Journal of Clan Ewing
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CONTENTS
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FEBRUARY JOURNAL
THE PICKLE JAR HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT
WILL OF JAMES EWING (1733-1825)
MAY JOURNAL
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ALBERT G. EWING (1804-1873)
SEEING SCOTLAND...THE ROYAL BURGH OF STIRLING
AUGUST JOURNAL
GEORGE EWING TO FAMILY MEMBERS IN MICHIGAN
NOVEMBER JOURNAL
AN 1808 LETTER FROM INDIAN JOHN EWING
LETTER FROM GEORGE HENRY EWING
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Letters & E-mail
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Volume 6 Number 1, page 2)
Thanksgiving 1999 was quite a contrast to Thanksgiving 1945. Richard and I had just moved from our room in the Women’s Dormitory to a one room apartment in the West end and near the Jemez Mountains. I cooked on a two burner electric hot plate and had a very small sink and an “Ice Box”. I worked 8 hours a day in the IBM Electric Calculating Group. Two days before Thanksgiving I bought a small wrapped turkey at the Commissary and carried it home. I placed it, as was, in the ice box. I did not know how to cook and did not own a cookbook. The day before Thanksgiving Richard wanted to drive his second hand Ford (he owned one third) to view the site where the First Atomic Test was made. We looked at the greenish glass and Richard took my picture standing beside Jumbo. The next morning I unwrapped the turkey. I was horrified to discover that it had been frozen with its feathers and entrails inside. Richard proposed we build a fire in the sand near the high feet wire fence which enclosed Los Alamos and burn off the feathers while defrosting the bird. Among other problems was a lack of firewood. Later that afternoon all we had was a charred frozen turkey. I began to cry. I was hungry. Richard threw the mess in the garbage. We walked to the PX, but they had sold everything except hot dogs which we accepted gratefully.
Several years ago Ball State University Astronomy and Physics Professor Ruth H. Howes interviewed me about Los Alamos. Last week she sent me a copy of the book “Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project” by Ruth H. Howes and Caroline S. Herzenberg, published by Temple University Press. I recommend this book. It has the picture of Jumbo and me and Richard’s and my wedding picture. The unknowns of 1943-45 are clarified. Last names, backgrounds, and job descriptions are given for the women who worked on the Manhattan Project.
Gainesville, Florida
Ed. Note: The above is taken from a Christmas Letter and I thought it was too good not to share with you.
~~~~~
I am late reading my November, 1999 Clan Ewing publication, but I was really taken by the article quoting Nathaniel Ewing's 1844 letter in which he states that a large number of Ewings and Polks moved to the US from Scotland and Ireland.
I have finally, after a 20 year search, found the father of my great grandfather, John Polk Ewing. It made me wonder if John Polk Ewing might have been named after good friends, or even family, a generation or two back. I'd love to know anymore about the Polk/Ewing connection.
I'd also like to post the following query. [See query in query section.]
fryco<at>mcn.net
~~~~~
I want to congratulate you and the other committee members for a job well done, without your help my trip through the Ewing line would have been much harder.
I started this journey trying to find information on my great grandfather, William Ewing (1842-1879), having information on my grandfather, George W. Ewing (1863-1941) and knowing where he was born was a big help, checking the 1870 census was able to locate them in Rush County, Indiana. The rest was like being a detective, I found my gg grandfather James Ewing (1799-1882) and the census indicated he was born in Kentucky. Working back to my ggg grandfather, John Ewing of Pendleton County (1754-1832), with your help was able to determine his birth place as Virginia by the 1880 census which indicated where both parents were born.
John Ewing of Pendleton County, Kentucky was the son of William Ewing of Frederick County, Virginia (1711-1781) was born in Ireland and migrated to this country in 1729 with his family, including his father John Ewing of Carnshanagh (1648-1745)
We are looking forward to seeing you and all our cousins in Ohio in September 2000.
Battle Creek, MI
~~~~~
.
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CHANCELLOR'S MESSAGE
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 4 )
As I write this, I am about to leave for two days in Lancaster, Ohio to help Jill Spitler with the final arrangements for our Clan Gathering there this coming September 21-24. It is shaping up as a worthy successor to our previous meetings, beginning with Vincennes, Indiana, in 1988. In reporting on that Gathering in one of his inimitable “Dear Cousins” letters, our founder Ellsworth Ewing wrote, “What a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL week end- -to meet all of you and to discover what lovely people you all are. . . .The Ewing Family is, indeed, a lovely Family! And the present generation measures up fully to its heritage and ancestry.”
Knowing what Jill has planned for us in the way of times for stories and discussions and review of extensive Family memorabilia mixed with visits to local Ewing landmarks in the Lancaster area, I am convinced that this Gathering will be another one to remember just as fondly. We will have plenty of opportunity to get to know each other better and to confirm that the Ewing Family really is made up of “lovely people”. An invitation letter, which will include all the details, will be coming to all Clan members (everyone on the mailing list, whether or not they pay dues) within the next few weeks – as soon as we have firmed up the agenda. Jill expects that we will be able to keep the meal and activity fee at the same $150.00 per person as the past two Gatherings. Those attending will make their own arrangements for rooms, for which we expect the rate to be about $70.00 per room at the Best Western Lancaster, where all the action will be.
