A Guide to the Joseph Sawin Ewing Papers, 1794-1965
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 31871
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Library of Virginia
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© 2002 By the Library of Virginia.
Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Renee Savits
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Joseph Sawin Ewing Papers, 1794-1965. Accession 31871, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Gift of John MacDonald Ewing, 1208 Morningside Lane, Alexandria, Virginia, 28 July 1983.
Biographical/Historical Information
The Reverend Joseph Sawin Ewing (1899-1965) was born in Illinois and spent a great part of his life in the midwest and west, serving churches in Oregon, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. A 1922 graduate of the Virginia Theological Seminary, he returned to Virginia in 1950 as rector of South Farnham Parish, Essex County, Virginia. Residing in Tappahannock, he was active in local historical societies and served as president of the Essex County Historical Society in the early 1960s. He became interested in the history of local Indian tribes and early colonial churches, doing research and field work in both areas, locating early sites through records, maps, and local people. He published articles in Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine (1963) and Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (1965).
Scope and Content Information
Papers, 1794-1965 (bulk 1950-1965), of Joseph Sawin Ewing, consisting of research notes, correspondence, printed items, and published articles documenting Ewing's interests in genealogy and local history of the Old Rappahannock County (Va.) area. The county existed from 1656 to 1692 and covered present day Essex and Richmond counties and parts of other adjoining counties. There are transcripts of court records, correspondence, information on old homes, towns, families, and villages of Old Rappahannock County, extracts from published sources, and other historical information. Ewing also included King and Queen, King George, Lancaster, Middlesex, New Kent, and Westmoreland counties in his researches. The papers are divided into eight series including, Colonial Church, Correspondence, Indians, Notes, Pioneer Settlements, Research notes for published articles, Rosegill, and Subject files. Ewing's original folder titles have been maintained, along with the original series division. Ewing's method of titling folders appears to have been one of casual notations of content, rather than precise information on materials within the folders. Therefore crosschecking of folders and series is necessary to yield all pertinent information.
Organization
Organized into the following eight series: I. Colonial Church. II. Correspondence. III. Indians. IV. Notes. V. Pioneer settlements. VI. Research notes for published articles. VII. Rosegill. VIII. Subject files.
Contents List
This series includes notes, maps, outlines, plats, and published materials used in Ewing's 1961 lecture series on the colonial church in Virginia.Ewing lectured at the Grace Episcopal Church (Alexandria, Va.) and the Abingdon Men's Club (Abingdon, Va.), among other places. Included are notes on Lancaster Parish (Middlesex County, Virginia), South Farnham Parish (Essex County, Virginia), and Upper Piscataway Parish (Old Rappahannock County, Virginia).
- Box 1 Folder 1
Church road and Church road swamp
- Box 1 Folder 2
Church sites
- Box 1 Folder 3
Glebes and poor house tracts
- Box 1 Folder 4
Lancaster Parish (Middlesex County, Va.)
- Box 1 Folder 5
Leedstown Church and Occupatia Church
- Box 1 Folder 6
Lecture #1, 1961
- Box 1 Folder 7
Lecture #2, 1961
- Box 1 Folder 8
Lecture #3, 1961
- Box 1 Folder 9
Lecture #4, 1961
- Box 1 Folder
10
Lecture #5, 1961
- Box 1 Folder
11
Lecture #6, 1961
- Box 1 Folder
12
Letter, Andrew Syme to William Latane, 1794
- Box 1 Folder
13
Miscellaneous notes
- Box 1 Folder
14
Reading notes
- Box 1 Folder
15-19
South Farnham Parish (Essex County, Va.)
- Box 1 Folder
20
Talks on colonial church
- Box 1 Folder
21
Upper Piscataway church sites
This series includes correspondence from genealogists researching families in Essex, King and Queen, King George, Lancaster, Middlesex, New Kent, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties, Virginia.Correspondents include Stephen F. Bayne Jr., Laurance S. Brigham, Lawrence L. Brown, George MacLaren Brydon, George H.S. King, Howard McCord, George Carrington Mason, and Peter Quennel.
