My research has shown that our Ewings landed in Virginia, settled in Pennsylvania, and eventually moved to Tennessee. Our William P gave his birthplace as Kentucky where he married his wife. They followed his brothers to Illinois, moved to Missouri and settled in Arkansas. Most of our Ewings from then on hailed from Arkansas.
William P. Ewing - A Man on the Move
Added by dlm1944 on 14 Jul 2007 I
found on ancestry Jan 2015
The surname Ewing is Scottish. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name
"Eo'gann" which means "well born" or "kind
natured". The Ewing family was well established in Scotland before the
Norman Conquest of England in 1066 AD. Records indicate that a John, Robert,
and Elizabeth "Ewens" settled in Virginia as early as 1623.
The ancestors of the Ewing Family descendants who arrived in Clark County
Arkansas in the early to mid 1800's immigrated to America in the early 1700's.
Their ancestors were originally from Scotland and then moved to Ireland in the
mid 1600 's. After their arrival in America, records indicate our Ewing family
ancestors migrated from northern Virginia, through southwest Virginia into
eastern Tennessee, to northern Kentucky, to central Illinois, to southern
Missouri, and finally to western Arkansas.
William P. Ewing was the son of James Ewing who was born in Virginia and later
lived in Kentucky where William P. was born about 1802. William P Ewing married
Sarah (Pentenny?) about 1828 near her home in eastern Tennessee. After their
first child was born, William P. and Sarah moved to the central part of
Illinois near the Springfield area. W. P. and two of his older brothers lived
in the area of Sangamon, Tazewell, Logan and Moultrie Counties. According to
Illinois land records, William P. purchased 160 acres in Moultrie County, IL in
1836 at a price of $1.25 per acre. There were a number of land purchases by his
brothers, as well. His two brothers, John and Reuben B. Ewing continued to live
in central Illinois until their death.
Why William P. Ewing moved his family westward in the late 1830's is not known.
The 1840 Federal Census records him and his family living in Ripley County
Missouri which was a known hangout for thieves and outlaws and a no man’s land
during the Civil War. The county was located on the historic Natchitoches Trail
which was a route from Illinois to the southwest and into Arkansas.....in
Arkansas, it was known as the "Old Military Road". Ironically, it is
this road that traverses Arkansas from the northeast to the southwest part of
the state near where he and his family settled in Clark County around 1843-44.
His son, William N. Ewing was the first child born in Arkansas (1844) after
their arrival.
William P. and his wife, Sarah had eleven children.....four girls and seven
boys. One was born in eastern TN, three were born in central IL, three in
southern MO, and four in Arkansas.
William P. Ewing died about 1864 in Clark County Arkansas. His burial place is
not known at this time.