Meanwhile, the other activities of the Clan go on. Of course, it would not be the same without Jim McMichael’s stellar job as Editor of this Journal, and he and Margaret Fife, as our Genealogists, have been busy answering the many inquiries we receive from people all over the country regarding their connections with other Ewings over the years. One such inquiry came recently from member Bobbi Hawk of Billings, Montana, referring to the middle name Polk borne by some of her Ewing ancestors and wondering whether there is any record of intermarriage between the Polks and the Ewings. Unfortunately, we have so far been unable to find one.
Also, we now have our own proprietary site on the World Wide Web at www.clanewing.org thanks to the careful attention of CarolSue Hair, our webmaster. Another member, Katrina Dorneman of California, has created a site listing Ewings involved in the American Revolution, and CarolSue will include that as one of the Ewing-related links from our website.
In other words, the beat goes on, and I hope to see many of you in Lancaster, Ohio, come September 21.
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A CHAT WITH JILL
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 5)
Dear Cousins,
Winter has hit with a vengeance here in Ohio. Temperature has been in single digits all week. Thank heaven for the summer mail order catalogues and thinking about spring.
The holidays are behind us and we are busy finalizing the reunion for September 2000. It is sure to be a good time. I was asked how many will we be planning on attending. Well, I say 80 to 200 (how can I miss). We’ll know next October when its all over. How many do you think?
We also need some ideas for the next reunion. It is usually talked about two to three years ahead. Send us any ideas you may come up with. The only thing I have heard from anyone was back to Cecil County Maryland.
Ewing history is our ideal, but family and togetherness has to count for a lot too. It would not matter where we would go but I would want to be there to see my family. And, I hope you would too.
Look for your reservation packet coming soon and spring is just around the corner.
Your O “Hi” O cousin,
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Editor's Fireside Chat
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 6)
Yes, Clan Ewing has its own domain on the Internet. Since we are a family organization - .org appeared to be more appropriate than .com or .net. Our name is not case sensitive; therefore, it should be easier to find us. When CarolSue Hair sent out an e-mail notice telling our members who have e-mail about the new name for Clan Ewing on the Internet, she got back a number of message due to a bad address. We encourage you to send us your new e-mail address if it has changed recently. In a few weeks, I will be printing the a new mailing list and we would like to have all of the correct information for each person.
This journal is the first of volume 6 and I might ask “where do we go from here”? It is my conviction that we can produce a better journal and provide more information to our members as well as the unknown part of the family that may be just starting their research this year.
Over the past five years, we have published a lot of information about various individuals and families and I know that I do not have a good recall on when and where the information was published and the individuals names that were included. Someone might know of a method that would help us with recall so we could use the information when we try to answer queries.
In this issue, the information included is a little different. That is due in part to the information that I have when I start putting information together for a journal which is about six months before the date of the journal. It is really nice to have a good back log of articles especially some that are a few pages in length. That is something that I am short on at this time. Again, I encourage each of you to dig through some of those old storage places for items that can be used in the journal.
When my cousin, Ina Mae McGuire, died in late January, I came into the possession of a book that was typed in 1969 and most likely only a few copies were distributed. It is primarily the contents of about 400 letters that were written in the mid 1800s and were found in two or three places when family members started through some old items that were stored. The Ewings that are mentioned are not from my family. But, fortunately, I know of someone that is related to the Ewing family mentioned.
No doubt many of you are looking forward to the reunion in September and we hope to see many of you there. In the mean time, think about what we might do with the journal that will make us a better family organization. Jim McMichael
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JAMES EWING OF POCAHONTAS
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 7)
Over the past few years, I have seen a good bit of correspondence and completed “What’s My Line?” forms that listed a wife for James Ewing of Pocahontas. However, some claim that the wife’s name of James is not known and some identify a wife by name.
About 60 years or so ago, a family researcher made a mistake in passing on information that he had received from someone else that identified the wife of James Ewing. He tried to recall his error, but as in many cases, the error continues to be used over and over and the truth is not accepted.
Recently, I received a copy of a 1939 letter from A. E. Ewing to R. O. McNiel and I think that the confession made by A. E. Ewing should be published. For those that are descendants of James Ewing, I hope the information in the following letter will be of some benefit to you. The emphases has been added. It is really important to get bad information corrected. A portion of the letter follows:
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Sept. 14, 1939
R.O. McNiel
Roanoke, VA
“NO, we have never found (to my later satisfaction, at least) who the Irish girl was who became the wife of James Ewing, the father of Swago Bill. Years ago, when I was still a greenhorn in the family history business, Dr. Gilbert A. Ewing of Jackson announced that the Irish girl’s name was Margaret Sargent. I accepted the statement, and had it so published in the Ewing sketch in Prince’s history. The doctor also announced that our James Ewing was a captain in the Revolution and received a grant of lands for his services. We went so far as to obtain from Richmond a copy of the grant (which I still have buried away somewhere in the attic) and it ran to James Ewing and a McNutt (James I think). The land described was on Indian Creek in Greenbrier County.
