^^ MOVNT /aVERNON f^^. Fm s-g. ^u d liy r .>>' r / .c\/ r^t^c The Ewing GeRealogy with Cognate Branches A Survey cl the Ewings and Their Kin-' in America ,^v By Presley Klitfedge EwIng Mary Ellen (Willianis) Ewing THE NEW YOPK PUBLIC L.DRARY 896053A ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1937 L ^ « , « e COPYRIGHT, 1919. BY PRESLEY K. EWING The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches III In Memoriam The Day You Went The day you went my world was done. There came no comfort from the sun Nor from the love of life that lurks In sunlight, nor from all the works Of faith and old philosophy,— Till one young rose leaned down to me And shot my brooding like a wing; The most foolhardy, gallant thing In all this rocking world, conceived Of morning dew . and I believed ! It bannered upward from the sod The visible defense of God. —Beatrice W. Ravenel. After the manuscript of this book was complete and arrangement made for its publication, on April i, 1919, at the family home in the City of Houston, Mary Ellen (Williams) Ewing, one of the authors, as the culmination of a lingering illness, peacefully and with her last expression a smile, passed into eternity, her remains being interred in the family vault, St. John's Cemetery, Thibodaux, Louisiana. The loss in her death to humanity, to services of benefi- cence and philanthropy, was recognized by all familiar with the course of her life. The floral offerings, in number and beauty, were a rare tribute. The Associated Press heralded abroad her untimely departure, while the leading local dailies, The Houston Post, The Houston Chronicle and The Houston Press, recounting her life's services and achieve- ments herein narrated, as with one voice proclaimed her praise. The Houston Press, noting the fact of her being "widely known throughout the State and Nation," referred to the reforms she had effected in the public schools, saying, "A part of Mrs. Ewing's religion was sanitation;" it also re- ^^ IV The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches ferred to her efforts to secure women on the school board, adding, "It was due to the campaign she waged that women are on the school board today." Further of her it was said : "The passing of Mrs. Ewing takes from Houston one of the city's most useful women, and her death will be mourned by many a person whom she be- friended. She was a woman of tireless energy, and although she was a society leader, much of her time and effort were spent in helping others and in work for the public good." The Houston Chronicle, with a double-column picture of her, and stating under heavy headlines that death had called "One of Texas' Noted Women Whose Life Was Devoted to Welfare Work for Mankind," declared that in her death, "a life of great usefulness and activity was ended," and further : "The name of Mrs. Ewing was long associated with all affairs of the City and State which had to do with uplift work or civic welfare. She was a woman of strong personality, public spirited, and the life of social events. Her many deeds of public and philanthropic service gave her a place in 'Noted Women of Texas,' published by the Bio- graphical Press." This paper in an editorial thus said : "Announcement of the death of Mrs. Presley K. Ewing brings a feeling of sorrow and sympathy from many Houston hearts. A life that was de- voted to good deeds and that encompassed much for the happiness and uplift of mankind is ended. "In Mrs. Ewing were combined those graces which make for life's finest realizations. Active at all times in the church and social life of the city, she managed to also find time for much constructive work in lightening the burdens and enlarging the opportunities of those whose lines had not fallen in pleasant places. "Her death touches, as did her life, the heart of Houston." The Houston Post editorially spoke as follows : "A host of friends who had known and loved her through the many years of residence here are filled The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches v with sorrow over the death of Mrs. Presley K. Ewing at her home in this city Tuesday morning. To her family and her friends she was the embodi- ment of all that was good and noble in Southern womanhood and in their memories she will ever live as a shining example of the devoted wife and mother, the undisputed queen of her home and family circle, the most optimistic and generous of friends. "The influence of Mrs. Ewing extended far be- yond her personal acquaintanceship, however, for throughout the length and breadth of the State she was known as one of the most distinguished