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PART I
Shortly after the settlement of New England, THOMAS MASKELL came from England and settled in Connecticut. He there married Bithia Parsons in the year 1658. By her he had one son named Thomas and two daughters, Elizabeth and Abigail. THOMAS STATHEM also came from England about the same time as Thomas Maskell. He married Ruth Udell in New England in 1671. He removed to a place called, from himself Stathem’s Neck now in Cumberland County, New Jersey. They had four sons and two daughters; the names of the latter being Mercy and Mary.
Thomas Maskell, son of Thomas and Bithia Maskell, crossed the sound from Connecticut and took up residence at East Hampton on Long Island. He there married Clemons Scudder by whom he had one son named Constant and a daughter named Clemons. He then removed to a place called New England Town, now Fairton near Bridgeton, Cumberland County New Jersey, where he became a heavy property holder and a most useful citizen. On April 4th 1717, he and Henry Joyce received from Jeremiah Bacon “A deed for one acre of land in trust for the people called Presbyterians on the North side of the Cohansey River, to build and establish a meeting house for the public worship of God.” When a substantial brick building was erected on that lot in 1735, his son Constant, together with Thomas Ewing, Mercy Maskell, Thomas Padgett and James Caruthers, all belonging to this record, were members of this organization and liberal contributors. The place of worship thus early established was the Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, New Jersey.
Sometime after his settlement in New Jersey Thomas Maskell’s wife Clemons died. Afterward, in 1700, he married Mercy the eldest daughter of Thomas and Ruth Stathem. By this marriage he had three daughters, Mary, who was born September 4th 1701, Mercy and Abigail. Thomas Maskell died January 2nd 1732 and Mercy his wife died April 20th 1741. So much for the maternal line of this early branch of the family. We turn now to the Ewing name.
Findley Ewing. (A)
There is record of one James Ewing who was born at Glasgow, Scotland about 1650. His son Findley (Note 1) removed to Londonderry, Ireland in 1690 and there married Jane Porter. Findley Ewing was a staunch Presbyterian and an ardent advocate of liberty. For his distinguished bravery at the Battle of the Boyne, a notable struggle between William III and James II, he was presented with a sword by King William. This token of military merit, afterward found its way to this country and was worn during our Revolutionary War by Dr. Thomas Ewing an army surgeon and great grandson of its original owner. By him it was bequeathed as a highly prized family treasure to his son Dr. William Belford Ewing. It was unfortunately prevented from reaching another generation by being stolen by a Negro servant and destroyed for the sake of its silver hilt. The Battle of the Boyne, which was fought July 1st 1690 was a hard and decisive struggle in which the power of James was effectually broken. For the condition which led to the immigration of many Scotch people to Ireland and later, a multitude of their descendants to America, the reader is referred to any good history. Suffice it to remark here that by 1714 the Irish people were brought to a state of degrading subjection to England; being precluded by restricting laws from the privileges of competition in trade and oppressed by exorbitant taxes and rents, they were wretchedly poor. There seemed but one way out of their distress and that was to flee the country. An emigration from the North of Ireland to America was therefore commenced shortly after the Battle of the Boyne and continued for several years. This brought to our shores, in some years as many as three thousand Protestants from Ulster. In this stream came the Ewings. Practically all of the name who have traced their ancestral line have found themselves to be issues from this same Scotch Irish immigration. Moreover, nearly every branch of the family, with probably one exception (page 92) into which I have examined came out of Ireland between about 1700 and the year of the Revolution.
Thomas Ewing. (B)
Notable among these immigrants and occupying a chief place in this part of our history was THOMAS EWING, the son of Findley and Jane Ewing. He was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1695. (Appendix A) He may be considered as the trunk of that notable tree whose roots originated in England, Scotland and Ireland in the Maskells and Parsons, the Stathems and the Udells and the Ewings. It is a tree whose branches have spread far and have born an abundant fruitage.
Thomas Ewing, like the grandparents of the woman he later married, came first to Long Island. After remaining there but a short time, he found a permanent home at Greenwich, N. J. This Southern part of the Province of West Jersey, as it was early called, had been purchased from the Indians by John Fenwick in 1675. To this section Fenwick gave the name of Salem, meaning peace. After slow progress through many difficulties, the region began to fill up with immigrants from New England and Long Island, together with many from Wales and Ireland. Considerable clearing had been done and many tracts brought under cultivation when the ancestor of whom we speak arrived. Thomas Ewing soon found employment in a mill which stood over the “Meeting House” run. (Note 2). Thus employed, one day a friend observed to him that there was a pretty girl on horseback watering her horse at the run. Upon going to the door or window and seeing her, our distinguished forefather remarked in all seriousness, “I shall marry that girl.” From that sudden resolve of a love stricken miller what a train of events important to him and to hundreds after him, have sprung! For he was as good as his word. The pretty lass who chanced to pass that way on horse back was Mary Maskell the nineteen year old daughter of Thomas and Mercy Maskell (page 12). They were married on the 27th of March 1720. Her father gave her as a marriage portion one hundred acres of land upon which she and her husband lived. An ancient family manuscript speaks of Thomas Ewing as “A man highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him.” His name is found in the list before referred to, of members of the Presbyterian Church of Greenwich and contributors to the building of its first house of worship. He died February 28th 1748. His wife died December 17th 1784 and both were buried in the Presbyterian Church yard at Greenwich. Accompanying this sketch is the photograph of their tombstone. It is about two feet high and in good state of preservation. On either side and close by stands two cedar trees each about ten inches in diameter. The stone contains the following inscription. “In memory of Thomas Ewings who departed this life the 28th of February anno Dom 1747/8 age 52 years, of Mary his wife who died December 17 1784 aged 84 years. She was the daughter of Thomas Maskell Esq who died January 2nd 1732.” Thomas and Mary Ewing were the parents of seven sons and three daughters. Their names in order of their birth were as follows: Maskell, Thomas, Mercy, Mary, Samuel, John, Lydia, Joshua, Samuel, and James.
I shall notice these in their order. I shall, however, be able to refer only briefly to each. Of the eldest, Maskell, I shall have most to say, since it is from him that all those most interested in this part of our book have sprung.