“Years after we had swallowed the error I came to know that Indian Creek is in present Monroe County, West Virginia (formerly Greenbrier) and that there was a family of Ewings and a family of McNutts living there. The Ewing family was, however, no relation of ours. There is a good 40 or 50 miles between the Swago and Indian Creeks, and we have not even a tradition that any of our Ewings ever lived on Indian. Moreover, the James Ewing of Indian Creek is accounted for as from the Staunton County, or farther east. So. ‘Captain James Ewing’ was eliminated from our records. There was another James Ewing from Prince Edward County. It is possible that some other James Ewing than ours married Margaret Sargent. I have never been able to find the name Sargent on any Virginia list. My grandfather did not know her name. Time and again I directed our conversation toward his grandfather James. When was he born----whom did he marry----where was he born----when did he come to Virginia----whom did he marry----was he in the Revolution----when and where did he die----the sum total of his answers was, “He come to Virginny in an arly day, a young man from the north of Ireland and soon after married an Irish girl.’
“Grandfather could have loaded me up with a great story had he been a ‘romancer.’ He would not go an inch beyond what he knew or believed to be true. James died as we know now five years before Grandfather was born (Enoch was born in 1799). Necessarily, all grandfather knew about him was what he had learned from family talk. He knew his Uncle John (Indian John) personally, as both John and William settled on the Little Raccoon in Gallia County, Ohio, only a few miles apart. Indian John Ewing was renowned for his prodigious memory, and it is very likely that grandfather learned much from his uncle, especially the story of the Clendennin Massacre in 1763. Grandfather had the names of his uncle and aunts at his tongue’s end, and also knew whom they married. He knew the birth dates of his own father and mother and mentioned that his father was double the age of Mary McNeill when he married her. Records I have since found verify his statements to the dot. He did not pretend to know much about the movements of the Ewings up to the time they appeared on Swago.”
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THE PICKLE JAR HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 10)
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL
Source: The Houston Chronicle, Saturday, July 31, 1999, Section E, page 8.
As far back as I can remember, the large pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom.
When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy, I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled
I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate’s treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.
When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coin rolls were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully.
“These coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You’re going to do better than me. This old mill town’s not going to hold you back,” he would say. As he’d slide the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. “These are for my son’s college fund. He’ll never work at the mill all his life like me.”
We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice-cream cone. I would always go for chocolate; Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice-cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. “When we get home, we’ll start filling the jar again.”
He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. “You’ll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,” he would say, “but you’ll get there. I’ll see to that.”
The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all the most flowery of words could have done.
When I married, I told my wife, Susan, about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad doggedly continued to drop his coins into the jar.
Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring ketchup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. “When you finish college, son,” he told me, his eyes glistening “you’ll never have to eat beans again unless you want to.”
The first Christmas after our daughter, Jessica, was born, we spent the holidays with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad’s arms. “She probably needs to be changed,” she said and carried the baby into my parents’ bedroom to diaper her.
When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and quietly leading me into the bedroom. “Look,” she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, and the bottom was already covered with coins.
I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, who was carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.
King Features Syndicate
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EWING FAMILY BIBLES
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 12)
Source: The following Bible information was sent by Wallace K. Ewing, Grand Haven, Michigan. The preparation of this information is really appreciated and a number of descendants will now know where some of the dates that have been published for these families came from.
The oldest Bible in my possession belonged to William Ewing and his wife, Mary McNeill. They were married in Greenbrier County, VA, in 1785. William, the son of James, was born in December, 1756, and Mary was 14 years younger, and thus only 14 when she married Swago Bill. Following is a list of the names entered in the Bible. Note that the family name is consistently spelled with an “s” on the end, indicating that someone out of the immediate family may have made the entries:
Elizabeth Ewings, Daughter of William Ewings and Mary his wife was Born febrauary the 15, 1787
Thomas Ewings Was Born July 30 1788
Jonathan Ewings was Born Agust the first 1790
William Ewings Was Born April the 3 1792
James Ewings Was Born December the 9 1793
John Ewings Was Born September the 9 1795
Sarah Ewings Was Born May the 23 1797
Enoch Ewings Was Born July the 31 1799
Jacob Ewings Was Born August the 17 1802
Abram McNeel Ewings Was Born October the thirteenth 1804
George Ewings Was Born Janauary the 21 1807
Andrew Ewings Was Born May the forth 1809
The Bible was printed in 1790 and my grandfather conjectured that it came into the Ewing family about five years later, while they were still living in what is now West Virginia. In 1810 the good book moved to Gallia County, OH. In 1854, 32 years after her husband died, Mary took it with her to Missouri, accompanied by Andrew.
Later Andrew moved to Iowa, and took the Bible with him. Then a daughter of his settled in North Dakota, and that’s where my grandfather, Alvin, acquired it, about 1900, in exchange (he wrote) for a new one. It came back to Michigan with Alvin, and then went to his daughter. When she died last year a tad short of her 100th birthday, I took possession. In 1930 Alvin wrote that the Bible “has been at several Ewing Family reunions.” It is extremely fragile, lacking covers, and missing a number of pages.
