never know when a little thing will be a big blessing.

In April of ‘96, we moved into our new home. Some would say we made a mistake, moving in on “the wrong side of the tracks”. I guess that would depend on which side of the tracks you wanted to live on. Never the less, what they really meant was that we bought a house “on the tracks”, and that wasn’t good. Well, not actually on the tracks, (we’re doing a little better than that) but right beside the railroad tracks.

It’s really not quite as bad as it sounds. Our train, (there is only one) came twice a day, 10:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. Like clockwork. That’s it, six to ten cars, (no caboose - technology you know!) Slowly creeping by. The distant “toots” reminds us, it’s almost ten or almost four and its somewhere between Sunday and Saturday.

Surprisingly, from day one, we liked our train. My first impression was about the size. It was huge! That may be part of the magic. It is big, yet it would gently and sluggishly glide by, rocking, popping and rattling lazily to and from town. As a family, we all liked the train, but Katie fell in love with her train.

Katie, a fourth grader at the time, appears in every way to be the typical ten year old. Typical yes, but not ordinary. Katie shines, a smile and spirit that brightens all around. From our first day of residence, Katie made it her personal business to meet and greet the train, everyday. During the school year it was only in the afternoon, but during the summer, coming and going Katie was there. Perched on the porch she daily was found waving and smiling to the conductors and engineers, and watching her train. Like clockwork! Whatever she was doing, when the train whistle called - she went. Rain or shine, hot or cold. She had a “wave” appointment.

The whole “wave thing” was kind of contagious in the family. Whether shooting the basketball, working in the yard, or sitting on the patio, we would all follow Katie’s lead and locate ourselves where we might give and get a “wave”.

As the weeks evolved to months, the consistent greetings of Katie, the Train Lady, brought more and more response. Not only the waves from all the train crew, but very personalized air blast from brakes, and the ultimate. . . a tiny “toot” from the mighty whistle. Katie loved it. We all did.

One afternoon in the fall, six months into our ever deepening train relationship, Katie burst through the back door screaming and running frantically through the house. Vicki, the Train Lady’s mom, not having a clue as to what catastrophe had just befallen our family, finally got the scoop. There had been a major communication breakthrough. A grandpa aged conductor and daily wave friend had flashed Katie a sign, a cardboard sign. “HI! MY NAME IS BUD”. Katie’s heart rate and happy feet were only outraced by her mind. Tomorrow, Bud would receive a response. A friendship was being born.

The next day Katie was ready. She had prepared it all night. A return cardboard sign, every letter colored with love. HI! MY NAME IS KATIE! Other side. HAVE A NICE DAY! She could hardly wait. The distant whistle wasn’t needed today. She was pumped.

As the huge train rolled by, Katie presented her greeting with all the wave and smile she could muster. (I know for a fact that that’s a lot of smile!) The message was received and returned with equal vigor. I’m almost sure Bud didn’t hit his back door that evening running and screaming through his house as Katie had done, but we would soon learn how he, too, had been blessed.

Katie awaited her train and Bud the following day, but nothing today could ever match the excitement of the last two. Until. . . the train began to stop. Katie went crazy with excitement and was met half way down the hall by her equally excited Mother, who all of the sudden became more than a little anxious at this unexpected call of a train driving beau.

It takes more than a few seconds to stop even a train of our size. It was skillfully stopped right at our backyard. With engine idling and hissing, and sitting still, it looked bigger than ever.

Mom and daughter, arm in arm, timidly walked to the six foot wooden fence. Bud approached from the tracks. Their fears were quickly calmed by the smiling face and sweet conversation with this new friend. Bud presented Katie with a beautiful Christian card and gift. The card and conversation expressed the heart felt thanks for the little blonde-headed smile, that had become a daily highlight of the long twelve hour shift, for Bud and his crew. The daily “smile and wave” ministry of my daughter had been shared with coworkers, family members and even neighbors of Bud, in his nearby city. Her kind and consistent acts of kindness had not only blessed one but many. Bud simply wanted to return the love, and did so, with the gift of a special handmade wooden train whistle.

I would suspect that this special gift will always be a treasure to my daughter, but not any more so, than the sweet memories and moments given to Bud through the smile and the hand of a little one.

Of course, the train doesn’t stop daily, (It may not suppose to stop at all. Shhh...) But on special days and seasons they manage a quick stop. Cookies and cards are exchanged. Bud’s famous peanut brittle is shared, but mostly hearts are warmed by the occasional treat of a short personal visit. They are always enjoyed. Like clockwork.

The train stopped recently and a couple of Bud’s buds delivered the message that he had hurt his back on the job. He would be out of the train business for several months. It’s been over six now. Letters and cards keep us posted of Bud’s condition. Whether or not he’ll ride the line again, I guess is still up in the air, like a lot of things in life. But this one thing I know, small acts of love and kindness are never really small. They are actually huge things in disguise.

The train still runs. Katie still waves. Always hoping for Bud, but ready for a new friend. The train has become a prompter for me. It reminds me to pray regularly for our friend Bud, at least Monday through Friday, 10 and 4. It also serves as a reminder of this great truth. A little, in the hands of God, can do much. Even stopping trains, like clockwork.

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Page 195

CHARLES COCKE WAR PENSION REQUEST

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 1 - February 1998, pages 20-22]

[Source: Mrs. Pearle C. Woods, Rural Retreat, VA sent an artice from the Southwest Virginia Ancestors, Clintwood, VA, Vol. 1, Summer, 1987, #2, which was the pension request of Charles Cocke.]

Editor's note: This article tells us something about the living conditions for the people for the period of time that Col. Cocke performed military duties. This pension request gives us two birth dates that were not known before. His own birth date and the birth date of his brother-in-law, William³ Ewing, (John², Alexander¹, Robert^A).

The pension records have been filmed with two sets of data. One film consist of selected records from the individual pension files. The other film contains all of the items in the pension file. The pension films contains many valuable pieces of information. Sometimes, the applicant tore the birth and death pages from the family Bible to use as support for their claim.

For those of you that have used the pension files as a source, we would like to have copies of the files that give us information about the individuals at the times they lived. This is a good source for those that have not used these film records. Ask at your library. Read all of the records for the names that you are searching.

Charles Cocke married Eleanor Ewing a daughter John Ewing (d. c 1788). William Ewing (1764-c 1852) is a brother of Eleanor and William of Lee County, Virginia.

THE PENSION FILE OF COL. CHARLES COCKE

At a Court begun and held for Lee County, at the Courthouse thereof on the 15^th day of January 1838. The following declaration was made in order to obtain the pension benefits of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.

State of Virginia, Lee County, to wit:

On the 15^th day of January 1838 personally appeared in open court, before the Court of Lee County; now sitting, Col. Charles Cocke, resident of Clarke County in the State of Arkansas, aged eighty-eight years the 12^th day of November next, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.

That about the month of July in the year 1780, he was commissioned by the Governor of Virginia as a Captain of Militia, in the then county of Washington in the said State of Virginia, over a company of Rangers in the Regiment at the time commanded by Col. Arthur Campbell, the number of which, the declarant has now forgotten. That he was stationed, with the company under his command, during the balance of that year, and in 1781 at the Rocky Station Fort, in the then county of Washington, but now county of Lee, on the old Kentucky Trace, on the Southwestern frontiers of Virginia.

That during that time, which embraced a period of about eighteen months, the declarant with some part of his command, was in constant service, either in acting as Spies, in pursuit of the savages, or in guarding the fort. That being himself very active and enterprising, and from his infancy accustomed to the woods, and well acquainted with the Indian character and wily arts, he always himself, when spying was to (have) selected two or three men of his command, on whom he could most depend for that service, and with them acted himself as a spy, entrusting the protection of the fort to his subordinate and the majority of the company. That during this service, the declarant several times pursued the savages when they would make incursions into the settlements, murdering the inhabitants and stealing their Property, and on several occasions he was engaged in bloody skirmishes with the Indians; and can say with certainty that he killed several of them himself on those occasions. That he too, was many times in the most imminent danger, when sometimes alone, and at other times with but one or two individuals in company, and but for his activity and his thorough knowledge of the Indian habits and character, he must often have fallen a victim of their savage ferocity. This mode of life, and duty continued from the year 1780 until Sinclair's defeat which the declarant thinks was in 1790. but his duties were not so incessant after 1781, as the settlements were growing more populous, other Stations were erected, and Major Andrew Lewis, Captain Hawkins and others were sent out with aides. Major Lewis with his Command visited this declarant's Station in 1782, which was the only aid he received before the close of the Revolution in 1783. When Major Lewis was here in 1782 the declarant joined him in an expedition some distance down in what is now the State of Tennessee, toward the Cherokee towns, but although they were often in the immediate vicinity of the savages, they had at that time no engagement with them. But the declarant has but little doubt that this boldness and show of increased strength intimidated the savages and made them more cautious, and less frequent, in their incursions to the settlements. So that subsequently up to the end of the Revolutionary War, although the declarant was continued in his command as a guard at the fort, yet his duties were not so laborious, as previously, nor duties still continued for some years, during which, he had several active, short campaigns, previous to his appointment to the command of the Rocky Station Fort, he was on an expedition of about six weeks against the Tories on New River who were about embodying to destroy the lead mines. This service he performed as a Private soldier under the command of Captain Henry Campbell, and previous to this, he was on an expedition against the Northwestern Indians in a company commanded by Capt. Williams Herbert, in a Regiment commanded by Colonel, then Major Christian.

