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This is a summary of my research on the Edward Evans family of Monongalia County, Virginia (now West Virginia), beginning with Edward’s grandfather, Richard Evans, and continuing as far as the children of Edward Evans and Sarah Wood, to the extent that I have been able to document them.
There is, of course, much more information on some of these individuals to be found in some of the sources described below and listed in the short bibliography included at the end of this discussion. But I have limited my discussion of the siblings of Edward and his father, Samuel, to the extent that it was necessary to provide context on Edward’s direct line.
The discussion of Edward Evans’ children is necessarily more detailed, because one of the purposes of this investigation was to determine who all of the children in his family were, and if possible, what became of them. That project is still incomplete, but it is my hope that this will provide a framework for future research.
This work is based partly on my original research, but it owes a great deal to the analysis of Mrs. Lula M. Schroder, who was the first to assemble many of the clues relating to Edward Evans’ children. Without her work, I would probably never have researched any of the other families described below. I would also like to thank Mr. Gordon C. Baker, whose own work on the Evans family, and whose analysis of my conclusions has been most helpful!
Paul A. Thorn
Huntington, W.Va.
Copyright 2009
ANCESTORS OF EDWARD EVANS
The grandfather of Edward Evans was Richard Evans, a Welsh planter of Calvert County, Maryland. It isn’t known precisely when Richard was born or when arrived in Maryland. Men of this name landed in Maryland in 1667, 1671, and 1674. However, it isn’t clear whether any of them was the grandfather of Edward. A Richard Evans died without issue in Calvert County in 1675.
The earliest certain record of our Richard Evans is from 1685, when he patented a tract of 250 acres in Charles County. He added another 200 acres in Charles County the following year, and 800 acres in Calvert County in 1796. This may be about the time that he married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Hall of Calvert County. She had inherited 300 acres from her father in 1688.
Richard Evans had three children, and was expecting a fourth at the time he wrote his will on January 7, 1702/3. The will was proved on April 25, 1703, and disposed of well over 1,000 acres in Calvert, Cecil, and Prince George’s Counties. The land that Richard had patented in Charles County in 1685 and 1686 was by then part of Prince George’s County. Richard provided that his sons should come of age at eighteen, and his daughters at sixteen.
These children were Samuel Evans, Edward’s father; Elizabeth Evans, who married Charles Lucas in 1718, Ann Evans, who married Robert Pottenger, and Richard Evans, who was not yet born when his father’s will was written, but must have been born some time in 1703.
In November, 1714, Samuel and his sister, Elizabeth, petitioned the Orphans and Infants Court of Prince George’s County to appoint their uncle, Benjamin Hall, as their guardian. Their mother, Elizabeth, made the same petition as next friend of her son, Richard, who was under the age of fourteen, and therefore not entitled to choose his own guardian.
This proceeding was probably occasioned by the marriage of the widow, Elizabeth Evans, to James Kingsbury, a physician in Calvert County. A guardian was required to protect the interests of Richard Evans’ children following their mother’s remarriage. This also allows us to estimate the ages of the children. If they had come of age, and become the legal owners of their father’s land, a guardian would not have been necessary. Therefore, Samuel was probably born between 1696 and 1700, and Elizabeth between 1698 and 1900. Ann Evans did not petition for a guardian, indicating either that she was born before November, 1698, and had come of age, or that she was already married.
These dates are consistent with the probability that Richard married Elizabeth Hall about the time that he purchased his land in Calvert County in 1696. They also allow us to estimate Elizabeth’s age. She was probably no younger than eighteen when the first of her children were born. She had two children, James and Priscilla, by her second husband, James Kingsbury, whom she must have married about 1714. She was probably no older than forty at that time. This places Elizabeth’s birth approximately between 1674 and 1678. In the article “Hall Family of Calvert County,” from volume II of “Maryland Genealogies,” Christopher Johnson estimates her date of birth as 1673.
Samuel’s stepfather, James Kingsbury, died in Calvert County about 1726, and his mother, Elizabeth, made her will on March 3, 1743. It was proved on May 3 of the same year. There was no provision for her son, Richard, who had probably died without issue. A Richard Evans died in Ann Arundel County in 1723. He was married and left his entire estate to his wife, Esther. Thus far, there is no evidence that he was the son of Richard Evans and Elizabeth Hall.