The second Bible is also fragile, but in much better condition. It belonged to Enoch Ewing, Swago Bill’s son, and Enoch’s wife, Susannah Radabaugh. After their deaths, daughter Charlotte Jenkins took it. Later she passed it on to her brother, Henry McKendree Ewing, my great-grandfather, had it in his home, then his son, Alvin, next Alvin’s daughter, and then me. Henry thought the book was in the Ewing family as early as 1821, the year Enoch and Susannah were married. These are the entries recorded in the bible:
PARENT’S RECORD
FATHER Enoch Ewing, Born July 31, 1799
MOTHER Susannah Ewing Born October 16th 1800
BIRTHS
Charlotte Ewing Born November 1st 1822
Isaac Ewing Born April 1st 1825
Jennetta Ewing Born June 8th 1827
John Ewing Born July 22nd 1829
William J. Ewing Born September 14th 1831
Andew Ewing Born Novembr 13th 1833
James Leander Ewing Born December 28th 1835
Elizabeth Ewing Born May 28th 1838
Henry Mc Ewing Born May 15th 1841
Emily J. Ewing Born August 23d 1844
Melvin R. Radabaugh was born Feb 19th 1850
Etna A. Radabaugh was born May 7 1851
Emily J. Ewing Died July 17th 1848 aged 3 years 11 Months and 22 Days We have a beautious Little girl Her age we cannot tell For they reckon not by Months and years In the Land Where She is gone to dwell
BIRTHS
Josiah Jenkins was borned November the 18th 1812
Charlotte Ewing was borned November 1 A. D. 1822
Martha J. Jenkins was borned October the 2nd 1841
Mary E. Jenkins was borned July the 13th 1848
Isabell S. Jenkins was borned February the 13th 1845
Nancy C. Jenkins was borned March the 31 8147
Isaac S. Jenkins was borned December the 6th 1848
Enoch M. Jenkins was borned August the 12th 1851
Josephus Mc Jenkins was borned June 16th 1854
Susan A. Jenkins was borned September the 18th 1856
Cassius M. F. Jenkins was borned September 13th 1858
William Edward Jenkins was borned June 12th 1862
U. S. Grant Jenkins was born April 17, 1864
The third Bible belonged to Henry McKendree Ewing and his wife Nancy Hanks. He paid $2.50 for it in 1864. It came to me by way of their son, Alvin, and Alvin’s daughter, Doris. Like the others, it is fragile and parts of it are missing. The entries are brief:
Henry Mc and Nancy A. Ewing was married Aprile 23rd 1862
Henry Mc Ewing was Born May 15th 1841
Nancy A. Ewing was Born June 10th 1840
BIRTHS
Loella J. Ewing was Born January 26th 1863
Alvin E. Ewing was Born Nov 10th 1864
John C. Ewing was Born January 28th 1867
Frank B. Ewing was Born July 28th 1869
The fourth and last Bible is in the best condition of them all, but still fragile and disintegrating. It belonged to William Jordan Ewing and his wife, Isabelle Virginia Hank. One of the pages has this certificate of Holy Matrimony:
William J. Ewing of Michigan and Isabell V. Hank of Jackson Ohio on October 12 1855 at Jackson [Ohio] by J. T. Holiday Jackson [Ohio] J. W. Ewing, Witness S. Cherrington, Witness
BIRTHS
William J. Ewing Born Sept 14 1837
Isabel V. Hank Born Jan 2 1838.
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SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 15)
The first 3 digits of a person's Social Security Number, indicates the state in which the person resided when the number was assigned: (Perhaps useful in conjunction with the use of the Social Security Death Index.)
001-003 New Hampshire
004-007 Maine
008-009 Vermont
010-034 Mass.
135-158 New Jersey
035-039 Rhode Island
040-049 Conn.
050-134 New York
135-158 New Jersey
159- 211 Penn.
212-220 Maryland
221-222 Delaware
223-231 Virginia
232-236 West Virginia
237-246 North Carolina
247-251 South Carolina
252-260 Georgia
261-267 Florida
268-302 Ohio
303-317 Indiana
318-361 Illinois
362-386 Michigan
387-399 Wisconsin
400-407 Kentucky
408-415 Tennessee
416-424 Alabama
425-428 Mississippi
429-432 Arkansas
433-439 Louisiana
440-448 Oklahoma
449-467 Texas
468-477 Minnesota
478-485 Iowa
486-500 Missouri
501-502 North Dakota
503-504 South Dakota
505-508 Nebraska
509-515 Kansas
516-517 Montana
518-519 Idaho
520 Wyoming
521-524 Colorado
525 - 585 New Mexico
526-527 Arizona
528-529 Utah
530 Nevada
531-539 Washington
540-544 Oregon
545-573 California
574 Alaska
575-576 Hawaii
577-579 District of Columbia
580 Virgin Islands
581-585 P.R., Guam, Am. Samoa, Philippine Islands
700-729 Railroad
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WILL OF JAMES EWING (1733-1825)
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 16)
Source: George Alan Morledge, Williamsburg, Virginia sent a typed copy of the will for James Ewing. Thanks George for sharing a copy of this information.
From Will Book III, p. 125, #69, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Will dated 23 September 1814
“In the name of God Amen I, James Ewing of Allegheny County, Robinson Township, State of Pennsylvania, Yeoman, being perfect in health of body and of sound mind, memory and understanding but considering the uncertainty of this transitory life, do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form following to with: Principally and first of all I commit my immortal soul into the hands of God who gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a decent and christian like manner at the discretion of my executors hereinafter named, and as to such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give and dispose of the same in the following manner to wit: First, I will that all legal debts against my estate after my decease be fairly and faithfully discharged, together with all my funeral expenses. After which I will and bequeath unto my loving wife Mary her living during her natural life, the home plantation I now occupy together with all the movable property pertaining thereunto, the same to be her sole use during her natural life.