and able of the public spirits of Texas. Although pos- sessed of gifts and graces which made her a favo- rite of society circles, she devoted much of her time and talent to the improvement of the public wel- fare. She was connected with innumerable move- ments and organizations for the uplift of the people of Texas economically, mentally, morally and spiritually. Her work for the women and children of the city and the State particularly has been in- valuable, as she has played a distinguished part in ushering in the new era of justice and recognition for women and the welfare of the child. "The forces of progress and righteousness have suffered a great loss in the death of Mrs. Ewing." Let us who knew her best, her husband and her daugh- ters, add only this : Her exalted life, with its sweet helpfulness, will remain as a light for guidance, to inspire and bless the work of others. Though she be dead, it shall not die. For "there is something that mantles through its beauty that cannot wholly perish," We who suflfer from her loss, forgetting doubts and fears, see no\v through the mists of tears and surgings of sorrow the "young rose," leaning down to us, "conceived in morn- ing dew"— "It bannered upward from the sod. The visible defense of God." VI The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate i^kanches PREFACE With affectionate greetings, we dedicate to our posterity these pages, a labor of love and, as we think, of just family pride. The work was at first intended to be only a sketch of the immediate family of the authors, and in a measure that plan has been preserved, especially as concerns the details of per- sonal history; but in other respects the design has been greatly enlarged and the work so arranged that any branch may be extended indefinitely from the point where it enters, going in like manner into the particulars of its personal history as far as desired. The arrangement of blank pages at the end has been adopted to facilitate such a course. Neither cost nor time nor care has been spared to make the contents of this little history portray, not a romance, but the facts as they were, so that they may be relied upon as accurate and accepted as authentic. Birth, marriage and death records have been explored wherever available, both as confirmative and in quest of new light. Records still preserved have revealed to us marriages and births, which will appear herein, occurring more than a hundred years before the War of the Revolution ( 1776- 1 781). In addi- tion, our research has extended to many histories, some now obscure and others out of sale print, and also to the archives of family branches, wherever obtainable. This task has been performed, not because we are pur- suers of phantoms, or fatuous of a useless aristocracy, or given to blind hero-worship, but because we believe that noble aspirations, lofty aims and deeds of exalted service, when found in a family, may properly be perpetuated as a legacy to the generations yet unborn, if not for emulation, at least as a source of encouragement to their efliorts, of inspiration for their endeavors. If then, what we have written shall serve, in other days The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Beanches vu to come, as a light, a landmark or a hope to some weary or faltering feet pursuing the pathway of life, so that, seeing, they may take heart again, we shall have reward enough. Standing as we necessarily do upon the narrow Present, slipping as we speak, there can be only two real sources of happiness—our memories of the past, our hopes of the future. Whether these pages contribute to the fountain of either must be judged by others; at least, the purpose which has animated us will not be condemned, and in the thought of Lord Byron, "What is writ, is writ." Presley Kittredge Ewing, Mary Ellen (Williams) Ewing. The Ewing Genealogy With Cognate Branches ILLUSTRATIONS Page Ewing Coat of Arms 2 "Across the Fields of Yesterday" 4 Ariel, the Home of Dr. Fayette Clay Ewing 10 Alice Brevard (Ewing) Walker 72 Dr. James B. Bowling 81 Ephraim McLean Ewing 91 Dr. Fayette Clay Ewing 95 Captain Ewing Werlein 97 Dr. Fayette Clay Ewing II 98 Rev. Quincy Ewing lOi Eliza Josephine (Kittredge) Ewing 103 Kittredge Coat of Arms 105 Dr. Ebenezer Eaton Kittredge 119 Martha Wills (Green) Kittredge 120 Ann Elizabeth (Kelly) Kit.redge 125 Elm Hall 131 Presley Kittredge Ewing I55 Mary Ellen (Williams) Ewing 161 Williams Coat of Arms 162 Captain Charles Clark Williams 164 Field Coat of Arms 166 Eudora Elizabeth (Cross) Williams I75 Josie Vesta (Ewing) Vinson I79 181 Gladys (Ewing) Combes 182 Dr.