Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/688

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

M r. E van s is a descendant o f M ark Evans, who founded the faniiiy in Columbia county about a century af;u. He w as a native o f Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster Co., I ’a. F o r a time he lived in Pcnnsdale, Lycom ing Co., Pa., a fte r some years moving to “ Shinn Street,” which later became the eastern part o f M illville. H e followed farm ing and lum­ bering, as well as his trade o f carpenter and cabinetmaker, becoming one of the well known men o f his day in his section. H e dictl in that township, and is buried there. H e w as a member of the Society o f Friends. H is children w ere: Esther, who died unmar­ ried; Anna, who m arried Joseph Shannon; Sarah, who married Thom as M cG cc; Elsie, who married Jerem iah H eacock; Jo siah, a Lutheran minister, and Jacob, the father o f Issachar M. Evans. Jaco b Evans w as bom probably in Greenw o ^ townsliip and passed all but the last few years o f his life there. H e w as reared on the farm, but learning the carpenter’s trade, was engaged principally at such work until he rcachcil middle life, when he turned to farm ­ ing and followed it the rest o f his active years. A fte r retiring he lived at Bloomsburg, where he died Sept. 3, 18 7 4; he is buried in Greenwoo<i township. H e held a number o f local offices, and in (856 w as honored with election as associate judge, in which position he served one term. Originally a member of the Society o f Friends, before his marriage he was class leader in the meeting at Pcnnsdale. H e m ar­ ried Hannah M orns, daughter o f Issachar M orris, who settled on the farm which is now known a s the Billm eyer place, in Greenwood township. Afr. M orris w as a pioneer Metho­ dist. and his daughter Hannah after (heir m arriage brouglU Jaco b E v an s into that church, o f which he w as a member fo r fiftyfive years, and held official position fo r many ye ars; ministers o f that denomination made his home their stopping place. H e and his w ife Hannah (M o rris) had children as fo l­ low s: Sarah, who married Sh ively Staddon; Elizabeth, married to Rev. Albert H artn u n; Issachar M ., who died in Bloom sburg; A n­ drew J. : ami Joseph, a well known physician, who died in Bloomsbutg. T he three brothers married three sisters, daughters o f Peter .Appleman. Issachar M. Evans, grandfather o f William W hite Evans, m arried M aria Appleman, a mcmlicr o f one of the oldest fam ilies in the county. H er grandfather, M attliu s Apple­ man. w as bom near Trenton, N. J ., and settled in M illville. Columbia county, shortly after the

Revolution. Peter A pplem an,-M rs. Evans’s father, was bom Feb. 17, 1808, in Hemlock township. Columbia county. A t one lim e be owned the homestead in Montour township, that county, upon which M r. and M rs. Peter A. E van s lived. Peter A. E van s, son o f Issachar M ., was bom Ja n. 15, 1846, in Montour township, and received his education in the old seminar)' at Bloomsburg. In 1865-66 he pursued higher studies at Dickinson Sem inary, Williamsport, Pa. Returning to the htmicstcad, fonncrly the property o? his maternal grandfather, he followed farm ing there, and w as interested in the improvement o f agricultural conditions in the county, being an activ'C member of the Grange. H e w as one of the best known figures in local politics fo r years. From the time he was old enough to vote he worked for Ihe success of the Democratic party, and in 1883 served a s a delegate to the State conven­ tion which nominated G ovcm or Pattison. A fte r .scra'ing in many local offices he was, in 1884, nominated and elected county treasurer, receiving the largest m ajority o f any candidate on (he ticket; he filled the office one term. In 1880 M r. E van s w'as appointed United States census enumerator o f his district. H is public ser'iccs were marked by the utmost fidelity to duty and a close understanding of the obliga­ tions of the office. H e w as a member of the Odd Fellow s fraternity. In 1872 M r. Evans married Samantha White, daughter o f Wil­ liam White, o f Scott township. H e died Sept. I I. 1896. W illiam W hite Evans w as bom .April 4. 1873, on the E van s homestead in Afontour township. H is first teacher, in the school at Rupert, w as .Mrs. Ellen Schoonover, now an instructor in the Bloomsburg State Norm al 5>chool. Subsequently he attended the Bloomsburg Normal, during the spring, leach­ ing in the winter season to d efray the cost of tuition, and he w as graduated in 1894. A fte r that he taught various schools in the county, and w as the first principal of the Orange’ille school a fte r its purchase hy the township from the Orangeville Sem inary stockholders. F o l­ low'ing (his experience he taught at Huntingt<Ki M ills and W est Pittston, both in Luzerne county. H e took a college course at (he Uni­ versity o f Wooster, in Ohio, whence he re­ turned to Bloomsburg to teach in the high school, lieing thus engaged until he assunie<l the county supcrintcndency, to which he was elected in M ay, icyw. H is devotion h.as been so sincere, his efficiency so indispiiiahJe. that he has been reelected to succeed himself tcmi