I recently performed a brief analysis for EWERS in the 1851 census results on Ancestry. Out of 258 entries birthplaces frequency was highest for Essex (52), Bucks (48), Kent (29), Oxford (23), Staffordshire (18), Middlesex (17) and Worcestershire (16). The YOUERS and other variant spellings nearly all come from one of the Wycombes in Bucks. The Worcester family emigrated from Bucks around 1800 and so at least 87 out of 258 (34%) people came originally from the Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire border area.

This is not historic EWER territory and it is not impossible that the vast majority of that 34% descended from one of the most well documented EWER/EWRE personalities: Edward Ewer/Ewre who lived in Oxfordshire  in the early 1600s. Therefore, if you can trace your line back to any of the EWERS in the 1851 census for Bucks/Oxon,  you can probably go back a lot further.

Edward EWER/EWRE

Edward was very litigious and this leads to several mentions if you do a web search. In the chancel of St Peter’s Church Bucknell there is a brass tablet to Edward Ewer (d. 1638) and Margaret Poure his wife, daughter of Francis Poure of Bletchingdon, and another to their eldest son Francis Ewer.

The History and Antiquities of the Hundreds of Oxfordshire tells us that in 1630 Edward Ewere of Bucknell Esq. was one of the Oxfordshire Gentry, having Estates of £40 p.a. The same book says that it is probable that Edward is a descendant of William Lord Eure and a relative of Sir Francis Eure, Knight, who was living in Heyford Warren (Oxon). I have found nothing to support this connection rather I can place him in West Herts, the heartland of the EWER lines.

The visitation of Oxfordshire tells us that Margaret, eldest daughter of Francis Power married Edward Ewer of Bucknell, Oxfordshire, Gent. and had issue 2 sons and 5 daughters, viz. Francis, Richard, Prudence, Mary, Anne and ???? Ewre. His will provides the names for the other 2 daughters, Ellen and Jane. All children except Mary and Ann feature in the will, made 1638.

CONECTING EDWARD

Thomas Ewers was christened at Ashendon Bucks by Francis Ewer and his wife Hannah 22 May 1737, he married Ann Sirrett at Waddesdon Bucks on 7 Apr 1763 and christened at least 7 children in Tetsworth, Oxon where he was buried 25 Jan 1795. This Thomas links together 3 villages with some of the highest EWERS entries in their registers. He is the progenitor of the Wycombe EWERS/YOUERS.   If your line descends from Thames Oxon. which also has many EWERS entries then stay with me.

I believe Thomas was the son of Francis  EWERS by his second wife Hannah. This Francis was c. 16 Dec 1705 in Ashendon by Francis EWER and his wife Jane nee Godden. Francis married Jane at Dorton Bucks 4 Nov 1703 but the register records that both were “of Ashendon”. Francis was the son of Savage EWERS and his wife Ann, c. 19 Jul 1676 at Wotton Underwood, Bucks. The name Savage may ring bells with EWERS from Thames, Oxon. In the register for the birth of Savage’s daughter Ann 28 Nov 1673 he is recorded as a “Gent.”

Savage was the son of Francis Ewre who married Jane Savage ca 1631, there is a marriage settlement dated 5/9/1631. Savage and Ann had a son Richard c. 7 Apr 1681. Richard married a widow, Ann Search and had at least 7 children at Thame christened as either YOUR or EWERS. I can place Francis at Minster Lovell which is where our “root” Edward Ewer was living where he wrote his will in 1638. Francis is the son of Edward EWER.

EDWARD EWER ANCESTRY

I have one more generation for Edward and it does not take us to a connection with Lord EURE’s line. 2 generations on his mother’s side.

Ralph Hawtrey conveyed the manor of Sarratt to William Heydon of The Grove Watford in 1538/9. In his 1592 will Raphe Heydon, Vicar of Caversfielde Bucks. bequeathed Sarratt Hall to his sister Agnes “the late espoused to the late James EWER”. After her death it would pass to to her son Edward, then to her son William then to her son Francis.

