Alexander Ewing

Information from:

http://jimmcmcl.home.att.net/Chapter6.htm

Alexander Ewing was born about 1676/7 in Ulster, Ireland, and was christened 18 Jan 1679/1680 in Ulster, Ireland. He was the son of Robert Ewing. Alexander died 7 May 1738 in Cecil County, Maryland. He married Rebeckah. It is believed that Rebeckah died about 1771 or 1772.

Known children of Alexander are:

Eleanor Ewing, born about 1721, died before 1745.

James Ewing, born 8 Aug 1723 in Ulster, Ireland, died about 1791 in Wythe County, Virginia.

John Ewing, born about 1725 in Ulster, Ireland, died about 1788.

William Ewing, born 8 Jan 1728/1729. He married Jane Ewing. She was the daughter of Samuel Ewing and Margaret.

Margaret Ewing, born about 1732.

Samuel Ewing, born 10 Mar 1736/7 in Cecil County, Maryland. He married Mary Porter about 1770.

Newspaper Article

Southwest Virginia Enterprise, Wytheville, Virginia

Published Tuesday, February 7, 1939

OLD BIBLE PROVES TO BE OF MOST INTERESTING 'FIND'

“It is the day of old things being found and one of the most interesting finds that has come to our notice is an old Bible which Mr. John Davis has been good enough to bring to the office that we may see it.

“The original binding is gone (except in spots) but evidently was of leather. Another cover, ancient looking, too, has been sewed on and is of leather. Pasted on the inside cover is a card bearing the name of ‘B. Frank Porter, Ivanhoe, Va.’ and Mr. Davis tells us, Mr. Porter is the grandfather of Mrs. Davis. The original owner, however, evidently is James Ewing, as among the numerous writing on blank spaces and margins we find ‘Jas' Ewing his Book, Ye 21 January 1746/7.’

"James Ewing his bible, Bought in the year 1727. Bought by Alexander Ewing in Ir[e]land. He departed this life aged sixty one, May ye 7, 1738.

“_____sanna Porter was born _________ December 25, 1737. ____liam Porter was born _____ 27, 1733 (or 23). _______ew Porter was born 1741.

“__________ is 37 years old on March the 19th day 1742. His book.

"On the page marking the New Testament was ‘Printed in the year M.D.C.C. (1700).’ On the same page is written ‘James Ewing’ ‘Mary Porter was born November the 29, 1743.’ On the next page, which had been written all over, can still be deciphered the following:

"James Ewing was born the 8 of Aug., 1728. John Ewing was born on the 28 of _____ 1725. William Ewing was born the 8th of Jan'y 1728/9 and was baptized by John _______ Feb. 28, 1728. Margaret Ewing daughter to Alexander Ewing ________ the 8th day ___ (torn) ____ born the 12 of March, 1734. _________ was born 10 of March, 1729. Samuel Ewing was born 10 March, 1738.

“On another page: ‘Alexander Ewing deces't in May ye 1 day 1737/8. . . .’”

Will of Alexander Ewing

Recorded Cecil County, Maryland Will Book B22 page 52

(The will was typed from a copy of the original will and each word was typed as close to the original word as possible. Based on the signature it appears that someone else wrote the will for Alexander and he signed the will.)

In the Name of god Amen. I Alexr Ewing being sick of body at present, butt perfit of mind and Memory. Blised be god therefore Calling to mind that it is Appointed for all Men to Die Doeth make this My last Will & Testament in the Method and Manner as followeth.

1st I Recommend My Soull to God who gave it & My Body to the dust to be buried in a Christian Like & Decent Manner at the discretion of my Exattr and touching such worldly Estate as it hath pleased god to bless Me with I Bequeath in the Meathoud followeth:

2dly I Appoint All My Just & Lawfull Debts to be Discharged & paid as Soon as it is possible as my Exattr shall see Caus.

3dly My well beloved Wife to have the one third of all My Movables After the Debts is paid with her proportion of the plantation as the Law Dericts.

4ly I appoint that My Son James shall have the half of the plantation with the house and Orchard and all Improvements belonging to that half and the Other half to my sons John and Willm Equally. Willm Husbands to Make the lines betwixt them.

5ly I appoint that my son James Shall pay twinty pounds More or Less to My daughter Margrett at the Discretion of my Exattr when She Arives to the age of Sixteen & that John & Willm shall pay Unto My Son Samuel when he Arrives at the Age of Sixteen years the Sume of Twenty pounds More or less at the Discretion of my Exattr.

6ly I appoint that my Son in Law Andw Porter Shall have given him by my Exattr the first Day of Novembr Next the old Brown Horse & Six Sheep together with what he hath Already Gotten.

