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John (Jack )McEwan (1869 – 1949)The fourth child of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was born in Toronto November 1st 1869. John followed his brother Robert to Chicago and later moved to New York City. He worked as a bookbinder. While working there he met a young girl Marion Dempsey who would work for him and later become his wife. According to family she never realized how much older he was until they tied the knot. John married Marion Dempsey (1884 – 1937), daughter of Charles John Dempsey and Carlena Phillipina Reinhardt, on April 8th 1909. The marriage took place in Newark, NJ. Once married and planning to have a family they thought that NYC was not the best place for them to raise their children. They moved to North Bergen, NJ where their first child was born, then Woodcliff Lake NJ when the second came into the world. The couple then settled in Little Falls, NJ and raised a family of five children, Robert (1922 - ), Victor John (1910 – 1984), Marion Ruth (1912 – 1916), Ralph Irving ( 1914 – 1990) and Effie Janet ( 1916 – 2004). All these towns were within commuting distance of Manhattan by train Jack died in Little Falls, NJ April 24th 1949 and was buried In Laurel Grove, Totowa, NJ. *A little side note from my cousin: Jack’s nephew John Baker McEwan (son of Robert Stevenson McEwan) introduced his cousin (Effie) to the man who would become her husband. John Baker McEwan was a traveling salesman from Chicago in the luggage hardware business. He did business with a man by the name of Thomas Moore who was in the luggage hardware business and lived in Chicago for a short time in the 1920's. JB came to NJ in 1937 to see Mr. Moore. While visiting the Moore household he mentioned that his Uncle’s wife had recently passed away and that he wanted to see how the family was doing. Robert, Thomas’ son agreed to accompany JB on the misson and drove him from Glen Ridge, NJ to Little Falls where the McEwan's lived. The attractive young Effie was not home at the time but there was a photo of her on the table, which, Robert being an eligible bachelor took notice of. Either Robert Moore communicated to JB that he wished to meet the lovely young lady or maybe JB just wanted to visit with his cousin so they inquired as to her whereabouts. Effie’s father told them that she was at a church meeting in Glen Ridge, NJ. Armed with that information Robert told JB that he would drive him to the church so JB could visit her. After all it was on their way back to Glen Ridge. They went to the church and summoned Effie out of the meeting. Happy to see her cousin JB (who she knew from previous visits ) Effie gave him a kiss and assuming Robert was also her cousin JB's son (whom she had never met) she kissed him too. The rest was history. |