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July 20th,
1913
Dear Relative:-
Please read this because it is the story of the greatest little grandmother of the Ewing clan to which you belong: namely, the "Swago" William Ewing clan.
In the western mountains of Old Virginia, near the present spot called Buckeye, at the juncture of Swago Creek and the Greenbrier, in the present county of Pocahontas, W. Va., in the pioneer cabin of her father Thomas McNeil, was born on December 25th, 1771, a baby girl to whom they appropriately gave the Christmas name of Mary.
The very day before her birth, a neighbor boy by the name of William Ewing, arrived at the proud age of fifteen years. This William Ewing was the youngest son of James Ewing, a Scotch-Irish immigrant to Old Virginia of perhaps about 1740. William was nicknamed "Swago Bill" to distinguish him from the other Williams in that vicinity. William's older brother, John, was known as "Indian John", because of his exciting experience as an Indian captive during his boyhood. William worked at the clearings, and, of course, became a great hunter and mountain ranger. About the time of Mary's birth, revolutionary mutterings were heard in the east, and the Indians were constantly threatening the settlements from the west. When Mary was of the dignified age of three years, her future husband, then 18, joined Captain John Stuart's Company which became a fighting part of General Lewis' division of the colonial militia which attacked and whipped Chief Cornstalk's Indian Army at Pt. Pleasant, W.VA., Oct 10, 1774. William came through the battle without a scratch, but had several close calls. After the battle he spent a year or two of soldier life at the fort at Point Pleasant. He was just waiting for little Mary to grow up, but neither of them knew it. On the sixteenth day of November, 1785 they were married and the fact is recorded at Lewisburg, W. VA. Mary lacked over a month of being fourteen, but she was about the healthiest and most capable specimen of girlhood that ever grew on the Blue Ridge. Her husband had seen more than twice her years, in fact was a man of nearly 29. It is not probable that Mary realized the size of the job she was so bravely undertaking. But she was a sturdy little Scotch girl, and not afraid of man, devil or Indian. At the age of 15 she was the mother of Elizabeth Ewing (Dodrill); at 16 her playhouse contained baby Thomas Ewing. At less than 19 she was mothering three little Ewings, and before she was 21 there were four little mouths to feed.
At the age of 38, she was the proud mother of 12, all living, and all born within a period of 22 years. Here are their names and birthdays:
Elizabeth Ewing Dodrill Feb.15, 1787
Thomas Ewing July 30, 1788
*Jonathan Ewing Aug. 1, 1790
William Ewing April 8, 1792
James Ewing Dec. 9, 1793
John Ewing Sept.9, 1795
Sarah Ewing Wallace May 23, 1797
Enoch Ewing July 31, 1799
Jacob Ewing Aug 17, 1802
Abram McNeil Ewing Oct 13, 1804
George Ewing Jan 21, 1807
Andrew Ewing May 4, 1809
In 1810, with 10 children under age, and two who had reached the age of majority,
they left their mountain home in Virginia and began life anew in the forests of Gallia
County, Ohio, at the very spot where Ewington now stands. Here, in time, the children
married and eleven of them became heads of families. Only one died childless and that
was Sarah Wallace, who died at the age of 30. The descendants of the eleven live in
half the states of the Union. William Ewing, the father, died in 1822, at the age of 66,
and was buried near Ewington,Ohio, where his grave is identified by a good old
fashioned tombstone. It is not to be wondered at that this busy little mother should be-
come the grandmother of 81, the majority of whom grew up and had families of their
own. Only seven of the eighty-one are now living, to-wit: Margaret Ewing Leonard,
Fostoria, Ohio, age 88, Janette Ewing White, Camden, Mich, age 86; W. Leander
Ewing, Latham, Kansas, age 79, Leatha Ewing, Burlington, IA, age 78, Jane Ewing
Carter, Vinton, O., age 75; Henry McKendree Ewing, Pioneer, O, age 73 and James
K. Ewing, Seattle, Wash, age 69. This is the way Mary McNeils descendants
increased. Her son Thomas had nine children: Jonathan, Elizabeth, William and
Jacob, 8 each, James 4; John 2, Sarah , none; Abram and George, 5 each, Enoch,
10 and Andrew, 14. The oldest living descendant of Mary McNeil Ewing is Margaret
Ewing Leonard, of the 2nd generation. This committee would like to have the name
of her youngest and most remote descendtant; whoever it is, is probably in the sixth
or seventh generation. And who can approximate the number of living descendants
today; five or six hundred is not an extravagant estimate?
