JOHN ATWOOD EWING was born in Delaware in July 7, 1845 to John and May Ewing. His very early years were spent in Pennsgrove in Salem County, New Jersey. By 1850 the family had moved to Upper Penn's Neck,  New Jersey. The family then consisted of John and May Ewing and their children Rachel E., Samuel W., Martha, Joseph H., John A., and Mary Anna.

John A. Ewing served in the Union Army during the Civil War as a Private with Company D, Thirty-eighth New Jersey Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on September 24, 1865.

The Thirty-eighth New Jersey Infantry was commanded by then Colonel William Joyce Sewell, with Lieutenant Colonel Ashbel W. Angel and Major William H. Tantum serving under him. This regiment was raised in the summer and fall of 1864, Colonel Sewell
accepting its command on September 30 and completing its organization in 15 days thereafter. Colonel Sewell had served with distinguished credit in the Second New Jersey brigade, but had been compelled to quit the service during the Wilderness campaign, owing to prostration resulting from exposure. Partially recovering, however, and with his patriotic ardor unabated, he gladly embraced the opportunity afforded by the formation of the Thirty-eighth to return to the field, employing all his energies to make it an organization worthy of the state. Upon leaving the state, the regiment was ordered to City Point and thence to Bermuda Hundred, whence it was sent to Fort Powhatan, on the James River, some 15 miles below City Point. It remained at that point until the surrender of Lee, when it was ordered to City Point and there mustered out, reaching Trenton on July 4, 1865. The total strength of the regiment was 1,048, and it lost during its term of service, by resignation 6, by discharge 2, by promotion 9, by transfer 3, by death 11, by desertion 59, mustered out, 956.

The 38th New Jersey was only involved in combat on one occasion, November 7, 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia. The regiment was utilized to garrison Forts Pocahontas and Fort Powhatan on the James River. While no casualties are recorded from combat, John A. Ewing from Company D stated in 1890 that he had been taken prisoner and had spent three months at Libby Prison in Richmond

On April 22, 1866 John A. Ewing married Sarah Emma Angelow at Bridgeport, New Jersey. A daughter, Anna Jane, was born around 1869. On September 23, 1891 Anna Jane Ewing married Heister S. Hunter, engine inspector of the Reading Railroad. The young couple made their home in Reading, Pennsylvania. Sadly, Mrs. Hunter died in Philadelphia of typhoid fever on February 20, 1907, survived by her husband and daughters Helen and Ethel.

John A. Ewing was living in Camden's Eight Ward by 1878, at 1734 Ferry Avenue. He was then working as a core maker. This was his address when the Census was taken in 1880. The household consisted of John A. Ewing, his wife Sarah and eleven year old daughter Anna. John A. Ewing was then working as a baggage master for the Philadelphia & Atlantic City Railroad, a position he held through the spring of 1883. While the 1881-1882 City Directories show him living at 1710 Broadway, the correct address appears to have been 1810 Broadway. By the spring of 1883 John A. Ewing moved to 1810 Broadway, which would be his home through 1922.

The 1887-1888 Camden City Directory shows John A. Ewing working as a carpenter. By the summer of 1888 John A. Ewing went to work at the oilcloth works of John C. Dunn & Company at South 7th and Jefferson Streets. On July 1, 1890 John A. Ewing was given the position of houseman at Engine Company 3. He kept this position until 1922.

On September 24, 1891, John A. Ewing's daughter, Anna, married Heister S. Hunter, an employee of the Reading Railroad, in Camden. Hunters initially made their home in Reading, Pennsylvania. They later moved to Philadelphia.

By 1894 he had gone to work at the Farr & Bailey Manufacturing Company's plant at South 7th Street and Kaighn Avenue. He stayed with Farr & Bailey though at least 1914. By June of 1918 John A Ewing had gone to work in one of Camden's nearby shipyards, most likely the New York Shipbuilding Company yard at 2500 broadway.

Sarah Ewing passed away in 1922. John A. Ewing subsequently sold his home and moved to Philadelphia to live his granddaughter. He died January 12, 1928 and was buried at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden..