Rev. Finis Ewing b. 10 Jun 1773 Bedford County, Virginia d. 4 Jul 1841 Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri: Davidson Genealogies

1773 - 1841 (68 years)

Name	Finis Ewing [1]
Prefix	Rev.
Born	10 Jun 1773	Bedford County, Virginia [2]
Gender	Male
Religion	Presbyterian [2]
Occupation	Minister [2]
Residence	Tennessee [2]
Tax List	1800	Logan County, Kentucky
	"Second Census" of Kentucky, p. 94 Name County Tax List Date Ewing, Finis Logan 1800
1830 Census	1830	Cooper County, Missouri
	p. 194 Finis Ewing 002 200 010 0000 - 100 010 010 0000
Residence	1840	Lexington County, Missouri [3]
FindaGrave Memorial ID	32625943
	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32625943
1840 Census	1840	Lafayette County, Missouri
	p. 142
Died	4 Jul 1841	Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri [2]
Buried	Aft 4 Jul 1841	Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri
Person ID	I697	DNA Family 1 Genealogies
Last Modified	7 Oct 2018

Father	Robert Ewing, b. 1718, Coleraine, Londonderry, Ireland, UK , d. Jun 1787, Peaks of Otter, Bedford County, Virginia (Age 69 years)
Mother	Mary "Polly" Baker, b. Abt 1730, Prince Edward County, Virginia , d. Abt 1790, Peaks of Otter, Bedford County, Virginia (Age ~ 60 years)
Married	1747	Virginia
Family ID	F431	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Margaret Brevard "Peggy" Davidson, b. 23 Jan 1774, Rowan County, North Carolina , d. 12 Dec 1868, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri (Age 94 years)

Married 12 Jan 1793 Davidson County, Tennessee

Alt. Marriage 15 Jan 1793 Davidson County, Tennessee [2]

Children

	1. Winnifred Warren Ewing, b. 23 Aug 1794, d. 22 Jun 1838, Cooper County, Missouri (Age 43 years)
	2. William Lee Davidson Ewing, b. 31 Aug 1795, Paris, Logan County, Kentucky , d. 25 Mar 1846, Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois (Age 50 years)
	3. Thompson McGready Ewing, b. 15 Jun 1798, Logan County, Kentucky , d. 20 Feb 1871 (Age 72 years)
	4. Polly Ewing, b. 15 Sep 1800, Kentucky , d. 9 Oct 1800, Kentucky (Age 0 years)
	5. Dovey Bryan Ewing, b. 13 Sep 1801, Kentucky , d. 27 Oct 1802, Kentucky (Age 1 years)
	6. Baxter McGee Ewing, b. 9 Sep 1803, Kentucky , d. 18 Aug 1822, Cooper County, Missouri (Age 18 years)
	7. Mary Anderson Ewing, b. 25 Jun 1805, Logan County, Kentucky , d. Between 1850 and 1860 (Age 44 years)
	8. Margaret Davidson Ewing, b. 28 Jul 1807, Logan County, Kentucky , d. Sep 1897, Jackson County, Missouri (Age 90 years)
	9. Pamela Jane Ewing, b. 4 Aug 1809, Logan County, Kentucky , d. 1881, Austin, Travis County, Texas (Age 71 years)
	10. Finis Young Ewing, b. 11 Feb 1811, Kentucky , d. 13 May 1891, Cole County, Missouri (Age 80 years)
	11. Washington Perry Ewing, b. 16 Jun 1814, Kentucky , d. Jun 1867, Texas (Age 52 years)
	12. Robert Chatham Donnell Ewing, b. 16 Mar 1816, Todd County, Kentucky , d. Unknown, Montana
	13. Rev. Ephraim Brevard Ewing, b. 16 May 1819, Todd County, Kentucky , d. 21 Jun 1873, Missouri (Age 54 years)

Last Modified 29 Jan 2011

Family ID F388 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Event Map

	Residence - - Tennessee
	Married - 12 Jan 1793 - Davidson County, Tennessee
	Alt. Marriage - 15 Jan 1793 - Davidson County, Tennessee
	1840 Census - 1840 - Lafayette County, Missouri
	Died - 4 Jul 1841 - Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri
	Buried - Aft 4 Jul 1841 - Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri

= Link to Google Earth

Notes

From: Presley Kittredge Ewing & Mary Ellen (William) Ewing, "The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches" (1919), p. 59 ff:

Finis Ewing, the twelfth child and youngest son of Robert and Mary (Baker) Ewing, was born in Bedford County, Virginia, July 10, 1773, died at Lexington Missouri, July 4, 1841.

He moved to what is now Tennessee, with his older brothers and sisters, after the death of their father, and settled about six miles north of Nashville, Davidson County, near the Spring Hill Church; removed to Logan County, Kentucky, in 1794, and settled about eight miles from Russellville, near the Red River Meeting House. Began preaching in 1800, and was ordained by the Cumberland Presbytery in November 1803. The Cumberland Presbytery seceded in December, 1809, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized February 10, 1810, by Finis Ewing, assisted by Samuel McAdoo, Samuel King and Ephraim McLean.