“I will and bequeath unto my oldest son William parcel of land on Montours Run adjoining David Smith, Wm. Hall and others, said parcel of land I hold by patent on which are a grist mill and saw mill, all which I will and bequeath to my son William, with all appurtenances and advantages whatever arising on the said property, comprehending my whole claim on the waters of Montours Run.
“Again I will and bequeath unto my second son Samuel the parcel of land he now occupies, which land I hold by patent, land adjoining Henry Sturgeon and Samuel Ewing, Senr. And others, land lying on the waters of Robinson Run.
“Again I will and bequeath to my third son Alexander the parcel of land he, said Alexander, now occupies adjoining John Campbell, decd, Col. Nevil and others, bounded on the east by Chartiers Creek which I hold by patent, said land to be divided from the tract of land I now live on, beginning at a post at the head of the steep hollow joining Col. Nevil, turning from there to the mouth of the lick run on Robinson Run, thence along a conditional line until it meets the head boundary line.
“Again I will and bequeath to my fourth son James a parcel of land purchased from Robert Boyd on which is a saw mill, bounded by Isaac Walker on the west and my home tract on the east and which I will and bequeath to my son James along with all my stills.
“Again I will and bequeath to my fifth son John the tract of land I now occupy with the grist mill now upon it and which I will to him after my decease.
“Again I will and bequeath to my four daughters to with: Ester, Elizabeth, Ann and Mary, to each one feather bed, one cow, and further I will and bequeath to them that tract of land willed to me by my brother Moses adjoining Gabriel Walker east, Isaac Walker on the north and John Taylor on the south, to be sold by my executors and equally divided by my four daughters at my decease.
“And further it is my will that if any of my sons dies leaving no heirs, that their part be equalli (sic) divided among my other sons above named.
“Again it is my will that at the decease of my widow that all my movable property be equally divided among my above named children. Except what money, notes or bank accounts may be after all my legal debts are discharged also to be divided among my above named sons.
“Again it is my will that my widow shall have my black girl Neuge her natural life and I leave it to my executors discretion, it she behaves well to set her free, likewise my two black boys Benn and Bill their time to be sold and divided between my above named children.
“And lastly I nominate, constitute and appoint my said wife and three oldest sons to wit: William, Samuel, and Alexander, to be the executors of this my last will and testament and I do hereby revoke all other wills legacees (sic) and bequeaths by me heretofore made and declaring this and no other to be my last will and testament. In witness where I set my hand and seal this twenty third day or September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, the same signed and sealed published and declared by the testator as his last will and testament in presence of us who in his presence and at his request have subscribed as witnesses.
s/Jonathan Phillips s/James Ewing seal
“Allegheny County, Pa. On the 11th day of March A.D. 1826 personally appeared Johathan Phillips, James Wagstaff, and David Ewing, the three subscribing witnesses to the within will, who upon their solemn oath do depose and say they were present and did see and hear James Ewing, the testator, sign seal publish pronounce and declare the foregoing instrument of writing to be as and for his last will and testament and that at the time of so doing, he was of perfect and sound mind memory and understanding to the best of their knowledge observation and belief. Given under my hand at Pittsburgh the date aforesaid.
(Initials not legible)
“Be it remembered that on the 18th day of March A.D. 1826 letters testamentary on the within will have been duly granted to William and Alexander Ewing, two of the executors therein named who were solemnly sworn to exhibit into the Register’s office at Pittsburgh within one month a true and perfect inventory of the personal estate of the said deceased and to settle the account of their administration within one year or when thereunto legally required. Given under my hand at Pittsburgh the date aforesaid.
s/M. Stewart Register
“(File cover of will)
James Ewing Deceased Last Will
Filed and Proven the 11 day of March 1826 by three witnesses. Recorded.”
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ISAAC WALKER, III
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 19)
Source: George Alan Morledge, Williamsburg, Virginia sent a typed copy of the following information. Thanks George for sharing a copy of this information.
From Warner’s History of Alleghaney County, Pennsylvania, page 181.
“It is mentioned in this article that Will Hawkins escaped from the Indians and gave notice to the family of Isaac Walker and was taken to the fort. He was a bound boy - bound to the family of Gabriel Walker. He was a smart, keen, active Young Man as his escape from the Indians will prove.
“After the raid on the Walker family the settlers clubbed together. Eight or ten families went together to do the work on the different farms. They drove the cows with them to supply them with milk and armed men around the field to guard against Indians and insure safety.
“In the summer of 1783 the settlers were all on the farm of Isaac McMichal (sic) Esq. Engaged in harvesting wheat. With them the guard around the field and Harkins attending to the cows. At the dinner hour the men all went to dinner consequently were off their guard. Harkins drove the cows up to the house and sat down, keeping the cows between him and the house. He was making a powder horn. The Indians had been watching the house and when they saw the men go in they shot Harkins dead and dragging his body a short distance into a ravine they whipped off his scalp and in an instant made their escape. The men in the house were dumbfounded. They heard the shot and saw the Indians in the act of scalping but the cows were between them and the Indians __ All was the work of a moment. The whites were afraid of an ambush and being drawn into a trap but when they came to ceconnoitre they found there was only three or four Indians. This was the last of William Harkins who fell a victim to savage cruelty.
“This house stood on the farm lately owned by Henry Cowan and was strongly built and occupied as a block house being supplied with loop holes for a defence.(sic) It is now in Collier Township.
