Son of
Father Evan Evans (1833-1868)
Mother Jane Evans (1836-1886)
Step Father Benjamin Richards Jr. (1818-1880)
Wife Ann Maria Easter Bailey Sharp (1868-1826)
Father to
Charles John Evans (1890-1895)
Ann Jane Evans (1891-1972)
*Evan George Evans (1894-1951)
Earl David Evans (1898-1977)
Zina Easter Evans (1899-1900)
Lavera Bailey Evans ( 1902-1991)
Artie Sharp Evans (1904-1983)
Lee Robert Evans (1907-1988)
Elden Stephen Evans (1910-2005)
Elvis Henry Evans (1913-2001)
Charles Evans Personal History
written by Lavera Bailey Evans Maxfield
I was born on February 22, 1865 in Lampeter Cardeganshire, South Wales, Europe.
I am a son of Eva Evans and Jane Evans Evans. I have two sisters and two brothers, Ellen Joyce, Jane, John and David. I was nearly 4 years old when my father died on February 12, 1869 so I can’t really say that I remember much about him. He worked in the coal mines for years and was also the sexton in that town. I had just turned ten years old when the following spring I started to work as a water boy in the coal mines. I worked in the mines for two years in the summer and whenever there was no school but the third summer I Decided to come to Utah instead of working in the mines.
My mother remarried sometime after my father died to a man by the name of Richards in Wales, he had a family, but they were all married as far as I remember except one son named David L. Richards, who was three years older than I. He was born September 22, 1862 in Cardiganshire South Wales. I became very fond of David.
My mother would get us children all ready for Sunday School on Sunday morning and send us to church. For a long time, we went to the Church of England as were told.
The Mormon Missionaries had been in Wales preaching the gospel and my older sister Ellen Joyce had decided to join the Mormon Church and go to Utah with the Elders. One of which was a married man, Dan Jones, who said she could stay with him and his wife until she found work.
Our mother still sent the rest of us to the Church of England or until we decided for ourselves to join the Mormon church. So David L. and myself started out one Sunday morning for Church, but we were curious about the missionaries and their Church that Ellen Joyce had decided to join. We went down the hill on our way as usual, but when we got to the bottom of the hill, we took off to where the Elders were preaching instead of our Church. We would leave a little before the Elders were through preaching as it was a little farther for us to get home at the same time if we had gone to the Church of England. We did this a few Sundays out of curiosity, but then it became interesting, so we told mother what we had been doing and she let us continue. We thought we knew why Ellen Joyce was going to go to Utah with the Elders. Ellen Joyce came to Utah in 1876. She sailed June 28, 1876 on a ship named Idaho, with the returning missionaries and went to the home of Daniel Jones, one of the missionaries. Joyce as we always called my sister, stayed with Sarah and Daniel Jones and later became Daniel’s second wife in polygamy, which the Church approved at that time.
Daniel’s first wife was not able to bear children, but Joyce had a family of girls and boys.
I decided I would like to go to Utah, so in writing to Daniel and Joyce, they agreed, if mother was willing for me to come to Utah. They would send me the money for my ticket and I could live with them and work on their farm and pay them back the money they sent for my fare to Utah.
I had an Uncle in Wales who was very fond of me. He was fairly well to do and he told me if I would stay here in Wales, he would pay for my schooling and I could become a minister. This was Uncle Simon, but I was not interested.
THen one day the money came for my ticket to come to Utah and mother began to inquire if any missionaries or anyone was going to go to Utah and in answer to her inquiries, a Mrs. Simons from Woodscross, Utah was visiting in Wales and she said she would be glad to see that I got to Salt Lake City all right so I left England May 25, 1873 on the ship Nevada. It was real hard to leave my mother and come with complete strangers, but it was our plan to try to get as many of our family here as we could and mother said she would stay there and send us children here to Joyce in homes she could come later. I left feeling better about this after mother reminded me. Mrs. Simons took me and we said goodby and found our quarters on the ship. Mine was right by the fog horn and they blew it most of the time as it was foggy. I was what you call seasick all the way on the boar. It took 12 days on the ocean, arriving June 5, 1878.
We arrived in Salt Lake City June 13, 1878. I was thirteen years and a little over three months.
Daniel and Joyce were there to meet me and Mrs. Simons went on to Woodscross after delivering me safely to my sister as she had promised to do.
We came from Salt Lake City by wagon and team to Joyce’s home on State Street in Union Ward which was my new home.
I got settled and started to help Daniel with his work. He had a large farm and lots of cows to feed and milk and make butter and take to Salt Lake City to sell. I went with them sometimes to sell the butter. He also raised horses and had a stallion which was quite a problem to care for at times.
I had worked for Daniel a little over a year. I had paid them all the money back that they sent me to come to Utah. We, Joyce, Daniel and myself decided that we would send the money for my sister Jane to come and I would stay and work for Daniel and pay back the money for Jane to come over, which I did. Jane came over in 1879, leaving England October 18, 1789 on the ship Arizona.
