Thomas Ewing Jr. (1829-1896) was the son of a U.S. Senator from Ohio and Secretary of Treasury and of the Interior. Thomas, Jr., was appointed one of the private secretaries of Pres. Zachary Taylor. After a career in law, Ewing became the state's first chief justice of the supreme court in 1861. A year and a half later he resigned to enter the Union army. He recruited the 11th Kansas infantry regiment and became its colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in March, 1863. After his military service Ewing set up a law practice in Washington, D. C., where he resided until 1870. Returning then to Lancaster, Ohio, he became active in the Greenback wing of the Democrat party and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1881.