Manuscript Group 283, Ewing Family (Trenton, NJ) Papers, 1792-1885 (Bulk dates: 1830-1853)
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Manuscript Group 283,
Ewing Family (Trenton, NJ)
Papers, 1792-1885 (Bulk
dates: 1830-1853), 0.2 linear feet / 14 items
Call Number: MG 283
Commissions and certificates
of James and Charles Ewing; letters and other documents concerning a testimonial
dinner given by the New Jersey Bar for Peter D. Vroom (1791-1873) in 1853, just
prior to his departure for Prussia, where he served as U.S. Minister.
Included are letters of Joseph C. Hornblower, William Pennington, R.B. Potter,
and Stacy G. Potts.
Gift of William E. Green,
1957.
Thomas Ewing immigrated to the United
States from Londonderry, Ireland in 1718. He settled in the town of
Greenwich, New Jersey (now in Cumberland County), where he married Mary Maskell.
Their youngest son, James Ewing (I), became an active participant in the
Revolutionary War, joining the New Jersey Militia and taking part in the burning
of British tea in Greenwich in 1774. He was elected as a member of the
state Legislature and moved to Trenton in 1779. He became mayor of Trenton
from 1797-1803 and helped found the Trenton Library and Academy. He died
on October 23, 1823.
James Ewing (I) married Martha Boyd, also
a native of Ireland, and their only son, Charles Ewing, was born June 8, 1780 in
Bridgeton, New Jersey. Charles graduated from the College of New Jersey
(now Princeton University) in 1798 and then moved to Trenton to study law with
Samuel Leake, a local lawyer. He was licensed as an attorney in November
1802, as a counselor in 1805, and called to the degree of sergeant-at-law in
1812. Charles served in many capacities throughout his career – he was
the recorder for Trenton, the Federalist candidate for the State Legislature in
1815, a commissioner to revise the laws of New Jersey in 1819, and the director
of the Trenton Banking Company in 1821 and 1823-1824. Charles Ewing was
appointed chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1824 and was
reelected to that post shortly before his death from cholera in 1832.
Charles Ewing married Eleanor Graeme
Armstrong and they had two daughters and two sons. Their son, James Ewing
(II), graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1823 and was admitted to the
bar in 1826. He was a practicing lawyer throughout his lifetime and also
served as the director of the Trenton Banking Company from 1833-1857.
James Ewing never married and died in 1869.
The Ewing Family Papers were a gift of
William E. Green, 1957.
The Ewing Family Papers consist of
fourteen items dating from 1792-1885. There are a few certificates,
largely legal commissions of Charles Ewing and his son James Ewing (II); a
way-bill from New York to Stroudsburg; and one piece of correspondence from R.B.
Potter to an unnamed Judge giving genealogical information (birth dates and
locations) for Charles Ewing and his parents.
The papers also include one folder of
correspondence concerning a testimonial dinner given for Peter D. Vroom, Jr. in
1853 by the New Jersey Bar. The dinner was held in Mr. Vrooms honor
before his departure to Prussia to serve as the U.S. Minister. The
correspondence contains invitations and acceptances to the dinner and are signed
by a large number of New Jersey lawyers, including: Alexander Wurts, Oliver S.
Halsted, William Pennington, Asa Whitehead, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen,
Littleton Kirkpatrick, Richard P. Thompson, James Nevins, Benjamin Williamson,
E.B.D. Ogden, Abraham Browning, Abraham O. Zabriskie, Archer Gifford, Cortlandt
Parker, Edward T. Hillyer, Joseph P. Bradley, Algernon Sidney Hubbell, David
Abbott Hayes, Joseph C. Hornblower, Caleb S. Green, and Peter D. Vroom.
Manuscript Group 20, Peter D. Vroom
(1791-1873) Papers
Manuscript Group 790, Maskell Ewing, Jr.
(1758-1825) Docket
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
|
1 |
Charles Ewing – U.S. Loan Office |
January 30, 1792 |
|
2 |
Charles Ewing – Commission as
|
October 28, 1831 |
|
3 |
James Ewing
|
|
| – Commission as attorney |
November 16, 1826 |
|
| – Commission as counsellor |
February 25, 1830 |
|
| – Life membership certificate for the New Jersey Historical Society |
May 20, 1852 | |
|
4 |
Waybill from New York to |
January 29, 1850 |
|
5 |
Peter D. Vroom testimonial dinner |
August 1853 |
|
6 |
R.B. Potter to Judge ( ) |
August 7, 1885 |
Processed by Kim Charlton, October 1999 as part of the “Farm to
City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission.
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