DARs Something Wrong
Another Tale of Two Names
Here’s the connection:
Robert James Evans <- Joseph Waller Evans <- James Rufus Evans <- William George Evans <- Jehu Evans <- Josiah Evans II <- Josiah Evans <- Thomas Evans
If you recall, we discussed James Rufus Evans when we were looking at the Roberts line connection to the Evans. He was married to Jailie Ann Lanham. His parents were William George Evans and Susan James Owens.
William George Evans was born in 1804 in Morgan County, Georgia, to Jehu Evans and Elizabeth McMurray. In 1827 William married Susan James Owens, who was born in 1809 in Putnam County, Georgia.
In 1836, William George served in the war with the Creek Indians in Florida as part of Kendrick’s Company of Georgia Volunteers, and drew 40 acres of bounty land for his services. From Georgia, William and Susan moved with their twelve children to Alabama for a year and to Louisiana for a year, where they welcomed their thirteenth child, before reaching Texas in 1846, just after its admittance to the Union.
William George was a horse breeder, a builder and contractor, and a rancher. The family lived in Smith County in 1848, where they had their fourteenth child, then moved to Denton County, and then Palo Pinto County.
While at Palo Pinto in 1857, he was awarded a $300 contract to build the first courthouse in the county. The log and clapboard building was constructed with lumber from the cottonwood trees along the town branch and included two doors and three windows. Many of the unseasoned boards warped and it is noted in the history of the county that “the wind whistled through the cracks during the winter sessions of court”. This building was replaced in 1882.
When the Civil War began, the United States withdrew its troops from Texas. The Indians began raiding and murdering settlers. When the Indian raids worsened, William moved his family to Weatherford in Parker County. All eleven of his sons served in the Civil War and all returned without a scratch. William George was also part of the survey crew that laid out the first road to Mesquiteville, the present town of Jacksboro.
William died at the age of 72, on June 6, 1878, in Parker County, Texas. He and his grandson had gone on horseback to see the swollen creek. He was very bent over in his old age and when he waded into the creek, he was swept into the flooding water and drowned. It was three days before his body was located as it had washed up a few miles downstream. He is buried about a quarter mile off this creek in the Cole-Markham Cemetery in Aledo, Texas. The cemetery is located on private property but the owners are very gracious about visitors and consider it an honor to have the cemetery on their land.
Susan died in 1895 at the age of 86 and is buried in an unmarked grave beside William, as well as one of their sons, John B. A. “Jack”.
The children of William George Evans and Susan James Owens are:
Green Franklin 1828- 1891
John B.A. “Jack” 1829-1895
Jehu Owens "Gee" 1830-1893
Clarissa Jane 1832-1962
Elizabeth Childs “Bettie” 1833-1884
Josiah Washington, 1835–1901
William George Jr. 1836-1911
Francis Marion 1838-1899
James Rufus 1839-1922
Henry 1841-1924
Louisa Sarepta 1842-1914
Lee Andrew “Leander” 1845-1882
Columbus, 1847-1923
Camlin 1848-1913
Some Interesting notes on the children:
Brothers Josiah and James Rufus married the Lanham sisters, Cynthia and Jailie plus their brother John married the sister’s Lanham cousin, Manerva.
Green’s wife, Elizabeth, and his baby daughter were killed by Indians in Texas. After that he became a renowned Indian fighter, who subsequently went to Arizona and is buried there.
In 1882 Leander got off the train in Albany, Texas, travel worn and ill. Mr. Weldon L. Rucker took him home with him. The next morning it became evident that he had smallpox. He died shortly after and was buried in the small cemetery on the family land. The Rucker family all died from smallpox a few weeks later. The Rucker house with all its contents was burned to prevent further spread of the disease. The Rucker cemetery was not kept up and there is now a memorial headstone for Leander (Lee Andrew) at the Albany cemetery.
William George Evans’s father was Jehu Evans. Once again this seems like a simple statement but there have been some trials to get to this fact. Kyle ran into a quagmire in his search for Evans ancestry with convoluted information from the Daughter’s of the American Revolution (DAR). But, he was able to get a copy of the will of Jehu Evans, which turned out to be very important. You see once again, there are two men: John Jehu and Jehu. This fact has been totally convoluted on the internet from overzealous DAR applicants to the point that the DAR will not accept any applications using this name. The confusion has permeated many websites including some that are usually quite reliable like FindaGrave and Ancestry (a paid site!). I found a very distant cousin, Holly Evans, who is also a descendant of Jehu and a thirty-year veteran of genealogy. She pointed out that in the will, Jehu, only refers to himself as Jehu, not John Jehu, and consequently names his wife and all his children, which includes William George. Plus, another document, a land warrant for 200 acres in Washington County, Georgia, also, only shows the name Jehu. Jehu ends up having a grandson named after him, only as Jehu.
If you play devil’s advocate and follow the tracks of John Jehu, you will find that it leads to some interesting people but does not line up with our known ancestors.
So, William George Evans’s father is Jehu Evans. He was born in Pitt County, North Carolina in 1765. It’s a family rumor he fought in the Revolutionary War for the North Carolina volunteers, possibly under Colonel Abraham Shepard, but because of the DAR mess, I cannot determine if this is true at this time.
Jehu married Elizabeth McMurray in 1786 in North Carolina and they made their way to Georgia. They farmed and raised eight children. Jehu died in 1820 at the age of 55 in Morgan County, Georgia. Elizabeth died in 1845 at the age of 80, in Chambers County, Georgia. Their gravesites are unknown.
The children of Jehu Evans and Elizabeth McMurray are:
Josiah 1788-1856
John 1790-1854
Mary Polly 1793-1840
Jane Larkin 1795-1867
Clarissa 1796-unk
Elizabeth Ann 1799-1859
William George 1804-1878
Dorcas 1808-unk
Jehu was the son of Josiah Evans II and Margaret Larkin. Josiah was born in 1734 in Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina. He married Margaret Larkin in 1755 and they had eight children, including Jehu. According to a pension statement, Josiah II served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Lemuel Benton’s Regiment in General Francis Marion’s brigade in 1781. Josiah II died in 1795 in Welsh Neck, Cheraw District, South Carolina.
The children of Josiah II and Margaret:
Josiah III 1757-1813
George 1760-1819
Tabitha 1761-unk
Margaret 1762-1847
Jehu 1765-1820
John unk
Arabella unk
James unk
The parents of Josiah II were (surprise!) Josiah Evans I, born in 1716 in the Welsh Tract of New Castle County, Pennsylvania (now Delaware) and Arabella Middleton born in 1705. Josiah and Arabella moved to the Welsh Neck settlement in South Carolina. There they were members of the Welsh Neck Baptist Church, originally situated on the east bank of the Pee Dee River, where the now abandoned original cemetery was located (Old Welsh Neck Cemetery, also known as Colonel Kolb’s Tomb). The former burial ground, situated in the woods, contains only a few remaining legible grave markers. The church was relocated in 1798. Josiah’s death in 1790 was recorded in the church register. Margaret’s death date and burial are unknown.
Josiah’s father was Thomas Evans, who was born in 1685 in Lantivy, Carmarthenshire, Wales (Yes, we are Welsh!). He died in 1750 in Welsh Neck, Craven County, South Carolina. What requires more investigation is his marriage and parents.
Looks like we will have to cross back over the pond to delve more into the Welsh ancestry!
Here’s to ancestor hunting!
Kyra