John Hoge Ewing

John H. Ewing
portrait of John Hoge Ewing, was an American politician
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's20thdistrict
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	John Dickey
Succeeded by	John Dickey
Member of thePennsylvania Senatefor the17th district
In office 1838-1842
Preceded by	Isaac Leet
Succeeded by	Walter Craig
Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives
In office 1835-1836
Personal details
Born	(1796-10-05)October 5, 1796 Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Died	June 9, 1887(1887-06-09)(aged 90) Washington, Pennsylvania
Political party	Whig
Alma mater	Washington College

John Hoge Ewing(October 5, 1796 – June 9, 1887) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as aWhigmember of theU.S. House of RepresentativesforPennsylvania's 20th congressional districtfrom 1845 to 1847.

Biography

Ewing, son of William Porter Ewing and Mary Conwell Ewing, was born nearBrownsville, Pennsylvaniain 1796. In 1814, he graduated from Washington College (nowWashington and Jefferson College) inWashington, Pennsylvania.He studied law, was admitted to the Bar in 1818, and commenced practice in Washington, Pennsylvania.

He practiced law for only two years when he was awarded a contract (in partnership with his father) to construct the National Pike's road-bed between Brownsville and Hillsborough, Pennsylvania, which was completed in 1820. Ewing never returned to the active practice of law, but instead engaged in a variety of business and agricultural pursuits.

On November 2, 1820, Ewing married Ellen Blaine, daughter of James Blaine, Esq., and aunt ofJames Gillespie Blaine,the Republican presidential candidate in 1884. The Ewings had ten children (not all of whom survived childhood) before Ellen Blaine Ewing died in 1840 from complications following childbirth; in 1845, John Hoge Ewing married Margaret Brown, with whom he had two children.

Ewing was a trustee of Washington College from 1834 to 1887 and ofWashington Female Seminaryfrom 1846 to 1887. He was a member of thePennsylvania House of Representativesin 1835–36, and served in thePennsylvania State Senatefor the17th districtfrom 1838 to 1842.He was elected as a Whig to theTwenty-ninthCongress, and was a delegate to the1860 Republican National Convention.

He was a staunch supporter of the Union cause during the Civil War, and in 1862, at the age of 66, served as Captain of Company F of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of Militia, which was briefly called up and deployed toChambersburg, PennsylvaniaduringRobert E. Lee's Maryland invasion that September.

Ewing was an Elder and Trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Washington, and was the long-time president of the Washington County Agricultural Society. He owned substantial tracts of land in Washington County, the Virginia (later West Virginia) panhandle, and Wright County, Iowa (and possibly other places). He also and operated a small coal mine a few miles north of Washington Borough in an area known as the Meadowlands.

In addition to his work on the National Road, Ewing was also a superintendent of construction over a portion of the Washington-Pittsburgh Turnpike in the mid-1830s. Additionally, Ewing was an active proponent of railroads as far back as 1831, and in the 1850s and 1860s he was instrumental in garnering local support for both the Hempfield Railroad and the Chartiers Valley Railroad, which linked Washington to Wheeling and Pittsburgh, respectively. In addition to serving on the board of directors of the Chartiers Valley Railroad and as the first president of the Washington-Waynesburg Railroad, Ewing was also a longtime director of the Franklin Bank of Washington.

Ewing died in Washington on June 9, 1887, at the age of 90. He was interred in Washington Cemetery,which he helped to establish and incorporate more than 30 years earlier.

Sources

• United States Congress."John Hoge Ewing (id: E000278)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard

Washington "Examiner" and "Reporter" newspapers, 1809–1888 Crumrine, Boyd, "History of Washington County, Pennsylvania" 1882. Earl Forrest, "History of Washington County, Pennsylvania," 1926. Beers, J.H., "Commemorative Biographical Record: Washington County, Pennsylvania.," 1893. (p. 44)