Maskell Ewing. (C)
Maskell, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Ewing, was born at Greenwich, New Jersey on the 31st of March 1721. On his 22nd birthday he was married to Mary Padgett the eldest daughter of Thomas Padgett of Stoe Creek Township. Mary was born on the 15th of May 1725 and was therefore at her marriage but eighteen years of age. Her fathers name appears upon the honorable list of members and contributors of the Greenwich Church. Both Maskell and Mary when sixteen or seventeen years of age were converted under the powerful preaching of the celebrated George Whitefield who visited Greenwich and preached in the open air in front of the meeting house. They both became members of that church and he served it actively as a ruling elder for about forty-five years. An obituary reference speaks of him as “A servant of the Lord Jesus universally and justly esteemed for every social and Christian virtue, yet deriving not the ground of his hope or consolation from what he was or had done but solely from the merits of his divine Savior, the only safe foundation of a sinner’s hope.” He was a prominent man in public life. He was a justice of the peace. He was, in turn, the Clerk and Surrogate of Cumberland county, serving in these offices for many years under the Colonial Government, about 1762. He filled the office of Sheriff and after the Revolution he was appointed a judge of the pleas which office he held until his death. His long continuance in office indicates the satisfaction of the people with his discharge of duties. In politics he was a hesitating kind of a Whig. This is ascribed to the fact that before the Revolution as a public officer he had sworn allegiance to King George and that after independence was secured, he was troubled with conscientious scruples about breaking of the oath.
Maskell Ewing had but a common education, yet being of an inquiring and literary mind, he became well versed in history, geography, religion and the literature of his age. He was pleasant in company and agreeable in his family. He used to entertain his children with his adventures with the wolves and panthers, having once been chased by a panther. (Note early experience with Indians, page 49) His father had left him, as the eldest son, a good farm, but his mother was to possess it during her lifetime. She gave it to one of his brothers who improved nothing and worked the land to poverty. In the mean-time Maskell lived on a rented farm where he prospered, so that when his ruined patrimony fell into his hands when he was sixty three years of age he had means to build a house and barn and restore his place to its original value. (See the accompanying engraving from a photo)[This engraving is not in the copy of the book]. His wife was a woman of plain manners, though ladylike and very sensible. She was remarkable for her powers as a house keeper. (Note 3). In speaking of Maskell and Mary, their grandson Dr. W. Belford Ewing writes of them as follows: “I remember well my grandfather in his old age; his pleasing countenance and mild blue eye. He was a slim man of average height, of fresh complexion, strong features, and with hair white was snow. My grandmother was of round face, large black eyes and her complexion in old age rather pale. In her youth, when possessed of more animation, I think, she must have been handsome. I was always a little afraid of my grandmother, but could be familiar with my grandfather.” Their deaths occurred not very far apart. After an illness of about nine days he fell on sleep on the sixteenth of April 1796. She departed this life, October 30th 1798. Reproductions of their photographs are herewith shown [Reproductions were not in the book]. Maskell and Mary Ewing were the parents of ten children. They all married and had children before their parents’ death. Their names in the order of their birth are as follows, viz: Abigail, Phebe, Thomas, Amy Hunter, Mary, Sarah, Maskell, Rachel, David, Susanna. (Further consideration of the family of Maskell and Mary Ewing will be found on page 21.
Thomas Ewing. (C)
Thomas, second son of Thomas and Mary Ewing was born October the 6th 1722. He was a blacksmith by trade. He had three wives, by all of whom he had children. A son Thomas, by the third was a member of “The Provincial Congress of New Jersey” and an ardent patriot of the Revolution. A full brother George, who was born March 8th 1754, deserves more than a passing notice. He enlisted in the army as early as 1775 and served sometimes as a private, at others as a sergeant and again as an ensign, in Canada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. He was in engagements at Brandywine and Germantown. He endured the rigors of long marches and suffered the exposure of the memorable winter at Valley Forge with Washington and his forces. Broken in fortune by a hard service, he removed from New Jersey to West Liberty in the “pan handle” of West Virginia in 1787. Later he became a farmer and the keeper of a public house in Ohio. George was the father of seven children one of whom was Thomas. He was born during the stay in Virginia above referred to, on December 28th 1789. Rising to manhood in Ohio he studied law under Hugh Boyle. He was later taken into business partnership and subsequently was married to his preceptor’s daughter, Maria Boyle. Thomas was a man of great ability and became eminent as a lawyer and politician and was a conspicuous member of the United States Senate for several years. He was called by president William Henry Harrison to fill the high office of Secretary of the Treasury, and when under President Taylor the Department of the Interior was created, Thomas Ewing was made its first Secretary. He has had seven children, Philemon B., George, Eleanor B., Hugh B., Thomas, Charles and Maria.
Charles married Virginia Larwell Miller and had children as follows: Elizabeth, Charles, Virginia, Elinor, Maria, John K. M., Blaine and Kathleen. Maria (Charles’ sister) married Lieutenant Colonel Charles F. Steele, and had the following children: Thomas E., Clemens, Maria, Charles F., Florence, Sherman and Hugh. Philemon Beecher Ewing, above mentioned married Mary R. Gillespie, August 31st 1819, and they have twelve children, viz: Thomas born June 27th 1850; Mary Agnes born October 21st 1851; Eleanor born June 14th 1853, married Edward M. Brown; George born March 5th 1855; John Gillespie born Mary 22 1857 and married Ethyldreda Kelly; Francis Cointet born November 12th 1859; Mary Rebecca born May 7, 1861; Mary Angela born February 3rd 1863; Neal Henry born March 16th 1865, married Josephine Hoch; Mary Philomena born May 2nd 1867; Mary Theodosia born November 19th 1868; and Edward Sorin born March 27th 1870. Eleanor B., eldest daughter of Thomas Ewing married William T. Sherman. Their children are Marie E., Elizabeth, William T. (who was the late General William Tecumseh Sherman), Thomas, Eleanor, Rachel, Charles C. and Philemina. Thomas, the youngest son of Thomas Ewing and Maria Boyle married Ellen C. Cox. They have children, William Cox, Maria, Thomas, Mary Beall and Hampton D.
It is at this point that the Roman Catholic division of the family had its beginning. Maria Boyle, above mentioned, was a Catholic. Through her lofty Christian example and teaching she brought her husband, the Honorable Thomas Ewing, into the Catholic church, and carefully reared her large family in like Christian faith. (Note 5). From the union of Thomas Ewing and Maria Boyle a large progeny of Romany Catholics has risen. Several Catholic priests are among them. (Note 4). Their youngest son, Thomas just named, was an ardent Catholic. His wife was a devoted Presbyterian. By this union he was led back into the Presbyterian fold, as his father had been turned in the opposite direction by a Catholic. Their eldest son, William Cox Ewing who has perhaps made the most exhaustive study of this division of the Ewing family (see Introduction), is a leader in the Presbyterian church at Yonkers, New York.
Mercy and Mary Ewing. (C)
The third and fourth children of Thomas and Mary Ewing were Mercy and Mary. Mercy died in infancy. Mary, who was born February 2nd 1725 was married to David Harris by whom she had a son Ebenezer, a daughter Lydia, and a son David. She was married a second time, to Jonathan Diament, of Fairton, N. J.
