General Thomas EWING ^4,6,38

	Born: 7 Aug 1829, Lancaster, Fairfield Co., OH 38
	Married: 18 Jan 1856, Philadelphia, PA 42
	Died: 21 Jan 1896, Yonkers, New York 38

   Cause of death was Struck by Cable Car.

   General Notes:

General Thomas Ewing m. Ellen Ewing Cox and their daughter's DAR application #29220 provided information. Two sons of General Thomas Ewing, Thomas and William, transcribed George Ewing, Sr.'s Revolutionary War diary and added information on the George Ewing family. It was privately published in 1928 under the title, GEORGE EWING, GENTLEMAN, A SOLDIER OF VALLEY FORGE. Only a limited number of copies were printed. In 1998 known copies are available in the St.Louis, MO Public Library, the Ohio University Library in Athens, OH, the University of Notre Dame Archives, and the Historical Library in Columbus, Ohio. I recently managed to purchase a copy of this book with the inscription on the inside cover reading: "To Mrs. H. G. Richardson, with my regard, Thomas Ewing, Yonkers, Feb 11, 1929"

Printed in the "Bench and Bar of Ohio, " issued December, 1897: "Though General Thomas Ewing removed to New York about fiteen years ago, he resided still in the warm affections of the people of Ohio. His death will be mourned in every community in which he ever lived. Thomas Ewing was an ideal gentleman. Handsome in person, easy and gracious in manner, and lofty in his ideals, he made a deep impression on everybody he met. He was a gallant and effective soldier, an able lawyer, a sincere statesman, and a politician who set a high moral example in the practice of politics. He was worthy to be the son of the eminent Thomas Ewing of old, whose name is inseparably woven in the history of Ohio and the administration of national affairs."

General Thomas Ewing was born in Lancaster, received a liberal education and studied law. He was secretary to President Taylor to sign land warrants. Married a daughter of Rev. Wm. Cox, and removed to Leavenworth, Kansas. He delivered a Republican speech in the old Court House when quite a young man. His father was an attentive listener. He was made Chief Justice of Kansas after it became a State; entered the army and served during the war. Returning to Lancaster, he was elected a member of Congress. From Lancaster he removed to New York, where he met a sudden death. He was a man of ability and of commanding presence. (From the Memorial Address of Rev. A. W. Pitzer)


From: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IV, page 26:

EWING, Thomas, representative, was born in Lancaster, Ohio, Aug. 7, 1829; son of the Hon. Thomas and Maria Wills (Boyle) Ewing; grandson of George and Rachel (Harris) Ewing and of Hugh and Eleanor (Gillespie) Boyle; and a descendant of Thomas Ewing, who emigrated from Londonderry and settled in Greenwich, N.J., in 1715. Thomas was educated at Brown university, leaving college to act as private secretary to President Taylor, 1849-50. He then studied law and practised in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1852-56. He was married. Jan. 18, 1856, to Ellen Ewing, daughter of the Rev. William Cox of Piqua, Ohio. He removed to Leavenworth, Kan., in 1856, was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention of 1858, and was elected chief justice of the state in 1861. He was a delegate to the peace congress of 1860, and resigned his judgeship in 1862 to recruit the 11th Kansas volunteers of which he was elected colonel, and with his regiment fought in the battles of Fort Wayne, Cane Hill and Prairie Grove. For gallantry at Prairie Grove he was made brigadier-general, March 13, 1863. He checked the invasion of Missouri by General Price in September-October, 1864, by holding Fort Davidson, at Pilot [p.26] Knob, Mo., with a force of 1000 men, against the repeated attacks of the Confederate army, and successfully retreating to Rolla, Mo. He was brevetted major-general of volunteers in 1865 for his services during the war. He practised law in Washington, D.C., 1865-71, and at Lancaster, Ohio, 1871-81. He was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1873-74 and represented his district in the 45th and 46th congresses, 1877-81. He prepared the bill establishing a bureau of labor statistics, opposed the presence of U.S. soldiers at polling places, and favored the remonetization of silver and the continuation of the use of greenback currency. He was an unsuccessful candidate of the Democratic party for governor of Ohio in 1879, and at the close of his term as representative in congress, March 3, 1881, he resumed his law practice, making his office and residence in New York city. He was founder and first president of the Ohio Society of New York; a trustee of Ohio soldiers' and sailors' orphans' home, 1874-78; of the Ohio university, 1878-83, and acted as vice-president of the Cincinnati law college in 1881. He made a notable address before the Marietta centennial convention of 1887, and one before the Kansas state bar association in 1890. He also contributed to the Cosmopolitan in May, 1894, "The Struggle for Freedom in Kansas." Brown university, by special vote, in 1894, gave him the degree of A.M. in 1860 with the class of 1856, and Georgetown college, D.C., gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1870. He died in New York city, Jan. 21, 1896.

   Medical Notes:

General Ewing was struck down by a cable car in New York on January 20, 1896. He was taken to his apartment where he was living with his wife and younger daughter. He died on the morning of January 21 without recovering consciousness.

   Events:

1. Occupation; 1848. ¹⁴ Private secretary to President Taylor

2. Education; 1852; Brown University. ¹⁴ Those who knew him, recall his spendid physique, his intellectual, transparent countenance; his genial temper, his strong anti-slavery feeling, and his hatred of injustic in every form.

3. Relocated; 1857; Leavenworth, Kansas. ¹¹ Formed a law partnership with brother, Hugh Boyle Ewing. Later the firm included William Tecumseh Sherman, who was married to his elder sister, Ellen Boyle Ewing.

4. Honors; 1861. ¹¹ Elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

5. Military Service; Sep 1862. ³⁸ Civil War: Colonel, 11th Kansas Cavalry, Cane Hll, Prairie Grove.

6. Military Service; Mar 1863. ³⁸ Appointed Brig. General of Volunteers, commanded Dist. of the Border, fought Sterling Price in his Missouri raid, Pilot Knob. Resigned Feb 1865

7. Relocated; 1870; Lancaster, Fairfield Co., OH. ¹¹ He was instrumental in the construction of the Ohio Central Railway and the development of the Hocking Valley.

8. Honors; 1877-1881. ¹¹ Congressman representing Ohio

9. Relocated; 1881; New York. ¹¹

   Marriage Information:

Thomas married Ellen COX, daughter of Rev. William COX and Unknown, on 18 Jan 1856 in Philadelphia, PA ⁴². (Ellen COX was born in 1833 ⁴² and died on 27 Jun 1919 in Yonkers, New York ⁴².)