My Genealogy Hound

HON. ANDREW EVANS (deceased). The deceased, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Huntington Township December 9, 1809; he was the son of John Evans, Jr., and Mary (Housh) Evans. John Evans, Jr., was a son of John Evans, Sr., who was born December 1, 1737, and died in Maryland, May 18, 1802, and Hannah (Griffith) Evans, his wife, who was born January 25, 1738, and died April 27, 1816. John Evans, Sr., was a son of Thomas Evans, who was born of Welsh parents. John Evans, Jr., who was born in November 17, 1770, came West in 1792, and located in the vicinity of the Blue Licks in Kentucky. In the fall of 1800, he came to this township, and purchased 535 acres, where he built a cabin into which he moved his family in the following spring. His family consisted of eleven children, viz.: Abraham, Benjamin, John, Andrew, Thomas, Amos, William, Hannah, Laban, Diana and Griffith, the latter being the only survivor. Benjamin became prominently identified with the politics of the county; he was one of the Associate Judges of the county, filled the office of County Auditor from 1829 to 1831, and represented the Fourth Senatorial District in the Senate of the State. His father, John Evans, Jr., was a vigorous, enterprising man, and served as one of the Commissioners of the county from 1808 to 1826; he was also Township Trustee for many years; and filled other minor offices of the township. He enlisted as a private in the war of 1812, and participated in the “Lake expedition.” Andrew Evans, the subject of this sketch, spent his boyhood days on the farm, receiving but a meager education, but being a boy of rare intelligence, he availed himself of every opportunity to learn, and succeeded in obtaining a better store of knowledge than could usually be obtained in the imperfect schools of his day. Upon arriving at a suitable age, he took his place at the forge with his father, who was a blacksmith, and under the latter’s instructions soon became a skillful artisan. Possessing much natural ingenuity, he was enabled to produce with little effort any piece of mechanism his fertile brain devised. He was married, June 3, 1837, to Mary, daughter of William and Mary (Daniels) Hiett, and by her had the following children: Samuel, whose biography appears in this work; William H. and Abraham F., twins, whose biographies also appear in this work, Indiana; John B., deceased; Amos A., deceased; Mary; Isabella E.; Ann D., deceased; Joseph H. and Lee A., sketches of the latter two also appearing in this work. Mrs. Evans was born April 21, 1815. Mr. Evans filled several offices in the township, among which was that of Justice of the Peace; in the twelve consecutive years that he occupied this office, his decrees, judgments and other official acts met with the warmest approbation of the citizens of the township, and he only had to indicate his desire for the office to be re-elected. In the fall of 1864, he was elected to represent the county in the Legislature of the State, and in this capacity continued during the legislative years of 1864 and 1865. He was the first Republican incumbent of that office ever elected from Brown County. The duties of this office were discharged with great precision, and in a manner to reflect honor on the officer as well as credit to his constituents. His term of service was during the administration of Gov. Brough, and his untiring efforts in behalf of the soldiers and of those dependent on them, met with the warmest praise from the Governor, who spoke of Mr. Evans as a man who forgot self in his interest for others. Mr. Evans was reared in the old Jacksonian school of Democracy to which party he was a strong adherent until the questions of State Sovereignty and Slavery were agitated, when he renounced his allegiance to that party, and attached himself to the Republicans, who always found in him a ready and enthusiastic partisan. In his business affairs, he exercised rare good judgment, which with his natural sagacity and perseverance, enabled him to accumulate a comfortable competency. For nearly three-quarters of a century, he went in and out before the people of this township, and by his kindness, affability and great generosity, he endeared himself to all with whom he came in contact. He was a man of strong conviction, and expressed his opinions without regard to public sentiment. With a determined and positive nature, he adhered strictly to the principles of right without regard to the feelings or interests of any. He was a man whose every act was tempered by kindness and Christian benevolence. In his death, society lost a kind and courteous gentleman, the community a good citizen, and his family a loving and indulgent parent. During the latter years of his life, he connected himself to the Huntington Presbyterian Church, in which he became a valued, energetic and consistent member. He was made a Ruling Elder, at the time he joined the church, and continued to serve the church in that capacity until his death. The following touching words were suggested to his son, Dr. W. H. Evans, by a night visit to his father’s tomb:

“How softly now the night’s shadows fall
All nature seems at rest;
Home of the dead, how silent all
Lie, with my father blest.”