Note: The book "Thomas Ewing" by Du Bois has Mary Ewing born February 25th. It also shows that her second marriage was to Jonathan Deming rather than Diament.
Samuel and John Ewing. (C)
The fifth and sixth children of Thomas and Mary Ewing were Samuel who died in infancy and John. John was born June 7th 1732. He lived to an advanced age and was remarkable for the integrity of his life. On May 13th 1755 he married Hanna Bacon by whom he had seven children one of whom, Enos, married his cousin Rachel the daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing. (See page 27).
Lydia and Joshua Ewing. (D)
The seventh and eighth children of Thomas and Mary Ewing were Lydia and Joshua. Lydia died in infancy. Joshua was born November 17th 1736 and died in 1785. He was a member of the state legislature. He married Hannah Harris. After his death his widow with three sons and four daughters emigrated to the west. To this family some of the numerous Ewings of the Middle West could doubtless be traced.
Samuel (II) Ewing. (C)
The ninth child of Thomas and Mary Ewing was Samuel. (Their fifth child Samuel having died in infancy, common custom of the time permitted the repetition of his name). He was born April 23rd 1739 and died December 25th 1783. He married Mary Miller and they had four sons. In his later life he resided in Salem County, New Jersey.
James Ewing. (C)
The tenth and last child of Thomas and Mary Ewing was James. His birth occurred on the 12th of July 1744. At thirty years of age, he was one of the Greenwich Tea Party. (Appendix B) He was a member of the state legislature from Cumberland County New Jersey and about 1779 removed to Trenton, New Jersey. In his new home he was a Judge and Justice of the Peace for the County of Hunterdon. He died in 1824. His niece, Mrs. Mary Findley writing of his death calls him “Our very dear and last uncle James for whom we have not reason to mourn as those without hope.” He married Martha Boyd of Bridgeton, New Jersey. Their only child was named Charles. He, in turn, was married to Eleanor Graham Armstrong and had six children. He was a very successful lawyer, a ripe scholar, a man of keen literary taste and a decided Christian. In 1824 he was appointed chief justice of New Jersey. His youngest daughter, Eleanor Graham, married Henry W. Green June 28th 1847, and their only child Elmer Ewing Green, prominent in religious, educational and legislative circles, died at Trenton in 1908. He was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church at Trenton. He married Elizabeth Hunt, and their children are Elinor Ewing, William E. and Caleb S.
Letting this suffice as our sketch of the children of Thomas and Mary, we are now to return to the descent of Maskell and Mary Ewing from whom those specially interested in this part of our book have sprung.
MASKELL EWING (Continued from page 17)
We shall be compelled to leave out many names and interesting details simply for want of space to record them.
Abigail Ewing. (D)
Abigail, the first child of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born February 4th 1744. She is described by her uncle Dr. William Belford Ewing as much like her mother in size and complexion, kind, domestic and even tempered, indulgent to children, attractive, amiable and of habitual piety. She married Isaac Watson on the 25th of February 1771. Their only child Sarah, lived to a ripe old age. She was, however in perpetually poor health and never married.
Phebe Ewing. (D)
Phebe the second daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born May 13th 1746. She was a woman of strong mind and great firmness. She is described as “tall, erect, of pleasing countenance and with piercing black eyes. In the age of chivalry, such a woman might have been a heroine: in her day she was a tender mother and a humble Christian.” On the 15th of April 1776, she married Abner Woodruff. They were the parents of eight children.
Thomas Ewing. (D)
Thomas, the eldest son of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born on the 13th of September 1748. He and his uncle James took part in burning a cargo of British tea, which was landed at Greenwich, New Jersey. (Appendix B) When the Revolution was on in earnest, Thomas Ewing who had studied medicine and surgery, was appointed surgeon of a brigade to be raised in the lower New Jersey counties. He was at the same time appointed by the legislature, and commissioned by the governor as Major of the second Battalion of the Cumberland regiment. In this capacity he joined the army. He was in many engagements. In the course of the war he made the acquaintance of the officers of a British ship of war and received from its surgeon a present of a case of pocket instruments. This case and instruments are now in possession of Thomas Ewing’s great grandson, Chas. Ewing at Greenwich, New Jersey, and is very highly prized. On the 30th of September 1770 he married Sarah Fithian, a grand daughter, on the maternal side of Thomas Maskell I. To them were born two sons, Samuel Fithian who died in infancy and William Belford (E). on December 12th 1776. William Belford took up the profession of his father, settling on the family farm at Greenwich, New Jersey. He served his county and his state in several important capacities. On the 14th of June 1808 he married Harriet Seeley, His death occurred in 1867. His son James Josiah was born January 14th 1812 and on the 23rd of August 1832 he married Martha Harding of Greenwich, New Jersey. To this couple were born nine children as follows: Rebecca (F), Harriet S., W. Belford, Thomas, Francis, Robert Patterson, Maskell, James, and Charles. Of these, Thomas had children named Alice (G) and Alma, Robert Patterson had children Mary, (G) Martha, Walter and Robert P. Jr. They lived in the neighborhood of Greenwich, New Jersey. The family of Robert Patterson make their home with Charles Ewing who resides in the old homestead on the main street of Greenwich. Charles is a farmer, a highly respected citizen and member of the Presbyterian Church of Greenwich. Children of Maskell Ewing are Justice (G), Sharpless and Grace.
Amy Hunter Ewing (D)
Amy Hunter, the third daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born on January 28th 1751 and lived to the ripe age of ninety four years. She married Robert Patterson and became the mother of eight children from whom a numerous progeny has sprung.
Mary Ewing (D)
Mary was the fourth daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing. She was born on the 26th of April 1753 and was twice married. Her first husband was Richard Caruthers a son of James and Lydia Caruthers and their marriage took place on the 19th of December 1780. (Richard Caruthers was an Adjutant in Colonel David Potter’s Cumberland county regiment of State troops. He was born December 28th 1740. He married Philathea Mills September 24th 1706. Their son Obediah was born March 4th 1769. Their daughter Rebecca was born April 2nd 1771. Both children were baptized in the Greenwich church. Philathea the wife of Richard Caruthers died April 30th 1777. Obediah, the son, died September 21st 1786.) They resided in Cumberland county New Jersey, and after a union of about nine years, Richard Caruthers died on the 9th of February 1790 at the age of forty nine years. He left one son, RICHARD EWING CARUTHERS (E), who was born on the 6th of November 1781.
