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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Evans Family Letters, Ms1993-015, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Evans Family Letters were purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1993.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Evans Family Letters commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Without more information, the correspondents in these letters cannot be definitively identified, as Company B, 6th Wisconsin seems to have included among its ranks more than one William Evans:

William Evans (A) was born in Pennsylvania in 1843. The 1860 federal census lists a 17-year-old Pennsylvania native named William E. Evans living in the Winnebago County, Illinois, home of Mathew and Nancy Evans. Also in the household are Samuel Evans, 26, and Mary J., 14. Listed next door is the family of 30-year-old Charles Evans. The 1863 draft registration for Iowa's Second Congressional District lists a 21-year-old William E. Evans as a resident of Boone County. In the 1885 census, Mathew and Nancy Evans appear as residents of Dickinson County, Iowa, living next to the families of Samuel and James Evans. Samuel Evans' obituary shows him to have been a resident of Okoboji (Dickinson County), Iowa. The family members mentioned in the documentary evidence seem to match with the names provided within the letters in this collection. According to the Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Wisconsin (1865, v. 1), William E. Evans of Company B, 6th Wisconsin Infantry was killed in action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.

William Evans (B) was born in New Town, County Wicklow, Ireland, on August 8, 1827. While still young, he moved with his family to Canada, settling near Toronto. Around 1847, Evans moved to Minnesota, and, soon after, to Wisconsin. On July 16, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, 6th Wisconsin Infantry. He was promoted to sergeant and served until being severely wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. After his recovery, Evans was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps and assigend to guard duty in Washington D. C. Following the expiration of his term of service, Evans returned to Wisconsin, where he married Lucretia Sweet (1849-1924); the couple would have ten children. In 1873, the Evanses moved to Oregon, and soon afterward to Genesee, Idaho. The 1880 federal census lists the family as farmers in Nez Perce County. In 1885, Evans and his family moved a final time, to Washington.The territorial census of 1887 lists the family in Whatcom County. During the Nez Perce War, Evans served as a first lieutenant of militia. William Evans died in Blaine (Whatcom County), Washington, on November 8, 1907, and was buried in Greenacres Memorial Park, Ferndale. While this William Evans' service in Company B, 6th Wisconsin can be confirmed through documentary evidence, his connection to family members mentioned in the letters within this collection could not be established.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of three letters from C. H. Evans, James Evans, and Mary J. Evans, of Iowa and Illinois, addressed to their brother, William E. Evans, a soldier in Company B, 6th Wisconsin Infantry during the American Civil War. The letters focus largely on family matters and news of mutual acquaintances. Writing from "Okoboggi" (Okoboji, Iowa), on November 2, 1862, James Evans notes that Samuel's knee is healing, and he writes an additional note to his friend J. (John) C. Heales, also of the 6th. The letter from C. H. Evans is dated from "Okobojia" on March 23, 1863, menmtions the recent deaths of W. A. Brown and David Knap [Knapp?] at Murfreesboro. Mary J. Evans, writing from Winnebago County, Illinois, on March 31, 1863, conveys news of the recent return of Dan Hubbart [Daniel Hubbart?], wounded and recently released from a Confederatte prison, and mentions that "the inhabetence are all leaving Okoboji on the account of the indians."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Evans Family Letters by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).