JUDGE HIRAM K. EVANS
Since
1904 Hiram K. Evans has filled the high office of judge of the
district court of the third judicial district, comprising
Wayne and six other counties and by his strictly fair and
impartial decisions has proven himself to be a most capable
and fair officer of the law.
He has occupied during his long public career numerous
other important positions and proven himself able in all
relations and positions which he has ever been called upon to
fill by the people.
Hiram
K. Evans was born in Wayne county, Iowa, on the 17th
of March, 1863, and is a son of Hiram and Sarah Jane (Robison)
Evans. The
father was born in Clearville, Pennsylvania, and the mother in
Morgantown, West Virginia.
The grandfather of our subject was James Evans, a son
of Evan Evans, whose father, Evan, came from Wales to America
prior to 1753 and settled at what is now Geigertown,
Pennsylvania, where he died.
He was one of the loyal soldiers of the Revolutionary
war, a member of Captain John Robeson’s company of the
Pennsylvania State Militia, and also served valiantly in
several Indian campaigns.
James Evans, the grandfather, was married to Rachel
Blankley, whose father, George Blankley, served during the War
of 1812 as sergeant in Captain Jacob Huffman’s company of the
First Pennsylvania Regiment of Rifleman.
The
distinguished military record of the family was made more
lustrous by the son, Hiram Evans, the father of our subject,
who enlisted in the Mexican war but was not mustered in, as
the close of the war came before he could be sent to the
front. In 1862,
however, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-third Iowa Infantry,
and was commissioned as lieutenant. For valiant services he was soon
promoted to the rank of captain of the same company and served
with distinction for two years, resigning at that time on
account of disability. He
had come to Lee county, Iowa, as early as 1845 but later
removed to Davis county, where he purchased government land
and from there came to Wayne county in 1856, where he took up
a government claim of four hundred and eighty acres, on which
he lived until his demise.
He was a public-spirited man and enjoyed great esteem
and respect in the locality and twice was slated as a
candidate for the state legislature. For six years he served as a member of
the board of county supervisors and his work in this relation
was of great benefit to his county and township. He was a prominent
Mason, being a member of the blue lodge, a Knight Templar and
a Shriner, and also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. His
death occurred on the 21st of March, 1903. Mrs. Hiram Evans,
the mother of our subject, was a daughter of James and Rachel
(McKelvey) Robison, both of Morgantown, West Virginia. Her father was a
son of James Robison, a native of West Virginia, whose wife’s
name was Agnes McCray. James
Robison, the grandfather, was a son of James Robison, a native
of Scotland, who early in life crossed to Ireland, where he
married and came to Virginia prior to 1800. The mother of our
subject passed away April 7, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Evans were the
parents of nine children, of whom six are still living and our
subject is the youngest.
Hiram
K. Evans received a country-school education, which later was
supplemented by a course in the Allerton high school. He graduated from
the law department of the State University in 1886 and shortly
thereafter was admitted to the bar. He began active practice of his
profession in Seymour, Iowa, where he remained two and a half
years before coming to Corydon, where he has since been
engaged in active practice with the exception of those periods
during which he has served in public office of one kind or
another. He has
won for himself favorable criticism for the careful and
systematic methods which he has followed and has remarkable
powers of concentration and a wonderful memory which have
often excited the wonder of his colleagues. He stands high in
the discussion of legal matters and by his application of
legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his
professional acquirements.
The ability of our subject along professional lines found early recognition when in 1890 he was elected to the important position of county attorney, in which capacity he served for four years to the full satisfaction of his constituency. Vigorous in prosecuting his cases, he yet maintained absolute impartiality to serve the ends of justice. Only one year after his term of county attorney had expired he was honored with election to the lower house of the state legislature and was active on the floor of the house in forwarding a number of measures beneficial to the state and particularly his district, and was connected with much important constructive legislation. In 1897 he was recognized by the chief executive of the state in an appointment as regent of the State University and served in this capacity for seven years, being actively connected during that time with a number of measures which resulted greatly to the benefit of this great educational institution. In 1902 his fellow citizens of Corydon elected him to the office of mayor, which he filled with circumspection for two years, promoting improvements which have since helped to make his city better and more modern in many ways. In 1904 yet higher honors awaited him when he was elected to the distinguished office of judge of the district court, a position which he has since held. His decisions are based strictly upon the equity of the law, yet they are tempered by the human kindness which is part of the nature of Judge Evans. He is one of the most capable judges in Iowa and few of his decisions have ever been reversed in higher courts. From September, 1891, until December, 1904, Judge Evans was a law partner of the Hon. J. W. Freeland, who is now deceased, and this partnership while it existed was productive of many excellent results. In every relation, be it along the line of law practice or in the various public positions which he has held and holds, it may be said of Judge Evans that everything he finds to do he does well.
On
the 1st of January, 1891, Hiram K. Evans was
married to Miss Harriett Belvel, a daughter of Henry M. and
Margaret J. (McCune) Belvel.
The father was a native of Ohio and the mother of
Indiana and they were early pioneers of Iowa, coming to this
state about 1856, where they were subsequently married. Mr. Belvel was a
newspaper editor, conducting a journal in various places in
the state and attaining prominence and importance in molding
and guiding public opinion.
He was a veteran of the Civil war, during which time he
served in Company F of the Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry. For the last twenty
years of his life he owned a paper which closely connected him
with his old army comrades, the Grand Army Advocate of Des
Moines, Iowa, which he edited and published up to the time of
his death. His
demise occurred on the 29th of January, 1910, his
widow surviving. Judge
and Mrs. Evans are the parents of two children: Portia B., who is
attending Rockford (Ill.) College; and Genevieve V., who is
attending high school, still at home. Mrs. Evans has
attained prominence in the advocacy of equal suffrage and in
1911 served as president of the Iowa Equal Suffrage
Association, occupying the office of vice president in 1912. On her mother’s
side Mrs. Evans is a descendant of Revolutionary stock. Her mother,
Margaret McCune, was a daughter of Margaret Brecount, a
daughter of Gideon Brecount, whose mother was Lydia DeCamp, a
daughter of James DeCamp, who served as a private in the
Second Battalion of the Second Regiment of the New Jersey
Continental Army of the Revolutionary war.
There have been no spectacular phases in the life record of Judge Evans, but his history is one which may well inspire others, showing what may be accomplished when energy and ambition lead the way. Free from ostentation and display, he has by the simple weight of his character and ability attained important public positions and won the esteem and respect of every man, woman and child in the county. As county attorney he was a foe to the evil doer and law breaker; as legislator a constructive force in formulating beneficent measures; as mayor a powerful influence in promoting civic righteousness; and as judge on the bench a man who at whatever cost upholds justice in fairness and impartiality. There is little dissension of opinion about the powerful influence he has had upon the development and growth of this locality, not only in his public relations but also in his private life.