Col. Christian with his command was near to Point Pleasant, at the mouth of Kanawha, when Col. Lewis defeated the Indians at the place. This service was performed in 1774 as well as the declarant now recollects, and he was engaged about six months or upwards, commencing in May, and ending the latter part of November following. For this last service the declarant supposed the act of Congress made no provision, and he mentions it, for the purpose only, of showing that his early life was one of activity and danger. But he also suppose that from the time he took command of the Rocky Station Fort, about the 1^st of July, 1780, to the end of the Revolutionary War, he will be entitled to a pension as a Captain which rank he held during that time, commanding at the same Fort.

The declarant hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State. His post office address is Greenville, Clarke County Arkansas.

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year first before written.

Charles Cocke

Teste: W. S. Morrison, D. C.

Virginia, Lee County, to wit:

This day William Yeary personally appeared before the Court of Lee County and made oath that his father, when the affiant was about ten years of age, moved to Rocky Station Fort, then in Washington, but now in Lee County, Virginia, in the year 1780. That Col. Charles Cocke was then a Captain over a company of Rangers, in command of the said Fort, in which he continued for many years. And was then, and has ever since been reputed to be, a brave and vigilant officer. That it was then said he was in many Indian skirmishes. That he himself had killed several Indians, and was a most cunning and active spy. The affiant was born on the 4^th day of February, 1770 and now resides in the said county of Lee and further saith not.

William Yeary

Sworn and subscribed in open court on the 15^th day of January, 1838. Teste: W. S. Morrison, D. C.

Virginia, Lee County, to wit:

On this 15^th day of January, 1838 personally appeared William Ewing in open court, before the Court of Lee County, and made oath in the year 1782 he came to the Rock Station Fort, then in Washington, but now in Lee County aforesaid, at which time Col. Charles Cocke was then in command of a company of Rangers at said Fort as a Captain, for several years after the affiant came to it, and that the affiant was in several expeditions with his, against the Indians. The said Cocke was always esteemed a brave and vigilant officer, and although in command, a vigilant, unremitting and active spy. The affiant is now nearly seventy-four years of age, being born the 18^th day of June, 1764 and has resided in the county of Lee ever since its establishment. And further this affiant saith not.

William Ewing

Sworn to and subscribed in open court on the 15^th day of January, 1838. Teste: W. S. Morrison, D. C.

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Page 198

EWING PORTRAITS

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 1 - February 1998, page 24]

[Source: Thanks to Alicia Towster for the sending the information about these Ewing portraits and where they are housed.]

The museum of the Vernon County Historical Society houses two almost-life-size monochrome Ewing portraits. The first, a photograph, is of Dr. Finis Y. Ewing; it is inscribed: Finis Y Ewing, M D, Co C 4^th Regiment, Arizona Brigade CSA. (He was a son of Washington Perry Ewing, one of the sons of Rev. Finis Ewing.) The second, probably a charcoal sketch, is inscribed: E A Ewing, Sheriff, Vernon county, 1898. I have no other information on him, but several Ewings, including descendants of both Chatham Ewing and of his brother Rev. Finis Ewing, migrated from Lafayette County, Missouri, to Vernon County, Missouri, after the Civil War.

The museum is called the Bushwhacker Museum (although it contains many other types of memorabilia, too) and is located at 231 North Main Street, Nevada, Missouri 64772.

