Milton Watson Ewell, a leader in the Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club and one of the most public-spirited citizens of Dyersburg, was born in Madison county, on the 6th of December, 1867, a son of William Biddle and Mary (Brown) Ewell. Both parents were born in Virginia. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war the father enlisted in the Confederate army and was wounded and paroled to make shoes for the Confederate soldiers. He would never accept a pension. He always held that it was an honor to serve his country, to defend his rights–an honorable service which required no remuneration. His demise occurred in 1879, in a runaway with a spirited horse. Mrs. Ewell survived her husband until 1914. To their union eight children were born, six boys and two girls. Two of the boys are deceased. With the exception of one daughter, who is residing in Paris, Texas, the children are all residents of Tennessee, where they are highly respected citizens.

In the acquirement of his early education Milton Watson Ewell attended the public schools of Jackson, Tennessee, and then went to the Southwestern Baptist University, completing a literary course. After graduation he went to Lamar College in Paris, Texas, as teacher of mathematics and he remained there during the years 1888 and 1889. The following year he returned to Jackson and was connected with a mercantile establishment there for two years. In 1891 he came to Dyersburg and he has resided here since. He has been an active figure in the continued growth of Dyersburg and is conceded to be one of this community's most substantial business men. For ten years he was general manager of the Dyersburg Electric Light & Water Company, was for six years in the grain business, spent four years in the office of mayor of Dyersburg, after which he engaged in the cottonseed oil business for two years. Subsequently he returned to the wholesale grain and milling business and is [p.677] still active in that connection. He is vice president of the Newbern Grain Company and is intensely interested in agricultural development, having some four hundred acres of land in cultivation. On the 2d of March, 1897, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ewell to Miss Jennie Emma Moss, a daughter of Charles C. and Anna (Watkins) Moss, both natives of Dyer county. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ewell two children have been born: Anna Moss, who is twenty-two years of age; and Milton Watkins, aged fourteen. Mrs. Ewell is a woman of much culture and refinement and she is prominent socially. Mr. Ewell strictly adheres to the principles of the democratic party. His religious faith is that of the Christian church. He is one of the most active members of the local Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club and for some time has been a director of the Dyersburg General Hospital. He is one of those wide-awake and progressive men who have gained reputation for straightforward business dealings and civic loyalty and he well merits the confidence and esteem in which he is held by his fellowmen.

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769–1923: Volume 3