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Lewis EVANS
Born 1753
Ordained by the Bishop of Litchfield 1777. Perpetual curate of Knowle St
Giles’s, Somerset, 1780; curate of Woolwich and Mathematical Master at the Royal
Military Acadamy Woolwich, Sept 1800. F.R.S
Died Froxfield 19 November 1827
sixth child, fourth son of Thomas EVANS and Jane JONES,
married (first) Anne NORMAN, (second) Elizabeth HALLIDAY
By his first wife, Ann NORMAN, he was father of -
1.
Thomas Simpson EVANS 1777-
28 Oct1818 L.L.D.
married Deborah MASCALL dau. of John MASCALL of Ashford, Kent and had five children who lived to adulthood
2.
Anne EVANS 13 April 1779 - 22 April 1779
3.
Arthur Benoni EVANS
D.D. 25 March 1781- 9 Nov.1854;
married
17 June 1819, Anne DICKINSON (1791-1883) and had six children who lived to adulthood
4. Emma EVANS 1 Sept 1782- 27 April 1838.
Buried in the Cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral.
5. Jane EVANS 20 Oct 1785- 14 Feb 1837.
Buried in the Cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral.
6. Lewis EVANS 1784-?1804
7. James EVANS 3 Dec 1785 - 24 July 1786
8. Mary and Anne EVANS 2 Nov. 1786 - Ann died
6 Nov 1786 and Mary 7 Nov 1786
(Three children dying in one year)
9. Florence EVANS 24 Aug.1788 - 22 Nov. 1788.
Her mother Ann died through childbirth, the baby dying three months after
By his second wife Elizabeth HALLIDAY, he was father of
1. Cunitia EVANS 7 Feb. 1794- 5 Jan. 1855
who married the Rev. Henry Adams Sergison ATWOOD 1800-1877 and had eight children.
they made their home at Ashleworth, near Gloucester. (The 'Atwood Cousins.)
2. Hypatia EVANS 7 April 1795; d. unmarried, 15 Nov. 1834
The Rev. Lewis Evans, son of the Rev. Thomas Evans of Bassaleg, Monmouthshire, was born in 1753. He was matriculated at Merton College, Oxford, 16 December 1774, but left the university without a degree. In 1777 he was ordained by the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, his first curacy being that of Ashbury, Berkshire, where he served until 6 July 1778. He then commenced residence as curate of Compton, Berkshire, and continued there until 1788, in which year he received institution to the vicarage of Froxfield, Wiltshire. He held the living until his death.
In 1799 he was appointed first mathematical master at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in which post he laboured until 1820. In addition to a competent knowledge of various sciences, he had turned much of his attention, in the latter part of his life, to astronomy. He possessed several valuable instruments, and for many years employed himself as a skilful and successful observer, having his own private observatory on Woolwich Common.
Evans was elected Fellow of the Royal Society 29 May 1823, and was also fellow of the Astronomical Society.
To the ‘Philosophical Magazine’ Evans contributed the following dissertations:
‘An improved Demonstration of Newton's Binomial Theorem on Fluxional Principles’
(vol. xxiv.);
‘Observations of α Polaris for determining the North Polar Distance of that Star
at the beginning of 1813’ (vol. xliii.);
‘Tables of the Sun's Altitude and Zenith Distance, for every day in the year’
(vol. lvi.);
‘The Solar Eclipse, observed on 7th Sept. 1820’ (vol. lvi.)
http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/224906/view
Arms.
Argent a chevron sable between three elephants’
heads couped proper.
Crest.
An elephant’s head couped proper.
These arms are not known to date
back beyond the time of Lewis Evans of Froxfield; and it is suggested by Arthur
John EVANS that the elephants were chosen by Lewis EVANS in canting allusion to
his own name “L. Evans” – which in Welsh pronunciation, “L. Efans,” comes very
near to “elephans.” (a
note by Emma HUBBARD dau. of A.B.Evans, and my great grandmother - JFH.)
(From a letter of invitation to
Charles Hutton the Mathematician, dated 9 Dec. 1788, Lewis EVANS writes “ You
will come to a Bachelor’s House, as it were; for I have buried poor Mrs Evans in
August last, of which interesting event I may have informed you.” Written at
Little Bedwin.)
Lewis Evans’ surviving
children of Ann, his first wife (Thomas Simpson, Arthur Benoni, Emma, Jane and
Lewis) went to live with their uncle Arthur Benoni Evans at the College school
at Gloucester Cathedral who became like a father to them. Emma and Jane cared
for their uncle until they died, he outliving them both.
There is a generous memorial to Emma and Jane
by their ‘sorrowing uncle’ lying in the north walk of Gloucester Cathedral. JFH
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