The Master’s Hand

 When I was a young teacher, I acquired the position of being a coach of the oral readers. They competed with teams from other schools. After tryouts, I would spend days searching for the perfect piece to be read aloud, something that could be read with different voice inflections. When I found this poem by Myra Brooks Welch, I was blown away with her profound words. This would be a moving piece for the perfect person, Dana Slay. After coaching her, she TOTALLY embraced the meaning and the emotions of this poem. She was awarded the Blue Ribbon for her performance. Though I have lost track of Dana, I will never forget the impact of this poem on me and others. There are “many a man with life out of tune.” 

https://1.bp.blogspot.com

The Touch of the Master's Hand

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

      Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

      But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

    "Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar, a dollar. Then two! Only two?

      Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"

"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

      Going for three…" But no,

From the room, far back, a grey-haired man

      Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

      And tightening the loosened strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet,

      As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

      With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"

      And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

      Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice,

    And going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

    "We do not quite understand.

What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:

    "The touch of the Master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

      And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd

      Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,

    A game — and he travels on.

He is "going" once, and "going" twice,

    He's "going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd

    Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought

    By the touch of the Master's hand.

Myra Welch would say that she heard a speaker address a group of students on the power of God to bring out the best in people. She said she herself became filled with light and that “Touch of the Master’s Hand” was written in 30 minutes!.
The finished poem was sent anonymously to the editor of her local church news bulletin. She felt it was a gift from God and didn’t need her name on it.

http://www.barefootsworld.net/touch.html 

MY EWING SOURCES

 MY EWING SOURCES

http://www.ewingfamilyassociation.org/documents/Ewing_James/james_ewing_pioneer_toohey.pdf

By Anne Toohey, Library of Congress, 11 April 1996

VERY important documentation of the early 1800 letters

 

The Ewings of Frederick Co. VA

By Evelyn Jones Ewing and James Earl Ewing, Jr.

Copyright 1986

Follows the line of John of Carnshanaugh (1648-1745) and his second wife Jennet McElvaney through his son William (1711-1781) through his son Robert (1761-1826). Robert was part of the correspondence of letters in the early 1800s. This William would have been a brother to my James (Pocahontas) Ewing Sr. (1721-1801).

They site sources including The History of Epler Oldwiller, Huckleberry, Carr, and Ewing Families. These were all tied to S.S.Jameson of Burnet Texas 1895. This family history ties directly to my line. They record information from the Burt Book, found in the Magee Library, Londonderry. The Burt Book has records kept by Rev. A Ferguson, minister of the Presbyterian Congregation at Burt, County Donegal from 1685-1718.  This book shows our lineage all the way to Elizabeth Ewing b. 1755 who married Samuel James Jameson, who is their grandson of Burnet, Texas. He supplied all the information.  

 

Ewing Family Journal, Vol 18 No.2 (May 2012) Douglas Rohde found a Confession of Faith Book printed in 1700. This was passed down through Margaret Ewing (1750-1815) who married her cousin Robert. Robert was part of the correspondence mentioned above. This Confession of Faith Book listed many birth, death, marriage dates. This book was brought to America in c.1729 by John of Carnshanaugh. Douglas Rohde would be Margaret’s great-grandson.

John Ewing (1648-1745) of Carnashannagh

Developed by James R. McMichael

http://www.ewingfamilyassociation.org/genealogy-and-history/ewing-genealogy-documentation/john-ewing-1648-1745-of-carnashannagh

 

http://www.ewingfamilyassociation.org/books/EwingInEarlyAmerica/Fife_Ch11.pdf

This gives all of the documentation of this family as pulled together by the professionals, as best as they could.   Chapter XI in John Ewing (1648-1745) Of Carnshanaugh p 54-86

 

https://www.genealogycenter.info/viewpage_ewingoneamerican.php?realpage=5&display=eoa

One American Family – Pocahontas James by Wallace K. Ewing Ph.D.

I have followed “Wally” since I began the research. There would be nothing more that I could add about the Ewing Family, except to document my line from F.S. Ewing (1869-1962) to James H (Henry?) Ewing b. 1829 to William P Ewing (1804-1864). All sources after that have my line connected to William P Ewing,

 

http://www.ewingfamilyassociation.org/documents/Sproul/Sproul_Part_2.html

The Early Ewing Families of Augusta County, Virginia: Parts II to IV

By William W. Sproul, III (+1 304.645.5332, Sproul3 at frontier dot com)

 

http://o.pcahs.org/pcaolr/database/acdpcd-p/p981.htm#i75590

Website through Pike County Arkansas Archives and History Society gives connections all the way to F.S. Ewing.

I’m not sure how to access their sources.

 

http://www.sproulfamily.net/jemc.pdf

By William Sproul

Found in the Ewing Family Journal Vol. 15 No.2 May 2009, 14 pages.

This includes a lot of Ewing history.

Interesting that my great-grandfather married a Sproul, but I have never been able to find documentation on her or her Sproul family.

 

 

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.