We found Thomas Evans, his wife Jane, and children in the Owego, New York 1855 and 1860 and 1865 census records so we decided to take a look in New York newspapers to see if we could learn more about Thomas.
We were hoping to find articles about their life in the 1860s but found this great newspaper article about a 1894 visit to Owego which helps us verify that Thomas Evans of Chicago who had lived in Owego, New York was the father of A. T. Evans and that his daughter was living in Syracuse. This article tells us something new – Thomas was a crockery dealer on Front Street (a street we can find on Google maps).
-Messrs. Thomas Evans and A. T.
Evans of Chicago were in town Sunday
and Monday to call on old time friends.
The former was for a long time a crock
ery dealer on Front steet, and the lat-
ter, his son, passed his boyhood here,
going to Chicago over a score of years
ago. They left Tuesday on the Lehigh
at 8:15 a. m. on their way to visit the
former’s daughter at Syracuse.
We decided to look further in New York papers and found the wedding announcement of Arthur T. Shackford to Mary Genevieve Holley (or Holly) which confirms that the family moved to Chicago around 1870. The nieces Clara and Bessie Towne were also mentioned Arthur’s sister’s wedding announcement.
The following wedding announcement
from the Chicago Times of Wednesday
June 5, 1889, will interest many of the
RECORD’S readers, as the groom was an
old Owego boy, son of Thomas Evans,
who conducted a crockery store on Front
street for many years previous to 1870:
“Miss Marry Genevieve Hooley was mar-
ried last evening to Arthur T. Evans.
The ceremony was held at the residence
of the bride’s sister, Mrs. E. B. Butler,
3408 Michigan boulevard. The Rev.
Dr. F. W. Gunsaulaus of Plymouth
church officiated. They were attended
by Clara and Bessie Towne, two little
nieces of the groom. Each carried a
basket of marguerites The bride was
attired in a white surah costume, antique
in style. She wore a white tulle veil
caught up with a crescent of diamonds,
a present from the groom. The couple
left at 9 o’clock last night for a three
week’s eastern trip.
We then looked for the Chicago newspaper article regarding Arthur’s wedding and discovered it was also published in the Chicago Daily Tribune on June 5, 1889. After discovering that the Evans family mentioned in the Chicago Tribune, we wondered if we could find Thomas Evans in the newspaper and found his death notice mentioning his daughter Margaret (Evans) Patrick.
EVANS – Thomas Evans, born Dec. 9, 1834, March
19, 1911, at the home of his daughter, Mrs W. K.
Patrick at Swift, Ill. Funeral Thursday, March
23, 2 p. m. at Swift, Ill. Interment Lombard,
Ill.
This verifies that the gravestone at Lombard Cemetery is that of the same Thomas Evans and that the Jane buried there was his wife.
We still have some research questions:
Was there a death certificate for Thomas Evans? Should see if can find in DuPage County.
Can we find any documentation to verify the father of Thomas Evans (1824-1911) (we suspect his name is also Thomas as Thomas is listed as a jr in many sources)?
Who were the parents of his wife Jane Kilborn ANSWER: Jane was the daughter of William and Eliza (Lester) Kilborn.
Who are the other two people buried in the same grave site in Lombard, DuPage, Illinois – T. Evans d 1884, age 92 yrs (calculated born 1792) — suspect Thomas might be Arthur’s grandfather but have not yet verified this cannot find any records of Delia July 7, 1876, age 36 yrs (calculated born 1840)?
Are there any records that help us learn more about Thomas’ crockery store?
Were there relatives who stayed in the Owego area who might helps us learn more about Thomas and Jane Evans? Answer: Margaret Jane Kilborn’s siblings remained in the Oswego area.
CHILDREN:
Arthur Thomas Evans (1854-1912) – jeweler, manager wholesale company, married Mary Genevra Holley (or Holly)
Margaret Elizabeth Evans (1859-1935) – married Wilbur Knowles Patrick
Stella Jane Evans (1860-1918) – married Lucian F Towne who was hospitalized at National Home for the Disabled in 1910. Stella married Frank Warren Whittier of Oregon and died there on Feb 9, 1918.
Donna Lovilla Evans (1865-1908) – married Joseph Edward Shackford.
All posts on this website are a work in progress. We’d love to learn of any corrections or additions to the information shared. Also we’d love it if you’d like the post here or at http://www.facebook.com/shackfordgenealogy) as that helps share the post with others. Thanks!
SOURCES:
1855 New York State Census, Tioga County, population schedule, Owego, page 56, Dwelling 457, Thos Evans; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 January 2014).
1860 United States Federal Census, Tioga County, New York, population schedule, Oswego, page 190, dwelling 1671, Thomas Evans; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 January 2014).
1865 New York State Census, Tioga County, population schedule, Owego, Page 23, dwelling 174, Thomas Evans; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 June 2017).
Find A Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 January 2014), Thomas Evans, Find A Grave Memorial# 23630425
“DEATHS,” The Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 21 March 1911, page 11; digital images, Chicago Tribune Archives (http://archives.chicagotribune.com : accessed 9 June 2017).
“Married in Chicago,” The Owego Record (Owego, New York), 24 June 1889; digital images, Fulton History (http://fultonhistory.com : accessed 8 June 2017).
“Messrs. Thomas Evans and A. T. Evans of Chicago,” Tioga County Record (Owego, New York), 3 May 1894; digital images, Fulton History (http://fultonhistory.com : accessed 8 June 2017).
“Miss Mary Genevieve Holley was married,” The Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 5 June 1889; digital images, Chicago Tribune Archives (http://archives.chicagotribune.com : accessed 8 June 2017).
Copyright 2023 Joanne Shackford Parkes (sharing a link to this post is appreciated but please do not copy this material and paste it elsewhere)
Donna Lovilla
SHACKFORD Family History 