A group of Celts made their home along the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland. They were peaceful shepards, tending sheep in the rugged land that had been their proud home. The quiet of the village was shattered by the screech of a huge eagle that swooped from the sky to steal their sheep. When an infant child was boldly taken by the eagle, the men of this group became the hunters and sought their prey with great deterimination. The huge bird's nest was located under the ledge of a cliff. This difficult position did not deter the men from their task, and one of the shepherds was lowered by rope over the edge of the cliff. His intention was to kill the great eagle that had plagued their peaceful settlement. Once the mission was complete, he tried to bring the body of the eagle up with him but could not remove the huge bird. Instead, he cut a wing from the eagle and returned with the proof of his deed. Following this sequence of events, the proud group called themselves the Eagle Wing Clan. Simple Celtic shepards with great pride and noble bearing. The clan name was shortened throughout the years to E-Wing, and finally settled on the simple spelling of Ewing.
One would not guess from the modern spelling that the original name of the clan was the Eagle Wing Clan, but perhaps the people themselves carry that title within their own hearts.
I have had some tremendous help so far and would like to thank them here for their kindness and patience. I tend to get ahead of myself in case that little flaw has not shown itself yet. James (Jim) McMichael has been my expert on the Ewing family, without his help I would still be blindly accepting of the incorrect information I had from another source. If there are errors in my data (and I know there are) they are not by any means from Jim. Please visit his web site for more accurate information and a vast amount of resources. CarolSue (Rosie) Hair has just recently responded to an email from me. She has been as gracious and patient as Jim with my questions and eagerness in this quest. Her beautiful and informative web site can be viewed here. I urge anyone researching the Ewing name to visit both sites and be prepared to bookmark them and visit often, as once is not enough. Both Jim and Rosie have given permission for me to use a few things from their own research and hard work. Thank you both for your help and continued support. I like to think that the Ewing family that we descend from has something to do with the character that I have witnessed in each of them.
I have just recently bought a book that Jim worked very hard to put together, it's a huge volume of information that must have taken years to research. Alexander Ewing (1676/7-1738) & Descendants, Ireland to America in 1727, Compiled by James R. McMichael. Not including the index, this book is 591 pages of old photos, stories, legends, vitals, familiy documents, and maps. I'm amazed at the amount and depth of information that it has and feel extremely fortunate to have a copy of this wonderful book. To anyone who is researching the Ewing family, this book is at the very top of the list for research tools. I would be happy to do "look ups" for anyone needing information on a specific family or person. I can scan pages or just reveal that elusive leaf on your branch. I was surprised that Jim had my line documented all the way down to my grandmother and her siblings.
From the research of others, I know that Robert Ewing was born 1649/50 in Scotland. He married a woman whose name has not been revealed by extensive research and raised 3 known children. If there were more, they have not been discovered at this time. Alexander, Margaret and Elizabeth were born in or near Londonderry, Ireland where their father Alexander had traveled from his homeland. He may have followed Great Britain's strong plantation of Scotsmen in Ulster during the reign of King James I in the early 1600's, though some of the Scotch-Irish people were in Ulster long before this movement. The families that migrated to Ireland were mainly lowland Scots and mostly Protestants. Many of this group of Scots were thought to be descendants of the Scots that had come to Argyllshire in the early seventh century. Much of the evidence points to the Ulster Scots having come from the Anglo-Briton people along the northernmost part of Strathclyde. Our ancestors had equal amounts of Celtic blood, which was of the Lowlands as opposed to the Gaelic of the Highlands.
In the early 1700s, religious persecution and less than ideal economic conditions proved to be the reasoning for increasing numbers of Scotch-Irish to risk everything and sail to the American settelements. Alexander Ewing married a woman named Rebeckah in Ireland and together they had three children before sailing to America. Eleanor(age 6), James(age 4), and John(age 2) made the trip with their parents. Once they arrived, Alexander and Rebeckah had three more children. William was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania and from there they traveled to Cecil County, Maryland where Margaret and Samuel were added to their family. Margaret Ewing married Andrew Porter, who was also known to have been born in Ulster, Ireland. This is where the male Ewing line ends in my family. Both Alexander and Rebeckah died in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Together they had eight children, six girls and two boys. Samuel Moore Porter was one of the two sons and he married Ursula Sublett, of French descent. Ursula's ancestors were part of the well known French Huguenots that migrated to America in search of religious freedom. Samuel and Ursula moved to Ivanhoe, Wythe County, Virginia where they had eight children. They both died in Wythe County, Samuel at age 71 and Ursula at age 54.
More will be added soon.