Samuel Evans probably lived in Queen Anne’s Parish, Prince George’s County, between 1718 and 1740. The records of St. Barnabas’ Church in that parish include five of his children:
Mary, born 30 Oct. 1718
Sarah, born 5 Apr. 1725
Priscilla, born 26 Dec. 1726
John, born 2 Nov. 1728
Edward, born 26 Mar. 1734
These names and dates correspond precisely with a list of Samuel’s children found in the Swan-Hughes Bible, except that the Bible record gives Edward’s name as David. The Bible was printed in London from 1732 to 1735, and so was not contemporary with the births of the children. It probably belonged to Samuel’s sister, Elizabeth Lucas, who lived in the same neighborhood as Samuel, and wanted to keep a record of his children as well as her own. From her it descended to her daughter, Elizabeth, who married John Swan, and their daughter, Elizabeth, who married Thomas Hughes. John Swan’s father, also named John, had purchased part of “Evans’ Range,” the tract patented by Richard Evans in 1796, from Samuel in 1722.
The following is based on a transcription found in “The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families,” volume IV, by Howard L. Leckey. I have regularized the spelling and dates, which are given with numbers for the months in the original transcription. It is not known whether the Bible record uses numbers to designate the months, or whether this was done by the transcriber. If numbers were used, these dates could be off by two months, because March was the first month of the English calendar until 1752. Whether this was observed at the time the Bible record was made is not apparent. However, the fact that these dates correspond with those at St. Barnabas’ Church suggests that they are correctly given below.
Mary, born 30 Oct. 1718
Samuel, born 22 May 1723
Sarah, born 5 Apr. 1725
Priscilla, born 26 Dec. 1726
John, born 2 Nov. 1728
Hugh, born 7 Oct. 1730
Eleanor, born 25 June 1732
David, born 26 Mar. 1734
Richard, born 26 May 1736
Thomas, born 27 Sept. 1740
Rachel, born 6 July 1742
An old tradition, dating back perhaps over a hundred years, is that Samuel Evans had twenty-two (in some sources, twenty-four) children by two wives. From various records we know that his first wife was named Sarah. She is named in deeds through 1731. Samuel’s last deeds, in 1768, indicate that his wife was then named Priscilla. It is generally believed that she is the same as Priscilla Moore, who married a Samuel Evans in Ann Arundel County on December 7, 1738.
This would make Sarah the mother of all of the children born between 1718 and 1736, and Priscilla the mother of the last two. This is consistent with the gap of four years between Richard and Thomas. However, at least one researcher has asserted that Sarah died in childbirth on April 5, 1725, and that her daughter was named in her memory. The next daughter, Priscilla, was named after Samuel’s second wife. I have found no other evidence in support of this theory. Because Samuel had a sister named Priscilla, there is no great coïncidence in Samuel already having a daughter with the same name as his second wife. This theory is also inconsistent with the 1731 deed naming Samuel’s wife as Sarah.
No evidence has yet been found that Samuel had any children other than the eleven children named in the Swan-Hughes Bible (including Edward, whose name is incorrectly recorded, although his date of birth is correct; there is no other evidence that Samuel had a son named David). It seems reasonable to suppose that this tradition arose by mistake. Perhaps someone recalling that Samuel had eleven children by two wives incorrectly supposed that this meant eleven children by each wife.
Samuel and Priscilla sold the last of their known lands in Maryland in 1768. A tradition in the family of his son, John, who settled in what is now Greene County, Pennsylvania (then part of Cumberland County), states that Samuel traveled with his son to Pennsylvania in 1769, and there died on September 30, 1770. The fact that he sold his land shortly before this, combined with the exact date given for his death, gives this tradition some credibility. Thus far, no evidence to the contrary has been discovered. However, it would be helpful to identify the original source of this date.
EDWARD EVANS
The following sketch of the family of Edward Evans was given by Professor James M. Callahan in “The History of West Virginia, Old and New,” published in 1923. This account, which descended through the family of Hugh Evans, son of Edward, contains several inaccuracies, although it appears to be reliable in its general outlines:
“This branch of the Evans family was founded by Samuel Evans, who was born in Wales about 1700, and at the age of twenty came to the American colonies, accompanied by his father, Richard Evans. He settled near Hagerstown or Frederick, Maryland. By two marriages he was the father of twenty-two children, his son Richard being killed while fighting the British in the Revolutionary war.