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Page 199

LETTERS & E-MAIL

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 2 - May 1998, page 2]

The Journal article about “The Big Springs Presbyterian Church in Newville, Pennsylvania” was a nice surprise, since the William Ewing in pew 20 was my ancestor.

Robert H. Johnson

Erie, PA

~~~~~

It’s been a while since I wrote you last, but I’m making considerable progress in my family search. I’ve located ancestors back to New Jersey in 1773.

However, there is one person I’ve found no trace of and the strange part is that he is one of the few that I remember seeing as a child in 1923. The missing person is my Uncle Charley Ewing. He was the son of my grandfather, James Ewing and Susan B. Clifton, born January 19, 1866 in Ewing, Indiana. His mother died nine days later and was buried in what is now Brownstown, Indiana.

I’ve found no trace of Uncle Charley in the census records and feel that he may have been given up for adoption. His father moved to Jefferson County, Nebraska shortly after that and remarried Eliza A. Givens.

The only other knowledge I have is that he worked for a railroad and came to visit us in California on holidays and birthdays. I don’t know what railroad, although his brother James worked for the Wabash Blue Line that ran to St. Louis from Illinois. James lived in Decatur, Illinois.

Clyde Ewing

824 South Cascade Drive

Woodburn, OR 97071-3026

~~~~~

A recent visit to the courthouse in Winchester turned up some interesting original documents including the bond dated Sept. 3, 1782, (published in Clan Ewing in Nov. 97) and two deeds signed by a John Ewing and Ester Ewing dtd June 1791. I made copies of these and sent, along with the marriage bond between John and Alice Caswell from Bourbon County and a deed signed by John in Pendleton County, to hand writing expert, Lawrence M. Farmer . . .

The following opinion from Mr. Farmer. It is his opinion that the John Ewing who was married to Ester are not the same, but it is his opinion that our John Ewing and the John Ewing who signed the bond to settle the estate of William Ewing of Frederick County, VA is the same person. This would indicate that our John is the son of William Ewing of Frederick County who was the son of John Ewing of Carnshanagh. We will be seeing another opinion but feel this is correct.

While in Virginia we visited Staunton trying to find out why John Ewing would join the sea service so far inland. At the library, reading a history of the city, it stated that Staunton was the center of naval operations and was located in this remote area as it was far away from the British. The Scotch Irish settlers in the valley provided the flax and wove the cloth needed for the sails.

George Wm. Ewing

Battle Creek, MI

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Page 201

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 2 - May 1998, page 3]

There are almost as many theories on the origin of the name Ewing and on the development of today's various branches of the family Ewing as there are and have been spellings of our name. A new one recently came to my attention when I read an account of the ancestry and descent of one group of Ewings which began with the statement that the history of the Ewing family can be traced back to Germany and that the original spelling of the name Ewing was Juen. Don't ask me where that theory came from because I don't know, except that I am told that one group of Ewings in the western part of the United States was raised by Germans and that more than one of the Ewing men in that group married German women.

Of course, many of us are familiar with the long-lasting controversy over the relationship, if any, among the Scottish highland Ewings/MacEwens/MacLachlans and the lowland Stirling/Loch Lomond Ewings. All the Clan directories list the Ewings as a sept of the MacLachlans, but several years ago my brothers and sister and I were summarily dismissed from the front porch of Dame MacLachlan, the head of that Clan, with the assertion that we should go down the road to the MacEwens, as we were no part of her Clan. Apparently there are Ewings who are survivors of one or both of those Clans, but there are also many of us who believe we are descendants of a group of Ewings who came from the lowland areas around Loch Lomond. The founder of Clan Ewing in America, Ellsworth Ewing, following previous Ewing historians, attributed the lowland Ewings to the Celtic Scots who populated what is now southwestern Scotland from Ireland, as opposed to the Picts and Caldonians (northern Europeans), who inhabited the highlands and were gradually driven out or absorbed by the Scots.

There are also numerous Ewing families in Ireland today. Whether they are descendants of some of the Scottish Ewings who fled to Ireland during the periods of unrest in Scotland in the 17th century or trace their lineage to other lines, they have a coat of arms of their own which is quite different from the one with which the lowland-Scot Ewings have become familiar.

Come to Nashville next month and swap stories, tall and otherwise, about your forebears and your own family adventures. You need not be a dues-paying member of Clan Ewing to attend, so bring all your relations. All Ewings and Ewing relatives or descendants are invited. Come one; come all! The details about dates and registration are elsewhere in this Journal. I hope to see many of you there.

