Alexander Wray Ewing (1809-1853), early Texas doctor, was born and educated in Ireland. He moved to Texas in 1834, and two years later was appointed surgeon general of the Republic of Texas army. He treated Sam Houston’s wounds after the battle of San Jacinto, 1836, and accompanied him to Galveston. Angered by this, President David G. Burnet dismissed Ewing as surgeon general, but quickly reinstated him. Ewing’s future appointment, as chief medical officer, was denied, and Ashbel Smith replaced him. In 1838 Ewing moved to Houston and served as the first president of the Medical and Surgical Society there. He sat on the committee that aided in the planning of the Houston and Brazos Railroad Company, and rejoined the army as a surgeon during the incursion made by Mexico in 1842. He was married three times, had at least two children, and died in 1853.
Source:
The Alexander Wray Ewing Papers, 1825-1856, include correspondence, affidavits, a commission, certificates, military reports, and orders concerning the career of Ewing as chief surgeon in the army of the Republic of Texas and as a Mason.
Unrestricted access.
Unrestricted use.
Alexander Wray Ewing Papers, 1825-1856, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
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This collection was processed by Claire Maxwell, November 1985.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s