Thomas West Ewart was born around 1816 in Ohio. He married Grace Dana on October 16, 1838, and they had at least four children: Mary, born around 1839; Alice, born around 1843; Thomas, born around 1846; and William, born around 1850. They lived in Marietta, Ohio, and he worked as a clerk of the court. By 1850, he owned $7,000 of real estate. He served in Ohio’s 1850-51 constitutional convention.
His wife died on May 13, 1854, and he married Jerusha Gear soon afterward. They had at least six children: Edward, born around 1855; Frances, born on July 7, 1861; George, born around 1865; Julia, born around 1867; Frank, born around 1872; and Elizabeth, born around 1875. In August 1857, he signed a public call for a “National Emancipation Convention” to “discuss and develope [sic] some plan of Emancipation which shall fully recognize the principle and policy of a fair and honorable compensation to the Slaveholders for the manumission of their Slaves.”
By 1860, he was working as a lawyer in Marietta, and he owned $15,000 of real estate and $400 of personal property. A decade later, his wealth had risen to $30,000 of real estate and $8,000 of personal property. He employed at least three white domestic servants. During the Civil War, he served as a leader in Ohio’s Union Party. He died in Granville, Ohio, on October 8, 1881.