He, Finis Ewing, removed to Christian (now Todd) County Kentucky, about 1811-1812; lived at Ewingsville post office, was post master of Ewingsville, and had pastoral charge of the Lebanon congregation.

He was appointed Registrar of the Land Office by President Jackson in 1830, and held that office until 1841.

He removed to Lafayette County, Missouri, in 1832, and settled near Lexington, and in 1836 moved to Lexington, where he lived until his death.

His sermons have been published, and a biogrpahy has been written of him, entitled "Ewing, Rev. Finis E., one of the Fathers and Founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church."

He married in Davidson County, Tennessee, January 15, 1793, Margaret Davidson, born January 23, 1774, died December 12, 1868, daughter of General William Lee Davidson, born 1746, and killed in the War of the Revolution, while serving as a General on the side of Independence, at the Battle of Cowan's Ford on the Catawba River, February 1, 1781. He had succeeded Griffith Rutherford in command. Mary Brevard, wife of General William Davidson and mother of Finis's wife, Margaret, was the daughter of John Brevard and his wife, nee McWhorter. An interesting biogrpahy has been written of General Davidson's wife, Mary Brevard, entitled "Aunt Peggy."
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Rev. Finis Ewing was born 10 June 1773, son of Robert Ewing and his wife Mary Baker. Margaret Davidson and Finis Ewing were married 15 January 1793 in Davidson Co., TN. They lived in Tennessee, Kentucky, and in Cooper and Lexington Counties in Missouri. Rev. Ewing was prominent in the establishment, in Dickson County, TN, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Both Margaret and Finis died in Lexington, MO, he on 4 July 1841 and she on 12 Dec 1868.
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Finis Ewing was the twelfth and final child born to Robert and Mary Baker Ewing. He moved to Tennessee with his brothers and sisters after the death of his father in 1787.

His parents had twelve children - nine sons and three daughters. Finis was their twelfth and last child, and from his being the last, his parents gave him the fanciful name of Finis -- the end.

Finis was married to Margaret Brevard Davidson in Davidson County, Tennessee, a county named after Margaret Davidson's father, Brig. General William Lee Davidson of Revolutionary War fame. The year following their marriage the family moved to Logan County, Kentucky.

Finis and Margaret became parents of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, several of whom attained successful careers as politicians and educators.
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Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century, page 348

EWING, FINIS, clergyman, author, was born June 10, 1773, in Bedford county, Pa. He was a Presbyterian clergyman who with two others organized the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1810. He was the author of Lectures on Divinity, which is an exposition of the doctrines of his sect. He died July 4, 1841, in Lexington, Mo.
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The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IV

EWING, Finis, religious leader, was born in Bedford county, Va., June 10, 1773. His parents were Scotch Presbyterians and both died before the boy had reached his majority. He acquired a good elementary education, and after the death of his parents removed to Tennessee where he was married to a daughter of Gen. William Davidson of Nashville, an officer in the American army during the Revolutionary war. He then settled in Logan County, Ky., and in 1803 was ordained as a minister by the Cumberland presbytery. The Kentucky synod refused to recognize the candidates ordained by the Cumberland presbytery at this time, principally because the candidates were not college men, and in 1806 the synod dissolved the Cumberland presbytery. This action was sustained by the general assembly, but the proscribed members organized a council which was continued from December, 1805, to February, 1810, when Mr. Ewing, with Samuel King, assisted by Samuel McAdam, also proscribed ministers, reorganized the Cumberland presbytery, Feb. 4, 1810, as an independent presbytery, and thus was founded the Cumberland Presbyterian church. There were present at its first adjourned meeting in March, 1810, four ordained ministers, six licentiates and seven candidates for the ministry. In 1813 the Cumberland synod was founded. Mr. Ewing removed to Todd county, Ky., to take charge of the Lebanon congregation, and in 1820 he organized a congregation in New Lebanon, Mo. He removed to Lexington, Mo., in 1836 and preached there during the remainder of his life. He published Lectures on Divinity, which volume was the key to the creed of the church as founded by him and his associates who had been proscribed. He died in Lexington, Mo., July 4, 1841.
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Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume II
VIII--Prominent Persons

Finis Ewing was born in Bedford county, Virginia, June 10, 1773, died in Lexington, Missouri, July 4, 1841. He was of Scotch-Irish descent and both of his parents were noted for piety. His early education was neglected, but it is said that he studied for a time in college. After the death of his parents he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1823 married a daughter of William Davidson, a revolutionary general. Soon afterward he went to Logan county, Kentucky, where he was licensed to preach, and in 1803 was ordained by the Cumberland presbytery. He met with remarkable success as a revivalist, but his ordination was not recognized by the Kentucky synod, and the presbytery being dissolved, and the action of the synod having been sustained by the general assembly, he, with two others, organized in 1810 the new Cumberland Presbyterian church, which now numbers about two thousand congregations. In doctrine they occupy a middle ground between Calvinism and Arminianism. A few years after originating the new denomination Mr. Ewing removed to Todd county, Kentucky, and became pastor of the Lebanon congregation, near Ewingsville. In 1820 he proceeded to Missouri, settled in what is now Cooper county, and organized a congregation at New Lebanon, which still flourishes. In 1836 he removed to Lexington, Fayette county, where he preached till his death. He is the author of "Lectures on Divinity," which contains the germ of the peculiarities of the creed of the Cumberland Presbyterians.
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Cemetery Records of Cooper County, Missouri Volume IV