Edward Ewer c Sarrat 3 Feb 1572, William c Sarratt 28 Jan 1576

Francis, Edward’s brother,  is a yeoman of Sarrat at his wedding to Johanne Siblee in 1592. He is sometime a lessee of Launton Oxon. and dies intestate in 1600. After his death his brother Edward disputes use by his widow of money left for the children. Ancestry records an administration of Agnes Ewer in 1607 of Launton, Oxon. Agnes is the daughter of John Heydon and there is a burial at Sarratt 13 Sep 1571 which may be him.

ASHENDON BUCKS

Parish register entries commence with the children of Francis and Jane nee Godden between 1704 and 1723.  Their sons Frances, John and James have children between 1726 and 1744. Burials commence in 1729. I believe that if your ancestor was one of the ca.120 christenenings in Ashendon until 1881 then you are descended from Edward  1572-1638

THAME OXON

In the early 1800s William and Mary feature. William was most likely c.  Ashendon 25 Jun 1795. Otherwise the entries tie neatly back to Edward 1572-1638

Relatives of Isaac the Regicide

Mark Noble in “The Lives of the English Regicides” claims that Isaac Ewer was of the “ennobled family of the Barons Ewer of Yorkshire”. I have found no evidence to support this yet. His home village of Hatfield Broad Oak is in East Essex very near the Hertfordshire border and suggests a more likely connection with a Hertfordshire family. Robert Temple has written an article on Isaac which is easy to find on the internet and I will not discuss Isaac directly here.  I can find no information on his children Thomas and Joan apart from that they were known or presumed to be alive by Isaac when he wrote his will in Aug 1649. I have no unaccounted for weddings for Thomas or Joan Ewer between 1649 and 1670. In his will Isaac placed his children in the care of John Thurloe, a relative, but neither Thomas nor Joan are mentioned in John’s will of 1667.

Isaac mentions brothers John and William in his will. John appears to have at least one son John, who it seems was a Captain and  later a Colonel under Cromwell and later in 1667 receives a grant of land in Ballymackeogh, Tipperary, Ireland from Charles II. This  John has a daughter Honor Ewer who marries into the Ryan family and the land goes with her.  According to the blog “DubStewartMania” Honor’s granddaughter Ann Ryan married a John Ewer so maybe John the soldier had other sons.  There are later records of Ewer in Tipperary  who might be related.

Isaac’s other brother, William, had at least 4 children: Isaac, William, John and Daniel. In Isaac’s will only William eldest and Isaac youngest are mentioned. Daniel married Elizabeth Osborn at Gilstone, Herts Nov 1667 but was dead by Oct 1670 when his will was proved. He mentions  in his will his wife Elizabeth and sons William and Daniel, who were presumably born between 1667 and 1670. Of these 2 sons William is mentioned in his grandfather’s (William Ewer ) will made 1690. He was apprenticed as a Dyer in 1682 which suggests a birth year of ca 1668. William (will 1690) also outlived his son John whose children Isaac , Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Eleanor, Katherine and Mary are all mentioned in is will. I can find no connections for any of these children yet. William presumably also outlived his son William who I have not found  mentioned again.

William’s son Isaac (nephew of the regicide) married twice, first to Deborah Stroud in 1669 at St Clement Danes when he is described as a Gent. Of Lincoln’s Inn and then, following her death in 1670 to Elizabeth Horseman in 1672 at Stretton, Rutland. Isaac mentions 4 children in his will of 1694:- Eldest son Isaac, daughter Mary and sons William and Daniel , under 21. He left lands in Magdalen Lever, Essex, near Hatfield Broad Oak. Mary died a spinster in 1761 at St Andrews Holborn. William, a citizen and mercer of London mentions in his will of 1704 his brothers Isaac and Daniel and sister Mary but no wife or children.  Brother Daniel is described as a widower of St Mary le Bow at his 1723 marriage to Mary Ambrose and age 38+. This yields a birth year of ca 1685 which ties in with his 1699 apprenticeship to William Baron. His will made 1744 mentions his sister, possibly his wife Mary? some nieces but no children.  Finally brother Isaac married Dorothy Browne 1699 at Arlesey, Bedfordshire. The marriage produced (at least) 4 daughters:- Mary, Ann, Lucy and Elizabeth. These are all the known (to me) Ewer descendants of Isaac’ the Regicide’s probable father Richard Ewer of Hatfield Broad Oak. If anyone can extend the lines then please let me know.