- Box 1 Folder
22
Bayne, Stephen, 1959
- Box 1 Folder
23
Essex County families, 1955-1964
- Box 1 Folder
24
Essex County families, 1962-1963
- Box 1 Folder
25
Mason, George, 1952-1962
- Box 1 Folder
26
Matthews family, 1961
- Box 1 Folder
27
Rosier family, 1961-1965
- Box 2 Folder 1
Smith family, 1957-1963
This series includes correspondence, clippings, maps, notes, and publications Ewing gathered on the Rappahannock Indians.Includes copy of the publication "Indian Sites below the falls of the Rappahannock, Virginia," by David Bushnell, correspondence, newsletters, and quarterly bulletins from the Archeological Society of Virginia, and a paper written by Joseph Ewing, Margaret Ewing, and Helen Rountree entitled, "Indian towns in Virginia's Rappahannock River Valley, 1608-1800." Also includes information on the Mattaponi Indians.
- Box 2 Folder 2
Archaeological Society of Virginia, 1950-1964
- Box 2 Folder 3
David Bushnell's book
- Box 2 Folder 4
Correspondence, 1953-1964
- Box 2 Folder 5
"Indian towns in the Virginia Rappahannock River Valley, 1608-1800"
- Box 2 Folder 6
Mattoponi Indian town
- Box 2 Folder 7
Miscellaneous notes
- Box 2 Folder 8
Movement of Indians
- Box 2 Folder 9
Piscataway
- Box 2 Folder
10
Rappahannock River tribes and towns
This series contains miscellaneous notes regarding Essex and Richmond counties, Virginia. The folders are labeled according to the source of the information.Folder titles include Essex County land tax lists and order books, Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia records, chancery cases, Colonial Records Project, and the Webb family papers.
- Box 2 Folder
11
Acts establishing towns and ports
- Box 2 Folder
12
Chancery boxes
- Box 2 Folder
13
Colonial period
- Box 2 Folder
14
Colonial parish and county records
- Box 2 Folder
15
Colonial Records project
- Box 2 Folder
16
Essex County land tax list
- Box 2 Folder
17
Essex County order books
- Box 2 Folder
18
Essex County order books
- Box 2 Folder
19
Essex County processioners book
- Box 2 Folder
20
Fleet, Beverly
- Box 2 Folder
21
Harrison, Fairfax
- Box 2 Folder
22
Hening, William
- Box 3 Folder 1
Land records, miscellaneous
- Box 3 Folder 2
Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia
- Box 3 Folder 3
Richmond County, Virginia
- Box 3 Folder 4
School, George
- Box 3 Folder 5
Sweeney's wills
- Box 3 Folder 6
Webb family papers
- Box 3 Folder 7
Wright's notes
- Box 3 Folder
8-10
Miscellaneous notes
- Box 3 Folder
11
Needs investigation
- Box 3 Folder
12
To be checked
This series includes notes on the neighborhoods resulting from the Lancaster County court order of 6 August 1653, which created Rappahannock County and appointed ten commissioners to oversee the local muster. The order described the muster limits, which included the home plantation of each commissioner. These neighborhoods are numbered by Ewing and listed geographically from the lower end of the north side of the Rappahannock River to the upper section, and from the lower end of the south side of the river to the upper section.Ewing's folder titles have been maintained as well as the original arrangement of the folders after determining the subject's location on the north or south side of the Rappahannock River. Materials within these folders contain general information on land transfers and ownership of a particular piece of land.
