My Ewing Research

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.   

~Pericles

 My goal so far has been to post some special things about my grandparents and great grandparents. The people that I actually knew or that my parents knew. These are people that we created memories with and have our own photos of them. There is so much more to be included. 

Frederick Short Ewing was the last person of the Ewing line that anyone knew personally. Beyond him, I will begin to rely on my own research. F. S. seemed to be a bit of a drifter in his later days. From what I gathered, he may have been a little difficult to get along with. As I have gathered information about him, it has made me a bit sad to see that he may have died alone. His death certificate reads that he died in St. Joseph's infirmary in Hot Springs, AR. The informant was a lady named Pauline Allen. Pauline gave the name of Anne Hines as F.S.'s mother. Nowhere in my research are either of those two names found. My research reflects that his father was James H (most likely, Henry) Ewing. I believe that James was married to Malinda Dillard. The Dillards and the Ewings have many people intertwined in their trees. I have a bit more to substantiate on that family.

However, I have some tremendous research done by professional people that seem to connect our family way back to Scotland and Ireland. Most notable sources come are:

The Ewing Family of Washington County Ky. In that booklet, there was a note giving credit to “the foregoing history of the tribe of John Ewing, Sr. written by S.S. Jamison.

Robert Ewing (1790-1870) is the one who wrote the letter to “Aunt Sallie Jamison” dated August 26, 1827. This was a letter written by Robert Ewing (1790-1870) to his cousin Sallie Jamieson (1792-18777) saying The History of the Tribe of John Ewing, Sr. was obtained from Elizabeth Ewing Jamieson (1755-1821). She was the daughter of Samuel Ewing (c1717-1807) and wife Margaret McMichael. The records came from a letter written by Elizabeth Ewing Jamieson on July 12, 1820.

As was mentioned in Chapter II, the History of Cecil Co., Maryland, the history of the Ewing family had been given to Col. Wm. A. Ewing of Chicago IL in 1846 by Nathaniel Ewing born 1772, a grandson of the Cecil Co., Md. family. Col. Wm. A. Ewing was also given material on John Ewing by S.S. Jamieson of Burnet, Texas in 1895. It was published in Pioneers of Washington Co., Ky.

Though they are a different branch, much information was gleaned from these old letters. It proved to be the basis for more research by excellent family historians such as: 

One American Family: Pocahontas James by Wallace K Ewing (Wally) Ph.D. This man has been my 'go-to' source. He has done a phenomenal amount of research with the help of the Ewing Clan Association, and they have put much of the Ewing line together, though all questions are not answered. It's a bit deep because they include all of their research, so I have much to put together using their research. However, I feel confident in that information, and I have always relied on them as my main source.  They have been able to research closely the information from deed books, maps, old letters, archives, etc. and have built a great history of the Ewing Clan in America.

From what I am reading in his research is that the Ewing Clan has us connected to James Henry Ewing whose father was William P. Ewing and the Dillard Family, as well as my Sproul family. 

Fife_Ch11.pdf (ewingfamilyassociation.org) 

* A side note on Wallace K Ewing* After I retired and picked up my genealogy work again, I reached out to Wallace via Ancestry. It didn't take him long to get back to me, but it was Christmas time, and we left home to be away for a while. I chickened out after our return, as I was skeptical of my ability to prove my research. I wish that I had not let my insecurities hold me back. 

Pike County Arkansas Archives also has an excellent account of the Ewings.

Early Western Virginia Sproul Family27, by William W Sproul has been credited with the Ewing Association of being able to connect his Sprouls with the Ewing family. This is available online at www.sproulfamily.net. I'm hoping at some point to connect my Sproul line with the Ewings through this research. As of today, that hasn't happened.  

Much information can be found in the online Journal of Clan Ewing. 

Margaret Ewing Fife: Ewing in Early America is another good source.