If you can trace your Ewer ancestry back to late 19^th century Shoreditch or Lambeth then there’s a good chance that you can go back another 300 years.

John Shaw Ewer married Alice Smith Hutchinson in Lambeth 1814 and had at least 8 children between 1816 and his death in 1835. His son Frederick had 5 children in Shoreditch and it is from this line that the owners of the George Ewer Bus Co were descended. John Shaw Ewer had a brother, George Richardson Ewer, who had 2 sons (George Jones Townsend Ewer and Charles Henry Ewer) who both had large families in the Shoreditch area. If you can trace back to any of the above then maybe you can also provide the link that for certain takes the line back several centuries.

JSE and GRE were 2 of the 6 children of John Ewer and Catherine Shaw who married at St Marylebone 26 Jun 1791. The register shows both parties as “of this parish”,  John and Catherine both sign their names so are literate. John made a will in 1838 leaving all to his 2^nd wife Judith who pre-deceased him and the executor in 1850 was John’s daughter Charlotte Ann Brightwell Sladden.  John died in April 1850 aged 80.

On 27 March 1771 Thomas and Elizabeth baptised their 4th child and 3^rd son John at Searches Farm,  St Albans (IGI) which lies a stones throw from the NW corner of the M1/M25 junction. John’s sister Rose and brother Joseph were baptized at Whitehouse Farm, a few hundred yards to the North of Searches Farm.  John, Rose, his sister Sarah and brother Thomas all feature in the will of his paternal grandmother Elizabeth nee Putnum made 1783 and proved 1785. Elizabeth very conveniently names in her will a large number of grandchildren with their surnames and so helps tie up several Ewer marriages. Elizabeth’s husband , John mentions Whitehouse Farm in his will made 1779 and this farm helps us go back in time with certainty.

Before doing that I summarise the evidence that this is the right John. There is nothing close to absolute to go on but circumstantially I feel very confident.

1)   Birth year fits death age

2)   He left a will, only a tiny % of people left wills in 1850, suggests education and at least modest wealth

3)   He signed his marriage entry in the parish register, again suggests education.

4)   His Grandson James (Hutchison) Ewer is staying at Holywell Hill, St Albans on the 1851 census perhaps implying a local connection.

John (died 1780) was the son of John Ewer (bef 1678-1731) of Whitehouse Farm (will at Hertford RO) and his wife Sarah nee Wilson. John (d 1731) was the son of James (1612-1689) and Rose Norris. In his will James leaves Winches (Whitehouse?) to his son John.  James is the son of William (ca 1575-1640) and his wife Maria.  William is described as “of the Millhouse” at his 1640 burial in St Stephens St Albans parish register.  There s a Millhouse Farm adjacent and due South of Whitehouse Farm.  This William is the son of William ( 15xx-1613). In his will proved 1614 William mentions several Ewers who are most likely the children of his son William as the names fit, William is the sole executor of his father’s will. This William is probably the son of William ( 15xx-1594) who died at Watford, his will is very difficult to read, he mentions wife Elizabeth and sons Thomas  and William and property in Abbots Langley and St Albans.  Also William d. 1614 has Thomas Ewer of Watford Dell as his witness (his brother perhaps? Does anyone have better evidence to prove that John who dies Lambeth 1850 was from the St Albans family?

David Ewer and Graham Hardy independently came across information on an old Pinner, Middlesex Ewer family.

December 7 1565      Simon Ewer, 1st born of J. Ewer

September 18 1567   T. Ewer, 2nd born of J. E.