William (Swago) dying in 1822, left Mary a widow at 51; her youngest child, Andrew,
was then thirteen years old. She remained on the old place at Ewington, Ohio, till 1853,
when at the age of 82, she determined to go west with her son Andrew. She refused
to be dissuaded, and thus became for the third time a pioneer. They moved by wagon
and had a tough time getting through; but the little Scotch girl of the Virginia mountains,
who dared at 14 to become the wife of a backwoodsman of twice her age, was not
the woman at 82 to be afraid of an overland trip of 500 miles by wagon. Leatha
Ewing of Burlington, Ia., was at Ewington, O., when her grandmother left for the west
in 1853. She says: " I remember her as a woman of medium height, but quite stout.
Her eyes were blue, and her hair had turned white. She could ride by horseback, but
had to mount from an elevation. She left for the west in a wagon, and had a ladder
for her own special use in getting in and out of her wheeled cabin." They were delayed
in Indiana by sickness in the family, but finally landed in Missouri, then they went to
Iowa, then back to Missouri, where she died, in Mercer County, near the town of
Ravanna; in 1858, at the good old age of 87 years.
Descendants of William and Mary Ewing, hats off to our littlest,
greatest grandmother!
But as Mary was born and bred in the wilderness, so she died and was buried in the
wilderness, and no one knows the location of her grave. The spot is unmarked.
It is this fact that causes us to write this letter. Mary McNeil Ewing, the child wife of
William Ewing, the girl mother of twelve, the grandmother of eighty-one, the great
grandmother of hundreds, the pioneer of four states, and the comrade of toil and
hardship, has not even a pine board to mark her resting place or to identify her with
the clan which has so much reason to be proud of her.
The mission of this letter is to arouse your interest, appeal to your pride and to ask
for a contribution of any amount toward a fund of one hundred dollars or more, for
the erection of a suitable marker or monument in honor of Mary McNeil Ewing
beside the grave of her husband William Ewing, as more fully explained in the secretary's
letter enclosed.
Yours truly,
Sadie Porter Cooper, Chairman
119 Charlotte Ave., Detroit, Mich.
Jane White Martin, Treasurer
R.F.D. 37, Camden, Mich
Alvin E. Ewing, Secretary
347 Charles Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich
***We do not have a copy of the above mentioned "secretary's letter".
This was accomplished: See copy of Ewing Cemetery graves , Gallia Co., OH, obtained from the Gallia Co., OH Historical Society
Following are Ewing graves located in Huntington Township, Gallia Co., Ohio.
These were taken from "Cemeteries of Huntington Township, Gallia Co., Ohio,
published by the Gallia County Ohio Historical Society- copied by the society
mostly 1975-1979.
EWING CEMETERY
Located in Section 1 of Huntington Township on the Casto farm south of Adney
Road near Ewington.
Copied in October, 1975 by Mrs. James Clark and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Murray.
Ewing, William Sr., d Oct 7, 1822 66 yrs 9m 13d
" Mary McNeil b 1771 d 1858
" James, b Dec 9, 1793 d Oct .4, 1824
" Mary w/o James b Mar 6, 1799 d Dec 24, 1831
" William d July 11, 1847 56y
" Rebecca w/o Jacob d Mar 24, 1856 54y 8m 16d
One (1) unmarked grave
Peden, Elizabeth w/o John d Aug 18, 1897 83y 1m 4d
Peden, John d Jan 14, 1864 53 y 8m 21d
Viers, Sanford b 1839 d 1912
" Josephine A b 1844 d 1911
Family tomb of Thomas Ewing:
Ewing, Anstis w/o Thomas d June 21, 1866 age 78y
Ewing, Samuel b Aug 28, 1823 d April 1, 1855 age 32y
Ewing, Rebecca d/o T.&A. d inf.
Sprouse, Thomas b May 10, 1850 d Mar 5, 1913
Two (2) unmarked graves
Ewing, Isaac L. b 1855 d 1910
" Ella S. b 1859 d 1905
Oiler, Fred , K Co. A 27 Ohio Inf
This cemetary is in a wooded area on the Casto farm..It is south of the Adney Road and
was not mowed at the time it was copied.
EWINGTON CEMETERY
Located in Section 11 of Huntington Township in the village of Ewington.
