Dr. William Hewson and Dr. David Caldwell Hewson
Orange, Orange County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Two in a long line of physicians in their family, William and David Caldwell Hewson were significant figures in orange County. William was born in Philadelphia in 1801. in 1821, he married Mary Ann Bankson and they moved their family several times before settling in orange in the early 1850s. Dr. Hewson worked as a physician and opened a drugstore in Orange. He also opened Empire Mills, an early area sawmill, and after Orange County organized in 1852, he became involved in construction of the county courthouse and served as district clerk for several terms. Hewson also participated in agricultural and church activities before passing away in 1867. Dr. David Caldwell Hewson, one of William and Mary’s three sons, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826. He married Hannah Bennett in 1847 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School the next year. The couple moved to Louisiana and had three children before settling in Orange. In the 1850s, Dr. Hewson divorced Hannah and married Harriet Thomas, with whom he had three more children. He worked as a physician and also ran the family drugstore after his father’s death. Hewson enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1862, working for a time as a medical examiner of conscripts. Upon returning from war, his practice prospered and he turned over operation of the store to his son Benjamin, a pharmacist. In 1884, the Southeast Texas Medical Society elected Dr. Hewson as president. He died in 1896 and, like his father, was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Today, Drs. William and David C. Hewson are remembered as pioneer doctors who made vital contributions to Orange’s development.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Father and son William and David Caldwell Hewson were among the frontier physicians who built up young Orange County. William, Philadelphia-born, settled here in the early 1850s, practicing medicine while running a drugstore, an early sawmill, and helping erect the county courthouse. His son David, a University of Pennsylvania medical graduate, served as a Confederate medical examiner during the Civil War before returning to a thriving practice and leading the regional medical society.
Why it matters
Their story illustrates how a single professional family could anchor the medical, commercial, and civic life of a raw East Texas county in the nineteenth century.
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Related people
- · William Hewson
- · David Caldwell Hewson
Themes & tags
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