- Subseries 1: General
- Box 3 Folder
13
Source material
- Box 3 Folder
14
I. North Side, Corotoman River mouth to mouth of Rappahannock River/Christ Church area
- Box 3 Folder
15
II. North Side, Upper side Corotoman River to Thomas Brice's
- Box 3 Folder
16
III. North Side, Thomas Brice's north to county line
- Box 3 Folder
17
IV. North Side, County line/Farnham Creek to upper side Totusky Creek
- Box 3 Folder
18
V. North Side, Catgut to Pepetick Creek, Leedstown to Bray's Church
- Box 3 Folder
19
VI. North Side, Leedstown to head of river
- Box 3 Folder
20
I. South Side, Christ Church/Saluda to mouth/Old Piankatank Point
- Box 3 Folder
21
II. South Side, South of LaGrange creek to Saluda and Christ Church
- Box 3 Folder
22
III. South Side, North side of LaGrange creek to county line
- Box 3 Folder
23
IV. South Side, North from county line including Puscoticion creek
- Box 3 Folder
24
IVa. South Side, Purcatacon/Piscataway
- Box 3 Folder
25
V. South Side, North side of Piscataway
- Box 3 Folder
26
Va. South Side, Pioneers on Hoskins
- Box 3 Folder
27
VI. South Side, Occupason creek to head of river
- Box 3 Folder
13
- Subseries 2: North Side
- Box 4 Folder
1
Downman, Deschamps, Sydnor, Grittith, Davis, Woolard, Stonum
- Box 4 Folder
2
Woolard, Smith
- Box 4 Folder
3
Peacock's, Mar's Hill, Fauntleroy, Northern, B. McCarty, Swan
- Box 4 Folder
4
Belle Mount, Belfields, Mitchell's
- Box 4 Folder
5
Peachy
- Box 4 Folder
6
Baileys, Downman family
- Box 4 Folder
7
John Davis, upper part of Luke Milner's, Mark Milner to Thomas Hammond, Le Roy Dobyns, George Davis
- Box 4 Folder
8
Hodgkin, Hayden, Travers
- Box 4 Folder
9
Fauntleroy, Farnham Creek patents, Farnham plantation
- Box 4 Folder
10
Farnham, maps and plats
- Box 4 Folder
11
Downman
- Box 4 Folder
12
Downman Hall
- Box 4 Folder
13
Farnham River front
- Box 4 Folder
14
Windsor, Farnham Glebe, North Farnham Church
- Box 4 Folder
15
Durrettsville, Miskill, Calvary M.E. Church
- Box 4 Folder
16
Cedar Grove, Nicholas Flood
- Box 4 Folder
17
Farnham Creek notes
- Box 4 Folder
18
Jones, Edward
- Box 4 Folder
19
Edgehill and Bowerhill
- Box 4 Folder
20
Farnham's Hall, George Payne, Chelsea
- Box 4 Folder
21
Farnham house tract
- Box 4 Folder
22
Woodford
- Box 4 Folder
23
Cabinete Hall, Hornsby Manor
- Box 4 Folder
24
Peacock's quarter
- Box 4 Folder
25
Appleby's
- Box 4 Folder
26
Robert Hopkins and Henry Fleets patents, north side of Rappahannock, Fleet's, Catpoint's creek
- Box 4 Folder
27
Fauntleroy and William Lloyd, Stonehouse, Mangorite, Naylors, Rappahannock creek
- Box 4 Folder
28
William Underwood, James Williamson, Robert Tomlin, Meader's, John Sherlock
- Box 4 Folder
29
John Hull, forks of the Tutsky, Richmond Hill, Garland's mill pond, Indian field, Rich Neck, Charles B. Carter's estate
- Box 4 Folder
1
- Subseries 3: South Side
- Box 5 Folder
1
Smith, Nicholas
- Box 5 Folder
2
Webb family
- Box 5 Folder
3
Tappahannock Masonic Lodge
- Box 5 Folder
4
Hobb's Hole
- Box 5 Folder
5
Essex County history talk
- Box 5 Folder
6
Peachy, William
- Box 5 Folder
7
Back of Miles End, from river, below Piscataway
- Box 5 Folder
8
Corbin Hill
- Box 5 Folder
9
Catch Penny
- Box 5 Folder
10
Payne and Tony Smith's land
- Box 5 Folder
11
South Hill
- Box 5 Folder
12
Waterview and Belleview, Young, Gatewood, Tuscararora, Waring
- Box 5 Folder
13
John Robinson family
- Box 5 Folder
14
Toby Smith, Ashland, Paradise, Hill Park, Peachy's, Oake, Joshua Fry, Browne's
- Box 5 Folder
15
Baughan, James
- Box 5 Folder
16
Essex County, Virginia
- Box 5 Folder
17
Paul's Cross roads, north side of Old Mill Road, Woods, Banks, Conners
- Box 5 Folder
18
Paul's Cross Roads, Gordons, south side of Old Mill Road
- Box 5 Folder
19
Mussel creek, up and including New Glasgow, Rich Neck, Deep Landing, Sandy Landing
- Box 5 Folder
20
Wood, Thomas
- Box 5 Folder
21
Western branch, later deeds, Piscataway, south side
- Box 5 Folder
22
Dunns Mill, Matthews bridge
- Box 5 Folder
23
Middle branch of Piscataway
- Box 5 Folder
24
Covington, Jones, Claiborne, Minor
- Box 5 Folder
25
Jones Point, Rice Jones estate, Montagues, Mount Prospect, Rose Hill, Mount Comfort, Layton's, below glebe
- Box 5 Folder
26
People, plantations, and land, Essex and King and Queen, Miller's Tavern, to St. Paul's, to Haile's bridge
- Box 6 Folder
1
Goodrich, Mt. Maple, Fleet, Crow, etc.