Supplied by
5 Oct 1950"
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QUERIES
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 1 Feb 2000, page 27)
Looking for any information on William Ewing, b est 1800, d abt 1848 in Dearborn Co., IN. Married in 1841 to Timandra Sedwick, of VA. They had 3 children: Missouri Ewing, b abt 1843; John Polk Ewing, b 13 Sept 1844, prob in Dearborn Co., IN - died 13 January 1920; and Mississippi Ewing, b abt 1847, married to Joshua W. Henderson as his second wife in 1877, Ripley Co., IN. I have the original John Polk Ewing / Alice V Wells Bible and much information on his descendants to share. I am wondering if the middle name "Polk" is of significance, in light of the recently published 1844 letter from Nathaniel Ewing discussing the large colony of Ewings and Polks in Pennsylvania.
Bobbi Hawk, 4812 Rimrock Rd, Billings, MT 59106 e-mail: fryco<at>mcn.net
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Letters & E-mail
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 2)
In my research of my Nathaniel EWING line I ran across an interesting file at http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ussearch.htm Query: EWING, Fayette County State: VA The file of interest is named: scems0001.txt It contains info on some small cemeteries in Fayette Co, PA. The file documents the grave sites plus others:
24 Mar 1774-12 Apr1846
1808-1867
William Ewing
1828-1832
William Ewing
25 Sep 1769-21 Oct 1827
Breading, James 1726
born at sea 1725 - 1809
d/o Nathaniel & Ewing
Ed. Note: It is best that you visit the Internet site for the details as they are displayed.
~~~~~
Jim - wanted you to be aware of the Bible that was shown on HGTV's Appraisal Fair. [This is an edited copy of a message to another person.]
Good evening [10 Feb 2000] from Pahrump, Nevada. Tom and I have been playing "snowbirds" for over a month now and will be gone from Newman until the middle OF March.
This evening on APPRAISAL FAIR on the Home and Garden TV Network a woman took a Bible in for an appraisal. She found it in a closet when her family moved into a home/apartment. Appraisal Fair is televised from Chicago. The name on the Bible wasn't HANKS. I believe she mentioned a name like Beckworth? I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway they talked about the owner of the Bible being related to Lincoln. As the Appraiser turned the pages to the page with written family records - there was noted Nancy HANKS and several Ewing names were recognizable. I was not able to see clearly the first names. They also showed an Obituary of (I believe) Stephen Hanks, I think it said he was a Colonel and died in Kentucky. Everything went so fast as I tried to take in all that was being shown - I know that some of the information is wrong. But it definitely is some of your family history recorded there.
I'm going to send this information to you in the morning, but we must go to the office in the R.V. Park. You might be able to get some of the information on www.HGTV.com on the program shown this evening. I'm going to call in the morning to see if I can get the name of the woman that has the Bible. Her name wasn't given. She said that she was going to keep it for future generations. The Bible was appraised for $200 - $300. I am going to try to get her name and address and ask for copies of the written pages.
You may wish to try to get some information from your end also.
-This just might be one of the Bibles that Nancy had been searching for!
-Notice that I have a new e-mail address
-I'd call, but can't get directory assistance on the cell phone and my telephone numbers are at home.
Thursday A.M. - After three phone calls I was given the phone number of the Appraisal Fair Production Company who had the information needed. Of course they must protect their people. I told the receptionist what I wanted and that the information in the Bible was important in Ewing/Hanks Genealogy.
She was going to contact the woman that has the Bible and give her MY name, address, phone number, cell phone number, and e-mail address. I told her that I wouldn't be back in Newman until the middle of March, but that I do pick up my e-mail frequently. Now all we do is wait.
Thursday P.M. - we still haven't gotten our e-mail sent off - and just as well. I just received a phone call from Cal Olsen, Bolingbrook, IL. He and his wife had the Bible and have donated it to the Village of Bolingbrook Historical Society. It is the Bible of Stephen Beck Hanks, of Whiteside County, Illinois, a Riverboat Captain on the Mississippi River. It was found when Dorothy Olsen was 19 years old in an apartment closet in Glenellen, Illinois. It has been in their basement for the past 25 years. Carol Penning, Village Clerk, will be sending me copies of all that was in the Bible. Not only was there the Obituary, but cards as well. After all these years, Isn't it great?
Cal stated that there were about thirty entries in the Family Record Section of the Bible. I can hardly wait to get the papers, and of course, copies will go to the both of you.
~~~~~
I’m now State Registrar for Wisconsin Son’s of the American Revolution. I must approve all new applications for membership. Much genealogy. Any Clan member interested can turn to me. I’ll help
Racine, Wisconsin
~~~~~
Another success with the latest edition of the Journal! I especially enjoyed reading the "confessional" letter from my grandfather to R. O. McNiel. I have inherited A.E.'s correspondence, but that particular letter of Sept. 14, 1939 is missing. I now will add it to my collection. A.E. (Alvin Enoch) tried hard to dispell the misinformation, and it is amazing that 55 years after his death, the myth lives on.
~~~~~
I am very proud of our Clan Ewing publication. It always makes the rounds up at our Country Club in Chaddsford, PA. We have several Scottish members who originally came from the area of our ancestors. Your ears must “burn” constantly as at coctail parties I am continually bragging about our Clan Ewing and especially our publication (which is you!). I would like to thank you for all of your outstanding efforts in organizing our “Clan Ewing”.
