Evans, Evan

EVANS, JONES, LEWIS

Posted By: mjv (email)
Date: 10/30/2020 at 09:46:26

Evan Evans is a farmer on section 1, Crawford Township. Many of the men who have helped to make this one of the beautiful counties in the State were born in foreign lands and matured under the other forms of civil government. Our subject was born in Wales, Nov. 5, 1824, and is a son of Lewis and Catherine (Jones) Evans. They had eight children born in that country: Lewis, deceased; John; Griffith and David, deceased; Evan, Hugh; Ann and Edward, deceased. Lewis, the father of our subject, owned and cultivated a farm in Wales, upon which Evan worked until his marriage. John, David and Griffith were merchants in Wales for years, and John became independently wealthy. He wedded Jane Evans, of Flintshire, Wales. The father of our subject was a military man in his youth, and until his death, at the age of eighty-four, kept his sword as a relic of previous military duty. His wife was about the same age when her death occurred.

When our subject was married to Catherine Lewis, in April, 1851, they were both young and full of enthusiasm, and had decided before their marriage to emigrate to America. They were provided with a marriage portion from both parents, and on April 23 of that year, sailed from Liverpool, England, in quest of an abiding-place in America. Landing in New York City, in about a month from the date of their sailing, they remained in New York almost two years, when, hearing of the great West, and what success was made by those who were willing to labor, our subject and his young wife emigrated to Louisa County, Iowa, purchasing a farm in that county. From their coming, fortune smiled upon them, and after twelve years spent in farming, Mr. Evan found himself possessed of enough money to purchase a nice farm in this county, upon which they settled in 1865, and there they yet reside. Their eldest daughter, Ann, was born in New York, and was wedded to Hugh Hughes, a farmer in Louisa County. The marriage was celebrated at the home of her parents, Dec. 19, 1878. She was the mother of four children – John, deceased; Catherine and Lewis were born in Louisa County. The former is the wife of Thomas Williams, and resides near Iowa City; Lewis is twenty-five years of age, and makes his home with his parents upon the farm.

Many fine improvements have been made by Mr. Evans since he came; the handsome country house was built, the grand trees that furnish such a grateful shade were planted, and the forest trees were cleared away where now are well tilled fields that bear trace of having been a woodland. The lands have been fenced and put in complete order, the whole showing the handiwork of an industrious and careful manager. Wales found in Evan Evans a fine representative of her people, and he has rightly earned with his worthy wife a place in the history of this county. Both are connected with the Congregational Church, the members of which are now erecting a new church where the old one stood. His success has been demonstrated by the purchase of 160 acres of valuable land in this county, and at the age of sixty-three Mr. Evans finds himself settled more comfortably than the fondest dreams of his youth ever imagined.

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Washington County, Iowa (1887). Excerpt from Biographical Sketch of Evan Evans, pages 340, 343.