7ly If any of My Sons Incline to Sell their part of the land it Shall be to their Brother or Brothers he or they paying As Much for the Same as a Stranger is willing to give.

8ly I positively Appoint that my Sons James and John Shall be bound to traids [trades] at or Against nixt fall at the likes of my Exattr and that Willm & Margrett be Likewise Bound Out at the Exattr discretion.

9ly I appoint Andr Barry Esq., James Porter, Saml Ewing & Nathl Ewing to be My Exattr & Lastly I Doe here by Revoke Disallow and Disanull all formar wills & Testaments Made by me in any ways and Doth only Confirm Ordain & appoint this to be My last will & Testament. As witness My hand & Seall 18 day of Aprill 1738.

Witness Presentt

William Mitchell

Alexr Ewing (seal)

Robert Gillespie

Rachel Ewing [signed with her mark]

The will was probated and entered into the Cecil County, Maryland records on 10th March 1738 with the following recorded after the will:

Cecil County --- March Ye 10th 1738. William Mitchell & Robert Gillespie two of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing will being duly & solemnly Sworn of the Holy Evangels of Almighty God depose & Say they Saw the Testator Alexander Ewing Sign the foregoing will & heard him Publish & declare the same to be his last Will and Testament. That at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their Apprehension of sound & disposing mind & memory and that they Subscribed their respective names & Rachel Ewing set her mark as Witness to the same will in the Presence of the said Testator & at his request Which Oath was taken by the said Witnesses in the Presence of James Ewing Eldest son of the deceased who made no Objection to the probate of said will.

Sworn before me

W.m Rumsey, D Com. ty

Cecil County, Maryland Inventories, Book 3, page 74

Inventory of Sundry belonging to Alexander Ewing deceased~

One Mare and Colt 09.00.0

Do two mares 05.00.0

One horse 02.00.0

Two yearling calves 01.10.0

Two Heifers 03.10.0

3 Cows 11.00.0

1 Cow 03.10.0

14 Sheep at 7/ 04.12.0

11 Hogg 03.10.0

1 Looking glass 01.00.0

13 Cows sold for 27.19.0

Currency appraised 10.12.0

An old feather bed & bedg. 03.00.0

Two old chest 01.00.0

little old table 00.01.6

An old side saddle 01.15.0

A Coat & vest 02.10.2

A great coat 00.15.0

An old pair of britches and

old pair of boots 00.06.0

An old bed sted & bedding 02.05.0

An old spining wheel & Reel 00.12.0

An old saddle 00.06.0

Iron Potts 01.00.0

An iron bound can 00.02.0

An old Bible 00.02.0

A plough & Tackling 01.10.0

80 Bus. of wheat 12.00.0

                                                       30.11.2

50 shillings pensy curr appraised

to 3.6.7 Maryld Curry 03.06.7

2.10 in money 02.10.0

20 D of old peauter 00.10.0

To Spoons Moles 00.10.0

2 Bills 00.02.0

One Auger 00.01.0

2 Maul Bings & 2 ___ 00.03.0

2 Axes 00.11.0

One Crok & tongs 00.07.6

An old saddle hide grind stone 00.07.6

One wheel 00.03.0

One old Sheep Shears 00.00.6

One old heir cloth 00.10.0

One X cut saw 00.10.0

One hand saw 00.03.0

A broken whip saw 00.01.6

2 Mataks 00.07.6

11 old harrow teeth 00.03.0

Totottel 90.03.9½

Approved by Patr Ewing }

                                Andrew Porter} Kin

James Porter Credr
Patt Reach
Appraised by William Husbands

                          John Has       App

Cecil County _______ August 31, 1739

Nathaniel Ewing & James Porter makes oath that this is a Just & perfect Inventory of all & singular the Goods & Chattels which were of the Deced that came to their hands & at the time of the making _____and that what path since or shall hereafter come to their hands or possession they will return in an addl Inventory or _____ that they know of no commitment of any part or _____ thereof by any _____ whatsoever and that if they shall discover any Concealment or suspect any to be they will acquaint the ______ General for the time being or his Deputy with such Discovery or Cause of Suspicion that it may be inquired into & that they will _____ today given ansr of all & every part of the Decds personal estate that shall hereafter come to their hand possession or knowledge. Sworn before me. Wm Rumsey

The year that Alexander Ewing and his family came to America is not definite. Based on a statement in Clan Ewing, several families came to America together. According to the newspaper article above, we think that this family came to America in 1727. As indicated in Clan Ewing of Scotland, a group of Ewing, Porter, Gillespie, and other families came to America in 1727.

