Alvin Evans (October 4, 1845 – June 19, 1906) was an American lawyer and Republican member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Early life and education

Born in

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania The Borough of Ebensburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona and surrounded by Cambria ...

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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Alvin Evins obtained a job in

lumbering Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks

at the age of sixteen when his father's business failed due to the financial crash of 1857.

Career

American Civil War

In 1862, Alvin Evans enlisted with a volunteer military unit, which was mobilized in response to the potential invasion of

by the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Legal and political career

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, and later advocated for clients in the

Superior Court of Pennsylvania The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg. Jurisdiction The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and mos ...

and the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

, as well as in federal court. A one-term burgess for the borough of Ebensburg, he also worked as solicitor for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

Cambria County, Pennsylvania Cambria County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 133,472. Its county seat is Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, Ebensb ...

, 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. Elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-eighth Congresses, he did not seek renomination in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, but instead returned to the practice of law. 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 The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

's Captain John M. Jones Post and the

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

' Summit Lodge, No. 312.

Personal life

He wed Kate Shryock (1846–1886) in

Wilmore, Pennsylvania Wilmore is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 225 at the 2010 census. Geography Wilmore is located in south-central Cambria Coun ...

on November 17, 1875. They had three children. Evans died in Ebensburg, and was interred in the Lloyd Cemetery.The Political Graveyard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Alvin 1845 births 1906 deaths People from Ebensburg, Pennsylvania American people of Welsh descent Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Pittsburgh American bankers Union army soldiers People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives