Alexander Evans (September 13, 1818 – December 5, 1888) was a U.S. Representative from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

Early life

Alexander Evans was born on September 13, 1818 in

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of navigation on the Elk River, which flows into the n ...

to Mary (née Oliver) and Amos Alexander Evans. Evans attended the public schools and the local academy at Elkton. He later studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1845 and commenced practice in his native city.

Career

Evans was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

's assistant and was appointed the chief engineer of the

Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad The Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, later the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad, once provided rail service to Annapolis, Maryland, and was one of the earliest railroads in the U.S. It later merged into the Washington, Baltimore and ...

. Evans was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth, defeating Richard Carmichael. He then went on to serve in the Thirty-first, and Thirty-second Congresses; serving from March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1853. Evans was elected to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1866 under a Democratic ticket. While a delegate, he was involved in arranging the 1867 Maryland Constitution. He engaged in the practice of law until his death.

Personal life

Evans was married to Mary Manly. Together, they had one child, Alexander Evans Jr. Evans was the nephew of Levi Hollingsworth Evans, a Maryland state senator and Cecil County judge. His brother was Colonel Andrew Wallace Evans.

Death

Evans died in Elkton, Maryland on December 5, 1888. He is interred in Elkton Presbyterian Cemetery.

References

1818 births 1888 deaths People from Elkton, Maryland Maryland lawyers Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{Maryland-politician-stub