20 December 1568      Ralph Ewer, 3rd son of John & Maud Ewer

July 14 1575               John Ewer, 4th born of John Ewer of Pynner

July 7 1577                Edward Ewer, 5th born of John Ewer of Pynner

June 25 1578             Robert Ewer, 6th born of John Ewer of Pynner

July 9 1579                Katine (Catherine) Ewer daughter of John Ewer

June 5 1582              Jerome Ewer, 7th son of John Ewer of Pynner

April 24 1585            Marc Ewer, 8th son of John Ewer

July 16 1587              Henrici (Henry), 9th child of John Ewer of Pynner

Dec 1 1587               Death of Henry Ewer, 9th son of John Ewer of Pynner

June 10 1589            Death of John Ewer senior of Pynner

1^st Son Simon Ewer of South Ockendon Essex made his will 6 Nov 1624. He refers to all his 7 surviving brothers  (ie all except Henry) but to no family of his own. He gives land in King’s Lynn to Ralph and Dunstable to Edward. He mentions his mother.

Mother Maud made a verbal will  in Sep 1625 and proved in Feb 1626. Mentions her son Thomas and 3 daughters. (Maybe she meant daughters-in-law). Christabel, the wife of Robert Ewer and Edward Ewer were among the witnesses.  Christabel being such an unusual name satisfies me that this is indeed Maud the widow of John of Pinner. (see will of Robert below).

4th son John, also of South Ockendon,  makes his will 19^th Dec 1625.  He mentions his only daughter Jane, several of his brothers with various chidren including son Thomas for Edward. And a nephew Randall Nicholls.

Next to go is 6^th son Robert, a citizen and saddler of London, who makes his will in 1625 and it is proved 1627. He mentions a wife, Christabel,  daughter Katherine and brothers Mark, Jeremy and Thomas.

3^rd son Ralph of King’s Lynn (where he inherited land form his brother Simon) made his will in 1631 mentioning no descendants.

2^nd son Thomas makes his will in 1636 and it is proved in 1638.  He fixes Randall Nicholl as the son of his sister Katherine.  He mentions various children of his brother Mark and makes his brother Edward his sole executor.

8^th son Mark, a Haberdasher of St Martin Pomeroy, London  makes his will in 1643 but it is not proved until Jan 1653/4. Mark had at least 10 children. 6 daughters and a son, James, are mentioned in his will.

5^th son Edward marries Marie Atwood in Luton 1610.  They have male heirs but the line seems to stop with the marriage of great great grandson Edward to Phyliss Maccarty in 1731. He died at Luton Oct 1777 pre-deceased by Phyliss in 1784.

7^th son Jerome makes his will in Bermuda. He mentions no direct descendants and one male Ewer descendant from his father and that is Thomas, son of Edward. He does not mention James, son of Mark although he does mention Frances, James’ sister.

This John Ewer of Pinner is the John Ewer of Pinner that features in the Visitation of Bedfordshire of 1634.

It appears that this whole Ewer line has died out unless James, the son of Mark, married and had male heirs.

He was the ancestor of a spy for the Russians, but where did Obadiah Ewer come from?