Due to Mom’s illness and my schedule, I have been unable to complete several research projects that I have started re: the Ewings in Delaware County Pennsylvania.
Hope to see you and the rest of the gang in Ohio this fall. Give my best to everyone. People like you make me very proud of my Ewing heritage.
Best wishes and God bless,
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CHANCELLOR'S MESSAGE
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 5)
As we come up to another Family Gathering of the Clan, we can be well satisfied with our accomplishments, while at the same time looking forward to moving ahead in the years to come. Our “management team” has performed admirably over the past two years, and each of them can be proud of the progress we have made.
The heart of our Clan consists of almost 600 members (every Ewing or Ewing descendant or spouse on the mailing list according to our bylaws). About half of those are current in the payment of their annual dues each year, and about three-quarters of the 600 have paid dues at some time during the past 7 years. We look forward to hearing from any of you at any time and to greeting many of you at our Gatherings held every two or three years.
We are held together in large part by this fine Journal so ably edited by Jim McMichael, who welcomes all contributions of articles, inquiries or other interesting Ewing-related items. Jim wears other Clan caps as well. He handles our finances (which are in good shape) as Clan Treasurer, and he is Clan Genealogist with Margaret Fife. Both recently have written outstanding books on their, and many other, Ewing lines, and they try their best to answer all questions that come up from our members and others regarding Ewing ancestry and connections.
Bob Johnson is our Secretary, membership guru and purveyor of our Clan merchandise – caps, golf shirts, sweat shirts, mugs etc. He has developed all our membership material, including the membership certificate, Clan brochure and other forms.
Our excellent website at www.clanewing.org was composed, and is maintained, by CarolSue Hair, and I urge all of you with Internet access to visit it. It contains information about the Clan, a history of the Ewing name and early years, some family lines, links to many other sites of value and interest to all of us, and an area for visitors to leave inquiries and items of interest to other Ewing descendants.
All that and more is going on behind the scenes in your Clan, and any suggestions anyone may have on our future organizational makeup or activities will be most welcome. Anyone who wants to become a part of any of our operations or to lead us into any new areas will be heartily welcomed as well. Just keep in touch, as they say.
I hope to greet many of you in Lancaster, Ohio, September 21.
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A CHAT WITH JILL
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 6)
Hi all,
Well, family, the letters are written, the plans are processed as far as we can, the registration forms are out and we did the best we could. My admiration to those who did this job before me has grown by leaps and bounds for the great job setting up the former reunions. What a job they did!
It will be worth it all if you will come and share the reunion with us. I look forward to seeing all of you. We have lots of good things planned and already some registrations in. Please send yours in soon and help us know how many to plan for.
We will gather for supper and to get-acquainted as people arrive Thursday evening for supper. We will hear from Margaret Ewing Fife about her early Ewing's to this area and an update on her new book. We will be using buses to tour Margaret’s ancestors home and grounds on Friday morning. While half the group goes there the other half will go to the famous Square 13 to tour "the Sherman House" and "The Georgian". Then they will switch. Lunch will be on your own with free time after lunch. We will have Bar-B-Que Friday evening around the pool, weather permitting. On Saturday we will have several interesting programs, one by Joseph Hoch “Joe” Ewing from Maryland on his Ewing descendants from that area, another by Albert Harter about Ewing interests in the surrounding area, and one about our Web page. We want to hear your stories too.
In the evening we will return to Square 13 for the evening meal, the place hasn't been finalized yet, and tour of the downstairs of Senator Thomas Ewing home and spend some time there for desert and enjoy the books, scrapbooks, and pictures the family who own the house now will share with us. We will have to break into groups and will probably visit another house or two as we can't all fit in at the same time. Again we have to have a figure to work with.
We will close Sunday morning with a business meeting to elect officers, discuss the next reunion, and how to change our by-laws. Please bring your ideas. Where would you like the next reunion to be held?
Sincerely,
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Editor's Fireside Chat
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 7)
"Ideas won't keep: something must be done about them:" - Alfred North Whitehead
This journal and your family organization needs your ideas and help as to how we can make this the best family organization around. Some families have an organization and they just have an annual picnic type lunch for one day and other just have a newsletter. And, some go by the wayside in two or three years. We have been quite fortunate to have had the success that we have had for seven years and some discussion for a 2003 reunion is going on.
However, we have not grown much in membership over the past three years. Our attendance at the reunions have not been the numbers that I thought we would have.
It is my belief that we are going to need to shift gears and do something a little different to attract more members. One of the things that I think would help us is to have more people involved with Clan Ewing. We need to get more people in a position to take on the operation of Clan Ewing when some of the current people step down or their health, and I hope that does not occur, prevents them from continuing in their current duties or what they might do in the future.
We have about four months until we meet for the reunion. Between now and then, let me encourage each of you to consider this family organization and ask yourself “what am i willing to do to keep Clan Ewing in business.
Also, when we meet in Lancaster, it will be time to decide if we are going to have another reunion or not. If we do, who is willing or wants to take on that responsibility. Think about it.
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Biographical Sketch of Albert G. Ewing (1804-1873)
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 8)
Text from Elmira J. Dickinson, (chairperson of publication committee), A History of Eureka College, with Biographical Sketches and Reminiscences, St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company, 1894. Pages 124-127.This online edition © 1998, James L. McMillan.