After giving a somewhat hurried survey of the remaining children of Maskell and Mary Ewing, the record of Richard and Mary Caruthers and their son Richard Ewing Caruthers will be followed further. (Page 30)
Sarah Ewing (D)
Sarah was the fifth daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing. She was born April 19th 1756. Her husband was James B. Hunt Esq., whom she married May 12th 1782. His death occurred on the 5th of August 1824. He was survived by his wife who made her home with her elder son until her death, which occurred in the spring of 1834. They had five children, viz: Thomas Ewing, Reuben, Sarah, James Booth and William Ferguson. The eldest, Thomas Ewing (E), was born March 2nd 1783. He lived in Greenwich township. His wives were four in number. The first was Margaret Johnson who died in less than two years after their marriage. The second was a widow, Eliza Parvin, who was the daughter of his uncle David Ewing. She lived with him but three and a half years and had two children who died in infancy. The third wife was Mary Shipley. The fourth wife was Sarah Clark who became the mother of Thomas Ewing and Mary Hunt. This Thomas Ewing Hunt (F) was born November 27th 1835. He was first married to Cornelia Fithian. The marriage took place December 16th 1863. Their children, Anna and Thomas Ewing Jr died in infancy. Sarah (G) Ewing, their third child was born on the 26th of December 1871 and was married to Rev. Homer C. Snitcher on August 26th 1899. (H) They have one child Cornelia Hunt, who was born August 31st 1905. Cornelia Hunt the wife of Thomas Ewing Hunt died on the 18th of December 1874. Thomas Ewing Hunt was married, a second time, to Margaret E. Thomas on January 23rd 1879. To them were born two children, James Booth on January 14th 1880 and Frederick Thomas on February 6th 1882. The latter died January 6th 1896. (G) James Booth Hunt was married to Myrtle M. Rogers on December 19th 1908. They reside in New York City. Thomas Ewing Hunt is one of the leading progressive farmers and upright citizens in Southern New Jersey, and a leader in the Greenwich Presbyterian church. The second son of James B. and Sarah Hunt was (E) Reuben, who was born February 9th 1785. He was married to Phebe Noble and they had three children, Mary Moore, James B. and Eliza. The eldest child, (F) Mary Moore was married to Jonathan Y. Leaming who was a lineal descendant of John Tilley, Elizabeth Tilley and John Howland who were passengers on the Mayflower. She died of consumption at the age of forty years on December 28th 1856. Their four children were James B., Rebecca D., Reuben H., and Frank H. (G) Rebecca was born on August 28th 1841, and was married to Robert M. Rocap. They have three children, Eleanor, who was born March 15th 1867, Mary Hunt, born March 3rd 1869 and Robert Leaming, born August 8th 1874. (H) Eleanor was married to Hamilton Mailly M. D. who died August 8th 1899. They had one son, (I) Robert Eugene, who was born November 11th 1894. (H) Robert Leaming was married to Clara B. Child. Her death occurred on November 17th 1907. Their children are (I) Mary Palmer, born February 7th 1905 and Robert L., born April 9th 1907. The Rocap family here named, including children and grandchildren, reside in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Rebecca Leaming Rocap died April 5th 1910. The next two children of James B. and Sarah Hunt were Sarah and James Booth, both of whom died in childhood. Their fifth and last child was William Ferguson who dates his birth from the 31st of December 1792. He was a physician and practiced a Pedricktown, New Jersey. He married Sarah Ellis and their children are (F) Cornelia B., Sarah, James B., Samuel M. and William Ellis. The latter married Caroline Totten of Pittsburg Pa. on April 26th 1855. He entered the Presbyterian Ministry and was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Coshocton, Ohio.
Maskell Ewing (D)
Maskell, the second son of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born on January 30th 1758. He was early associated with his father in public life. He creditably filled both county and state offices. In 1805 he removed to Delaware county Pennsylvania and followed the pursuit of farming. A man well balanced and of public spirit, his fellow citizens chose him for six successive years as their representative in the Senate of Pennsylvania. On a pilgrimage among his kindred at Greenwich, New Jersey, he closed his earthly career and was gathered unto his fathers in the old Greenwich grave yard of the Presbyterian Church. His grave is there marked by a substantial elevated marble slab with full inscription. Maskell Ewing was married to Jane Hunter on the 12th of October 1787. They were the parents of three sons and three daughters. Elinor Hunter (E) was born August 12th 1788, Mary Padgett was born August 11th 1792, James Hunter was born April 2nd 1798, Louisa was born in 1804 and Maskell in 1806. Elinor Hunter marred an English gentleman named George F. Curwen on November 29th 1819. They had four children, John, Mary, Maskell Ewing and George F.(F) John married Martha P. Elmer, daughter of Judge Daniel Elmer of Bridgeton, New Jersey. They were the parents of one child. Maskell married Mary T. Wright of Cincinnati. The Curwen’s have numerous descendants in and about Philadelphia, Pa. Mary Padgett the daughter of Maskell and Jane Ewing, married Honorable Daniel Elmer of Bridgeton, New Jersey on February 14th 1844. They were very prominent people in the Presbyterian Church, as were also the Curwens. Louisa married William Bell on August 30th 1837. Maskell married Cornelia Landsdale. They had four children and reside in Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Both Maskell and Jane Ewing were remarkable for their piety and were earnest workers in the Presbyterian Church. James Hunter was a prominent physician, and a most worthy citizen.
Rachel Ewing (D)
Rachel the sixth daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing was born, December 25th 1759. On the 9th of December 1783, she married Enos Ewing, her first cousin referred to elsewhere (page 19). While by marrying a Ewing she preserved her own name, her three children all being daughters, she lost her name in the next generation. Their children were Amy, who died in infancy, Mary and Sarah. On January 16th 1805, (E) Mary was married to Charles B. Fithian who was born December 11th 1782. (Note 6). They had six daughters and three sons. The eldest son, Enos Ewing (F), born February 22nd 1807, died of yellow fever in New Orleans on the 28th of September, 1837. The eldest daughter was Ann Elizabeth, born October 14th 1805. Sarah Ewing was born January 2nd 1809. Ercouries Beatty was born December 20th 1810. Rachel Ewing was born August 16th 1813. Samuel Reading was born August 30th 1815. Samuel is still living in Greenwich New Jersey with his daughter Elizabeth. His daughter (G) Atelia Elmer married William H. H. Elwell of Birdgeton, New Jersey. Their children are Mrs. (H) Edwin F. Bixler who is a missionary at Estancia, Sergipe Brazil (They have five children, Atelia, Helen, Paul, Henry, and Francis). Ralston F. Elwell, a Doctor of Dental Surgery is a son of William H. H. and Atelia Elwell and resides in Bridgeton, New Jersey. William H. H. Elwell married a second time, Lydia Richman. His death occurred on March 24th 1905. Christiana Clinton was born April 23rd 1817. (F) Mary Clark was born September 16th 1821. (Note 7). Emily Seeley was born September 13, 1823. She married Samuel E. Lawrence who was a prosperous merchant of Greenwich, New Jersey. She is still living, though feeble in health, with her brother and niece above referred to. Like her sister, lately deceased, she is possessed of all the charms of beautiful Christian womanhood. Sarah, the youngest daughter of Enos and Rachel was married on March 24th 1813 to Ephraim Bacon. They had ten children whose names were as follows; Theodore, Sarah, Benjamin, Charles, Harriet, George, Ephraim, Enos, Rachel and Mary.