Based on an immigration date of 1727, Eleanor, James, and John would have been born in Ireland with William, the next child, most likely being born in America. He was possibly born in Pennsylvania. Margaret and Samuel were probably born in Cecil County, Maryland.

In Ireland, between the years 1720 and 1730, the harvests were very poor. Crop failures, no doubt contributed to the causes that turned our ancestors toward America. We can most likely assume that they did not all leave or arrive on the same date. Most likely one or more people were involved as the leaders of the families leaving Ireland for America.

The Ewings, Porters, and Caldwells intermarried a number of times.

Ships with passengers from Ireland, maybe certain ports in Ireland, came to the port of New Castle over a period of several years. Based on the location of Cecil County, it appears to make sense that a number of immigrants that settled in that general area might have landed at New Castle. No doubt the ship went on to Philadelphia after stopping at New Castle.

It has been indicated by some that the Ewing group of 140 people chartered the ship Eagle Wing for their voyage to America. Based on the above statement about our ancestors making the voyage in two ships, it does not seem reasonable to think that 140 traveled as one group.

"...The brig Eagle Wing launched at Belfast, Ireland, in the year 1714 and [provided] constant service for more than thirty-five years between that port and the ports of Newcastle, Delaware, or Philadelphia. It was a fast sailing vessel, modern for the times, making the trip to America, if all went well, in seven to ten weeks.

The Clan Finley, (The Eagle Press, 1956) Second Edition, Vol. 1."

"In New England, a group of 140 Irish Calvinists had arrived from Belfast as early as the year 1636, on board an immigrant ship nicely named Eagle's Wing."

David Hackett Fischer, Albion's Seed, (New York, Oxford, OxfordUniversity Press, 1989), p. 606.

Apparently, Alexander Ewing was in America for a few years before he purchased land in Cecil County, Maryland. Margaret Fife reports in her book on page 147, "an Alexander Ewing (Sr) is shown paying tax in 1729 in East Nottingham township, Chester County, Pennsylvania next to one Alexander Ewing , Jr. Not necessarily son and father as, in that day Jr. and Sr. were used also to designate a younger and older person by the same name."

In Chester County, Pennsylvania, a document was found recorded in the Quarter Sessions Bound Volume (Petitions) for an Alexander Ewing. The document is dated 28 May 1728, petitions the court to recover the expenses for locating a servant. The petition reads in part:

“That whereof your petitioner ---- ---- age having transported himself and famelley with servant from the Kingdom of Irland into this province whereby one Andrew Nilley a servant to ye petitioner for four years from the time of his landing . . . .”

Apparently, the servant was to have worked for Alexander for four years to pay off the expense of his transportation to America.

The actual date when Alexander purchased the 290 acres from William Vestall is not known since the deed was never recorded in the Cecil County records. From the Maryland Hall of Records a copy of page 335b from the Land Office (Rent Rolls), we find the following entries for land named the LEVELL:

290 acres, October 26, 1731, Alexander Ewing from William Vestall

From the rent rolls, we know that Alexander Ewing had 290 acres on October 26, 1731.

From the church records presented earlier, we find:

695 May 26 Patrick Ewing (Inch) had Rebekah [baptized].

his wife, Rebeckah, and those of his children already born. The

Alexander Ewing family was accompanied on this same ship by his

cousin Nathaniel, son of Robert Ewing's brother William. Nathaniel's half-

brothers and their families were also aboard. Nathaniel brought his wife

Rachel and their eight children (one of whom, Ann, was born on

shipboard) on this arduous journey. Settling first in Cecil County, MD,

these two families remained closely tied. Alexander became a plantation

holder in Cecil County and never left, dying there May 7, 1738. His

widow is said by some to have moved to Montgomery County, VA, and

later died there, although there is no documentation of this other than

anecdotal and Rebeckah was still in Cecil County in 1750. Alexander's

children, certainly his sons, moved on with a group of Ewing cousins to

settle in Prince Edward County, VA. Later, they went into Wythe County

to the Cripple Creek area, and John as well as Samuel and William,

finally settled in Montgomery County. Alexander's success in MD

established a tradition of further good fortune as each of his children

continued to acquire lands and establish plantations. Alexander's Will

illustrated his ability to provide for his family a future in their new

homeland, although it does not specify the extent of his holdings.

http://oursoutherncousins.com/ewing3.html

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 21 2023, 18:53:58 UTC

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• Updated from FamilySearch Family Tree via son Andrew Porter by SmartCopy: Feb 10 2015, 14:22:12 UTC
• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via daughter Margaret Lindsey Porter (born Ewing) by SmartCopy: Feb 10 2015, 14:46:10 UTC