Ewing Family of Renfrewshire/Greenock/Paisley

[OZScot]

This photo shows how difficult a task it was to build this Railway up the Toowoomba Range from Ipswich and Grandchester. I don't know if my GG-Grandfather worked on this part of the  line or not, but whosoever did, had a perilous job. Walk to work up the mountain range probably in the dark, do 10hrs work and walk home in the dark by lamplight.

A short extract from William R Morrow in his book 'My Fifty years as a Railway Man' paints a vivid picture. 'To conquer the Range was a task at which even the boldest constructors might hesitate. To give full credit to this wonderful piece of engineering, one must remember that the engineering of that day was not up to the standard it is today. To mount the Range, grades 1 in 50, 1 in 60, and 1 in 70 had to be built as well as curves with a radius of 5 chains.'

As in all mountain railways, a great deal of excavating and tunnelling was necessary which proved very costly. Boy oh boy. I hold these workers in very high regard indeed. Toiling through the harsh Australian summer sun to the very coldest climes in Queensland. Look at what they went through to what I went through.

Yes I've worked in the sun on a refinery construction site in Gladstone, Queensland. We had a union rule back then, if we could prove more than seven drops of rain on an opened Courier Mail newspaper, we could retreat to the lunch room until this 'deluge' was over. Stop laughing, it's true.

Here's another joke. We also went on strike because the company supplying our lunch sandwiches, as one of 12 choices offered a plain old beetroot one, apart from hams and corn meat & pickles etc. How dare they do that to us! We went on strike for 3 weeks because we thought that they insulted us.! TRUE!

These poor old workers on the early railways will be turning in their graves, and now I feel ashamed.

[OZScot]

Following on from those last posts about how hard these workers had toiled, I have been trying to trace my GG-Grandfather and his/my Family's Journey from Paisley, Scotland and around his working and living areas here. I have had some success, but many stones are still left to turn and be found.

I went back to Jane Ewing's letter she wrote. She stated that her Father was working essentially right up until he died. Well, he was 72yrs when he died! She said he last worked on the Inglewood line. So I went looking and found him sure enough working in 1906 on the 55mile, Thane to Goondoowindi Railway Extension. Well, the Warwick to Thane line was completed in 1904, but the Thane to Inglewood was completed in 1907. That's when he died. She was right!

I googled 'Thane' because it sounded like a warrior's name or at least a Star Trek creature from another planet. Well, coincidently it said, 'In Scotland a man, often the chief of a Clan, who held land from a Scottish King'. John Ewing, the chief of our Clan from Scotland, that'll do.

I had to know more, what happened to him to suddenly stop? had he finally had enough? too old to be out in the blazing sun at his age? Yes! Surely he wouldn't just give up when the line was all but completed? We don't give up! No Way! Please let it not be another horrible accident like his son James Alexander endured.

I thought and felt the worst. I bought his Death Certificate and downloaded the original image. I didn't open it up. Suddenly for whatever stupid reason, I baulked and left it unopened for some 30-40 minutes. Crazy? Yes. Plenty of people will back that up. I waited for my wife to come home. Yes, I'm a BIG sook as well. I poured 2 glasses of Wither Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and we toasted to good fortune for John Ewing. Yes, I needed a bit of his courage right now and maybe celebration.

But alas, it wasn't what I expected and indeed he deserved. I know life isn't meant to be easy, but for some it's harder than usual. A lot of us today have and are still standing on this man's broad shoulders and are and will be forever grateful through thick and thin.

As I opened the ageing brown coloured original file, the first thing that hit me was the elegantly written long hand writing in the document. Sadly another dying art and it was an art back then and probably still is. Even I now print. My eyes scrolled across to the 'Cause of Death' column.

We both read silently and then said 'WHAT!' Who dies of chronic appendicitis. Well little if anyone these days, but apparently there was no operation or treatment back then, well at least in Warwick, Queensland. Then underneath it also said, Marasmus, Asthenia. Duration: Some months.

We googled these old medical terms and soon realised he was in a lot of pain and his body was wasting away and became very frail until heart failure. He suffered badly and died aged 72yrs and worked hard all his life right up until he could no longer. RIP.

Strangely or not so now, my brother and I have both had our appendix removed. We had the sharp pain for a few days, diagnosed and quickly removed. Anyone who has had it knows all about the pain that doubles you over. That is the garden variety apparently, but chronic back in the day goes on for weeks and sometimes many months. He would have been working with it the tough old Scotsman.