Joe (Neff) Ewing

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Page 202

A Texas Teacher Remembers

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 2 - May 1998, pages 8-13]

Louella Kate Smiddy in collaboration with Jerry Smiddy Wilson (her daughter)

Source: William M. "Bill" Ewing, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Bill writes: "I recently received an autobiography of my first cousin, once removed, Louella Kate Smiddy. Her mother was Ida Kate⁶ Ewing [John⁵, Wilson⁴, Edley³, Andrew², William¹. That is William Ewing of Rockingham.] Louella is now over 100 years old and is a missionary in Ecuador, South America. She and her daughter decided in 1988 to devote the remaining years of their lives to spreading the Gospel in Ecuador. Both ladies were widows and retired school teachers. They sold their homes in Texas and do not plan to ever return to the USA.

A young woman asked me recently what I considered the major point of contrast between teaching in the early 1900's and now. The idea that came immediately to mind was the handling of stereo-typed sex roles in today's schools. I didn't know how to express the concept verbally in those days, but I distinctly recall a definite demarcation in the distribution of chores. The boys went outside the [to] perform such delightful tasks as dusting the erasers in artistic patterns on the schoolhouse walls, chopping and stacking firewood, and collecting snakes, toads, and lizards for the natural science class. The girls stayed (another hour) to sweep the floor, dust the furniture, wash the chalkboard, and straighten the books. In recent times some of these inequities have been eradicated, or at least blurred. We now know that it's all right for little boys to cry and for little girls to be strong.

Let me wander back now, in memory, to the year 1898 when, as an orphaned child of four, I came to live with my Uncle Boaz and Aunt Effie Ewing [Bill Ewing's grandparents] in the small community of Peerless, Texas, about ninety miles southeast of Dallas. They had just lost their little daughter Lasca, also four years old, and the family felt that having a child of about the same age in the home might ease their loss.

My uncle, a moderately prosperous storekeeper, provided me with the best schooling available in those parts. In a one-room schoolhouse on the edge of town I finished grades one through eight at the age of eleven. My family was not willing for me to go away to school yet, so the teacher in Peerless let me "hear" the lessons of the younger children, thus giving him time to instruct me in the advanced courses of algebra, physical science, history and geography. (This last course included the whole universe in those days.)

Finally ready for high school, I rode the dray wagon fifteen miles into Sulphur Springs every Monday, carried on my studies while living with relatives during the week, and then rode the wagon back home on Friday afternoon. The Saturday night spelling bee-open to any and all--provided a dramatic background for my language skills. I always "spelled down" the children, the adults, even the schoolteacher. This, perhaps, convinced my uncle that he had not wasted his investment in my schooling.

At the age of sixteen, after two years in high school and a six-weeks' training course at North Texas State Normal School in Denton, I took the certification examination and obtained a "second grade" certificate which in 1911 authorized me to teach in grades one through eight. (A "first grade" certificate qualified you for grades one through twelve.) The school board in Peerless customarily offered each hometown beginning teacher a job for one year to give them experience. I could not take advantage of that offer because my uncle was one of the trustees, and nepotism was strictly prohibited. However, through a longtime friend and customer of my uncle's general store and cotton gin, he secured a position for me in a "prairie school" several miles from any town. This friend, Gus Campbell, served as a trustee of the prairie school, and he offered to provide my room and board for eight dollars in cash and piano lessons for his three oldest daughters. The schoolhouse stood on a piece of property that Mr. Campbell had donated for that purpose. All the school children except his had to pass in front of his house to get to the school. If on a bitter cold day none of the students appeared, I simply held class for the young Campbells in their own parlor.

Speaking of winter, some diligent mothers sewed their offspring into their long underwear, and it might not come off until spring. Since this practice precluded a complete bath, the children just washed the exposed skin-maybe. To ward off pneumonia and flu, a small cloth bag containing a malodorous resin which everyone called "assafiddity" (really spelled asafetida) hung from a string around the child's neck. In the colorful language of my Aunt Effie, they "stunk worse'n c'yarn" (her word for carrion).

A teacher rarely continued in a school for more than one year. Either the people of the community became dissatisfied, or the teacher did, or both. After one year on the prairie, I decided to seek a position that paid more than forty dollars a month. I finally secured one that paid fifty dollars and promptly went out and splurge two dollars on a pair of soft gray kid, high-topped, buttoned shoes.