William Norman Ewer (1885-1976) was a spy for the soviets between the 2 world wars. A quick search on the internet will reveal more . He was descended from a well off family from Pinner, Middlesex. His father William Thomas Ewer was a silk manufacturer at the turn of the 20th century. WTs father, William was a butcher born in Pinner in 1807, himself the son of William (1782-1828) apprenticed as a butcher in 1794.  This William was the son of John Ewer born 1743 and Christian Graeme Knox who married at Pinner 27 Sep 1777. John was the 2^nd of at least 14 children of John Ewer of Pinner (1705-1761) and Phoebe Hill. This John was the son of John Ewer (????-1719) and Elizabeth Bunyan, his 2nd wife. John married his first wife Elizabeth Stanborough in 1678 and so was presumably born before 1660. The will of Richard Stanborough (1673) refers to “my youngest daughter Elizabeth now wife of John Ewer of Pinner”. John is the son and sole executor of the will of Obadiah Ewer, the subject of this article. Pinner parish registers record 47 Ewer baptisms between 1661 and 1822, 40 burials between 1668 and 1842 and just a few marriages. The family being fairly well off there are a few wills and it is possible to assemble over 60 direct Ewer descendants up to 1900. Pinner registers start at 1654 and Harrow yields nothing earlier. Obadiah mentions “the two children of my daughter Ann Hill” in his will of 1688. Ann Ewer married Joseph Hill at St Bartholomew the Less 16 Oct 1661. Assuming Ann was Obadiah’s daughter and at least 18 at her wedding she was born before 1644. Therefore Obadiah probably married in or before 1644 and was born in or before 1624, probably before 1620. Only 2 of his children feature in Pinner register: Steven 1661 and Elizabeth 1662. Obadiah and his wife are both in the burial register, wife Elizabeth being buried in 1668.  I have no wedding or birth for this Obadiah. Further I have no Ewer will in which he features. He was clearly fairly well off and possibly quite wealthy.   I wonder if he adopted the name Obadiah. Manorial records of Pinner (if any exist) may tell us how Obadiah came into his lands.  There may well be a connection with an earlier Ewer family in Pinner which I shall write about in a subsequent article.

On 4^th Jun 1796 a James Ewer married Mary Grahme at Halkyn, nr Holywell, Flintshire. They baptised 6 children in or around Holywell  between 1797 and 1810.  James did well and was bequeathed the Gyrn Estate in 1806. He is described as a Gentry in Pigots directories of 1828/9 and 1835. There were theee sons:- Arthur bap 1810 of whom I know nothing,  Robert bap. 1797 who had a son and 2 daughters but the son died as an infant, and James Garnet bap 1799 who emigrated to Australia. There is an excellent article about JGE by Matt Hall http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.co.uk/ who has done a lot of research on Ewers in Australia.

I have a candidate for James and he is the son of James and Ann Cooper who married in St Stephen Walbrook (IGI) London 15 Jul 1769. James was baptized 23 Oct 1774 at St George, Stepney and is the grandson of Francis Ewer and Arabella Lovett. (Francis IV in my list of 6). James the father inherited £300 from his uncle Henry Lovett in 1788 and was a carpenter at Pennngton St, Stepney when James the son was baptized.  The evidence for the link is by no means any kind of solid proof but I find it fairly compelling. James of Holywell was well to do and styled himself a Gent.. So most likely was James the carpenter as his cousins undoubtedly were.  However the glue that perhaps cements this link came with a surprise notation to a burial entry for an Ann Ewer, buried in Christchurch, Spitalfields St Mary and St Stephen on 6 Feb 1840 age 92 and of Lytham.  Now James and Mary of Holywell both died in the Fylde district of Lancashire which includes Lytham. Given that there were hardly any Ewer events in the north of England before 1900 this is unusual. I think it is reasonable to assume that the burial is of Ann nee Cooper, mother of James (bap. 1774) and provides a connection between the London and Holywell families..

In an earlier article I complained of a dearth of Francis Ewer events. Here I turn the tables and have a plethora of them from the undisputed Ewer heartland of Watford, Hertfordshire. There are more Ewer events recorded in Watford St Mary’s register than any other parish in the country. There are 200 baptisms between 1540 and 1760. It is hard for me not to believe that I am descended from an early branch of this line but the evidence is circumstantial only.

Francis VI (1767-1845) was born in St George in the East, Middlesex, probably the 4^th of 5 children of Francis (V) and Elizabeth Merrett.  Francis and Elizabeth had 3 boys:- Henry (1765-1800), Thomas (1771-1843) and of course Francis VI.  I can’t find a marriage for any of the three sons but Thomas had a daughter Elizabeth. Two sons and their father feature on a memorial inscription from Watford Parish Church:- Francis Ewer nephew of Henry Lovett d. 15 Sep 1791 age 51, Henry Ewer son of Francis Ewer d. 13 Mar 1800 age 35, Francis Ewer 2^nd son of Francis Ewer d. 27 Sep 1845 age 78.

