Ewing Family Tree

IN THE BEGINNING - ROOTS

Based upon what I have gathered so far, "Maria from Madagascar" was captured "very young" and shipped to the U.S. by the Portugese. She must have been enslaved somewhere in the vicinity of Houston, TX when she was granted freedom. Freed slaves typically migrated to the nearest major city. It was in Houston that the next several generations were born. Many descendants still live there.

Juneteenth - On June 19th ("Juneteenth"), 1865, Union General Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston (50 miles from Houston), thus belatedly (the proclamation was actually issued by President Lincoln on 01/01/1863) bringing about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war. The news elicited an array of personal celebrations. The first broader celebrations of Juneteenth were used as political rallies and to teach freed African American about their voting rights. Within a short time, however, Juneteenth was marked by festivities throughout the state.

Some of the early emancipation festivities were relegated by city authorities to a town's outskirts; in time, however, black groups collected funds to purchase tracts of land for their celebrations, including Juneteenth. A common name for these sites was Emancipation Park. In Houston, for instance, a deed for a ten-acre site later called Emancipation Park was signed in 1872 (still one of the few public facilities open to Blacks during my childhood).

Click here to review President Obama's recognition of Juneteenth on June 19, 2010.

The family descendant chart copied below has appeared in the 1997, 1995, and 1993, and possibly earlier family reunion booklets. While not perfect it represents the most extensive Brown-Ewing family tree illustration I have seen to date. If a more current and/or accurate version on this chart has been prepared please send it to me ASAP to update this page.

Ewing Family Tree - Page 1

Ewing Family Tree - Page 2

Brown Family Tree - Page 1

Brown Family Tree - Page 2

Please provide any updates and/or corrections as needed on the message board. It is my hope that a volunteer will come forward to accept the responsibility for updating the family tree in time for the August reunion. I can post it on this site. 

In the interim, I offer the following personal corrections and updates: 

Rose Robinson, born Rosie Mae Brown (named after Alice's sister, Rosalee), was produced by Otha "O.T." Robinson and Alice Brown. They later changed her last name from Brown to Robinson. The corrected names of Rose's children, from oldest to youngest, are Alan Robinson, Robert "Butch" Robinson (died in Viet Nam in 1968), Anthony "Tony" Robinson (yours truly), and Sandranna "Sandi" Robinson ILER (lost in 2006 to illness). (Robert was named after Alice's brother, Robert "Bobby" Brown, who died the day before Butch was born at the same Kansas City hospital.) Alan sired two daughters and one son with his wife, Maria Solano: Shandra Robinson, Estella Robinson, and Robert Anthony Robinson. Sandi married Clayton ILER and gave birth to  Clayton Anthony ILER, Brandon Robertalan ILER, and Josiah ILER. I married Anne Baylis in 1981. She had two daughters, Myla and Ebony, from her first marriage. They were 3 and 6, respectively. Brandi was born in 1989. We also raised Anne's nephew, Jamil Walker, from age 12.
 

Finally, much to my amazement I found a copy of the 1930 United States Census form, taken in Kansas City, MO. The date on the form is April 2, 1930. Look whose family is second on the list, Mama and Papa Brown! They were 35 and 33 years old, respectively. Aunt Marguerite was a babe in arms at 1 year and 2 months. Have a look below!
Curiously absent are Rosalee, Walter, and Thomas Jesse ("TJ"), all born before Marguerite. (According to one elder, it is possible that Rosalee, Walter, and TJ were temporarily living in another household at the time of the census.)  

 

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Maximum Enlargement

If anyone would like to receive a better copy of  this document via email please let me know. Please send your request via email to tony@rcoclaims.com.  

As previously mentioned, some of the material for this website has been borrowed from the 1997 Brown-Ewing Reunion booklet. Included is the following tribute to Thomas "Tommy" Ewing, a true family pioneer. (I have not identified the author.) 

This "living" version of the Ewing Family Tree is now ready for corrections and/or updates. Keep in mind that this first draft is simply a digital version of the paper family tree that has been around for approximately 20 years.

The "Ewing" Family Tree focuses on Anna "Mama" Brown. To the extent that it covers her children, and grandchildren, etc., it is identical to the "Brown" Family Tree. However, it also covers her parents, siblings, and the descendants of her siblings. (Unfortunately, I cannot darken the background or font colors at this time. This option should be available soon.)

Tips:

1) Once you access the tree click on the circular icon to the right of the star in the upper right hand of your screen. Click "File" from the drop down menu then "Find on this page". With this tool you can perform searches by name. Keep in mind that there are still many misspelled names on the tree.

2) Click on the same icon and select "Zoom" from the drop down menu to zoom in or out. Zooming out by, e.g., 50% will give you a better overview of the tree. Once in the section you want you can zoom in to, e.g., 100% or more. (Be sure to return this setting to 100% when you're done. It affects all of your screens.)