The collection is organized around the papers of the donor's father, Captain Charles E. Hewins (1841-1927). Volunteering for the Union Army at the beginning of the Civil War, Hewins served in Company I, 42nd Massachusetts Infantry until January of 1863, when he was taken prisoner at Galveston, Texas. After a prisoner exchange at New Orleans, Hewins went to Fort Monroe near the close of the War, where he served under Captain Charles Wilder in the Freedman's Bureau. After the war, Hewins became involved in oyster planting and harvesting, and owned and sailed two vessels, the Independence and the Farmer's Return. He was active in community affairs and was a member of St. Tammany Lodge No. 5 and of the Hampton Commandry, Knights Templar. Charles Hewins married Mary E. Coats in 1891; their only son, Edward F. Hewins, was born in 1893 in Hampton, Virginia. Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edward Hewins achieved prominence in the Tidewater area as a marine architect at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. and was active in local civic organizations.
From the description of Papers of Edward F. Hewins [mixed materials] : 1856-1957. (Old Dominion University). WorldCat record id: 42025089
