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Welcome! This website was created on 23 Jun 2012 and last updated on 25 Mar 2024. The family trees on this site contain 26530 relatives and 323 photos. If you have any questions or comments you may send a message to the Administrator of this site.
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About The Ewens of Monymusk
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Ewen is a male given name, most common throughout Scotland and Canada, due to the influence of  Scots in that country. It is a derivative of the Pictish name, Vuen (or 'Wen'), which is the  Pictish British cognate of Eoghan in Gaelic. It is also, less commonly, a surname.

It is said to mean "born of the yew (tree)" and is also associated loosely with the Scottish  god of the glen. In Gaelic etymology, Euan implies a plethoric (red-faced) individual.

In this family tree the main line of descent is the Ewen family (from Monymusk, Aberdeenshire)  but it also includes significant distaff lines for the MacSweens (of Scalpay, Harris), the  Campbells (of Harris), the Thomsons (from Migvie, Aberdeenshire), and the Archibalds (from  Tough, Aberdeenshire).

From very humble beginnings as weavers and landless farm labourers the Ewen family lived and  worked in the area around Monymusk village in Aberdeenshire for 150 years before starting to  spread out across the world.

Those Ewens who stayed in Scotland are now widely scattered across the country but it is  possible to identify some family groups based on their geographical location.  Each of these  groups originate from a single individual who moved to a new place to start the new family  branch:

The Garioch Ewens originate from Robert Ewen (B. 1828 in Aberdeen) The Perthshire Ewens originate from James Ritchie Ewen (B.1853 at Midtrath, Birse)  The Deeside Ewens originate from Alexander Ewen (B. 1856 at Midtrath, Birse) The Aberdeen Ewens originate from Robert Ewen (B. 1858 at Midstrath, Birse) The Speyside Ewens originate from John Ewen (B.1868 at Westertown, Kincardine O’Neil) The Banchory Ewens originate from David Ewen (B.1872 at Westertown, Kincardine O’Neil)

There are now established branches of the Ewen family in Australia, New Zealand and Canada and  we know of individuals who have gone to South Africa and the USA but we do not know if they  established new branches of the family in these countries.  The identified groups are:

The South Australian Ewens originate from Alexander Ewen (B. 1826 in Midmar) The West Australian Ewens originate from William Ewen (B. 1860 at Midstrath, Birse) There are 4 separate branches of the Ewen family in Canada,  * the Ontario Ewens originate from Gordon Michie Ewen (B.1825 in Aberdeen, Scotland) and              Margaret Ewen (B. 1836 in Cluny Parish)
 * the Alberta Ewens originate from James Armstrong Ewen (B.1886 in Perth, Scotland) * the Saskatchewan Ewens originate from Grace Smith Ewen (B.1893 in Keith, Scotland) and              James Alwyn Ewen (B.1901 in Elgin, Scotland)
 * the Edmonton Ewens originate from William Alexander Thomson (B.1902 in Dunottar, Scotland) There are 4 separate branches of the Ewen family in New Zealand: * the Dunedin Ewens originate from George Dickson (B.1847 in Skene Parish, Scotland) * the Hamilton Ewens originate from Andrew Low Thomson (B.1906 in Cupar, Scotland) and             James Low Thomson (B. 1901 in Logierait)
 * the Wellington Ewens originate from Robert Donald (B.1811 in Monymusk, Scotland) * the New Zealand Ewens originate from John Forbes Ewen (B. 1904 in Leochil-Cushnie, Scotland)

When trying to understand what caused Scots people to emigrate, the best known reason is the  clearance of Highlanders to make way for sheep, which started about 1720 (after the first  Jacobite uprising) and continued to a peak in 1810 - 1820.   However the Lowlands were  similarly affected because in the 1700s improvements in agricultural practice led to the old  run-rig system of agriculture being replaced by larger farms with enclosed fields, longer  leases and higher rents which many people could not afford.  This created a large class of  landless people who could either work as labourers for the new tenant farmers,  work in  forestry or in the quarries, or leave to work in factories in the cities, or emigrate.   So the  population of the whole of rural Scotland, both highland and lowland was already decreasing  when the Highland Potato Famine arrived in the 1840s. While the mortality rate was less than  other Scottish famines in the 1690s, and 1780, the Highland potato famine caused many people to  leave Scotland during the period 1846–52. 
 The clearest examples of this in our family tree are:

*   Alexander Ewen born in 1826 in Midmar Parish who emigrated to Australia in 1848 where he      married Mary Parsons and together they raised a family of 14 children at Encounter Bay      south of Adelaide.
 *   Gordon Michie Ewen who emigrated to Ontario, Canada in 1855 with his wife and 5 young      children

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Getting Around
There are several ways to browse the family tree. The Tree View graphically shows the relationship of selected person to their kin. The Family View shows the person you have selected in the center, with his/her photo on the left and notes on the right. Above are the father and mother and below are the children. The Ancestor Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph above and children below. On the right are the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The Descendant Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph and parents below. On the right are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Do you know who your second cousins are? Try the Kinship Relationships Tool. Your site can generate various Reports for each name in your family tree. You can select a name from the list on the top-right menu bar.

In addition to the charts and reports you have Photo Albums, the Events list and the Relationships tool. Family photographs are organized in the Photo Index. Each Album's photographs are accompanied by a caption. To enlarge a photograph just click on it. Keep up with the family birthdays and anniversaries in the Events list. Birthdays and Anniversaries of living persons are listed by month. Want to know how you are related to anybody ? Check out the Relationships tool.

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