During this year (1912-1913) I lived at home and rode my small sorrel mare three miles to school. She waited patiently all day, tied in the shade of a sycamore tree. My two dogs, one a small fluffy, yellow dog name Goo-Goo, and the other a large back mongrel called Pup, often came along to keep the mare company and to enjoy the attention they got from the students. At the end of the day, my arms loaded with all the objects I carried back and forth, I faced the awkward problem of getting on my mare to ride home. This mare must formerly have belong to a Pony Express rider, because she had the irritating habit of taking off like a shot the minute she felt my toe touch the stirrup. If I didn't get a firm hold on the reins and settle into the saddle quickly, she left for home without me. Three or four times that year I overheard the animated recounting of the spectacle witnessed by the townspeople as the mare galloped into view, her saddle either empty or, better still, hanging under her belly from bucking as she ran. The narrative went something like this: "We was standing in front of Goaz's gin, don't you know-looked up and seen Miss Loueller's sorrel mare comin' round the curve licketty-split, right up to the porch, with ole Pup at 'er heels. The, 'bout half a minute later, her comes little Goo-Goo bring' up the rear. Tom Graham says, 'Looks to me like Miss Loueller got left at the school agin. I'm goin' that way. I'll take the mare back to 'er so's she can git home tonight.'"

I had another riding problem. This one had to do with the long, divided skirt that women wore in order to sit modestly astride the western saddle that had recently replaced the side saddle in Texas. One Sunday afternoon Claude Smiddy, the young man who would later become my husband of fifty-eight years, came by to take me horseback riding. Upon trying to mount, I realized that I had inadvertently put both my legs into one side of the voluminous skirt. Not wanting to admit my embarrassing mistake to Claude, I quickly told him that I had forgotten something and scurried into the house to make the necessary adjustment, leaving him none the wiser.

The roads between towns were rough and often muddy, making the distances seem even longer on horseback or in a buggy, so Claude and I saw each other only on rare occasions for the first few years of our acquaintance. The time came, however, when friendship ripened into love, and in 1917 we were married. (By that time I had taught six years in five different schools.) Just a few weeks after our wedding, Claude was drafted into the armed forces to fight in World War I. He was sent to France where stayed until the end of the war. Upon returning in December of 1918, he decided to help his father on the farm, and I settle down to the life of country wife and mother. We soon learned that the cotton industry was not as lucrative a business as it had been during the war when cotton was used as wadding in the bullets, so Claude went on the road selling Conoco products. Not satisfied to be away from his family so much of the time, he went into the grocery business in 1923 in Commerce, Texas. We lived near the campus of East Texas State Teachers' College. By that time we had two little girls, Claudia and Adele, and while they were in kindergarten I enrolled in interesting conveniently scheduled college classes. At first it was just a hobby, something to pass the time while the girls were away, but later I decided to fill the requirements for a degree, and in 1927 I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Spanish. At that time I had no thought of teaching again because male teachers abounded and most school boards preferred them. (Editor: Here you may or may not insert a loud "Harumph!" with fists on hips.)

Shortly after the beginning of World War II, my husband decided to go to Galveston to seek a job in the new ship-building industry. I joined him there with our third daughter Jerry, our post script who had been born in 1933 during the years when I was not teaching. A severe shortage of teachers had developed because thousands of men had been sent overseas in the armed forces. I applied for and obtained a position in one of the county schools in Port Bolivar, a small fishing community on the peninsula just across the channel from Galveston. Surrounded by a chain link fence, the weathered frame schoolhouse stood in a sandy yard dotted with a few tufts of salt grass. The county Superintendent who hired me gave my job description as "teacher, principal, bus driver and custodian" of the two-teacher school. The other teacher taught grades one through three, and I taught grades four through eight. Those students who continued in school after the eighth grade were bused to Ball High School in Galveston.

My most memorable, and sometimes harrowing, experiences during those two years centered around the school bus. Everyone called it the "Silver Goose." It resembled an elongated hearse painted silver and was about fifteen years old. I had complete charge of the bus and kept it parked in front of my house at night. Every school day at 6:00 A.M. I drove the bus onto the ferry that crossed and recrossed the channel twelve times a day. After driving into place and setting the emergency brake, I sometimes sat and dozed or sipped coffee from my thermos. The crossing took about twenty-five minutes, so on a fine, clear day I might get out, climb the metal stairs to the upper deck and watch the sunrise and the porpoises rolling through the sluggish, green water. About halfway across, we always passed an island that had been a leper colony in the late nineteenth century. Comparing my life with the loss and misery of those desolate souls somehow seemed to lighten my load.