I was baptized the same year I came here by Ishmael Philips of Union Ward, Salt Lake County, Utah, September 18, 1878 and confirmed my Marion H. Brady, September 18, 1878 Union Ward, Salt Lake County, Utah.
A short time after I left my home in Wales my stepfather died and he left a little money, enough to pay for a ticket for my mother and David L. Richards to come to Utah. They left England September 4, 1880 on the same ship I did, the NEvada.
David later married and pioneered to Vernal. He homesteaded a farm and was the first mail carrier in Vernal.
A few of us young men formed a band and I played the Cornet. Later I sold my Cornet and became the caller for the band for square dancing.
I became a citizen of the United States of America on April 2, 1887.
I was ordained an Elder on February 5, 1889 and became a member of the 18th Quorum of Elders on March 10, 1889. I was ordained a High Priest November 30, 1919 by Thomas Finlayson. I was set apart as second counselor in the Sunday School Superintendency December 1889.
I was still working for Daniel when I married Easter Sharp February 13, 1889. We lived with her family for nearly two years until we could get our house built on a ten acre piece of land Easter’s father had given her. It was all sage brush, but a nice fertile piece of land. We cleared the sage brush and built a two room home. It was not finished in time for our first child, John, to be born in. He was born at Easter’s father’s home. Our second child Ann, was born in our new home. I worked for Daniel for some time then I worked on the railroad track crew of section gang and also tried to get the ground cleared so I could farm a little as well. Shortly after my marriage, I went to work at the Mingo Smelter in Sandy. I went to work at the Midvale Smelter shortly after it started in 1905. I worked for a long time at the U.S. Smelter in Midvale, Utah. I was foreman for years over the arsenic plant and later became an electrician. I was still working there in 1919 when I became ill and never went back anymore to the Smelter. The arsenic had eaten my lungs and nose linings. I always walked to and from work which was about 2 miles each way. While working which was about 2 miles each way. While working at the Smelter, we charged our things at Booth’s Store and paid on payday. We always got a ticket for a chance on a prize they raffled off. One time I won and it was a set of front room furniture, a love seat, platform rocker, big arm chair and two other chairs. It was something to be proud of.
I continued to make my living by farming and odd jobs. I had bought six and one half acres of land joining us on the east from Easter’s father in about 19909. So we had 16 acres and we did all right by farming and doing plowing and fixing garden spots for different ones. I raised carrots, potatoes, and onions and I had regular customers in Salt Lake City that I supplied with these vegetables for winter.
When East Midvale Chapel was ready for use, I was the first janitor.
I lost my wife on June 6, 1926. And I had three boys left to raise. At first, I didn’t know just how I would make out, but for a while, the three girls took turns doing for us, but as winter came on, we went to Ann’s place and got most of our meals. She also took care of our washing and ironing and etc.
I bought a Chevrolet in 1928 which was my first and only car. I had a good team of horses and was quite often asked to help out with cars stuck in snowdrifts. While helping at Henry Fellers place with a car that had slid off the road into a creek, I had a small stroke. I recovered fairly well. Then in 1929 or 30, I was cutting wood and I had another stroke and was not able to work after that. It took a long time to even feel good. Then in August 1933 I sold my home and farm to my youngest daughter and her husband, Ellis and Lavera Maxfield.
My daughter took care of me. I enjoyed going to Moon Lake Resort every summer with my daughter’s family and certainly missed going the two summers the doctor didn’t approve because of my blood pressure. Sometimes Ellis’s father, Robert Burns Maxfield went with us. We two old men had a good time together. I managed to be well enough to go deer hunting each fall with Ellis. I could not hike around in the mountains very much, but I did some exploring around. Ellis and his brother Grand always took their father, Burns Maxfield and myself and we enjoyed it out in the open.
In the fall f 1943, I went to stay for a little while with Ann, my oldest daughter, but the day before Armistice day the home I sold to Lavera burned so I Stayed with Ann until the day before Thanksgiving, 1943. I then went back to Lavera’s but the house was not completed, they had only two rooms plastered, so I stayed with Evan at night and walked down to Lavera’s in the daytime. I did this for about three weeks and then became ill and was bedfast for about ten days.
Charles Evans died December 26, 1943, at the home of his son, Evan G. Evans in Union. His funeral was at East Midvale Ward. He was buried in Muarry City Cemetery, December 29, 1943.
I, Lavera Bailey Evans Maxfield, was told this history by Charles Evans, my father during the summer of 1934, just after I lost my baby Neva Jane. I later added the events of his life when he lived with me.
Father never told me he had a brother and twin sisters. They died when only a few days old. Later research work was being done on my father’s family and his ancestors my sister, Ann, found in the records in the Salt Lake Genealogical Library, that father had a brother John who died when just a few days old. They were just older than he. Father and his sisters had them sealed to their parents. He and his two sisters were sealed at that time also. John and David were still living and were in Wales. I guess he never thought anything about them when telling me his life story. In researching in Wales, these children were also found but there was some difference in dates. There was also a difference in Charles and Ellen Joyce’s birth dates.
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