“His son Edward, born about 1730, in Maryland, and died about 1820, also had a military record of great interest to his descendants. He was one of Washington’s soldiers in the Braddock campaign of 1755. Through the influence of Washington he was granted in 1772 for his service a tract of land in Monongalia County. He was at Fort Augusta in 1765, and Suffel’s history mentions him as a volunteer in the Revolution. He was among the Monongalia militia paid off at Fort Pitt.
“He settled in Monongalia County probably in 1779 or 1780. At that time Edward Evans was one of those who received a portion of land allotted by General Washington in pursuance of a proclamation of Governor Dunmore in December, 1772. In 1780 he made a declaration that he was a member of the “Old Virginia” regiment in 1756, this confirming his allotment. The records of old Augusta County show the allotment and give further proof of his service in the French and Indian war. His old powder-horn, carried through the war for independence, is now owned by R.E. Campbell of Georgetown, Ohio, and bears the monogram “E.E.” and date September, 1775.
“The children of the pioneer Edward Evans were: Eleanor, who married Robert Patton; Hugh; Catherine, who became Mrs. Jeptha Wilkins; Samuel, who married Harriet Wilson; and Priscilla, who became the wife of John Wilkins. The son Hugh was born in 1769 and died in Preston County in 1873, when well past the century mark. He was at one time sheriff of Preston County. He married Sarah Thomas . . . .”
As previously explained, Samuel Evans may have been born about 1700, although certainly no later. But he did not come from Wales; he was probably born in Calvert County, Maryland, where his father had lived since at least 1696. He probably did not have twenty-two children.
The details of Edward’s military service during the French and Indian War appear to be incorrect, although he does appear to have served in the Virginia Militia in 1754, when he was about twenty years old. He received a grant of land in Virginia based on this service. And as explained below, he seems to have had more sons than those mentioned by Callahan.
By 1760, Edward had a house on Linganore Creek in Frederick County, Maryland (created from part of Prince George’s County in 1748), near the site of Woodville. He married Sarah, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Wood, who lived just north of Woodville. Woodville was named after Charles Wood, a neighbor of Joseph’s and probably his close relative. Edward patented a tract adjoining his father-in-law’s land in 1770. The Woods are also said to be of Welsh descent, although their name is certainly English.
The Evans and Wood families appear in the records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Maryland, the nearest town of any size. Unfortunately, only one of Edward’s children was baptized there. Hugh Evans was born December 6, 1776, and baptized September 25, 1777. This is also inconsistent with Callahan’s assertion that Hugh was born in 1769, and was “well past the century mark” at the time of his death in 1873. Tax and census records agree with the date provided by the church record.
In 1773, Edward received a grant of 1,000 acres on Sandy Creek and 400 acres on Little Sandy Creek, near the present site of Evansville, West Virginia. However, Edward and Sarah appear to have remained in Maryland until about 1779. In 1778, Joseph Wood deeded 100 acres to his daughter, Sarah Evans, for the nominal price of £5, 5 shillings. The following year, Edward and Sarah sold this land for £800. This probably marks the point at which they decided to move to Virginia.
All of the land that Edward Evans purchased or was granted in Virginia lay within the boundaries of Monongalia County. The county was divided into an eastern district and a western district by the Monongahela River, which flows north into Pennsylvania, dividing present-day Greene and Fayette Counties. From there it flows north to Pittsburgh, where it joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio, then the Western boundary of Virginia.
Until 1780, Virginia claimed much of the land that now makes up southwestern Pennsylvania, including Greene County. The land where Edward’s brother, John, had settled in 1769 was probably within the boundaries of Monongalia County until the land north of the present boundary was ceded to Pennsylvania in 1780. This may have been why John chose to settle there. The settlement of the boundary in its present location was probably also a factor in Edward’s decision to settle further south than his brother. However, they would still have lived only a day’s travel apart along the Monongahela.
The headwaters of the Monongahela are formed by the confluence of three rivers: the Tygart Valley River, the Cheat, and the West Fork, all of which were the sites of early settlements in western Virginia. Edward’s 1773 grant lay on Sandy Creek, a tributary of the Tygart Valley River. However, this land was too remote to settle at that time. There were still Indian raids in Monongalia County as late as 1789. Most settlers probably located along the more heavily-populated Monongahela.
It does not appear that Edward Evans ever settled on the land he was granted in 1773. In fact, Monongalia County deed records contain no reference to this land, which probably means that Edward sold the land before 1794. The land where Hugh Evans settled, which later became Evansville, was purchased by Hugh in 1805; the Preston County land tax books indicate that Hugh owned no land corresponding to his father’s 1773 grant. Hugh was living on the land that he had purchased at the time Preston County was organized in 1818, and from that year he appears in the Preston County tax lists. Edward remained in Monongalia County.
Edward probably used the proceeds from the sale of his land on Sandy Creek to finance the purchase of other tracts along the Monongahela River. He received a grant of 400 acres on the Monongahela in 1785, and in 1796 he purchased three tracts totaling 810 acres on the west side of the river from Jacob Pindell. The third tract, where Edward probably lived, consisted of four hundred acres on or near the river bank, between Indian Creek and a bend in the river across from Joe’s Run and Tom’s Run. All of the land that Edward sold after this date appears to have come from these tracts.
The Monongalia County tax lists during this period are one of the primary sources for understanding Edward Evans’ family. The lists were first researched by Lula Schroder, and then by myself. There are some discrepancies in our findings, which may be because there are multiple versions of the compiled tax lists.
Mrs. Schroder found a tax list from 1782, while the earliest I was able to identify was from 1783. According to her research, the first mention of Edward Evans is in the 1783 list. However, the earliest account of him I was able to locate was in 1785 (no list has survived from 1784). Because only part of the enumeration survives from certain years, a person’s absence from the lists does not necessarily mean that the person did not live in the county.
Edward Evans appears regularly in the tax lists from 1783 (or 1785) until 1819. For much of this time there were two other Evans families in Monongalia County. One was the family of John Evans, who had come from Fairfax County, Virginia. He was colonel of the county militia, and one of the most important individuals in the county government. The other was a ferryman named Thomas Evans, about whom less is known. However, both have well-documented families. John Evans was not related to Edward, and there is no evidence that Edward was related to Thomas. Edward’s family is the least well-documented of the three, because he did not leave a will, and disposed of his land during his lifetime, thereby avoiding probate.
Sarah Wood was probably born about 1745. As explained below, her first child was probably born about 1764, and her last about 1790. It is unlikely that she was much younger than nineteen when her eldest child was born, or older than forty-five when she had her youngest. Sarah is last named in a deed dated October 14, 1805. She does not appear in an 1814 deed, nor is she accounted for in the 1810 Census. She probably died between 1806 and 1810.
In 1819, Edward sold his last three tracts on the Monongahela. One of these tracts was to his son-in-law, John Wilkins, who had married Priscilla Evans. Edward probably sold his land during his lifetime in order to avoid probate, but he intended to remain on the same tract where he had lived since 1796. He would have spent his final months with his daughter and son-in-law.
The 1820 Census shows two adult males in the household of John Wilkins; one between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five, corresponding with John, who was born about 1791, and one over the age of forty-five, presumably Edward. The 1820 tax list of Monongalia County shows two tithables in the same household. Only white males over the age of sixteen were tithable, and John and Priscilla could not have had any sons that age, although they may have been caring for the children of Jeptha Wilkins and Catherine Evans, one or two of whom could perhaps have been tithable by 1820.
The number of tithables in John’s household was not indicated in 1821, when the entire household seems to have been crossed out. However, in 1822, there was only one tithable. Additional tithables appear in John’s household in 1824, 1826, 1828, and 1829 but these probably correspond with John’s sons (or nephews). So Edward Evans probably died in 1820 or 1821.
CHILDREN OF EDWARD EVANS
The account of Edward Evans’ family in Callahan names five children: Eleanor, Hugh, Catherine, Samuel, and Priscilla. This would have been a small family for that time, but available records, including tax records, appear to indicate that the list is not complete, and that Edward had as many as four additional sons.
To get a better picture of the various Evans families in Monongalia County, it is necessary to review the known children of John Evans and Thomas Evans. The children of John Evans are described in an article by Virgil A. Lewis, formerly State Historian of West Virginia; the children of Thomas Evans are found in records relating to his estate.
