Ewart Gladstone Abner Jr. (1923 - 1997)

Born 11 May 1923 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Billie Maxine (Dent) Bailey — married 18 Nov 1942 (to before Nov 1956) in Cook County, Illinois, United States

Husband of Dorothy E (Humphrey) Abner — married 2 Nov 1956 (to Jan 1975) in Cook County, Illinois, United States

Died 27 Dec 1997 at age 74 in Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Ewart Abner Jr. is Notable.

Ewart Abner, the African-American record executive who oversaw the first American releases of recordings by the Beatles, later was president of Motown Records from 1973 to 1975 and manager of Stevie Wonder.^[1]

Ewart Gladstone Abner, Jr., a son of Ewart Abner, a minister, and his wife, Virginia Heinz, was born on May 11, 1923, in Chicago.^[2] He and his siblings grew up in Detroit^[3] and Chicago.^[4] In June of 1942, 19-year-old Ewart was living in Chicago and working for the Studebaker Aviation Corporation when he registered for the WWII draft.^[5]

Ewart and Billie Maxine Dent were married on November 18, 1942, in Chicago.^[6] At least one, and possibly up to three of his eight children were born of the marriage, which ended by 1956.

After serving in the military, he trained as an accountant, but was unable to find work with Chicago's accounting firms as a Black man. In 1949 he serendipitously found a bookkeeping job at a Chicago record-pressing plant. He was recruited to help with their label, Chance Records, and with their record distribution company.^[7] After Chance folded, Ewart became an American record company executive — part owner, general manager, and president of Vee-Jay Records (1954 to 1962 or 1963); co-founder of Constellation Records (1963); Vice-President of International Management at Motown (1967); President of Motown (1973 to 1975); personal and business manager for Stevie Wonder (after 1975, for about 10 years); advisor to Berry Gordy of Motown until his death, and vice chairman of the Motown Historical Museum in Detroit.

Ewart married his second wife, Dorothy E. Humphrey, on November 2, 1956, in Chicago.^[8] According to Dorothy's obituary in 2012, there were five children of the marriage. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975.^[9]

Ewart married a third time on July 15, 1976, in Monterey, California.^[10]

He played a major role in the establishment of national holiday recognition for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.^[1]

Ewart Gladstone Abner, Jr. died of pneumonia on December 27, 1997, in Los Angeles, California, aged 74 years,^[11][12] survived by his wife, a brother, seven children, two grandsons, and one great-granddaughter.^[1] (A son, Arthur Sheridan, predeceased him by four years.) His death was widely reported in the newspapers, naming luminaries of the industry that he'd worked with, including Berry Gordy, Art Sheridan, Jimmy Reed, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and others.^[13] His burial information is unknown.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia contributors, "Ewart Abner," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ewart_Abner&oldid=1154630731 (accessed January 25, 2024).
2. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPC-3F4F : 18 May 2016), Ewart Gladstone Abner, 11 May 1923; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 24160, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 100,471,507.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X791-Y3N : accessed 7 June 2020), Ewit Abner in household of Ewart Abner, Detroit (Districts 0501-0750), Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 514, sheet 11B, line 79, family 43, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1053; FHL microfilm 2,340,788.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWB7-659 : 22 December 2019), Ewart Abner in household of Virginia Abner, Ward 17, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-1140, sheet 6B, line 79, family 92, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 955.
5. ↑ WWII Draft Registration Cards for Illinois, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 2.
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #39358332 (accessed 15 May 2023)
   Name: Ewart Gladestone Abner; Race: Negro (Black); Age: 19; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 11 May 1923; Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA; Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; Registration Date: 30 Jun 1942; Registration Place: Illinois, USA; Employer: Studebaker Aviation Corporation; Complexion: Other; Eye Color: Brown; Hair Color: Brown; Next of Kin: Virginia Abner
6. ↑ First Marriage — Cook County Clerk, comp. Cook County Clerk Genealogy Records. Cook County Clerk’s Office, Chicago, IL: Cook County Clerk, 2008. Name: Ewart G. Abner Jr; Marriage Date: 18 Nov 1942; Spouse: Billie M. Dent; Marriage Location: Cook County, IL; Marriage license: {4083F979-E649-4AEE-BD95-51F6B5CC13D7}; File Number: 1754065; Archive Collection Name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Marriages); Archive repository location: Chicago, IL; Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk.
7. ↑ Bryan Greene, "The Black Record Label That Introduced the Beatles to America," Smithsonian Magazine, 23 February 2022.
8. ↑ Second Marriage — Cook County Clerk, comp. Cook County Clerk Genealogy Records. Cook County Clerk’s Office, Chicago, IL: Cook County Clerk, 2008. Name: Ewart G. Abner Jr; Marriage Date: 2 Nov 1956 Spouse: Dorothy E. Humphrey; Marriage Location: Cook County, IL; Marriage license: {3ED95194-1BF3-477B-BA87-4C9B61820E03}; File Number: 2421430; Archive Collection Name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Marriages); Archive repository location: Chicago, IL; Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk.
9. ↑ End of Second Marriage —State of California. California Divorce Index, 1966-1984. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Name: Ewart G Abner; Spouse Name: Dorothy Humphries; Location: Los Angeles; Date: Jan 1975.
10. ↑ Third Marriage — California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6N3-719 : 27 November 2014), Ewart G Abner and [deleted for privacy], 15 Jul 1976; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Monterey, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
11. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP3F-QZ8 : 26 November 2014), Ewart Gladstone Abner, 27 Dec 1997; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
12. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V9WS-C6L : 20 May 2014), Ewart G Abner, 27 Dec 1997; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
13. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVTS-Q7LD : accessed 7 June 2020), Ewart G Abner Jr., from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Associated Press Archive, born-digital text.
14. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 9 February 2021), memorial page for Ewart Abner (11 May 1923–27 Dec 1997), Find A Grave: Memorial #61188529, maintained by The Sunlight Caller (contributor 46961789) Unknown.

See also:

• "Ewart Abner"
• Wikidata: Item Q5418922, en:Wikipedia
• Vee-Jay records free space page (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Vee-Jay_Records)
• Wikipedia contributors. (2022, April 14). Vee-Jay Records. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:32, June 19, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vee-Jay_Records