Hewson, Harry Francis, 1849-1891

Harry Francis Hewson was a governor’s private secretary in Mississippi during the Reconstruction era. Born to Irish immigrant parents in New Jersey in 1849, Hewson moved to Mississippi as a young man and became the private secretary to Governor James L. Alcorn in 1870. He served in that capacity for over a year and then moved to New York where he worked as an attorney. A few years later, he moved in with his mother and several siblings in New Jersey, and continued to practice law. He passed away in 1891, in North Bergen, New Jersey, at the age of 42. (“Harry F. Hewson” New Jersey, U.S. Births and Christenings Index, 1660-1931; The Weekly Mississippi Pilot, Jackson, MS, May 28, 1870; 1870 U. S. Census for Jackson, Mississippi; Brooklyn Ward 21, 1875 New York State Census; 1880 U.S. Census for Jersey City, New Jersey; Church of the Ascension, Jersey City, 1887-1891, Episcopal Diocese of Newark Church Records, 1800-1970)