http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/evans_gg.htm Biographical Note George Gillespie Evans (1815 - 1904), the active community leader for whom this collection is named, oversaw commerce, education, and the Presbyterian Church in Newark, Delaware, for over fifty years in the nineteenth century. In addition to managing a general store on Main Street, Evans administered estates, served multiple terms on the Newark Town Commission, and held trusteeships at the First Presbyterian Church of Newark, Newark Academy, and Delaware College (University of Delaware). Brick from his two area brick yards built the facades of many Newark locales, including the Deer Park Hotel, Town Hall, and his own home, which still stands today on the corner of Main Street and North College Avenue. The University named Evans Hall, a College of Engineering building, to honor the many contributions of the family. George Gillespie Evans was born in Delaware on 1 June 1815, to John Evans and Agnes (Ann) Gillespie Evans. George G. Evans was one of six children, and the oldest son. The Evans family, George G. Evans? paternal ancestors, emigrated from Wales to America in the early eighteenth century, settling near Glasgow, Delaware. His father, John Evans, owned a general store on Main Street in Newark, Delaware. In addition, beginning in 1783, John Evans served as a trustee of Newark Academy, a position his son and grandson would both also hold. Following the Civil War, George Evans also served as a trustee of Delaware College. When John Evans died in 1828, thirteen-year-old George Gillespie Evans assisted at his father?s general store. Later he ran the store, and eventually gained sole ownership. George G. Evans continued to deal in general merchandise until his death in 1904. Along with his younger brother William D. Evans, George G. Evans also owned and rented extensive property in the Newark area. On 17 June 1856, George Gillespie Evans married Mary Jane Black, the youngest daughter of Samuel Henry Black. Samuel H. Black, son of David William and Margaret Ferris Black, was born in New Castle County on 20 December 1782. He studied medicine with Dr. John Groome, of Elkton, Maryland, and completed a medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1812 and 1818, Samuel H. Black was elected state senator; he also served several terms in the General Assembly. In 1807 he married Dorcas Armitage Middleton, daughter of Robert and Mary Middleton, of Glasgow, Delaware; nine of the couple?s children survived. Dr. Black, too, served as a trustee of Delaware College; in fact, at an 1827 meeting of the board he suffered a sudden stroke and subsequently died. After marriage, George Gillespie and Mary Jane (Black) Evans settled in Newark, building their house across from the Evans family?s general store. Their six children included son Charles B. ?Charley,? and five daughters: Ann M. ?Annie,? Harriet N. ?Hallie,? Margaret G. ?Maggie,? Agnes Armitage ?Armey,? and Lena Evans. Annie Evans married a Newark dentist, Dr. H. G. M. Kollock, and continued to reside in Newark. She was a founding member of the New Century Club and she and her husband also provided funds to the Newark Public Library. Margaret Evans married John S. M. Neill of Montana. He was a student at Delaware College when he met the Evans family; John and Margaret (Evans) Neill eventually settled in Montana. Agnes Armitage Evans married Charles W. Reed; the couple had four children. Harriet and Lena Evans never married. From 1856 until 1897, George G. Evans served as treasurer and secretary of the Delaware College Board of Trustees; his only son, Charles Black Evans, also served in this capacity for over thirty years. Church leadership was also a family tradition, George G. Evans? maternal great-grandfather, the Reverend George Gillespie, came to Delaware, building up and ministering to the Christiana Presbyterian Church in 1712; again, George G. Evans was succeeded as trustee and treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark by his son, Charles B. Evans. Charles Black Evans, son of George G. and Mary Jane (Black) Evans, worked closely with his father. He received his A. B. and A. M. from Delaware College by 1889, and an LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as an attorney-at-law, and served the Newark community in a variety of civic capacities. Charles B. Evans was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Delaware in 1897, trustee for both Delaware College and Newark Academy, president and director of Newark Trust Company, and director of the