As an aside Francis VI qualified to vote in 1832 by virtue of his Copyhold and Freehold estate situate at Three Cherry Trees Farm, Hemel Hempstead. Any Ewer of my line is descended from John Ewer who farmed Three Cherry Trees farm around 1760.  It seems unlikely that this is a mere co-incidence but I cannot yet connect this extensive Ewer family with my own line .

Francis V (1735-1791) baptised and buried in Watford. Married Elizabeth Merret 15 Apr 1759 at St Martin in the Fields and Sarah Walker 26 May 1786 at St George in the East where he was a churchwarden. Francis was a carpenter in Princes Square, by 1802 he was the freeholder of the property.

Francis IV (1711/12-1755) was baptised and buried at Watford. He married Arabella Lovett 29 Nov 1735, a “Fleet” wedding. There are 8 baptisms to Henry and Arabella between 1736 and 1754. 2 further baptisms to Arabella are after Francis’ death .

Francis IV was outlived by his father Francis III (1687-1769) who left  £5 in his will to his grandson Francis, carpenter of Pennington Highway. He was baptized at Watford and buried at Ivinghoe .He married twice and had at least 3 sons and a daughter.

Francis II (1665-1697?) Was baptized at Watford. I have no burial record but I believe estate was granted by an administration of 1697to his wife Mary nee Clench who he married at Watford 24 Aug 1686. Mary was left with three children under 10, Francis, John and Mary.

Francis I (1624-1703) was baptized and buried in Watford. There are 10 baptisms in the Watford registers for children of Francis between 1648 and 1671. Francis was a maltster and in his will his wife Mary is the sole executrix and he leaves property to a son Jonathon. Francis III is not mentioned.

Francis was bap. 21 Jul 1624 at Watford to John and Isabel. John’s will was proved 1655 and Francis, the eldest son, receives copyhold property in Bushey

Are there any Ewer descendants in the 1881 census from this line?

Francis IV  had a son James bap. 21 Aug 1750 at Watford, James married Ann Cooper 1769 and was a Carpenter of Pennington St at the baptism of his son James 23 Oct 1774  at St George.  I know nothing of this James.

Francis III had sons Henry bap 1723 and Thomas bap. 1728 by his 2^nd wife Anne Cooley. Henry is not in his father’s will, but Thomas is but the implication is that he needed care.

Francis II had a son John bap. 3 Nov 1689 at Watford but I know nothing more.

Francis I had several sons. John (1652-1724) gives us a couple of generations before the male line seems to die out. Edward bap. 1664 is apprenticed as a tallow chandler in 1679 but then disappears; Joseph bap. 1667, no information; Samuel bap. 1669 becomes a butcher at Watford, has a son Henry bap. 1704; Jonathan bap. 1671 at Watford marries Lucy Nicholls, of his 3 sons I know most about John who was apprenticed to his uncle John as a Tallow Chandler in 1716, married Mary Dockin in Hampstead 1728 and baptised at least 7 children at Wapping between 1729 and 1737. Of these Edward (1737-1788) married Susan Parker at St Dunstan Stepney in 1760 and had 2 sons, John and Edward Turner. John, bap. 1765 at Wapping, I last have as an apprentice barber in 1780. ET (1769 – before 1811) married Sophia Innes around 1790, they had 3 sons:- John bap. 1791 at St Martin Westminster, Edward William bap. 1793 at Folkestone and William Jones bap. 1796 at Chelsea.  Sophia dies a widow in Piccadilly Oct 1811 and I have no information on the three sons.

I have worked on this family for many years, driven by the possible connection to my own line but I have to concede that in all directions the male line appears to fade away. John, the father of Francis I had other sons who had several children and perhaps I shall write about them another time.