David Ewing (D)
David was a third son of Maskell and Mary Ewing. He was born March 18th 1762. He grew up a bold and fearless lad, and engaged in many noble enterprises. He was, however described by one who knew him intimately as “a man of unsteady character.” He died in Western Pennsylvania at the age of sixty eight years. He was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Ewing, the daughter of William and Sarah Ewing of Cape May, New Jersey. (Note 8). (See page 92). Their marriage took place April 26th 1787. They had two children. His second wife was Mary Conoway whom he married in Georgia in 1795. Two children also issued from this union.
Susanna Ewing (D)
The tenth and last child of Maskell and Mary Ewing was Susanna, who was born May 27th 1764. She spent part of her youth in Philadelphia. There she married Major William Ferguson on April 2nd 1789, a brave and distinguished officer of Revolutionary fame. He was killed on duty on November 4th 1791. They had one child, (E) Mary Wilhelmina. After seven years of widowhood she married Colonel Ercuries Beatty, the eighth of sixteen children of the Reverend Charles Beatty who was the founder of the Neshaminy of Warwick Presbyterian Church in Bucks county Pennsylvania in 1725. They were devout Christians and active in Presbyterian Church circles. They had three children. The two eldest died young and unmarried. The widow made her home with her son Rev. Charles Clinton Beatty at Steubenville, Ohio, and her daughter by her first husband, at Cannonsburg Pennsylvania. She passed to the better world on October 27th 1839. She is described as an intelligent, active, devout Christian ever forward in works of benevolence, kind in heart and affectionate in disposition. Mary Wilhelmina the only child of Susanna by her first husband, received a finished education. At the age of eighteen years she crossed the mountains on horseback in company with her step father. Being at that time in prospect of possession of large worldly property, and alarmed at the thought of having no other possession but this world, she had no rest until she found as she hoped, an incorruptible inheritance. On March 25th 1818, she married Rev. Backus Wilbur and removed with him to his field of labor at Dayton, Ohio. Within six months she was left a widow. On May 30th she was again married to a Presbyterian Minister, the Rev. Matthew Brown, a widower much older than herself and for twenty three years the President of Jefferson College at Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. After three years of very active Christian usefulness she died in the Lord on April 21st 1838. She left one daughter, Susan Mary, who became the wife of Henry W. Alexander Esq. the son of Dr. Alexander the famous Princeton Theologian. The last child of Colonel Ercuries (Note 9) and Susanna Beatty was the Rev. Chas. Clinton Beatty, D.D. of Steubenville, Ohio. Dr. Beatty became a Christian early in life. He was Licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, New Jersey and appointed a Foreign Missionary. He was, however Providentially kept from entering upon his chosen work. He became instead a home Missionary in Illinois. By and by he was called to Steubenville, Ohio. He married Lydia R. Moore on the 30th of May 1824. She lived only a little more than a year. He then married Hettie E. Davis of Maysville, Kentucky on November 6th 1828. In 1829 they together established the Steubenville Seminary from which hundreds of young women have been graduated.
Mary Ewing Caruthers
At this point we return to the story of Mary, the fourth daughter of Maskell and Mary Ewing. Left a widow at the age of thirty seven years (page 23), she married, a second time, the Hon. William Findley of Westmoreland county, Pa. (Appendix C). History written by the pen of her nephew says, “She was a sensible, pious and excellent woman. She was remarkable for her resignation to the will of God and was exemplary in her duties to her family and society.” Letters she wrote to a relative, recounting the death of Mr. Findley and telling of an almost fatal fall from a horse, she had, breathe throughout the spirit of meek submission, firm trust in Jesus, and strong attachment to Him. Her death occurred, November 12th 1825. (Appendix D).
Richard Ewing Caruthers (E) and Eleanor Findley
Passing down now to another generation, our attention is called to a very unusual combination of families. This marriage just noted in the above chapter, of William Findley, a widower, and Mary Ewing Caruthers, a widow, was soon succeeded by the union of Richard Ewing Caruthers, the widow’s son, and Eleanor Findley, the widower’s daughter. The latter was born on the 16th of March, 1786. The couple were married on the 28th of October 1804. From this union a numerous progeny has sprung. They were a most exemplary couple: affectionate toward each other, kind to their neighbors, upright and esteemed by all, conscientious and devoted Christians, taking the greatest pains to bring up their large family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How well succeeding in this, will appear in Note 10. A letter written by Eleanor Findley Caruthers, under date of April 6th 1843 to Thomas Ewing Hunt (page 104) giving some interesting details, will be found in another part of this volume. (Appendix E).
In 1830, they removed to Rural Valley in Armstrong county, Pa., where they settled on land given them by William Findley. (Note 11). They very soon joined with a few families in organizing in their new neighborhood a Presbyterian Church. Of this church, Richard Ewing Caruthers was chosen a ruling Elder. His Aunt Susanna (Mrs. Ercuries Beatty), writing of him in 1834 says, “He seems to be much engaged in religion. He has got up a Sabbath School, and has thirty or forty scholars, but no teachers except out of his own family, and they have kept it up all winter, except one day when he was sick.” Their deaths were according to their lives. His was not only peaceful but triumphant. He said, “I feel as I never felt before. Is this death? If it is, it has no terrors to me.” Then with his mouth filled with texts of joy and rapture, he soared from earth. Almost his last audible words were, “Lord, now lettest thou they servant depart in peace, for I have seen the salvation of the Lord.” The end came on the 26th of January, 1843. Ten years later, his widow was taken. But ere she was called hence, she had seen the church of their planting grown into a flourishing vine, her prayers answered, her children, twelve in number, all followers of Christ, and two of her sons ministers of the Gospel (page 32). In August 1853, while riding in her carriage she was called suddenly to her rest.
And now the children of this pair. There being an even dozen of them and several of those followed by large families, the historian will not attempt to particularize beyond the first generation, except in the case of Elizabeth, the second daughter. In the order of their births, their names are as follows: William Findley, John, Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas Maskell, George Cochran, Martha, Richard Alexander, James Ewing, Eleanor Rebecca and Nancy Patterson.