*** If anyone is related to the John Ewing family in any way and would like the Certificate I would happily send them a copy.


*** If anyone from Wither Hills in Marlborough, NZ read this post, please send, well, two dozen bottles ought be just enough for the free plug, Sauvignon Blancs to .... ME  care of Rootschat.








 

[OZScot]

Now I have a plea for some assistance with some either lost over here or forgotten information. We have searched over here for a long time without any luck.

When John and Mary Ewing [McKinnon] left for Queensland from the Clyde on the 9/12/1865, and in the absence of a passenger list anywhere for this voyage, certainly not over here in any records, we have assumed that they brought all of their children, Margaret, Rebecca, John, Mary and Jane with them. Daniel the first child died not long after birth.

I have been able to trace the movements of all the children except for John who was 4yrs 8mths old when leaving and 4yrs 11mths if he arrived. No trace at all! I haven't been able to establish if he died in Scotland prior to them leaving either. We found him in the 1861 Census a day old living in Erskine.

I never gave a thought to maybe he died on the voyage until a few days ago. Perish the thought. I went back to read again the log of the ship 'Light of the Age' because I remembered there were 10 deaths on the ship. It states, 'The health of the passengers throughout has been very good and only ten deaths occurred, and these were all infants.' It goes on to say that among the passengers, under 14,31: infants,15:

Can only be, if he boarded, that he died on the voyage and was buried at sea. It now seems certain unless someone or a relative knows the facts from maybe Scotland. Did he board the ship or pass away before hand. Can this be any more painful for John and Mary? I think not.

The other mystery we now need to solve from the Death Certificate is the sudden and totally unexpected appearance of an unknown born child over here Ernest Ewing in the 'Issue, in order of Birth, their Names and Ages' column. It has all correctly, Living: Margaret 49, Rebecca 48, Jane 42, James 39, William 36, Catherine 35, Ernest 29. Then underneath that it says 'Dead 2 males and 1 female'.

The female referred to would be Mary who died 25/12/1871 age 8yrs, but probably excluded was Mary #2 who died at birth here 21/6/1878 to 22/6/1878 and the 2 males would be Daniel and because John isn't there it would be him, so he's confirmed dead but where and when? No record yet, so my theory at sea is looking most likely. It would have to be recorded somewhere. If here it may have been lost in that flood I mentioned awhile back.

[OZScot]

Now the mysterious Ernest Ewing age 29yrs. Virtually no information so far, only some educated guesses. First of all he must exist and be their child as he is on the list with the others that contains the correct order. Age is a puzzle, exactly 29yrs has him born somewhere's 1878 and that was the year young Mary was born 21/6/1878 and died a day later.

Was he her twin brother then? Mary had a twin brother Neil McKinnon and 5yrs later another set of twins were born into her family Alan & Sally McKinnon. So twins probably not out of the question. Because one died was there a mix up in the paperwork perhaps?

I checked the ages for accuracy attached to the children because my wife comes from a large family and when asked how old is such and such now, she can only guess within +1/-1 yrs of the older brothers and sisters. You don't realise that some had left home while she was a little girl and didn't see a lot of them. John & Mary Ewing's family have a spread of 20yrs from Margaret [49] to now Ernest [29].

The result was mixed which means someone like the informant to the registrar Jane Quince [Ewing] was guesstimating perhaps.   Margaret was +4mths, Rebecca -5mths, Jane +11mths, James +5mths, William +17mths and Catherine +1mth. However, they were nearly all correct if rounded down except Rebecca was actually 47yrs 7mths, but William was 37yrs 5mths, way off. I did that to see how accurate 29yrs would likely be for my new mystery Ernest Ewing or was his name Ernest Andrew Ewing?.

The only person likely that ticks a lot of boxes but doesn't deliver a knock out blow is the above gentleman. I found a burial record for him B:1878? D:8/8/1950 South Brisbane Cemetery. Mary Ewing and Daughters are also buried there. The Birth year is about right, buried same Cemetery 28yrs later than his perhaps Mother Mary.

