Lewis Evans (surveyor)
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Lewis Evans (c. 170012 June 1756) was a Welsh
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...
and
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
. He had a brother John. In the mid-1730s he emigrated to
British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...
, where he was based in Philadelphia. He was well known for his 1755 map of the Middle British Colonies.


Biography

Lewis Evans was born in
Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. He travelled to the
British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...
in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, where he settled in Philadelphia by the mid-1730s. In 1736 he bought a book from
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, a printer, which was the start of their friendship. Franklin encouraged his geographic and scientific research. In 1743 Evans married Martha Hoskins, a friend of Franklin's wife
Deborah Read Deborah Read Franklin ( 1708 – December 19, 1774) was the common-law wife of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States until her death in 1774. Early years Little is known about Read's early life. She was born aroun ...
Franklin. They had a daughter Amelia before Martha died in 1754, when the girl was ten. As a surveyor, Evans traveled in the Onondaga country of the Iroquois in western New York province with
Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania German pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a farmer, ...
, an important interpreter who had lived as a youth with the Mohawk, and botanist
John Bartram John Bartram (June 3, 1699 – September 22, 1777) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and explorer, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for most of his career. Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus said he was the "greatest natu ...
. From this trip, he published a map of New York, New Jersey and Delaware. It was modified to include Pennsylvania and published as ''A Map of Pensilvania, New-Jersey, New-York, and the Three Delaware Counties'' (1749, revised 1752). In 1751 Evans taught a class in geography and natural philosophy, as it was known, in Philadelphia, Newark, and New York. In his ''A General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America'' (1755), Evans expanded his reach to include Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and part of New England. He published this map in his book ''Geographical Essays'' (formally, ''Geographical, Historical, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America, and the Country of the Confederate Indians, with a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America''), also published in 1755 by Franklin and David Hall, as the first part of an unfinished work. Still cited, this work was recently noted by Marco Platania in an article in the electronic review ''Cromohs''. The work was heavily criticised by the ''New York Mercury''. British colonial observer
Thomas Pownall Thomas Pownall (bapt. 4 September 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. – 25 February 1805) was a British colonial official and politician. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterwards sat in th ...
, secretary to Governor Danvers Osborne of New York, stayed in the colonies after Osborne's death in 1753 to study conditions, hoping to gain another position. He had met Benjamin Franklin and helped finance publication of the map by Evans, as both men considered it critical during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
. The British were having to confront French forces in the interior of the colonies. Evans's map was highly regarded and used by General
Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...
during the war; Pownall received most of the public acclaim for it at the time. Evans died in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
in June 1756. His body was returned to Philadelphia, where he was buried in the noted
Christ Church Burial Ground Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, Benjamin Rush ...
, now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


Family

Evans's wife had died in 1754. He entrusted care of their daughter Amelia (
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 1744 – Hythe, Southampton, 1835) to his brother John, who had followed him to the colony. John Evans died in 1759, and Amelia was brought up by
Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...
and Benjamin Franklin. At eighteen she traveled to London for a period. Later she lived in
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, where she worked as a tutor to the three daughters of the British consul, James Traill and his wife. There Amelia Evans met and married in 1770 a captain of the Irish Merchant marine, David Barry. He was particularly experienced in the areas of Bordeaux and the Médoc, from where he shipped wines to Ireland. They had five children together, among them their daughter Anna Africana Barry, who married a Swiss merchant in Livorno named Rodolfo Schintz. After Evans died in
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, he was buried in the
Old English Cemetery, Livorno The Old English Cemetery () is a cemetery in Livorno (Leghorn), central Italy, located on a plot of land near the Via Verdi, close to the Waldensian Evangelical Church, Waldensian Church and to the formerly Anglican church of St. George. It is t ...
in 1781. The widow Amelia Evans Barry anonymously published a novel, ''Memoirs of Maria, a Persian Slave'' (1790), financed by subscription. She was known to have had some earlier works, also anonymous, but most have not been found.Hélène Koehl, Matteo Giunti, "Amelia Evans Barry (1744–1835) ou quand Livourne décidait d'un destin de femme et d'écrivain"
''Nuovi Studi Livornesi'', XIV, 2007, pp. 95–118 .
The painter and engraver Alfredo Müller (1869–1939), and his brother Rodolfo (1876–1947), a cycling champion, are among her descendants. They were Swiss, born in Herisau, canton de l'Appenzell des Rhodes Extérieures. Afredo later acquired French citizenship."Alfredo Müller, un toscan aux racines internationales…"
Alfredo Müller website


Publications

*Evans, Lewis, ''Brief Account of Pennsylvania'', 1753. *Evans, Lewis, ''Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical, and Mechanical Essays'',
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 1755 &
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 1756. * *Gipson, Lawrence Henry, ''Lewis Evans'', Philadelphia, 1939. (Biography.)


See also

*
Archibald Spencer Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...


References


External links


Columbia Encyclopedia entry
6th edition, 2005
Answers.com entryA new edition of the Evans map of 1755, General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America, 1776
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Lewis Welsh cartographers Welsh geographers Welsh emigrants to the United States Surveyors from the Thirteen Colonies 1700s births 1756 deaths Date of death unknown Place of death unknown Date of birth unknown Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia People from Caernarfonshire People from colonial Pennsylvania English emigrants