- Box 6 Folder
2
Clark family (George Rogers)
- Box 6 Folder
3
Location of pioneers on Piscataway, north side
- Box 6 Folder
4
Bowler's family, Mt. Verde, Corbin Hill, Adcock, Latane's, Slaughter, Peachy, Janey
- Box 6 Folder
5
Piscataway Old Mill Road, on both sides, north side of Piscataway Creek, Halsey, Bray's
- Box 6 Folder
6
Road to Piscataway Ferry, on both sides of road, north side Piscataway Creek, William Johnson, south half of Young's, south end of Church Road
- Box 6 Folder
7
Bray family
- Box 6 Folder
8
Clements, Mt. Clements, Dr. John Pittman, Poplar Spring, Henry Mace, George H. Dobyns
- Box 6 Folder
9
Daingerfield, Reeves, Gillette, Button
- Box 6 Folder
10
Edmondson family
- Box 6 Folder
11
South side church road, swamp, small tracts, Beazley plat 1856, road to Church Hill, Burke plat 1810, Kemps plat purchased by Moses Crow, Burnetts
- Box 6 Folder
12
Bridge branch of Piscataway, The Meadow, Allen's, Roane's, Mt. Maple, Edwin Upshaw's holding, Bohannans and Mill
- Box 6 Folder
13
Meador, Thomas
- Box 6 Folder
14
Gregory, John
- Box 6 Folder
15
Meadoe's bridge, Paynefield, Prospect Hill, Gregory's, Daingerfield Mill
- Box 6 Folder
16
James Taylor, Gregory, Pendleton and Taylor
- Box 6 Folder
17
Henry Aubrey's land, James Taylor's land
- Box 6 Folder
18
Henry Reeves land
- Box 6 Folder
19
Edwin Thacker's patent
- Box 6 Folder
20
Gatewood's
- Box 6 Folder
21
Elizabeth Reeves Allen's land
- Box 6 Folder
22
Mahockney, etc.
- Box 6 Folder
23
Timberlake papers, Judge Lomax, William Daingerfield, Belvedere
- Box 6 Folder
24
Blake family
- Box 6 Folder
25
Brockenbrough family
- Box 6 Folder
26
Archibald Ritchies manor house and lots in Tappahannock
- Box 6 Folder
27
Henley house (Tappahannock)
- Box 6 Folder
28
Coleman's land
- Box 6 Folder
29
Goodrich, Griffings, Ritchies, Scandrett, Jones, Pitts, McCall's, Henley, Micou
- Box 6 Folder
30
North side of Hoskins
- Box 7 Folder
1
Upper Piscataway, north of Hoskins creek
- Box 7 Folder
2
Roane family
- Box 7 Folder
3
Rappahannock river
- Box 7 Folder
4
Lewis family
- Box 7 Folder
5
Gregories, Prospect Hill, Mt. Landing
- Box 7 Folder
6
Brooke family
- Box 7 Folder
7
Waring notes
- Box 7 Folder
8
Beverly family
- Box 7 Folder
9
Families in St. Anne's Parish
- Box 7 Folder
10
Gouldman family
- Box 7 Folder
11
Skinkers Neck and Moores Mount, Moss Neck and Corbins, Taliaferro's Mount, Charles Grymes and Richard White
- Box 5 Folder
1
This series includes drafts and notes from articles written by Ewing, including "The First Justices in the Rappahannock River and the Formation of Rappahannock County," published in 1963 in the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine (Vol. 13, December 1963, pp. 1182-1194) and "The Correspondence of Archibald McCall and George McCall," published in 1965 in Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. 73, July and October 1965, pp. 312-353, 425-454). Included are notes, footnotes, drafts, and final drafts.