As described by Virgil Lewis, the children of John Evans, who married Anne Martin, were Margaret, born in 1763, who married John Dent; Dudley, born in 1765, who married Anarah Williams; Enoch, born in 1767, who married a Jenkins; John, born in 1768, who married Gilly Coleman Strother; Nimrod, born in 1770, who married Elizabeth Strother; Rawley, born in 1772, who married Maria Dering; James, born in 1774, who married a Buckner; Marmaduke, born in 1776, who never married; and Coleman, who died in childhood.
Thomas Evans, the ferryman, made his will on June 9, 1808, and it was proved the same year at the September term of court. He described himself as a resident of Morgantown, several miles below the land where Edward Evans lived. He provided for his wife, Katherine, and children Richard W., John, James, Isabella Hoskinson, Thomas, Evan, David, Peggy Hamman (perhaps Haymond), Benjamin, Caty, and Polly.
Most of the Evanses who appear in early Monongalia County records appear in these genealogies. However, four other men of this name can be identified in these records, and such evidence as there is indicates that they were probably sons of Edward Evans.
The first of these is Gerard or Jared Evans, who first appears next to Edward in the 1786 list. In most years the tax lists were alphabetized so that all persons whose surnames began with the same letter were grouped. This meant that all of the Evanses were generally found close together in the tax lists, even though they may not have lived in the same neighborhood. But the 1786 list containing Edward and Gerard was not alphabetized, meaning that they were probably living on the same farm or on adjoining farms.
Although subsequent lists were alphabetized, it is nonetheless significant that until 1795, Gerard is always found next to Edward. He was also next to Edward in 1797, from 1802 to 1804, and in 1809 and 1811. For much of this time he is also found next to Edward Evans, Jr., who is certainly a son of Edward Evans and Sarah Wood, despite not being included in Callahan’s description of the family.
Gerard Evans seems to have been a young man when he first appears in the tax lists. Until 1802, he was the only tithable in his household. That year and the following, he was enumerated with two tithables; three in 1804, and four from 1805 to 1809. This probably means that he had a son who was sixteen years old in 1802, and two or three sons slightly younger than this. The eldest would have been born about 1785 or 1786, the same time that Gerard first appears in the tax lists.
Gerard was probably the father of a John Evans who is first found next to him in 1806, and a Jacob Evans, who first appears in 1810, and is usually found next to Gerard and John. The 1810 Census shows three boys aged ten to sixteen in Gerard’s household, and on either side of him are young men named John and David Evans. A young man named Jacob Evans is also found in this census, although he was not enumerated next to Gerard.
There are no deeds to or from Gerard Evans, so he did not own any land in Monongalia County. The fact that he remained in the same general area for nearly thirty years suggests that he lived on land owned by other members of his family. His association with Edward Evans and Edward Evans, Jr. supports the hypothesis that he was Edward’s son. If he first appeared in the 1786 tax list at the age of twenty-one, then he was born about 1764, which is consistent with what we know of Edward’s family. It is also consistent with the 1810 Census, which shows that he was over forty-five years old, and thus born no later than 1765.
Gerard last appears in the 1815 tax list, and probably had moved away.
The conclusion that Edward Evans, Jr. was a son of Edward Evans and Sarah Wood should come as no surprise. He first appears in the 1788 tax list, and for the next twenty years, he is nearly always found next to Edward Evans, Sr. or in a group with Edward, Sr. and Gerard, Samuel, Jonathan, Hugh, or John Evans, all of whom are believed to be sons of Edward and Sarah.
Edward purchased 53 acres on the Monongahela in 1805, and received 164 acres from Edward Evans, Sr. in 1814. In April, 1815, he sold both tracts together. He last appears in the 1814 tax list, although his 1815 deed indicates that he was still a resident of Monongalia County as late as April of that year. The same deed gives his wife’s name, Ann.
If Edward was twenty-one years old in 1788, then he was born about 1766. The 1810 Census, however, gives his age as over forty-five. He had as many as eight sons, none of whom were over sixteen in 1810.
