James:
I am of the New England (Rhode Island) Tews and have been doing genealogy for decades. So far as I know, the first Tew to arrive in America was Richard Tew, son of Henry Tew, of Maidford, Northhamptonshire, England. Richard and his wife, Mary Clarke came over in 1640 and settled in Newport, RI. Most of the northern, New England Tews are descended from this Richard Tew and his wife Mary.
There are clear references to other Tews who came to America in the 17th and early 18th Centuries. For example, there is record of a John Tew who came to Virginia in 1650, and a Charles Tew who came to Maryland in 1760.
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.asp?licensee=8605&am... A few years ago, I had email correspondence with Doris Schiller of Waukesha, Wisconsin. She has established a line of Tews possibly descended from Richard Tew’s younger brother, John Tew (“doctor of physick”). This line of Tews came to America when James Tew settled in the area of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania some time in the mid-1850s. In addition there are known to be numerous Tews today in North Carolina and Alabama that are not descended from our Richard Tew.
John D. Tew
Purcellville, VA