- Subseries 1: "The First Justices in the Rappahannock River and the Formation of Rappahannock County."
- Box 7 Folder
12
Draft
- Box 7 Folder
13
Draft and notes
- Box 7 Folder
14
First draft
- Box 7 Folder
15
Final corrected draft
- Box 7 Folder
16
Final draft
- Box 7 Folder
17
List of colonial justices
- Box 7 Folder
18
Notes
- Box 7 Folder
19
Notes, Bertrand and first lower court house
- Box 7 Folder
20
Notes, Gentleman justices, clerks, etc.
- Box 7 Folder
21
Notes, Justices of Old Rappahannock and Essex Counties
- Box 8 Folder
1
Notes, Old Rappahannock county justices and court orders
- Box 8 Folder
2
Speech
- Box 7 Folder
12
- Subseries 2: "The Correspondence of Archibald McCall and George McCall."
- Box 8 Folder
3
Abstracts
- Box 8 Folder
4
Footnotes
- Box 8 Folder
5
Footnotes and introduction
- Box 8 Folder
6
Footnotes, 2nd writing
- Box 8 Folder
7
Footnotes for the letters and introduction
- Box 8 Folder
8
Letter transcripts
- Box 8 Folder
9
Letter transcripts
- Box 8 Folder
10
Manuscript, Footnotes for introduction
- Box 8 Folder
11
Manuscript, Footnotes
- Box 8 Folder
12
Manuscript, Introduction
- Box 8 Folder
13
Manuscript, Letters I-X
- Box 8 Folder
14
Manuscript, Letters XI-XXIII
- Box 8 Folder
15
Miscellaneous
- Box 8 Folder
16
Notes
- Box 9 Folder
1
Other notes, deeds, orders, family notes, etc.
- Box 8 Folder
3
This series includes notes, clippings, published materials, maps, and an outline for a paper about the Wormley family plantation of Rosegill in Middlesex County, Virginia.
- Box 9 Folder 2
Draft and clippings
- Box 9 Folder 3
Draft
- Box 9 Folder 4
Notes
This series contains clippings, notes, maps, and correspondence on a variety of subjects including Bacon's Rebellion, biographies on Henry Fleet and George Washington, highway markers in Essex County, mills, naval officers and collectors of revenue in the rivers, roads and ferries, swamps and creeks, and tobacco.
- Box 9 Folder 5
Bacon's Rebellion
- Box-folder: Box 9, Folder
6-8
Biography
- Box 9 Folder
6
Fleet, Henry
- Box 9 Folder
7
Biography- Washington, George
- Box 9 Folder
8
Miscellaneous
- Box 9 Folder
6
- Box 9 Folder 9
Court houses
- Box 9 Folder
10
Doctors
- Box 9 Folder
11
Highway markers in Essex County
- Box 9 Folder
12
Leedstown Resolution
- Box 9 Folder
13
Maps
- Box 9 Folder
14
Merchants and shipping
- Box 9 Folder
15
Mills
- Box 9 Folder
16
Naval officers and collectors of revenue in the rivers
- Box 9 Folder
17
Plats
- Box 9 Folder
18
Roads and ferries
- Box 9 Folder
19
Schools, colonial
- Box 9 Folder
20
Swamps and creeks
- Box 9 Folder
21
Tobacco