Guide to the Papers of John C. Ewing, 1763-1979

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of John C. Ewing
Creator
Ewing Family
Collection Number
MSS#63
Extent
2.5 cubic feet (5 boxes)
Date
1763-1979
Abstract
Dr. John Calhoon Ewing was born July 5, 1904 in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh. He attended Westminster College from 1921 to 1923, was graduated from Princeton in 1925 and then earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1929. From 1927 to 1937 he served in the Medical Corps Reserves of the U. S. Army. He married the former Kathryn Elizabeth Lenhart in 1931. Following his internship at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital that same year, he began his practice of general surgery at the same facility. He retired from medical practice in 1968. Dr. Ewing died August 3, 1977. The papers consist of correspondence; financial and legal documents; family histories; birth, death and marriage records; and news clippings.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Stephen Doell on October 4, 1993. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Summer, 2001
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of John C. Ewing and Family

Dr. John Calhoon Ewing was born July 5, 1904 in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh. He attended Westminster College from 1921 to 1923, was graduated from Princeton in 1925 and then earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1929. From 1927 to 1937 he served in the Medical Corps Reserves of the U. S. Army. He married the former Kathryn Elizabeth Lenhart in 1931. Following his internship at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital that same year, he began his practice of general surgery at the same facility. He retired from medical practice in 1968. Dr. Ewing died August 3, 1977.

The union of the Ewing/Calhoon line begins with the marriage of Harriet Darrington Calhoon to William Henry Ewing, the parents of John C. Ewing. These two families have remarkable similarities in their genealogical record. Both Harriet and William have direct descendants who were Revolutionary War veterans, both families are Irish immigrants from the mid 1700s, and both families settled in the southern part of Beaver County.

John Calhoon Ewing's maternal grandfather was Thomas Stevenson Calhoon(1834-1910), father of Harriet D. Calhoon, a riverboat captain. T.S. Calhoon lived with his uncle, Richard Calhoon, in 1847 after the deaths of his parents. Richard ran a small riverboat business on the Ohio River and brought Thomas along on many of his trips to teach him the business. The younger Calhoon worked on several steamboats in different capacities until commanding his own vessel in 1866. He captained many excursions on the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers over the next thirty years. In 1878 Thomas Calhoon along with J. T. Stockdale formed the Cincinnati & Pittsburgh Packet Line, which proved to be a successful business venture for both men despite several sinks and crashed vessels. T. S. Calhoon retired from the steamboat trade in 1904. He died in 1910.

Scope and Content Notes

The papers consist of correspondence; financial and legal documents; family histories; birth, death and marriage records; and news clippings.

Arrangement

Series designations are for family papers, including genealogical material, and a Thomas Stevenson Calhoon biography.

The John Calhoon Ewing Papers are housed in five archival boxes.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Material received in one accession from Mrs. John Calhoon Ewing, August 26, 1983.

Preferred Citation

Papers of John C. Ewing, 1763-1979, MSS#63, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Stephen Doell on October 4, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on May 16, 2001.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Ewing, John Calhoon (1904-1977)
    • Calhoon, Harriet Amanda
    • Calhoon, Harriet Darrington
    • Calhoon, Henry
    • Calhoon, Thomas Stevenson
    • Calhoun, Charles
    • Ewing, William Henry
    • Nelson, Samuel

    Geographic Names

    • Allegheny County -- Business and Industry -- Steamboats
    • Beaver County(Pa.) -- History
    • Hookstown, Pa.

    Other Subjects

    • Inland Rivers -- Commercial
    • Ohio River -- Transportation
    • family history
    • Genealogy

Container List