One morning, when the fog over the island was as thick as buttermilk, the ferry got off course and stuck on a sandbar. For over two hours we sat listening to the bells on the invisible buoys and the harsh blasts of the foghorn as it warned other ships of our potentially dangerous position.

In fair weather or foul, the clank and thud of the ferry's bumping to the landing was my signal to start the motor and get ready to drive the bus onto the mainland. Waiting in the long line of exiting cars, I always felt an eerie premonition that the ferry was going to lurch free of its moorings and dump the Silver Goose and me into the water.

On leaving the ferry, it took about thirty minutes to drive up the peninsula and back down again, picking up the children in front of their homes, most of which sat up on tall posts to keep high water from invading them during hurricanes. At the end of the day I made the run again, returning the students to their homes and recrossing the channel to Galveston.

One of the Port Bolivar students stands out in my memory. He was nicknamed Hotshot, and his baggy, ragged clothes bespoke the deep poverty of his family. After the Christmas holidays the other students came to me with startled expressions and exclaimed, "Mrs. Smiddy, Hotshot says he's gonna shoot Santa Claus 'cause he didn't bring him no presents!" Their

horror of this idea was tempered by their sympathy for his plight. Although they were all poor, each one had received at least one present. Their feelings toward him turned savage, however, after the trick he played on them at Easter time. Several mothers had come to the school on the day before the holidays to hide beautifully decorated Easter eggs in the sparse grass and under little piles or rock. Hotshot had stayed away that day, and apparently he was watching from a hiding place as the ladies hid the eggs. When the mother came inside the schoolhouse for refreshments and a short program, Hotshot sneaked over and loaded every available space in his baggy clothing with these delicious treasures. As we all filed out of the building for the egg hunt, we saw Hotshot galloping away, holding up his sagging pants with one hand, and stuffing eggs into his mouth as fast as he could with the other.

I'm proud of one accomplishment in that drab, antiquated school. Most of their children worked hard with their parents during after school hours, and the girls, with only one or two exceptions, took little or no pride in the clothes or personal appearance. So I decided to initiate an eighth-grade graduation exercise and encourage all the students to dress up. Somehow the idea took hold, and all the girls, even the poor ones, acquired a long dress. Every boy was able to get together some semblance of a suit. This being the first graduation exercise the school had ever held, the students and their parents glowed with pride . . .

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Page 207

ANDREW EWING

[Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol 4 No. 2 - May 1998, pages 19-26]

Source: Clerk Andrew Ewing - His Book compiled by Katherine W. Ewing, 1942 et seq., Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks to Mr. Pete Hamilton, Buena Vista, Virginia, who made us aware of this book and was able to furnish a number of the pages from the book. All of the errors in spelling have been left as they appear in the book. The footnotes are indicated as they appeared in the book. However, the pages of the book that Mr. Hamilton has does not contain the references for the footnotes.

Chapter 7

1788 Mission to Mc Gillivray

In Davidson County Will Book No. 1, at page 66 there is the following interesting heading to a five years delayed in

"Cumberland River State of N^o Carolina

"Know all men by these Presents that I Daniel Dunam of Cumberland and State Affs^d Am held and finally bound unto Isaac Johnston of the State and place Affs^d in the Sum of One thousand Pounds . . .

18 Ap^l in the year of our Lord 1783 . . ." Bond to make a deed for 320 acres of Land it being half the preemption which s^d Lunam has obtained as Assignee of Peter Caffrey . . .

Proved by James Mulheim Ap^l 9^th 1788

Test Andrew Ewing c DC"

Emissaries of the British and Spanish governments had been busily engaged in machinations and mischief to the Western settlements for many years prior to 1788. The stationers on the Cumberland were during that in situations naturally and politically separated by mountain barriers and virtually cast off by the parent State, so that they were compelled to act very independant parts. The Creek and Cherokee Indians waged war against these settlements. "But why should they be induced or provoked to travel the distances to, and seek the destruction of, the settlers who had never disturbed them? There was no land on th