Amos Otis writes that Thomas Ewer aged 40, a tailor, embarked on the James in 1635 with his wife and two children, Elizabeth aged 4 and Thomas aged 1.5   and that he had at least 2 older children who emigrated later, possibly with their grandfather in 1638.

Thomas married Bridget Hipsley at Strood 13 Sep 1614. Thomas and Bridget baptized 3 children at Strood: William 8 Dec 1616, Elizabeth 13 Feb 1618. And Robert in Oct 1622. Elizabeth is buried 23 Sep 1618 and Robert  is buried 14 July 1623. Bridget is buried soon after her son Robert, in Aug 1623. Thomas becomes a widower in 1623 with a 7 year old son, William. William is 18 when his father emigrates, he stays behind and marries Mary Dann at Strood 7 Feb 1636.  William and Mary baptise daughter Elizabeth at Strood 8 Mar 1637. There are 4 baptisms to a father Thomas Ewer in the Strood register between the time of Thomas’ marriage to Sarah Learned 13 Jan 1623/24 at Bermondsey and his departure to New England.  John 14 Jan 1625/26, Sarah 10 May 1629, Elizabeth Oct 1631 and Thomas 6 Feb 1632/33.

There are no burial entries at Strood for John and Sarah so they may have survived and emigrated later than their parents. However Thomas’ father would have been at least 65 when Thomas emigrated and leaving 7 and 10 year old children with a relative of such an age for them to follow later to New England is not easy to accept.

Strood registers do not give either parent for early baptisms. There are 4 close entries which suggest a single family so Thomas, baptised 10 Mar 1592 may have had at least 3 siblings

Ursula 30 March 1589 married Bartholemew Cobden at Strood 29 Jun 1612

Elizabeth 24 Jan 1590 married Humphrey Mottershed at Strood 14 Jan 1618

Rebecca 9 Dec 1599 probably buried at Strood Feb 1599/00.

Robert Ewer of Cuxton, Kent (an adjacent parish to Strood) was buried at Strood, in accordance with his wish expressed in his will, on 13 Jan 1617/18.  In his will he mentions his son Philemon. One of the witnesses to the will is Willam Hippesley. Philemon had 5 children baptized at Strood (1621-1637) and is surely an ancestor of Philemon the Master shipbuilder. Philemon is the probably the same generation as Thomas, possibly a first cousin but unlikely to be a brother. I shall deal with the ancestry of “Captain” Philemon in a later article.  I believe that the combination of a witness to Robert’s will being the same name as Thomas’ first wife and the scarcity of Philemon as a name and the locale of these events is very strong evidence that the Ewers who descend from Thomas the emigrant are all cousins of the extensive Hampshire based descendants of Philemon of Strood.

There are 8 Ewer families resident in St Albans on the 1881 census. All of these families are descendants of Francis Ewer who married Mary Barton or Burton on 9^th Nov 1784 at Flamstead, Hertfordshire. If you are a descendant of any of these families you have the frustration of having one of the shorter certain Ewer ancestries. Francis and Mary were buried at St Michael’s in 1834 and 1833 and the register gives their ages so we have an estimated birth year for Francis of 1754. The witnesses at Francis’ wedding in 1784 were Thomas Stanner and Martha Cannington. I have not come across these surnames in any Ewer connection elsewhere. On 7 Jun 1787 Francis Ewer is a witness to the marriage of James Lawrence and Mary Barton at Flamstead.  On 23/4/1810 Retty Ewer witnesses the marriage of James Lawrence and Maria Coote at Flamstead. Retty Ewer must be the Ritter Grigg who married Francis Ewer  in King’s Walden  3 Nov 1806.

So there are in fact two Francis Ewers in the same part of North Herts who appear to be familiar with the Lawrence family.

Francis and Mary christen their (first?) child Mary at Flamstead 14 Sep 1788 but by 31 Oct 1791 they are christening a daughter at St Michael’s St Albans where they also christen sons John and Thomas and daughter Hannah.