William Findley Caruthers.
William Findley Caruthers was born August 16th 1805. On the 22nd of June 1837, he was married to Margaret Porter, a grand daughter of the Rev. Samuel Porter, one of the very early ministers of Western, Pa. He was a farmer and a member of the Presbyterian church of Rural Village. Their children were Richard Ewing, Rebecca Dickey, (G) who married John McElwain and had at least three children. Eleanor Ann, who married William Martin (She is now a widow and resides at Rural Village). Eliza Jane who married Henry Schall and had three children, Robert, (H) Margaret and William. Robert married Annie Fleming and had children. He died in 1903. On October 11th 1907 his widow married J. William Rhea. They now reside at Long Beach, California. (See page 35). Margaret married Chas. Loustor. William is also married and has children. Mary Harriet, residing at Rural Village, and Sarah Matilda.
John Caruthers.
John was born May 5th 1807. He was for several years a clothier in Washington County, Pennsylvania. In 1828 he untied with the Presbyterian Church of Cross Creek, Pa, and shortly afterward entered Washington College. Later he pursued a regular theological course in the Western Seminary at Allegheny City.
He was then licensed by the Presbytery of Washington in 1839. On the 24th of March, 1840, he was married to Sophia Huston of Washington, Pa. Three months later he was ordained by the Presbytery of Blairsville and installed as pastor of the churches at Perry and Gilgal. He was described by a historian in 1858, as “living in Indiana County Pennsylvania, a very worthy and useful minister.” He had no children. He was for several years a widower. Late in life he married Mary Kirkpatrick.
Mary Caruthers (F)
Mary was born April 1st 1809, and was married on June 17th 1834 to Noah Calhoun, a farmer of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. They became members of the Presbyterian Church at Concord. Their children were Eleanor (G), who married a Mr. Walker, David, who married a Miss Anthony and had two children, Mary who married a Mr. McKee, Elisabeth who married a Mr. Fleming and had children, Catharine who married Mr. Bashline, Ann Olive who married Miles Lewis, Nancy and Martha Jane who died in infancy, and Sarah.
Elizabeth Caruthers (F)
Elizabeth Caruthers was born April 2nd 1811. On the 6th of March 1828 she married Isaac Rhea, then a farmer living in Rural Valley, and a Ruling Elder of the Presbyterian Church which his father-in-law had assisted in forming. His wife was also a member and active worker in that church. (Appendix F) Sometime after their marriage, they removed to the “Old Town Bottom” farm, (Note 13). They lived there for about twelve years. In 1840 they removed to the “Pleasant Hill” farm, about four miles below Rural Village where, as a prosperous farmer, a prominent citizen, a sturdy Christian and a Ruling Elder in the Village Church, he resided until his death which took place on February 12th 1878. His companion’s removal to the better world took place April 11th 1869. The children of this couple were Joseph, Eleanor Jane, Ann Maria, Elizabeth, Martha Jane and John Caruthers. Joseph (G), the eldest son of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea was born on the Old Town Bottom farm, December 26th 1828. On March 3rd 1852, he married Louisa Wortman. They lived in Westmoreland and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania, until 1865, when they removed to Bristolville, Trumbull County, Ohio. They had six children; Mary Elizabeth, born November 3rd 1854 was married to Daniel F. Igo, July 21st 1886. Their two children are Daniel Rhea (I), born June 18th 1887, and Benjamin F. born December 12th 1889. They live in Redlands, California. Anna Harriet died at the age of five years. James Isaac was born April 21st 1858 and was married to Margaret Kincaid, November 29th 1882. Their children are Edith Anna (I), born October 7th 1884, and Lela Louisa, born November 11th 1888. They reside at Redlands California. Ida Louisa was born February 14th 1860 and was married to Ellis Hulbert December 28th 1881. They have six children as follows: Walter Carl (I) was born September 12th 1882. He married Letitia Perros September 27th 1908. They live at Los Angeles, California and have one child, Elizabeth Hulbert (J), born September 9th 1909. Nellie Grace was born July 5th 1887 and died in infancy. Ellis Roscoe was born August 16th 1889. Arthur was born October 20th 1892 and died in infancy. Clarence McKinley was born July 26th 1896. Donald Theodore was born April 29th 1899. Joseph William was born December 12th 1861. On December 11th 1899, he married Aurie Porter. Their children are Ethel Louisa (I) who was born in September 1892, Joseph Henry who was born February 15th 1895 and Lina Mary who was born June 14th 1899. His wife died August 2nd 1901. On October 11th 1907 Joseph William Rhea married Anna Schall the widow of Robert Schall of Rural Valley (Page 32). They reside at Long Beach, California. Nellie Eliza was born February 16th 1870. On September 7th 1909 she was married to Elbert E. Holiday, a widower with one child. They reside at Redlands, California.
Eleanor Jane (G), the second child of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea was born July 21st 1830, on the Old Town Bottom farm in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. (This branch of the family is fully treated in Part III of this volume. See page 64). Ann Maria, the third child of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea was born April 28th 1832. She was graduated from Westminster College at New Wilmington, Pa. in 1858. She was deeply imbued with the missionary spirit. Her special longing was to labor among the Indians. A frail constitution, however, defeated this her larger hope. But withal she labored as strength would permit in Bible reading, song and prayer among the poor about Kittanning, Pa. Her spirit was released by death on the 2nd of January 1865. Elizabeth and Martha Jane, the fourth and fifth children of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea were born in 1834 and 1836 respectively. Both died in infancy. John Caruthers, the sixth child of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea was born on the 29th of December 1837. On October 26th 1860 he married Mary Jane Ewing, a half sister of James Henry Ewing above noted, who married the eldest daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Rhea (See page 58). Her death occurred on the 11th of November 1890. Their children were Robert Lyons, born in 1862, but dying in infancy. Sarah Elizabeth, born in 1864, also dying in infancy. William McCurdy (H), born March 2nd 1866. He was married to Elizabeth Brown on the 24th of October 1894. They reside on a farm at Slatelick, Pa. They have four children, Mary (I), Florence, John B. and Joseph Calhoun. Anna Mary was born July 28th 1868 and was married on April 25th 1894 to Rev. Robert Armstrong, a Home Missionary, itinerating these several years in the states of Montana and Washington. Their children are Marilla (I), Louis, Rhea, Morris, Robert and Emma Elizabeth. Isaac Newton (H) was born January 22nd 1870 and was married to Susan Anna Ralston on November 14th 1894. Their two children are Robert (I) and Camelia. They live on a farm near Slatelick, Pa. John Alvin (H) was born July 12th 1876 and was married on December 31st 1900 to Mabel Sahm of Titusville, Pa. He served for a time in the Spanish American war, his connection with the service taking him around the world. He is a business man in Pittsburg, Pa. They have one child, Katharine Mary Jane (I). Joseph Walter was born May 27th 1880 and was married February 20th 1901 to Elizabeth Lutsinger a native of Denmark, but resident most of her life in this country. They reside at Bellevue, Pittsburg, Pa. He is by occupation a florist. They have one child, Ruth (I). In 1892 just prior to the marriage of his oldest children, John Rhea removed to a farm near Slatelick, Pa. On October 6th 1867, he married Jane McBride Simpson of Ford City, Pa. They now reside on a farm near the latter place. John Rhea was a soldier in the civil war.
