The home pictured here was that of James S. Ewing, Minister to Belgium and law partner of Adlai E. Stevenson. It was located at 604 N. East Street and was replaced by the Bloomington Consistory in 1921. This home was the location of a grand wedding reception for 250 guest in 1891 for the daughter of the home, Clara Ewing upon her marriage to Thomas MacMahon.
I have long felt that the story of Clara Ewing MacMahon was an intriguing one. Clara was born into the wealthy Ewing family and as a young woman was active in the local Episcopal Church. She was reputedly a brilliant woman who was later recruited into the Christian Scientist religion. She married Thomas J McMahon on June 11, 1891 in the St. Matthews Episcopal Church. Her marriage was reported in the Chicago papers as well as the Pantagraph. This society wedding was an intimate affair, but 400 invitations were extended for the reception. About 250 accepted and were present at the Ewing mansion, where Clara, her husband and her parents greeted their guests. Although a large number of Ewing, Stevenson and Spencer relatives were present, only two brothers of the groom were present. Her marriage would end on a much quieter note without any notice in the Pantagraph.
Although an extensive history could be given for Clara, Thomas was described as a man from Belfast, Ireland who had come to the United States as a representative for various businesses. He worked in Chicago and had an office in the Pullman Building.
The marriage was blessed with two daughters, Katherine and Margaret. The marriage was not blessed with success, however. The story, as reported in the Chicago papers, (but never the Pantagraph) was that while Thomas was absent in Ireland on business in 1898, Clara took both her daughters to Brussels and refused to see her husband when he came there. (Her father was the U.S. Minister to Belgium at the time.)
It was said that Christian Science destroyed the marriage, but Mr. McMahon's actions in 1907 might lead one to believe that his behavior led to the break up. In May of 1907 Thomas sent out elaborate invitations to the crystal anniversary of their marriage, announcing that the couple was reconciled. He invited guests to stay at the Illinois Hotel at the expense of James S. Ewing. The invitations were embossed in gold and contained the photos of the young family.
Once the Ewings knew of the invitations, a quick disclaimer was made in the newspapers and the statement was made that the families were "not on speaking terms." Thomas must have been either extremely bitter or mentally ill to go to such extremes to mock the powerful Ewings.
Years later, Clara's oldest daughter, Katherine Ewing, would apply for a passport to travel to Europe. In the application she stated the name of her father and his place of birth and noted that she had no idea where he resided or if he was alive. She stated that he had abandoned the family when she was merely a child, which must have been the story given to the daughters and then perpetuated by the family for reasons of privacy. Katherine was at that time the sole remaining member of the family, her mother having died in 1913 and her younger sister Margaret in 1916. Katherine was a journalist and a teacher at Columbia in 1923 when she suddenly died, reportedly of a heart ailment.