 I believe my list could go on, but I see that I will need to do some organization as to who contributes most to my line. There is always much to do when researching family history. It is never ending, always interesting, tedious, and a bit mysterious. It's fun to see how my family has made an imprint on history. As I always say, their footsteps lead right to my front door. It's never boring.

Burial of My Great-Grandfather and My Grandmother

 F. S. Ewing's Obituary and Burial

Frederick Short “Fed” Ewing died in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1963. He was buried in Old Mount Tabor Cemetery in Welsh, Montgomery Co, Arkansas. This is a scanned copy from Mother's family album with his obituary that appeared in the Vernon Daily Record.

Twin sister of Icy, Ivory passed away as a child. Ivory was also buried in Welsh, Montgomery County, Arkansas.

Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart Burial

Wilbarger Memorial Park, Wilbarger County, Vernon, Texas

She was buried with her second husband, Oscar Hart.

My Grandmother Merphia Ewing and Her Sisters

 From left to right: Merphia, Icy, Josan Short,(Eula's granddaughter), Eula

Below: my grandmother, Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart

Below:

My grandmother's sister Ludie Cleola Ewing. Ludie married 3 times. First to John Bunyan Montgomery, second to William Andrew Freeland, and third to George E Denton.

Below: John Bunyan Montgomery

Memories of F.S. Ewing

Pictures are curtesy of Jeff Short.

 

Though I was too young to remember anything about F.S., I have corresponded with a cousin, Jeff Short, that is several years older than me.  He has some colorful memories of F.S. Jeff's father was Max James Short, the son of Eula who was Frederick Short Ewing's daughter. Here are some of Jeff's memories:

"I remember he walked all over Hot Springs with his cane and sturdy shoes, often showing up at our house with small presents for me. He once gave me some dried deer legs. He reportedly killed over 800 deer in his life. He often walked a few miles to visit our house and we would take him over to Aunt Icy's or we would take him to visit Eula in Lucky. 

As he walked around Hot Springs, he would not hesitate to bang his cane across the hood of a car that honked at him when he crossed the street. I heard that he left his wife when he thought she was being dishonest by serving him margarine that did not include the colorizing additive (i.e., so it looked like real butter).

When I was a young child, our family took a long drive to Odessa for a visit with Aunt Merphia and her family. Lewie Montgomery was my father's first cousin. "

A Basket Weaver

 Frederick Short Ewing was an accomplished basket weaver. 

F.S. Ewing making large baskets from white oak strips. He appears to be about 60 years old and at his daughter's (Eula) land in Lucky, Arkansas.

Frederick Short Ewing Comes For A Visit 1955

 

Pictured below is my great-grandfather, Frederick Short Ewing, on a visit he made to see my grandmother, Merphia Ewing Quillin. They came over to my parents' home on Texas Street in Vernon, Texas. From left to right: F.S. Ewing, Truman Bryan Quillin, Sr., Merphia Ewing Quillin, my sister Paula.

Below is F. S. with my brother and sister, Bryan and Paula. 

Frederick Short Ewing's 86th Birthday

 February 21, 1954

These pictures were taken by my mother and daddy in 1954. I'm uncertain as to the location but I feel that it must have been somewhere around Vernon, Texas, as that is where my parents lived and it is also where F.S.Ewing's daughter (my grandmother, Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart) lived.

 

Frederick Ewing passed away in 1962 when I was 6 years old, and I do not have any memories of him. I always thought that he had a kind face, but when I inquired about him to a lady who knew him and had done some Ewing research, I was told that he was actually pretty crusty.

F. S. Ewing is pictured above with my daddy, Truman Bryan Quillin, Sr. (son of Merphia Ewing), and Lewie Montgomery (son of Ludie Ewing). Truman and Lewie were grandsons of Frederick Short Ewing. Merphia and Ludie were his daughters.

The above picture was taken from my mother's album. When my husband scanned it, he purposefully left her explanation and date below. Bryan and Paula are my siblings.