Herbert

The Evans Family

Our Evans family has lived in South Australia since 1856, when the recently widowed Mary Ann Evans and her infant son James travelled to SA only twenty years after the State's foundation. She followed her parents, the Reverend Henry Cheetham and his wife, who were then at the Kensington Congregational Church in Adelaide. Mary Ann travelled to Melbourne in the American-built Clipper "Invincible" and from Melbourne to Adelaide in the "Burra Burra", arriving at Glenelg on 31 December 1855. Mary Ann's late husband was William Evans, Civil Engineer, of Oldham, Lancashire.

Unfortunately tracing our own line of Evans back beyond 1840 is hampered by a paucity of records, but the search goes on. The task is a challenge and not helped by the popularity of the surname or the small range of Christian names fashionable at the time.

From William’s marriage certificate, we know his father was John.  From William's will dated 21 May 1855, we know he had two brothers and three sisters,  Sarah,  Charles,  Mary,  Eliza, and George Henry.  With this information we were able to identify families in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses who are to be William's parents, John and Susannah.