Background
His father, Thomas Evans, is said to have been a seafaring man, a friend of William Penn.
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John Evans
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Before coming to Pennsylvania in 1704, John Evans had apparently traveled; and he had a love of literature which led him to bring some books with him. He had been appointed deputy governor by William Penn the year before his arrival.
As governor of a sober Quaker colony, however, he was an unfortunate choice.
Evans was a stanch Anglican, anxious to further the interests of the church in America, as he assured the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (Historical Collections Relating to the American Colonial Church, 1878, II, 25; V, 8).
That fact alone would have made him objectionable to the Quakers. He came to America at a time when the proprietorship was in a precarious state, due to attacks of the Crown, disagreements between Pennsylvania and the Lower Counties, and general dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with the government.
With the help of Secretary Logan, Evans tried to uphold the authority of the absent proprietor against the opposition of David Lloyd, deputy judge, later chief justice of the province, and his associates.
He was handicapped by the fact that his powers were not clearly defined. He aroused the wrath of the Assembly by vetoing several bills, including a provision to establish courts, issuing instead an ordinance for the administration of justice.
He prorogued the Assembly in spite of its claim to the privilege of adjournment. The Assembly refused to make the necessary appropriation for defending Pennsylvania in the second colonial war with France; and the colonists criticized Evans for the methods to which he resorted.
In the spring of 1706 the Quakers were especially indignant because Evans and his friends circulated a rumor that a French naval force was coming up the bay--a ruse to frighten the Quakers into joining the volunteer militia.
The merchants of Pennsylvania protested to the proprietor against the erection of a fort at Newcastle, for the commander of the fort was to charge with tonnage duty in powder all vessels passing up or down the river.
Inhabitants of the colony seized the commander, and this project for securing means of defense ended in failure. Evans was now bitterly hated, especially by the Quakers.
In 1707 the Pennsylvania Assembly sent to William Penn a list of charges against the governor, and after learning from Logan and others that Evans was unsatisfactory, the proprietor appointed a successor.
Little is known of Evans's subsequent career. Upon leaving America he retired to Pentry Manor, Denbigh, Wales, where as late as 1731 he was still living.
Achievements
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Evans had a good deal of learning and refinement, but his habits were unsuited to the Quaker City. Watson, in his "Annals of Philadelphia, " says that in 1702 "Solomon Cresson, going his round at night, entered a tavern to suppress a riotous assembly, and found there John Evans, Esq. , the governor, who fell to beating Cresson. " Evans was finally recalled in February 1709, and was succeeded by Colonel Charles Gookin.
Religion
Evans was a stanch Anglican, anxious to further the interests of the church in America, as he assured the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (Historical Collections Relating to the American Colonial Church, 1878, II, 25; V, 8).
Personality
His pleasure-loving disposition shocked the colonists. With his companion, the younger William Penn, he led a gay, and probably wild, life. Pennsylvanians reported stories of their delinquencies: tales of riots in taverns, of hand-to-hand combats with local authorities--a constable on one occasion, an alderman on another.
Quotes from others about the person
The proprietor wrote of Evans to James Logan, secretary of the province: "He shows not much, but has a good deal to show, and will gain upon the esteem of the better sort. He has travelled and seen armies, but never been in them. Book learning as to men and government he inclines to . " (Neill, post).
Connections
His love affairs brought him further disrepute, until, 1709, he married Rebecca Moore, daughter of John Moore, advocate of the Admiralty court.
