Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/679

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 603 a stroke of paralj'sis that rendered it im- possible for him to walk thereafter, though he retained his mental vigor unimpaired un- til the close of his long and useful life. Suh- sequeutly to enduring this affliction Senator Evans sei'ved twelve years as a member of the Republican state central committee and continued to exert i^otent influence in polit- ical affairs in the state, the while no man held to a higher degree the confidence and esteem of his associates, not only in political circles but also in all other relations of life. He was for some time editor of the State Times, published as the semi-oificial organ of the ilissouri legislature. He was a man who stood "'four square to every wind that blows, ' ' and his name is held in lasting honor in the state which represented his home throughout his life and to which his loyalty was ever of the most incisive order. He passed the closing years of his life at Cuba, Crawford county, w-here he died in 1889, se- cure in the high regard of all who knew him. His cherished and devoted wdfe was summoned to the life eternal in 1886, and of their six children one son and one daughter are now living. His marriage to iliss Emily H. Treece, a native of Ohio, was solemnized at Brush Creek, Crawford countj', Missouri, on the 20th of July, 1850, and his wife was a daughter of one of the honored pioneers of that section of the state. Both were con- sistent and zealous members of the ilethod- ist church. Horace D. Evans, whose name initiates this article, gained his early educational disci- pline in the public schools of Rolla and Booneville, and in the former place he en- tered upon an apprenticeship to the printer's trade, in the office of the Rolla IlcraJd. He familiai'ized himself with the esoteric mys- teries of the "art preservative of all arts" and incidentally gained a training that proved a most valuable supplement to his prior education. In 1879 he went to the city of St. Louis, where he was a clerical employe in the office of the city assessor and collector until 1883, when he received an appointment to the railwaj' mail service, with which he thereafter continued to be identified for a period of thirteen years, as an efficient and valued employe. In 1896 he resigned his position and assumed the posi- tion of bookkeeper in the Farmers & IMiners Bank of Bonne Terre, where he has since maintained his home and where he has risen to prominence as one of the representativ'e business men and influential citizens of St. Francois county. In 1899 he became asso- ciated in the organization of the Lead Belt Bank, of which he has since served as cashier and in which he is a stockholder. His effec- tive administration has had marked influence in the upbuilding of the substantial business of this popular institution, which bases its operations on a capital stock of fifteen thou- sand dollars and which is one of the solid banking houses of this section of the state. Mr. Evans has also identified himself with other enterprises that have conserved indus- trial and commercial stability and progress and as a citizen he is most liberal and public- spirited, — ever ready to lend his influence and co-operation in the furtherance of meas- ures tending to enhance material and civic prosperity. He is treasurer of the Bonne Terre Building & Loan Association, is a mem- ber of the directorate of the Bonne Terre Lumber Company, and is a director of the Bank of Herculaneum, at Herculaneum, Jef- ferson county. He is president of the Com- mercial Club of Bonne Terre, an organization of high civic ideals and one that has been most influential in promoting the best inter- ests of the thriving little city. In politics Mr. Evans has never swerved from the faith in which he was reared and he is aligned as a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party, in whose cause he has given yeoman service. He was elected chairman of the Republican county commit- tee of St. Francois county in 1904 and was re-elected in 1906 and 1908. He seems to have inherited much of his father's discrimi- nation in the maneuvering of political forces and gave most efifective service along this line during his incumbency of the position noted, as has he also as a member, from the state at large, of the Missouri state central committee of his party, wdth which he has been thus actively identified since 1904. He served five years as a member of the board of education of Bonne Terre, and here he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. Both he aiid his wife hold membership in the Congregational church in their home town, and are liberal in the support of the various departments of its work. On the 28th of December, 1887, Mr. Evans was united in wedlock to Miss Annie Towi, a daughter of William Towl, a prominent