Security Trust Company of Wilmington. He was legal advisor for the town of Newark and served as a town commissioner. He also advised the Welsh Tract Baptist Church and many local businesses. Charles B. Evans married Mary Miller Raub, daughter of Albert N. Raub and Jennie (Lovett) Raub of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Albert Raub, a successful administrator in a variety of Pennsylvania schools, was known for his organizational methods and a rich textbook publishing career. In 1884 he came to Delaware to serve as principal of Newark Academy. Elected to the Presidency of Delaware College in 1889, Raub served in this position until 1897. Charles B. Evans and Mary (Raub) Evans married 8 May 1895. Like her husband, Mary (Raub) Evans was very involved in Newark civic and social life. This collection also includes personal papers and legal documents for a variety of Newark area families. The most prominent were relations of the Evans family, members of the Presbyterian community, or served as administrator or trustees at Newark Academy or Delaware College. Kerr family members were maternal relations of George Gillespie Evans. George Gillesie Evans? mother, Agnes (Gillespie) Evans was sister to Hannah (Gillespie) Kerr, wife of Andrew Kerr. Hannah (Gillespie) Kerr was born in 1802 and died in 1880. Husband Andrew Kerr was born in 1794 and died in 1884. The couple had six children, though only three seem to have survived into adulthood. In the mid eighteenth century, several of the Kerr children had left Delaware and were living in Kentucky. George G. Kerr, a trustee of Newark Academy and Delaware College, was also director of the Casho Machine Company on Christiana Creek. It manufactured wagon-axles, wool-washing machinery and agricultural implements. Company stock certificates are found in the collection. Andrew Kerr Russell graduated Dickinson College in 1806 as a valedictorian of the class. In 1811, Reverend A. K. Russell was appointed as principal of Newark Academy. His tenure was well regarded, and the academy prospered under his leadership. The following year he became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark. He ministered there until his death, in 1839. Other Russell family members whose papers appear in this collection include Ann Russell and Mary Louisa Russell. The Chamberlain family, headed by Doctor Joseph Chamberlain, was another active family of Newark, Delaware. Joseph Chamberlain was a member of the Board of Trustees of Newark College in 1833, when an organization to open a college in Delaware first convened. Dr. Palmer Chamberlain built a foundry on a site nearly opposite the Deer Park Hotel in 1851. He subsequently sold it to the Blandy family. His daughter, Hannah Chamberlain, was a prominent educator. She ran a private school, the Newark Female Seminary, before being elected principal of Newark Academy in 1873. Under her administration females were first admitted to the Academy, and under a concurrent resolution championed by President William H. Purnell, they were also admitted to Delaware College. The Rathmell Wilson family moved to Newark, Delaware, in the 1830s. Rathmell Wilson served as President and trustee of Delaware College for many years. His brother William Savory Wilson was a merchant and investor in Philadelphia and Delaware. Both brothers gave significant financial support to Delaware College. Charles Thom(p)son, a trustee of Newark Academy in the eighteenth century, also served as secretary of the Continental Congress from 1774 - 1789. Thompson?s tenure as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Newark dated from 1769 to 1775. At his death the property was left by will to his nephew, John Thom(p)son, of Newark, Delaware, another Academy trustee. ? Sources: ? Biographical and Genealogical History of the State of Delaware. Volume I. Chambersburg, PA: J. M. Runk & Co., 1899. ? Chance, Elbert. ?Locating the Evans House? Three Parts The Newark Post, March 1998. ? Munroe, John A. The University of Delaware: A History, Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1986 ? Old Bible Records with Charts and Other Genealogical Data. Compiled by Cooch?s Bridge Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Newark, Delaware ? Owen, James B. Historic Newark Delaware: A Guide to the Vernon Good Montage of Newark, Newark Historical Society Press. p 14 ? Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware,1609-1888, 2 volumes. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards and Company, 1888. ? Additional information drawn from the collection itself.