A. G. Ewing was born in Nashville, Tennessee, February 28th, 1804. His parents were natives of Scotland. It was a tradition in his father's family that their ancestors were of the same family as that most famous of Scottish heroes, Sir William Wallace.
[page 125] His parents were among the earliest settlers of Nashville. His father gave his six sons the best opportunities in the way of education that that day afforded, and they all became prominent men in a worldly way except Albert, the subject of this sketch; his life was even more energetic and earnest than theirs, but his chief ambition was to serve his God and save his fellowmen. He graduated in Cumberland College when only sixteen years old. Was a good Greek scholar, and throughout his life his Greek Bible was nearly as often in his hand as his well-worn English Bible.
Gen. Jackson's name is appended to his diploma as one of the college trustees. The noted General was known and admired by the youthful student. Soon after Albert graduated, he was honored by a partnership with the then celebrated Dr. Welsh in a drug-store; he gained a good knowledge of medicine at this time. Alexander Campbell preached in Nashville when Albert was nineteen, and his parents and himself were among the first converts Campbell made there. The reformer and his young convert loved each other. Albert gave up fine prospects of earthly honor and riches and followed the then persecuted Campbell to Bethany, became a student under him, traveled with him on some of his extensive preaching tours, and finally married Campbell's eldest daughter. She died [page 126] young, like all of Campbell's first family of gifted and beautiful daughters.
In 1837 Mr. Ewing married Miss Mary J. Marsilliot of Wheeling, Virginia, and removed to a farm on the Ohio River near the village of Clarington. She outlived him fifteen years. Farming and the building and managing of a large steam flouring and saw-mill enabled him to give employment to a number of men. He chose this river locality for his home, because religious and educational work was sadly needed there. During the twenty years of his life there all that he had and was, was freely given to educate and Christianize the people. He met with opposition and persecution for a time, but also had good success, and came to be much beloved.
He preached, made converts and organized churches in a number of places, built the church house for his home church with very little aid, and was its pastor for sixteen years. He made the same mistake others of our pioneer preachers made, he required too little of others and caused them to depend too much on him. Finally his health failed and he was crippled financially.
He brought his family to Eureka, Illinois, in 1858. Although broken in health and mental power by a long illness occurring shortly before his coming West, his life in his new home was not useless; he soon became a working elder in the church. His active eldership in Ohio and Illinois covered [page 127] a period of forty years. He was a trustee of Bethany College for a number of years before he came to Illinois. He was President of the Board of Trustees of Eureka College for eleven years before his death, and was deeply interested in its welfare.
President Everest once said of him, that of all men he had come in contact with, he had the least admixture of selfishness. The good of The Cause was always first with him. Another who knew him well said, when notified of his death, "If ever the words which Christ applied to Nathaniel applied to any other man they did to A. G. Ewing. He was an Israelite indeed in whom there was no guile." He fell asleep on August 28th, 1873, at his home in Eureka, Illinois.
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HENRY EWING
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 10)
Joshua “Pete” Hamilton of Buena Vista, Virginia, and I have discussed his Ewing family using e-mail. Recently, I asked him a question about Henry Ewing, the son of William Ewing of Rockingham County, since the information that I had received from different sources were in conflict.
Henry has been reported as moving to Kentucky. However, Henry was the clerk in Rockingham County and it appears that he may have died while he was recording a document. Katherine W. Ewing made reference to Henry’s death in her manuscript. Pete replies:
“Regarding your question, the person in question was Henry Ewing, a brother of my 4-great grandfather, Andrew Ewing. Henry and Andrew were sons of William Ewing of Rockingham. In her manuscript, "Clerk Andrew Ewing, His Book", Katherine W. Ewing has the following (p. 15):
"One of the preserved books in its original binding is Judgments and Orders No. 3, which is only half-filled with Clerk Henry Ewin's entries, the last of which is incomplete, stopping in mid-sentence. All of the remaining pages of the book are bare.
"The next succeeding volume is Judgements and Orders No. 4. On page one: ""At a Court held for Rockingham County at the Court House Monday the 22nd Day of October in the year of Our Lord 1792 and in the 17th Year of Our foundation "Present . . . John Ewen . . . Gentlemen Justices "Ordered that Samuel W. Williams be appointed CLERK of the County Court of Rockingham IN STEAD OF HENRY EWEN DECEASED . . ."
“The next entry in the same book deals with the presentation to the court of the last will and testament of Henry Ewen, deceased.”
Jim, I believe that this answers your questions. Apparently Katherine Ewing visited Rockingham County in 1971 and the above observations were made at that time.
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THE EWING HOUSE
(Journal of Clan Ewing, Vol. 6 No. 2 May 2000, page 12)
At 406 East Main Street in Arcola, Illinois, there stands a stately twelve room house known as the
“Ewing House”.
According to newspaper articles, the house was built in 1872 on Lots 7 and 8
in McClelland’s Addition.
My great-grandfather, Joseph Henry Ewing, paid $3,500 for the
house when he bought it from Samuel D. Lloyd on August 16, 1902.
Joseph and his wife, Ann
Louisa McDonald Ewing, had lived on a farm east of Arcola but moved to town because Joseph’s
eyesight was failing.