Jonathan Evans first appears in the 1796 tax list, between Edward Evans, Sr. and Edward Evans, Jr. From then until 1802, he is always listed next to at least one of those two. He did not own any land in Monongalia County, but on March 12, 1796, he married Sarah Fawcett, daughter of Robert and Phoebe Fawcett, who lived on the east side of the Monongahela opposite Edward Evans’ land. He and Edward Jr. were also involved in a lawsuit concerning some salt that was owed to a neighbor of Edward’s. The tax lists place Jonathan’s birth about 1774.
In 1802, Jonathan and some of his in-laws traveled downriver to what is now Meigs County, Ohio, where they settled. He is not mentioned in any later records of Monongalia County. However, the names of his children provide another important clue linking him to Edward Evans’ family. Most of Jonathan’s children bore family names; seven of them were named after members of his wife’s family. One was named after himself, and four of the other five were Ellen, Priscilla, Samuel, and Edward, all of which belonged to members of Edward Evans’ family. And although there was no earlier Jonathan Evans, Sarah Wood had a brother named Jonathan.
Sarah, who was born in 1778, appears in the 1820 Census of Meigs County, but must have died before 1827. On January 9, 1827, Jonathan married Mary Hannaman in neighboring Mason County, Virginia. She was the widow of Isaac Staats. They probably left for Indiana between 1827 and 1829, settling in Vermillion County. There Mary died March 26, 1849, and is buried in the Pisgah Cemetery. Jonathan was still alive on April 30, 1850, when he sold a tract of 40 acres in Helt Township to one of his sons. However, he probably died soon after, as he was not enumerated in the census. He is probably buried with Mary in the Pisgah Cemetery.
There were as many as seven men named John Evans living in Monongalia County during Edward Evans’ lifetime. They cannot all be distinguished satisfactorily in the tax lists. However, it is possible to identify who most of them were. The first were John Evans, colonel of the county militia, and his son, John, usually called John Evans, Jr., both of Morgantown. There was also John, son of Thomas Evans, the ferryman, who may be the same as John Evans, nailer in the tax lists. He seems to have been listed regularly beginning in 1798.
There was John W. Evans, apparently the son of Dudley Evans, beginning in 1814. He married Nancy Wells in 1813. John M. Evans appears annually beginning in 1815. He is probably the same John M. Evans who married Mary Haney in 1822. John, the son of Gerard Evans, is probably the one who appears from 1806 to 1814, and who married Elizabeth Windsor in 1805. He probably left the county at the same time as his father, and is not the same man as John M. Evans.
A John Evans appears in the household of Edward Evans in 1799 and 1800, and was listed next to Edward in 1801. He is difficult to distinguish from some of the other John Evanses in subsequent years, but is most likely the one described some years with the initials “B.R.”, apparently for “Bend of River,” written out in the 1821 tax list. He was listed next to Edward Evans, Sr. from 1817 to 1819.
If John, the son of Edward, were twenty-one years old in 1799, then he was probably born in 1777 or 1778. This would place his birth about a year after that of Hugh, who was born at the end of 1776, and first appears in his father’s household in the tax lists of 1797 and 1799. He was probably either the John Evans who married Sarah Miller on February 23, 1809, or the one who married Nancy Windsor on January 6, 1814. The John Evans who married Elizabeth Windsor on September 1, 1805 was probably the son of Gerard Evans.
As for Edward Evans’ other children, Samuel Evans is found in the Monongalia County tax list of 1788, then after a gap of six years, from 1794 to 1802, and in 1805 and 1806. It is probable that his appearance in 1788 was erroneous, and that he was not yet twenty-one years old. If that had been his age in 1794, his birth would have occurred about 1772. This would place him between Edward and Jonathan.
On November 30, 1806, Samuel married Harriet Wilson in Monongalia County. They went in Brown County, Ohio, probably shortly after their marriage, as Samuel does not appear in the Monongalia County tax lists after 1806. Most of the 1810 Census of Ohio is lost, so the first census record of Samuel is from 1820, when his age was given as over forty-five. In 1830, he was between fifty and sixty years old, and in 1840 he was between sixty and seventy. The 1850 Census lists his age as seventy-five, which is slightly younger than predicted by the tax lists. However, the 1860 Census gives his age as eighty-seven, which would be consistent with the estimate of 1772.