Thomas Maskell Caruthers (F)
Thomas Maskell was born February 1st 1813. He was by trade a carpenter, and resided in Allegeny (now Pittsburg), Pa. He was married to Margaret Lowrie on July 3rd 1838. They were both earnest and devoted Christians and were connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred on February 3rd 1849. His wife passed away June 9th 1855. They had five children, Thomas Hudson, Eleanor and Sarah Elizabeth, all dying in early childhood. George Cochran (G) and Margaret Jane lived to maturity. George was born June 24th 1839 and died April 28th 1906. On April 2nd 1867, he married Elmina Smith Burrows. They had four children, Charles Burrows (H) was born September 15th 1861. He married Mary Wheeler, July 3rd 1890. They reside in New Kensington, Pa. Their children are Ruth Eleanor (I), born September 19th 1891, Merle, born July 1st 1893 and Ray, born December 19th 1896. George was born October 10th 1896. On June 7th 1893, he married Florence Boyle. They reside in Brooklyn, N. Y. They have no children. Winona was born April 25th 1871. On November 9th 1893, she married Horace M. Langworthy. They reside in Pittsburg, Pa. Their children are Florence E. (I) born November 19th 1894, and George Leslie, born December 16th 1895. Thomas Harbison was born November 3rd 1876. He died July 3rd 1894. Margaret Jane Caruthers married Rev. W. J. Bollman on December 23rd 1869. He was born within the bounds of the Congruity Presbyterian church and later became the pastor of that church. He was educated at Glad Run Academy, Washington College and the Western Theological Seminary. He began his work at Congruity in 1870. He removed later to Hopkinton, Iowa where he continued in the ministry until the time of his death which occurred July 22nd 1901, in his 60th year. Their children are Ressie, Gilmer and Marion. The widow now resides with a married daughter at Williamsburg, Va.
George Cochran Caruthers (F)
George Cochran was born April 6th 1815. Like his elder brother he was a carpenter by trade and lived in Allegheny City (now Pittsburg), Pa. On November 22nd 1845 he was married to Mary Jane Brown. They were earnest Christians and members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died of small pox in 1851. They had three children, Eleanor Asenath, Robert Ewing and George Thomas. The latter died in early life. George married ------Brown and had two children, Ella and Robert Ewing. The latter married ---Schumaker, and followed the practice of medicine. He belonged to the Homeopathic school. He died in middle life. His widow with children George S., (I) Nellie and Maurice live in Pittsburg, Pa.
Martha Caruthers. (F)
Martha was born April 16th 1817, and was a member of the Presbyterian church of Rural Village. She married Robert Park of Indiana County, Pa. They had no children.
Richard Alexander Caruthers. (F)
Richard Alexander was born March 31st 1819. He was for several years a millwright by trade. He was married on February 11th 1841 to Nancy Cook. After marriage he united with the Methodist church and became a minister in that body. He connected himself with the Erie Conference. Their children are Mary Elizabeth, Eleanor Findley, David Ewing, Thomas George, Alexander Simpson (died in infancy), Nancy Emma and Lincoln. The writer has no information as to the history of this large family.
James Ewing Caruthers. (F)
James Ewing was born May 6th 1821. Early in life he united with the Presbyterian church of Rural Valley, Pennsylvania. He was afterward one of its Ruling Elders. His father committed to him by his will the care of his mother and her family (Page 104), which trust he faithfully discharged. He remained on the home farm until his mother’s death. He then took up the work upon which his heart had long been set, viz; the preparation for the Gospel Ministry. Although thirty two years of age when he entered upon his course of study, he nobly persevered, and in due time, was ordained and proved himself to be a minister of great power (Note 14). He preached for some years at Leechburg, Pa. His death occurred at Poland, Ohio in March 1875. He married Matilda Elvira Bruce of Ellsworth, Ohio in December 1851. Her death occurred in Allegheny City, Pa. March 25th 1896. Their children are ELEANOR M.(G) and JAMES BRUCE. Eleanor M. is a teacher of music and languages. She has filled important appointments in Pittsburg, and is now a member of the faculty of Grove City College, in Pennsylvania. She gives considerable of her time to conducting Summer touring parties abroad. James Bruce, who like his father entered the Ministry, was born at Leechburg, Pa. July 4th 1865. He was educated at Wooster University and Western Theological Seminary. His pastorates were Brockwayville, Pa. and Delmont, Pa. Impaired health compelled him to retire from the ministry early. He removed to Bellevue, Pittsburg, Pa. His death occurred there July 10th 1905. In 1888 he married Ella L. Rodick. Their children are Paul Redick(H) born March 5th 1890, and Mary Bruce born August 14th 1892. They reside in Pittsburg, Pa.
Eleanor Caruthers. (F)
Eleanor was born September 21st 1823, and was married to William Findley, September 8th 1841. He was a millwright by trade. He was a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church of Glade Run, of which his wife became a leading member. Their children are Richard Ewing, John Caruthers and Abel Archibald (twins dying in infancy), Thomas Maskell, James Alexander, Rebecca Catharine, Joseph, William D. Townsend, George Caruthers, Oliver Marshall, and Ella Catharine. Richard Ewing Findley was born August 31st 1843. He resides at Harrisonville, Missouri. He is by occupation a Commission Merchant. His children are named, Earle(H), Eva, Harold, Ethel, and Russell. Thomas Maskell Findley was born September 29th 1847. He resides at Spicer, Minnesota. He was born in 1847 at Mahoning, Pa. He was graduated from Monmouth College in 1874 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1879. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Des Moines in 1880, and has filled pastorates in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. He is now a Presbyterian Pastor-Evangelist. He was a commissioner to the General Assembly when it met in New York City in 1902. His children are John Runnells (H), Marshall Gregory, Lane Caruthers and Anna Claire. James Alexander Findley was born March 8th 1850. On reaching maturity he left the old homestead at Mahoning and removed to Kansas, where for several years he was engaged in the same line of business as his brother Richard Ewing. He died in New Orleans, La. He was married and left a widow and child, F. Herbert Findley. Rebecca Catharine Findley (G) was born in 1852. Joseph Cranch Findley was born in 1855 and died in 1865. William D. Townsend Findley was born at Dayton, Pa. in 1857. He was educated at the University of Kansas and McCormick Theological Seminary. From the latter institution he was graduated in 1887. He was ordained to the Gospel Ministry the same year by the Presbytery of Topeka. He became a missionary to the Winnebago Indians in Nebraska in 1888. He there organized the first church in the tribe in 1891. He was the author of the “Winnebago English Dictionary” a volume containing five thousand words. He died December 9th 1903 age 46 years. He was a commissioner to the General Assembly which met in Pittsburg, Pa. in 1895, (Note 15). His children were Edna Emily, Ray Halderman, and William Copley.
