EWELL, William M.,Evergreen, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Randy DeCuir




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William M. Ewell, planter, Evergreen, La. No worthy reference to the
agricultural affairs of this parish would be complete without mention of Mr.
Ewell among other, engaged in tilling the soil. Besides enjoying to an
unlimited extent the confidence and respect of all who know him, he comes of
an old and respected family of Virginia. Mr. Ewell was born in Bedford County,
Tenn., on March 20, 1830, and his parents, Leighton and Susan (Blanton) Ewell,
were natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. Leighton Ewell removed
with his parents to Tennessee when a boy, grew to manhood, and received his
education there, and followed the life of a planter. He died when about only
twenty-five or thirty years of age, leaving two children, one a sister,
besides our subject. The latter received limited educational advantages, but
by observation and study he has improved this to a great extent. He moved to
Avoyelles Parish in 1849, and shortly afterward was engaged as overseer for a
prominent planter in that parish. Later he embarked in the mercantile business
at Evergreen. In 1853 he was wedded to Miss P. A. Miles, daughter of Lemuel
Miles, one of the pioneer settlers of Avoyelles Parish. In 1861 Mr. Ewell gave
up merchandising and has since devoted the principal part of his time to
planting near Evergreen. In the year 1861 he went out as a volunteer in
Company H, Sixteenth Louisiana Infantry, operated with the army of Tennessee,
and was in all the engagements of the army up to the fall of Vicksburg. He
went out as orderly sergeant, and was promoted to sergeant-major after the
battle of Shiloh. From the fall of Vicksburg to the close of the war he was
engaged as the special agent of the treasury department of the Confederate
States to receive money at Richmond, Va., and transmit it across the
Mississippi. It was paid out at Shreveport, La., and at Marshall, Tex. Mr.
Ewell was engaged in this business until the close of the war. Since 1858 he
has been a notary public and magistrate most of the time up to the present.
For years he has been mayor of Evergreen, and has always been interested in
local politics. He is a prominent Mason, and has occupied prominent positions
in both the home and State lodges for thirty years. He and his estimable wife
are members of the Baptist Church. Their family consists of four children: L.
B., Susan E. (wife of Dr. J. J. Roberts, Hillsboro, Tex.), William V. and M.
B. Mr. Ewell's farming operation are conducted in a manner indicative of a
progressive, thorough agriculturist, and he is a man of industry and
enterprise.