I have no unaccounted for Francis Ewer entries in the relevant time period and to have 2 unidentifiable Francis Ewers at the end of the 18th century seems most odd.

Records on the IGI do not help trace back the Ewer families of Banbury before 1811 and I have found no other research on their history so I put forward here my theory that at least one of them is or all of them are descended from Thomas Ewer and Margaret his wife who had 10 children in London between 1745 & 1760. A lot of the evidence is circumstantial and I hope that there are people reading this who can provide a more certain linkage.

In the early 19^th century there were 3 male Ewer weddings at Banbury

1.  Edward Ewer married Mary Kimberley 13 Sep 1811
2. George Ewer married Mary Paxton        22 Sep 1817  Edward & Mary Ewer witnesses
3. Thomas Ewer married Elizabeth Dean    16 Jul 1821  an Edward Ewer was a witness

Only one of these marriages produce Ewer descendants beyond the second generation and that was George and Mary, some of their descendants emigrated to Wyoming.

All 3 males were of Banbury and bachelors at their weddings. I believe that they were brothers (or possibly cousins) born around 1783-1788.

Thomas died at Calthorpe Lane Banbury 1 Feb 1831 age 48 and so was born ca. 1783

George died Neithrop Aug 1832 aged 44 and so was born ca. 1788

Edward was buried at HORLEY 15 Oct 1856 aged 71 and “of Banbury” and so was born ca. 1785.

The Horley burial gives a potential link. On 20^th Oct 1776 an Edward Ewer married Sarah Varney at Horley and Hornton, not far from Banbury. Thomas Ewer was a witness. It is reasonable to suppose that Edward (1785-1856) was buried at Horley because he had an association with the parish. I believe that he may have bee the son of Edward Ewer and Sarah nee Varney and that Thomas (1783-1831) and George (1788-1832) were his brothers. I do have a record of a christening at Banbury Catholic Church for Catherine Ewer, daughter of George and Sarah on 14 Apr 1800.

Edward was buried at Banbury 3 Jan 1829 age 76 and therefore born ca. 1753

Sarah was buried at Banbury Jan 1832 aged 75.

The Shoreditch connection

An Edward Ewer was c. 17 May 1753 at Shoreditch St Leonard’s by Thomas/Margaret Ewer. What connects Shoreditch and Banbury? Around 1785 Bridget Ewer, widow of Samuel, with children George and Jane was removed from Shoreditch to Banbury. Samuel and Bridgett were married at Coventry Holy Trinity 26 May 1773 just 20 miles north of Banbury. Their daughter Jane was c. 26 Dec 1783 at Banbury. A Samuel Ewer was c. 8 March 1746 at Shoreditch St Leonard’s by Thomas/Margaret Ewer.

Thomas Ewer married Ann Worrall 3 Sep 1779 at Kineton, Warwickshire, a few miles from Banbury. They had Peggy c. 21 May 1780 at Kineton, then a Thomas/Ann Ewer c. Rebecca 24 Jun 1784 and buried 2 Rebeccas, 7 Jul 1784 and 31 Oct 1795, at Banbury. Ann, wife of Tom, bur. 31 Jul 1798 at Banbury. How does this connect? Rebecca is certainly a less common name but Peggy, a diminutive of Margaret, is very scarce.  A Thomas Ewer was c. 16 Oct 1748 at Shoreditch St Leonard’s by Thomas/Margaret Ewer. A Rebecca Ewer was c. 26 Oct 1760 at Shoreditch St Leonard’s by Thomas/Margaret Ewer. A Thomas turning up in Banbury using the scarce to rare names of the mother and sister of a Thomas whose brothers had Banbury connections is a pretty good link.

Further:

Mary Ewer, married John Page 10 Sep 1794 at Banbury

Mary Ewer, sp of Banbury, married Thomas Nichols 23 Jul 1799 at Banbury.

Margaret Ewer married John Essex 29 Dec 1801 at Banbury

Margaret is less common as a name and suggests again a link to the Shoreditch family.