George Caruthers Findley was born December 12th 1860. He resides at Dawson City, Canada. He was a printer and miner by occupation. Oliver Marshall Findley was born in 1863. He resides at Kiowa, Kansas. He is a farmer and stockman, by occupation. His children are Archie, (H) Paul, Edith, Ina, Glenn, Guy, and Edna. Ella Caruthers Findley was born June 8th 1866. She is a teacher by occupation and her home is at Spicer, Minnesota.
Rebecca Caruthers (F)
Rebecca was born April 10th 1827 and was married October 17th 1853 to Dr. William Aitken of Rural Village where she was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church. Their children were LYDIA ASHLEY, who died in childhood, HANNAH E., WOODS, EMMA VASHTI and HOMER. Hannah married ----- Owens. Vashti married ----- Besgrove. Homer also married.
Nancy Patterson Caruthers (F)
Nancy Patterson was born January 25th 1830. On the 14th of March 1856, she married the Rev. Joseph F. Hill, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was connected with the Pittsburg Conference. Their children are William Jarden, Eleanor and Virgil.
Notes on Part I
Note 1—Findley Ewing had a brother Thomas. By some he is thought to have had also a brother William. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 2—The Meeting House was the Greenwich Presbyterian Church. The run then carrying a supply of water large enough to operate the mill, is now a very small stream; presumably reduced in flow through the cutting away of the native timber. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 3–With the exception of her husband’s Sunday coat which was the one that had served at his wedding, and which lasted for a good part of after life, Mary Ewing had on hand the making of his and their children’s garments from the flax and the wool. All the bedding and house linen must be made, and geese kept to find material for the beds; some thousand weight of cheese to be prepared annually for market; poultry and calves to be raised, gardening to be done; the work of butchering time to be attended to; herbs to be gathered and dried, and ointments compounded; besides all the ordinary housework of washing, ironing, cooking, patching, darning, knitting, scrubbing, baking, and many other avocations which a farmer’s wife nowadays would be apt to think out of her line. And all this without any help other than that afforded by her own daughters as they became able, and for the first twenty-two years with a baby always to be nursed. This afforded no time for any reading but the best, but many a good book she contrived to read, by laying it on her lap whilst her hands plied the knitting needles, or to hear read by her husband or one of the children whilst she and the rest spent the evening in sewing. On the Sabbath, a folio Flavel the Institutes of Calvin, and above all, the Bible, were the treasures in which her soul delighted. From “Record of Thomas Ewing”, 1858.) [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 4—General Sherman’s oldest son, Thomas Ewing Sherman was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia in 1889. He is now in charge of a parish in Chicago. In the winter of 1907-8, he appeared in Philadelphia in a series of two weeks lectures to non-Catholics on the general theme, “Why I am a Catholic:, and was listened to by eager throngs. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 5—The Rev. Quincy Ewing, an Episcopal Rector of Birmingham, Alabama, wrote in 1906: “Some years back an old gentleman said to me in Ohio, ‘Where did you come from? All the Ewings I have every known have been Roman Catholics.’”. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 6—Edward M. Fithian, a leading businessman in Bridgeton, N.J., and a Ruling Elder in the West Presbyterian Church of which the writer is pastor, is a son of Robert J. Fithian whose father Philip Fithian was a brother of Charles Beatty Fithian. Edward M. Fithian married Elizabeth Reeves of Bridgeton. Their children are Robert Edward and Marjorie Reeves. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 7—The writer became well acquainted with Mary Clark Fithian in the two or three years prior to her death which occurred at Greenwich. She was graduated from Steubenville Seminary, having been attracted there when the Beatty’s were in charge. Traveling to school, she made the trip West of Harrisburg by canal boat. She told the writer that she remembered distinctly having passed through Saltsburg, Pa. She was for several years a teacher in Philadelphia. She was never married. The writer has seldom met a person who appeared so fully possessed as she of the beauty and refining graces of Christian womanhood. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 8—The Cape May Ewings are not known to have connection with the Thomas Ewing family of Greenwich. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 9—The name “Ercuries” was coined by the Rev. Chas. Beatty of Noshaminy. It is from two Greek words “en”, meaning from and “kurios” meaning Lord. Hence “from the Lord”. The name is still preserved in the present generation.) [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 10—Here let the place of godliness in life’s making be observed. The religious standard is high in both father and mother, in father-in-law and mother-in-law, and on the mother’s side remarkably so in the grandmother. For the godliness of William Findley and his forbears, Appendix C may be consulted. Then watch the generations next to be considered and note how religious life and spirit may transmit from generation to generation. Read II Timothy 1:5. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 11—William Findley owned a large tract of land in Armstrong County. At least fourteen hundred acres were in the plot. In the division made of it, much excellent land, in the vicinity of Rural Village, came into the hands of the Richard Ewing Caruthers family. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 12—Coalport was a station and shipping point for coal three miles below Saltsburg on the Pennsylvania Canal. It was at what is now Edri station on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The farm referred to was the tract of land lying near. It is now owned by Joseph Rhea’s grandsons (through William) Joseph, Wilson and William L.
Note 13—“Old Town Bottom” was a tract of land skirting the banks of the Kiskimminetas river below Saltsburg. It was so named from having been the site of Indian villages in the very early days. The part of the tract referred to, lies on the west side of the river in Bell Township, Westmoreland County. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 14—The historian recalls a visit, when a small boy at the old family home, from Uncle “Jimmie”, as we all called him. The only incident of the stay remembered was the deeply impressive way in which the visitor read the Scripture and led in prayer at family worship. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]
Note 15—In 1893, this cousin of his mother, earnestly appealed to the writer to forsake his pastorate in Pennsylvania and enter the Winnebago Indian work in Nebraska. [Click here to return to note's citation in text.]