Background
George Washington Ewing was born on November 29, 1808 in Logan County, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Robert and Jane McLean Ewing.
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George Washington Ewing
Edit ProfileEducation
George was educated in the common schools of Logan County. He later studied law.
Career
Ewing, a lawyer, and planter lived in Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky, served in the Kentucky legislature from 1862 to 1865.
He also represented the Fourth District of Kentucky for a few days in the provisional Confederate Congress and served in both the first and the second Confederate House of Representatives. His service simultaneously in Kentucky and the Confederate legislatures kept him primarily in his home state. In the first Confederate House, he served on the Committees on Territories and Public Lands and the Special Committee for Clerks' Raises.
In the second Confederate House, he served on the Committees on Claims and Territories and Public Lands. In January 1865, he urged that the Confederacy launch an invasion into Kentucky to overthrow the Yankee government there. As with so many Kentuckians, he was allied with the Preston family in the western congressional bloc.
After the war, he lived briefly in Greensboro, North Carolina, until he could return to his home. He held no public office but was content to farm near Adairville, Kentucky, for the rest of his life.
Achievements
Politics
Ewing, a lifelong Whig who had become a Democrat in 1860. As a congressman, he seldom voted to give the president new appointing powers, and he supported several resolutions advising Davis to make changes in the cabinet and in the field. On the other hand, he approved every significant effort made in Congress to strengthen the government's hand. His only important demonstration of the initiative came on January 31, 1865, and arose from a conflict of interest between congressmen from districts overrun by the enemy and certain representatives from districts that would be affected by the strong war measures advocated by the first group. Ewing posed the question of whether these men were entitled to their seats and tried to instruct the Committee on the Judiciary to rule on the matter. His measure, largely a matter of self-interest, and intensely embarrassing to the whole government, was at length tabled.
Connections
George married Nannie L. Williams, daughter of General Sam L. Williams, on August 28, 1846. A son, Henry Clay Ewing, became a prominent figure in Kentucky politics.
- Father:
- Robert Ewing
- Mother:
- Jane McLean Ewing
- Sister:
- Elizabeth Davidson Ewing Townsend
- Brother:
- Ephraim McLean Ewing
- Brother:
- Robert Allen Ewing
- Sister:
- Mary Baker Ewing Spencer
- Brother:
- Chatham Tomlinson Ewing
- Sister:
- Sophronia McLean Ewing Bowling
- Brother:
- Samuel Ewing
- Sister:
- Jane Howard Ewing Townsend
- Brother:
- Gilson Payne Ewing
- Wife:
- Nannie L. Williams Ewing
- Son:
- Henry Clay Ewing
- Daughter:
- Johnie Anna Ewing Brawner
1760-1832
1769-1847
1788-1867
1789-1860
1792-1857
1794-1873
1797-1819
1800-1868
1800-1870
1803-1831
1807-1879
1821-1883
1837-1879
1848-1879
References
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Born
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Died
May 20, 1888 (aged 79) -
Resting place
Red River Meeting House Cemetery Adairville, Logan County, Kentucky, United States -
Nationality
United States -
Political Party
Democratic party
Career
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1861 - 1862
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1862 - 1865
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1862 - 1862