The census records from 1830 onwards seem to verify that Samuel’s appearance in the 1788 tax list was a mistake, as he would not have been over the age of twenty-one. However, it is also possible that the person identified as Samuel Evans in 1788 was incorrectly named. That individual was taxed on eight horses, and he was not living in the same district as Edward Evans, neither of which is consistent with a boy aged fifteen or sixteen. Since this entry is not repeated in subsequent years, it seems likely to be a mistake of some sort.
Eleanor Evans married Robert Patton in Monongalia County on August 6, 1799. They went to Brown County, Ohio before 1810, and appear in the 1820 and 1830 Census of Brown County, in the latter year next to Samuel Evans (the 1820 Census was alphabetized, so they would not have been listed together, even if they were living on adjacent farms). From there it is reported that the Pattons went to Montgomery County, Indiana, where Robert is said to have died in 1839, and been buried in the Meharry Cemetery at Wingate. Eleanor is said to be buried in the Shambaugh Cemetery (Goose Creek) in neighboring Tippecanoe County.
Eleanor’s age is given as over 45 in 1820, and 50-60 in 1830. This means that she was probably born before Jonathan, who was born about 1774 or 1775. As she was not married until 1799, it seems more likely that she was born after Samuel, who was born about 1772, than before him. The fact that Jonathan’s eldest daughter was named after Eleanor also suggests that they were close in age.
Hugh Evans married Sarah Thomas in Monongalia County on March 9, 1801. As mentioned above, he purchased a tract of land on Sandy Creek in 1805, and was living there when Preston County was organized in 1818. He appears in the census there every year from 1820 to 1870. The 1850 and 1870 Censuses give his birthplace as Maryland, and agree with the 1776 record of his birth in Frederick County. The 1850 Census gives his age as seventy-four, and Sarah’s as seventy-six. Sarah appears to have died before 1860.
Jeptha Wilkins, who married Catherine Evans in Monongalia County on November 7, 1802, appears to have died towards the end of 1818 or the beginning of 1819. His estate was appraised February 2, 1819. Catherine survived him and purchased many of the items at the sale of the estate. It is not apparent what became of her afterwards.
A Catherine Wilkins married James Porter on October 12, 1819. However, census records suggest that she was too young to be Catherine Evans, and too old to have been her daughter. James Porter seems to have died before 1830, and on February 17, 1831, Catherine married Edward Burgess. The 1850 Census places her date of birth about 1794; in 1840 she was between forty and fifty, and in 1830 she was under thirty. None of these records are consistent with Catherine Evans, who must have been born before 1790, and probably before 1785. The 1810 Census of Monongalia County indicates that Catherine Wilkins was at least twenty-six years old.
The 1810 Census of Monongalia County suggests that Jeptha and Catherine had two sons and a daughter between 1803 and 1810. They may account for some of the children living with Priscilla and John Wilkins, their aunt and uncle, in 1820.
John Wilkins and Priscilla Evans were probably married before 1810, but the record of marriage record cannot be located. John is not mentioned in the 1810 Census of Monongalia County, but there is reason to believe that he and Priscilla were living with Edward Evans. The enumeration of Edward’s household includes two males the right age to be John Wilkins, and a female the right age to be Priscilla. There is also a boy under the age of ten, perhaps John and Priscilla’s first child.
Various census records indicate that Priscilla was born about 1790, and John about 1791. Priscilla was probably the youngest child of Edward and Sarah, and it was common for the last child remaining at home to inherit the homestead and care for elderly parents. As we have already seen, Edward sold one of his last three tracts of land to John Wilkins, and was probably living there with John and Priscilla in 1820. Priscilla seems to have died between 1850 and 1860; John probably died between 1860 and 1870.
There may have been more children than those described here. If the dates suggested above are accurate, then one or two children may have been born between Edward and Samuel, and certainly there ought to have been more than one born during the twelve years between John and Priscilla. It may be that other children were born during these periods, only to die in infancy or childhood. It is sometimes asserted that there was a son named James, although to date no evidence of such a son has been discovered. The only James Evans whom I have found in Monongalia County records was a son of John Evans, who appeared in the 1805 tax list with his brother, Nimrod.