Copied on April 26, 1975 by Charles A. Murray, John Holle and Dan Blazer
Ewing, Dr. G.K. b Nov 13, 1857 d Aug 17, 1918
" Elizabeth b Jan 19, 1861 d Feb 14, 1927
" Rachel Hawk b 1829 d 1921
Vale, F.F. b May 14, 1856 d Feb 19, 1928
" Ella E. * Ewing b Sept 19, 1864 d Aug 19, 1905
Ewing, Dr. B.H. b Jan 5, 1867 d Nov 2, 1898
Ewing, George B. b Jan 21, 1807 d May 1, 1883
" Ann b Feb 18, 1806 d Nov 22, 1879
Ewing, Amos Rex b Aug 25, 1889 d Jan 10, 1901
Ewing, Jordan Jan 23, 1884 61y 2m 19d
" Lucy Aug 25, 1873 46y
Ewing, Smira A. d/o William & P.A. d Apr 1, 1873 19y 4m 29d
Ewing, Wm. K. b Aug 24, 1828 d June 11, 1876
Ewing, P.A. w/o Wm. K. b July 17, 1825 d May 5, 1898
Ewing, John H. s/o J. & B. d Mar 5, 1862 11m 6d
Ewing, George L.S. s/o G.A. & M. d Oct 4, 1865 7m 6d
Ewing, John A. d May 1, 1869 37y 21 d
Ewing, Lizzie d/o G. A. & M. d May 1, 1867 3m 28d
Manring, Sarah *Ewing w/o Andrew J. d Aug 5, 1852 35y 8m 28d
Ewing, Mary b 1812 d 1888
FRANKLIN CEMETERY
Located in Section 9 of Huntington Township on the east of Route 46 (Franklin Cemetery Road)
Copied June 30, 1976 by Mr. & Mrs. Donald Palmer, Mrs Pauline Bush and Mr. & Mrs. Charles Murray.
Sprouse, Curtis Ewing b 1929 d 1938
Ewing, Amos W. d Feb 10, 1886 23y 6m 23d
GLENN CEMETERY
Located in Section 24 of Huntington Township, Gallia Co. at the Vinton Bean Dinner
grounds just off State Route 325.
Copied April 19,1975 by Charles & Sue Murray.
Ewing, Indian John b 1747 d 1824
" Ann Smith b 1754 d 1804
Holcomb, Gen. Samuel R. b Feb 28, 1777 d Jan 24, 1867 m Sarah *Ewing
Jan 16, 1802
" Sarah, w/o Samuel b Apr.21, 1783 d Sept. 26, 1850
d/o John & Ann Ewing
Matthews------s/o Phineas & Fidelia *Ewing b May 5, 1845 at Vinton
d Feb 6, 1864 in Union Army at Covington, KY
OLD HOLCOMB CEMETERY
Located in Section 24 of Huntington Township in Gallia Co. at the Vinton Bean Dinner grounds just off State Route 325. Copied on April 19, 1975 by Charles & Sue Murray.
Matthews, Phineas b 1822 d 1878
" Fidelia *Ewing w/o Phineas b 1825 d 1875
Ewing, Abram M. b Oct 18, 1804 d Feb 13, 1891
" Elizabeth w/o Abram M. d July 19, 1884
VINTON MEMORIAL CEMETARY
Located in Section 14 of Huntington Township on the east side of State Route 160, one-half mile northwest of Vinton.
Copied on July 8, 1976 by Mrs. Mary James, Mrs. Donna Shaw, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Murray and Dan Blazer.
Ewing, George P. b 1886 d 1970
" Esther M. b 1886 d 1970
Ewing, Irene B. b 1916 d 1974
" James E. b Jan 13, 1929 d Apr 5, 1935
" Dr. Robert T. b 1897 d 19nd (no date)
" Louise R. b 1902 d 19nd
Ewing, Nora Sisson b 1879 d 1941
" Edgar Louis b 1882 d 1960
As our first ancestor of record we had:
William Ewing, born in Argyleshire, Scotland about 1662. Came to America sometime after 1689. Now we find this may be in error. We do know our line descends from:
James Ewing, born in Pocohantas, Va. 1720. Died in Greenbrier Co., VA. about 1800. He married an Irish woman, Margaret Sargent (this may not be his wife's name) in VA and had 5 children.
Jennie, *John, *William, Elizabeth and Susan.
*We have names and birthdates for William's (Swago Bill) and John's (Indian John) children and grandchildren.
Osie Louise Shields McWhirt
November 12, 1998
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