Blasterz have been able to find a lot out about Return J. Ewing and his family. He is buried between an older bother and their mother in a corner of Oakwood Cemetery. He has an elegant and understated WoW tombstone, to which a recent visitor (2015) has added a flower arrangement.
His tombstone reads as follows:
[Quill] [WOW medallion] [Quill]
"RETURN J. EWING
July 28, 1863
July 21, 1916
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God"
We found him on ancestry.com in four censuses, and his parents in six, which detail the descent of a family from the professional wealthy class to coal miners and farm laborers back to landowners supporting themselves, and finally transitioning into office careers.
Mahala Pope and William Dudley Ewing were married in 1857 in TN. The first census we found them together in was the 1860 US census for Lee Co. VA. William Ewing is a 28 year old Doctor, and Mahala is keeping house. They have two children, Terresa age 2 and Joshua P, aged 1 year. Dr Ewing is a wealthy man, owning 2000.00 in real property and having a total wealth in his personal estate of $3000.00.
We found an index record of William D. Ewing who mustered into the 52nd VA State Infantry, Confederate Army as a Private, and mustered out as Assistant Surgeon. We're pretty sure that's Return's father.
Ten years later in 1870, the civil war has ended and the family has moved west. This is the first time we find Return Ewing, whose tombstone we are waymarking. He is living in Saline County MO with his father William W. Ewing, a physician aged 38, Mother Mahala, a housewide aged 33. He has 3 sisters Turepa (age 12) Katharina (age 8) and Mahala (age 1) and 3 brothers Johana (age 10) and Fielding (age 3). Everyone but mother Mahala (born in TN) and baby Mahala (born in MO)are born in Virginia. Also in the household are Alexander Ayers, a 26 year old Laborer, and Percilla Drake, a 15 year old black female house servant, born in VA. Percilla is illiterate, so Blasterz guess she was formerly a slave. In 1870 William Ewing owned his home and had a personal estate value on $800 -- a substantial sum at the time, but a dramatic decline from the value of his estate in the 1860 US Census.
In 1880 Return is 16 years old, living in Coryell County TX with his mother Mahala (age 42, a widow), sisters Mary (age 8) and Dudley (age 7), and brothers Joshua (age 20) and Fielding (age 12). Joshua is a farmer, Return is a farm laborer, Fielding is at school, and the two girls are at home. Mahala is keeping house. In this census, Mahala is born in VA, her mother and father are born in TN & OH. The boys are all born in VA, with their father and mother born in VA and TN. The girls are born in MO, father and mother born in VA and TN.
Fielding Patrick Ewing was born Nov 1867 at Rose Hill, VA and died on 29 July 1895 at Thurber TX, an early Eastland County boom town. We know this from his tombstone. So by 1895 at least part of the family is in Eastland County.
In the 1900 US Census. Return Ewing is living in Cisco Texas as a member of the household of W. P. Lee, his brother in law. That means that W. P. Lee's wife May is Return's sister. Also in the home is their mother, M[ahala]. P[ope]. Ewing, a 62 year old widow who was born in TN in July of 1837. Her mother and father were born in VA and OH, respectively. She is listed as W. P. Lee's Mother in law. Return J. Ewing is a 35 year old single man, born in January of 1865 in MO. His father and mother were born in VA and TN, respectively. He is working as a day laborer.
By the time of the 1910 census, Return Ewing has bought a farm, which he owns free of a mortgage. He and his mother are living together on it. He is a 46 year old single man, and she is a 73 year old widow.
Return died in 1916.
After some digging, we found Mahala Ewing in Roby, Fisher County Texas, age 82, living in the Fred J. Hambright household. Mahala is listed as his mother-in-law. Fred Hambright is 68 years old, married to Dudley V. Hambright, age 46, born in MO. They have several children, including a daughter named Dudley Ben. Their oldest daughter Janet Hambright is the Deputy Fisher County Clerk. Another daughter Maisie is a bookkeeper.
The last piece of information we could fill in is, how did Return get his odd name? From the Meigs family genealogy, we found the answer: (
visit link)
"Theresa Charlotte (Meigs) Pope
Theresa Charlotte Meigs (#367) was born on September 15, 1798, the first child of John (#194) and Parthenia (Clendinen) Meigs. "After the death of her father in 1807, she and her brother, Return Jonathan [#368], lived with an uncle, James Lamme, of Bourbon, Kentucky, and his wife, Cynthia, who was the sister of Parthenia (Clendinen) Meigs. Parthenia subsequently married Andrew Bryan. [Parthenia] died in 1839.
"Theresa received some education. She became an avid reader and loved to write letters, according to her daughter, Mary Mahala Elizabeth Pope Ewing, [Return Ewing's mother -- BMB] who passed the stories on to her own children.
"On 24 March, 1829, in Athens, McMinn, Tennessee, she married Fielding Pope, the son of Thomas Pope and Christian (Kitty) Johnson. Fielding was born 24 November, 1800, in Goochland County, Virginia. After the death of Fielding's mother and his father's re-marriage, the Pope family moved to Knox County, Kentucky, about 1811.
"Theresa Charlotte was the second wife of Fielding Pope, his first wife being Eliza Craig whom he married 30 January, 1823, in Whitley County, Kentucky. Eliza Craig Pope died in Athens and is buried at Mars Hill.
"The children of Fielding Pope and Theresa Charlotte Meigs were:
A. Cynthia Elizabeth Pope who was born 3 March, 1830, at Athens , Tennessee; died 21 November 1848 at Maryville, Tennessee and is buried in New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery. She was married to Jesse George Wallace, a prominent lawyer of Maryville. Cynthia and Jesse had on child: Fielding Pope Wallace who was born 10 December, 1848, and died 4 January, 1849.
B. Theresa Charlotte Pope who was born 27 July, 1832, at Athens, Tennessee: died 5 September, 1852, at Adairsville, Georgia, and is also buried in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery. She married Robert S. Patton who was a merchant. They had one child, Julia Eva, who was born 18 August, 18522, in Adairsville, Georgia.
C. Parthenia Clendinen Pope was born 2 December, 1843, at Maryville, Tennessee; died 29 June, 1852, and is buried in the Church Cemetery with her sisters and mother.
D. Mary Elizabeth Mahala Pope who was born 12 July, 1837, in Maryville, Tennessee and died in Cisco, Texas. She wed William Dudley Ewing, MD and 12 February, 1857, at Maryville, Tennessee.
E. Fielding Meigs Pope who was born 17 April, 1841, at Maryville, Tennessee; he died 21 July, 1864, at a hospital in Marion, Virginia. He never married.
F. Return Jonathan Pope who was born 28 July, 1844, at Maryville, Tennessee. He was married twice; his first wife was Fannie Crow whom he married 25 April, 1873 at La Grange, Texas. She died 20 March 1879 at Jonesboro, Texas. After the death of Fannie, R.J. married Annie Crow, the sister of Fannie on 22 October, 1879 in La Grange, Texas.
"Theresa Charlotte Meigs died 24 May 1856 in the 58th year of her life and is buried in New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery."1
1. This sketch was written by Margaret Hetzel of Las Cruces, NM, a descendant of Theresa. She gives the following sources: "The Meigs Family," Joe Vincent Meigs; "The Hamlin Family," H. Andrews; New Providence Presbyterian Church archives; and the personal recollections of William Fielding Pope, great-great-grandson of Theresa Charlotte (Meigs) Pope."
So Return is an old Meigs and Pope family name, as is Fielding. :) :)