Alvin Evans (October 4, 1845 – June 19, 1906) was an American lawyer and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.[1][2][3]

Alvin Evans
Alvin Evans
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1905
Preceded byJoseph Earlston Thropp
Succeeded byJohn Merriman Reynolds
Constituency20th district (1901–1903)
19th district (1903–1905)
Personal details
Born(1845-10-04)October 4, 1845
Ebensburg, Pennsylvania
DiedJune 19, 1906(1906-06-19) (aged 60)
Ebensburg, Pennsylvania
Political partyRepublican

Early life and education

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Born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania on October 4, 1845, Evans was a son of David J. and Jane Ann (Jones) Evans and a grandson of John Evans, a carpenter and a native of Cardiganshire, Wales. Educated in local public schools and the Iron City Business College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alvin Evins obtained a job in lumbering at the age of sixteen when his father's business failed due to the financial crash of 1857.[4][5][6]

Career

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American Civil War

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In 1862, Alvin Evans enlisted with a volunteer military unit,[7] which was mobilized in response to the potential invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.[8]

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After beginning legal studies with George M. Reade of Ebensburg in 1870, he was admitted to the bar in 1873. He then established a law practice in Ebensburg,[9][10] and later advocated for clients in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well as in federal court. A one-term burgess for the borough of Ebensburg, he also worked as solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the school board and city council of Ebensburg. Involved in the incorporation of the First National Bank of Ebensburg, he was later appointed as president of that bank's board of directors.[11]

Elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-eighth Congresses,[12] he did not seek renomination in 1904,[13][14] but instead returned to the practice of law.[15]

A member of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Ebensburg, he was also active in the Grand Army of the Republic's Captain John M. Jones Post and the Free and Accepted Masons' Summit Lodge, No. 312.[16]

Personal life

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He wed Kate Shryock (1846–1886) in Wilmore, Pennsylvania on November 17, 1875. They had three children.[17] Evans died in Ebensburg, and was interred in the Lloyd Cemetery.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232). Washington, DC: Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  2. ^ The Political Graveyard.
  3. ^ "A. Evans Kephart, 102, former senator" (obituary of Alvin Evans' grandson). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 18, 2008.
  4. ^ Storey, Henry Wilson. History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans." New York, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.
  5. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.
  6. ^ The Political Graveyard.
  7. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Pennsylvania Civil War Veterans' Card File. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives, retrieved online, June 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.
  9. ^ Storey, Henry Wilson, History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."
  10. ^ Alvin Evans, in "William Davis," in Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, p. 397. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Union Publishing Company, 1896.
  11. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.
  12. ^ "A. Evans Kephart, 102, former senator," The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 18, 2008.
  13. ^ Evans, Susan. "Historic cemetery is trying to raise funds to cover expenses." Johnstown, Pennsylvania: The Tribune-Democrat, August 16, 2008.
  14. ^ The Political Graveyard .
  15. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.
  16. ^ Storey, Henry Wilson, History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."
  17. ^ Storey, Henry Wilson, History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."
  18. ^ "Evans, Alvin," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.
  19. ^ The Political Graveyard.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district

1901–1903
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district

1903–1905
Succeeded by