Guide to the Papers of Robert Ewing, 1927-1937
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of Robert Ewing
- Creator
- Ewing, Robert
- Collection Number
- MSS#195
- Extent
- .5 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1927-1937
- Abstract
- Robert Ewing was an active participant in the development and preservation of many historical projects throughout Western Pennsylvania. Ewing was born in Westmoreland County (Pa.) and studied law at Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.). After passing the bar examination in 1893, Ewing moved to Pittsburgh to practice law. These papers include correspondence, project reports, meeting minutes, speeches, research notes, blue prints, newspaper clippings and other sundry items.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- 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 Robert Ewing (1868-1940)
Robert Ewing was an active participant in the development and preservation of many historical projects throughout Western Pennsylvania. Ewing was born in Westmoreland County (Pa.) and studied law at Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.). After passing the bar examination in 1893, Ewing moved to Pittsburgh to practice law. His early career as a lawyer was interrupted at the start of World War I when he enlisted in the Quarter Masters Corps. He served as a captain throughout World War I and returned to his law practice in 1920. Two years later he became the Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Pittsburgh. He was appointed judge of the county court of Allegheny County in 1925 by Governor Gifford Pinchot and later served as deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania. Ewing was married first in 1894 to Ann Davis and again in 1908 to Eleanor McRea with whom he had four children: Caroline, Robert, Liberty and William.
Throughout his career as a lawyer and judge, Ewing was an active and contributing member of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Following 10 years of service as secretary of the Historical Society, Ewing was elected President in 1930. During his presidency, the Historical Society expanded its building, as well as its library, archives, and museums collections. Funded by a grant from the Buhl Foundation, Ewing directed this expansion and worked to raise awareness about the Society and the importance of preserving the history of Western Pennsylvania. This grant with additional support from the University of Pittsburgh also funded a comprehensive survey of the history of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. Ewing helped to recruit Solon J. Buck who was hired as director of the Historical Society and this survey in 1932.
During Ewing's presidency, he was also an active member of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Fort Necessity Memorial Association, and local Washington Bicentennial Commission (1931-1932). He also served as a member of the Special Committee for the proposed Point State Park (Pittsburgh, Pa.) directed by Frank C. Harper. Through his association with these varied historical organizations, he pursued a number of projects including the dedication of an historical marker for the Western State Penitentiary and one on the Neville Farm (Chartiers, Pa.) in conjunction with the Chartiers Historical Society commemorating the Whiskey Rebellion. He also helped secure funds for the Harmony Society Historical Association (Ambridge, Pa.) and establish Fort Necessity Memorial Park (Uniontown, Pa.), which was dedicated in 1931. Throughout his service with the Historical Society and state Historical Commission, Ewing pursued his own historical research including the colonial period and Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and his own genealogy. Due to poor health, Ewing resigned from his position as president of the Historical Society in 1937.
Scope and Content Notes
The Robert Ewing papers are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title. These papers include correspondence, project reports, meeting minutes, speeches, research notes, blue prints, newspaper clippings and other sundry items. These materials primarily document Ewing's involvement with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical Commission from 1930-1932. There is little information of Ewing's legal career and personal life. This collection would be useful to those researching early preservation efforts in Western Pennsylvania, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the early development of public history.
The personal materials of Robert Ewing are limited and primarily include notes from his genealogical research and various speeches he made throughout his career. These speeches include the oldest documents in the collection and were delivered at events in connection with both his political career and his service with the state Historical Commission and the Historical Society. Of note are his speeches delivered during the 1922 Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign, radio addresses for KDKA (Pittsburgh, Pa) regarding the Historical Society and the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey, and a dedication speech given at the unveiling of an historical marker for Jane Grey Swisshelm on Sixth Avenue, downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Ewing's official responsibilities are better documented. Substantial correspondence includes letters regarding his involvement in the planning of the Washington Bi-Centennial Celebration and his participation in the Fort Necessity Memorial Association, which also includes project updates and a budget report. An invitation and a program for the groundbreaking celebration of that association are also included. The majority of materials in the collection deal with the activities of The Historical Society between 1930 and 1932. These include bulletins published by the Society, a copy of its by-laws, as well as correspondence relating to its general operation. Numerous letters and program reports deal with the Buhl Foundation's grant to The Historical Society in 1930 and the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey that was initiated by this grant. A copy of Henry Buhl's will and an announcement of Solon J. Buck's appointment to head the Survey are of note. The funding and construction of the Society's addition in 1930 and 1931 includes official documents concerning the appropriation from the state of $40,000 as well as construction bids and blueprints.
The materials relating to the Pennsylvania Historical Commission are not as comprehensive as those relating to the Historical Society, but do include correspondence and related material to the projects that Ewing helped administer. The Commission's work with the Harmony Society Historical Association contains some correspondence and a budget report. The various historical markers that Ewing worked on in various capacities with the Historical Commission include the Whiskey Rebellion and the Western State Penitentiary. The Whiskey Rebellion materials include project plans and correspondence. The Western Penitentiary historical marker project contains some correspondence with The Daughters of the Confederacy as well as proposed inscriptions for the monument. The miscellaneous materials include research notes, newspaper clippings and some published materials including a sermon in dedication to Theodore Roosevelt, broadcast by KDKA (Pittsburgh, Pa.), by H. Barker, minister of the Point Breeze Presbyterian Church (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Arrangement
Personal materials are arranged to the front and miscellaneous materials are arranged to the rear.
The Robert Ewing papers are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title with personal materials arranged to the front and miscellaneous materials arranged to the rear.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession in 1937.
Acc# 1937.xxxx Gift of Robert Ewing (Papers.)
Preferred Citation
Papers of Robert Ewing, 1927-1937, MSS# 195, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kenneth Wing on August 9, 1995.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on May 15, 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
- Buhl Foundation
- Chartiers Historical Society
- Fort Necessity Memorial Association
- Harmony Society Historical Association
- Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Historical Commission
- George Washington Bicentennial
- Ewing, Robert
- Buck, Solon J
- Pinchot, Gifford
- Historic Sites -- Pennsylvania -- Ambridge
- Historic Sites -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Historic Sites -- Pennsylvania -- Uniontown
- Historical Markers -- Pennsylvania -- Chartiers
- Historical Markers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- History -- Societies, etc.