"The New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church is the oldest Cumberland Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi River, being organized in 1820 by the Rev. John Carnahan at the home of Alexander Sloan. The first pastor of this church was Finis Ewing, a rugged, God-fearing pioneer preacher; he and others like him were called "Sons of Thunder" in the pulpit. The Cumberland movement was in its infancy, being founded by Finis Ewing in Dixon County, Tennessee. Although ordained in the Calvinistic faith in 1803, he chose instead to follow the teachings of James McGready, in 1809, when the Cumberland Presbytery in Kentucky succeeded. Finis Ewing emerged the leader of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

In 1812, Finis Ewing's pastoral charge was Lebanon Church in Logan Co. Kentucky; declaring that "Tobacco and the Baptists are taking the country"; he and a group of his followers left this church for Cooper County, Missouri. Settling near here, he established himself with a post office called Ewingsville; the church was called New Lebanon after the one they left behind. Of the original Lebanon Church in Kentucky, only an overgrown cemetery remains to mark their passing. Ewing was also instrumental in starting the Mt. Vernon Cumberland Presbyterian Church a mile south of Pilot Grove, Mo.

The first church building was constructed in 1822; it was a log building used for both a church and school.

The Rev. R. D. Morrow, in 1824, organized a school for young preachers in this neighborhood, and between 1825 and 1885, 32 ministers were ordained, 48 were licensed, and 66 candidates for the ministry were under its jurisdiction.

The construction of the present brick church was started in 1857, and completed in 1860. The bricks were made near the church, and the pine lumber was hauled from Boonville with teams and wagons.

In the early part of the century, this church united with the U. S. A. Presbyterian Church. Members of this church discontinued services in 1971, and would like to have the building preserved as a historical site."

From: "Pilot Grove Centennial Book, 1873-1973"

The New Lebanon Cemetery -

The New Lebanon Cemetery is among the oldest in the state still in use as a burial ground in 1976. The cemetery has served as a resting place for the dead since 1816; five years before Missouri became a state and four years before the church was organized. The oldest extant grave stone is that of Baxter McGee Ewing, the sixth child of Rev. Finis Ewing. Baxter M. Ewing was born Sept. 9, 1803 and died Aug. 18, 1822, at the age of nineteen years. It is probable that there were earlier burials here, but no records remain.

Cemetery: The New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Cemetery

Description: Location: Center NE 1/4 of Section 21; T-46-N; R-18-W; on the Forest Lewis Farm Note: August, 1978 Mr. Lewis informed Mr. Gene Cordry that recently some grave stones had been discovered when he and his sons were cultivating land at this site. He had not known of a burial plot there. They took the stones to his home and stacked them near the house. Mr. Cordry and Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Mitzel were invited to his home and recorded these names.
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Ewing, Finis 1773-1841
American National Biography. 24 volumes. Edited by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. (AmNatBi)
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The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Brief biographies of authors, administrators, clergymen, commanders, editors, engineers, jurists, merchants, officials, philanthropists, scientists, statesmen, and others who are making American history. 10 volumes. Edited by Rossiter Johnson. Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904. Reprint. Detroit: Gale Research, 1968. (TwCBDA)
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(Note: Children not shown with dates may not be in the correct order.)
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From the Adairville Banner, August 1, 1901, Adairville, TN.

The Ewing Family
Finis was an educator and founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He was a man of great intellect and deep spirituality. In 1820 he moved to Cooper County, Missouri, where he organized a church and founded the first school in the West for training young men for the ministry. Rev. R. D. Morrow taught literature and Rev. Finis Ewing theology. Under date of Sept. 30, 1897, the Cumberland Presbyterian, in giving "a sketch of the life and labors of the noble woman, Mrs. Margaret Ewing Sloan, by whose recent death was broken the last link which directly united present day Cumberland Presbyterians with the founders of the church," states: "She was the only living child of the great and beloved Rev. Finis Ewing, a name dear to the heart of every loyal Cumberland Presbyterian. The Ewing family has figured prominently in the history of the United States, but especially of Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. Aunt Margaret's oldest brother, Gen. Lee D. Ewing, defeated Abraham Lincoln for the speakership of the Illinois Legislature in 1839. "

Sources

[S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), pp. 15, 23 (Reliability: 3).
[S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), p. 23 (Reliability: 3).
[S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), p. 23 (Reliability: 3).
As there is no Lexington County, MO, maybe this is referring to Lexington, Lafayette Co., MO