His first name 'Ernest' hasn't to my knowledge been used before him, but it was used 3 times by his older sisters when they married. His middle name 'Andrew' was the name of the 12th of 13 children of John Ewing and Margaret Ewing [Sproul] John Ewing's parents. [I, to this point know nothing about Andrew Ewing]

He married Mary Elizabeth Bakey in 1901. They had a child called him Ernest Edward Ewing in 1903. His wife is also buried there 4/7/1967 and lived another 17yrs after his death to a ripe old 90yrs.

All a bit flimsy and circumstantial but it's all I've got thus far.

If someone out there knows anything I would sure appreciate a clue or two about Ernest Ewing and others. Thanks.

[pfwgrant]

Very interested to read this thread and the voyage of discovery looking for John Ewing of Warwick, QLD. John of Warwick QLD was a brother of Margaret Ewing who married William Sharp in Paisley and died young. Margaret Ewing and William Sharp are my gt gt grandparents, through their son John Sharp b abt 1854 and raised with the Ewings at Bredilandmoor near Paisley.  Thus I was very interested to read the lair information posted with the Sharp reference!  John Sharp my great grandfather emigrated to Otago New Zealand about 1872 where he was a roading contractor and bush farmer in the Blue Mountains of South Otago. A son of his John Ewing Sharp was in the Otago Mounted Rifles and was killed at Gallipoli in the August offensive on Chunuk Bair, so I was also very interested to read the posts about Ernest James Ewing. I have the large framed photo of "Ewen Sharp" (as he was known) that hung in his parents' house in South Otago. A few snippets - John Sharp b abt 1854 in Paisley had siblings William (died in Scotland, but widow and children emigrated to NJ, USA) and Margaret (emigrated to PA, USA) - a descendant in NY has a very good oil painting of the Ewing home at Bredilandmoor apparently painted by the last-mentioned William Sharp (figures included - one I like to think is Margaret Sproul!). I'm afraid I don't know of any photos of John Ewing/ Margaret Sproul, or of the next generation other than one of the younger daughters in the large Ewing family. There is a photo on the net however of Margaret Sproul's brother Adam Sproul who went out to Sydney as a guard on a convict ship in the 1830s, got himself into trouble and ended up as a convict himself in Tasmania!  All interesting stuff! Regards, Peter Grant (Hanmer Springs, North Canterbury, NZ)

[davieboy]

Very interested to read this thread and the voyage of discovery looking for John Ewing of Warwick, QLD. John of Warwick QLD was a brother of Margaret Ewing who married William Sharp in Paisley and died young. Margaret Ewing and William Sharp are my gt gt grandparents, through their son John Sharp b abt 1854 and raised with the Ewings at Bredilandmoor near Paisley.  Thus I was very interested to read the lair information posted with the Sharp reference!  John Sharp my great grandfather emigrated to Otago New Zealand about 1872 where he was a roading contractor and bush farmer in the Blue Mountains of South Otago. A son of his John Ewing Sharp was in the Otago Mounted Rifles and was killed at Gallipoli in the August offensive on Chunuk Bair, so I was also very interested to read the posts about Ernest James Ewing. I have the large framed photo of "Ewen Sharp" (as he was known) that hung in his parents' house in South Otago. A few snippets - John Sharp b abt 1854 in Paisley had siblings William (died in Scotland, but widow and children emigrated to NJ, USA) and Margaret (emigrated to PA, USA) - a descendant in NY has a very good oil painting of the Ewing home at Bredilandmoor apparently painted by the last-mentioned William Sharp (figures included - one I like to think is Margaret Sproul!). I'm afraid I don't know of any photos of John Ewing/ Margaret Sproul, or of the next generation other than one of the younger daughters in the large Ewing family. There is a photo on the net however of Margaret Sproul's brother Adam Sproul who went out to Sydney as a guard on a convict ship in the 1830s, got himself into trouble and ended up as a convict himself in Tasmania!  All interesting stuff! Regards, Peter Grant (Hanmer Springs, North Canterbury, NZ)

Can you get a photo of the painting and i'll see if the house still stands today.

[OZScot]

Hi Peter and Davieboy.

I haven't fallen off the perch and I haven't posted for awhile, but I have been very busy chasing up a lot of my tree information. Fantastic Information Peter and I'll be chasing that up and thank you. Peter I hope you can chase up and track down those paintings and take some pictures to share. The Faimly trees look exceptional with a picture beside the name even if it's a grave or a headstone.