SUMMARY OF THE EVANS FAMILY
Richard Evans, d. 1703, m. circa 1696 Elizabeth Hall, daughter of Richard (d. 1688) and Elizabeth Hall, b. circa 1673, d. 1743; Elizabeth m. (2) circa 1714 James Kingsbury, d. 1725-26.
Children:
1. Ann Evans, b. circa 1696-98, d. 1768, m. Robert Pottenger, b. 1694, d. 1738.
2. Samuel Evans, b. circa 1696-1700, d. 30 Sept. 1770, m. circa 1716 Sarah ______, d. 1736-38; Samuel m. (2) 7 Dec. 1738 Priscilla Moore, fl. 1768.
3. Elizabeth Evans, b. circa 1698-1700, m. 20 Nov. 1718 Charles Lucas, b. 1693, d. 1741.
4. Richard Evans, b. 1703, d. before 1743 (no issue).
5. James Kingsbury, b. after 1714, fl. 1743.
6. Priscilla Kingsbury, b. after 1714, fl. 1743, m. ______ Groom.
Children of Samuel Evans:
1. Mary Evans, b. 30 Oct. 1718.
2. Samuel Evans, b. 22 May 1723.
3. Sarah Evans, b. 5 Apr. 1725.
4. Priscilla Evans, b. 26 Dec. 1726.
5. John Evans, b. 2 Nov. 1728. Settled in what is now Greene County, Pa.
6. Hugh Evans, b. 7 Oct. 1730.
7. Eleanor Evans, b. 25 June 1732.
8. Edward Evans, b. 26 Mar. 1734, d. circa 1820, m. circa 1762 Sarah Wood, daughter of Joseph and Mary Wood, d. 1806-10. Settled in what is now Monongalia County, W.Va.
9. Richard Evans, b. 26 May 1736. Said to have been killed in the War of Independence.
10. Thomas Evans, b. 27 Sept. 1740.
11. Rachel Evans, b. 6 July 1742.
Children of Edward Evans:
1. Gerard (Jared) Evans, b. circa 1764, fl. 1815.
2. Edward Evans, b. circa 1765, fl. 1815, m. Ann ______.
3. Samuel Evans, b. circa 1772, fl. 1860, m. 30 Nov. 1806 Harriet Wilson, b. circa 1790, d. 1850-60.
4. Eleanor Evans, b. circa 1773, fl. 1830, m. 6 Aug. 1799 Robert Patton, b. circa 1770, d. 1839.
5. Jonathan Evans, b. circa 1774, d. 1850, m. 12 Mar. 1796 Sarah Fawcett, daughter of Robert Fawcett and Phoebe van der Grift, b. 1778, d. 1820-26; Jonathan m. (2) 9 Jan. 1827 Mary Hannaman, b. 8 Nov. 1772, d. 26 Mar. 1849.
6. Hugh Evans, b. 6 Dec. 1776, d. 1873, m. 9 Mar. 1801 Sarah Thomas, b. circa 1774, d. 1850-60.
7. John Evans, b. circa 1778.
8. Catherine Evans, b. before 1785, m. 7 Nov. 1802 Jeptha Wilkins, d. 1818-19.
9. Priscilla Evans, b. circa 1790, d. 1850-60, m. circa 1808 John Wilkins, b. circa 1791, fl. 1860.
Bibliography:
Jane Baldwin Cotton, The Maryland Calendar of Wills
Peter Wilson Coldham, Settlers of Maryland, 1679-1783
Effie Gwynn Bowie, Across the Years in Prince George’s County
Christopher Johnston, “Hall Family of Calvert County,” in Maryland Genealogies, vol. II
Lula M. Schroder, Ancestors of Jonathan Evans
Family Record in the Swan-Hughes Bible, transcribed in The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families, volume IV, by Howard L. Leckey.
Records of St. Barnabas’ Church, Prince George’s County, Md.
Prince George’s County Deed Records
Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md.
James Morton Callahan, The History of West Virginia, Old and New
W.E. Horn, biographical sketches (the “Horn Papers”)
Monongalia County Deed Records
Monongalia County Tax Lists
Monongalia County Census Records
Monongalia County Marriage Records
Preston County Census Records
Brown County, Ohio Census Records
The text refers to some other records relating to the children of Edward Evans, most of which may be implied by context (i.e. Mason County marriage records or tombstone inscriptions from various cemeteries), but are here omitted.
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