Speaking of that Peter in the Paisley Cemetery Co records it says beside Margaret Ewing or Sharp 32yrs died 28/4/1864 and then it says Bridiland Moor then transferred to Mrs. Catherine Brown in May 1924. ?? Do you know of a connection there? Total mystery to me at this time. That's 60 years later!

Also of interest to you maybe the 1861 Census where there are living at Bridiland Moor, 10 Ewing family members and I think they left off baby John who was one day old! [there's a BIG mystery to him which I'll explain in another post], 4 Sharp members, Margaret Sharp daughter Margaret Sharp grand-daughter, John Sharp grandson, William Sharp grandson, Marion Thudhope niece. That's 16! and no William Sharp Father. Obviously no room for him. I hope this painting of Bridland Moor is a big house. I couldn't last a week with that many. I love children ... when they visit. Davieboy has a connection with Marion Thudhope as well.

Now about Ernest James Ewing our Gallipoli soldier who got married in London when the war was over to Annie Caroline Smith daughter of Sylvester Smith who was a musician, they came back to Australia and had a boy and called him Ernest Sylvester Ewing. He at some stage emigrated to America and married [so I'm told, yet to verify] Joan Haley in Yonkers NY and died 30th Aug 2006 in Dallas Texas. Again family rumour [none have been right yet so here's hoping] was involved in Engineering and Aeronautics and was said to have been the first person to fly a helicopter around the Empire State Building! Hmmmm.... That's way out there! Must have some grain of truth, you couldn't make that up surely.

I'll post later some really big finds I've made and a few with more questions than answers and I'm currently waiting on Police Freedom of Information questions that date back 141 years!!! If they get back to me but to be fair it's only a week so far.

Cheers,
I'll post again shortly.

[OZScot]

This is a picture of a Ship that was 'similar' to the Light of the Age. The only other photo that I have found on the net that is called the Light of the Age is a painting of a two-mast ship, but the real ship had three masts and was built in 1855 in Massachusetts and was called 'Beacon Light' and she was a fast large wooden clipper and sold eventually to the Black Ball Line and up until 1866 she had carried many thousands of immigrants to Australia not only Queensland.

Now I have been searching for quite some time and others have been as well for the passenger list that brought John & Mary Ewing to Moreton Bay Qld on 26.3.1866. I contacted Government Depts in Qld for the list and they said that it virtually doesn't exist because it's not in their records and was probably washed away in one of the many big floods they have had in Brisbane over the years.

Probably so!, however I managed to get hold of something similar that proves beyond doubt that they indeed were on that ship and arrived on that date in Moreton Bay, Brisbane Qld. I was so excited!!!!. I'm posting it here for all to see and there are hopefully some names of ancestors that you may be familiar with. This is a rare piece of information to say the least. I have a lovely lady in our local Library to thank. She found it tucked away and forgotten on an old microfiche.

We think it may be from the ships voyage account. Hope it downloads in a readable state so I'll name the columns in case not.

Date and No of Contract Ticket.
PASSENGER
Agent
Place
Assisted
Free
Ship for which Contract Ticket is Issued
Passage
Ship-Kit

Now I hope there is someone out there who may have an accounting background or similar knowledge from the period that can definitely explain what it means. We had an attempt and think something like this in the case of John Ewing & Family, 5th legible name from the bottom.

It was written up in Dec 1865 [the ship sailed 9/12/1865] and the Agent was Rennie of Glasgow, 4 in the free passage? column. There were five children & 2 adults.?? 'Ship-Kit'? We think it has to be Ships' Kitchen with a cost. Some 10/6, £1/11/6 and because we are well known big eaters they charged us £2/2/0. Just kidding we are humongous eaters  . Does anyone know? Remember there were a lot of free passengers who were employed to work on the Railway Construction.

***Please note on the list use scroll bar at the bottom to see all the columns.

I'll repeat this is 'very' rare and could be the only record of anyone from this particular voyage.

I hope someone can prove that statement wrong, but I'm betting against it.

Cheers.

[OZScot]

Silly me forgot the Coup de Grace.!

Hard to read but it certainly puts to bed what this voyage was all about, where she came from, what date Dec' 1865, the name of the ship, the workers job descriptions and where they were going .

I think it reads after Brought forward: The following are Navvies sent out [I think] in the Light of the Age under selection for the Railway Works. The amount for Ship Kip [I have no idea] and Commission being defrayed by the Owners.

I welcome any deciphering help.

P.S. use scroll bar at the bottom to slide across.
Cheers.