Portrait of John West Evans
Dublin Core
Title
Portrait of John West Evans
Description
JOHN WEST EVANS
(September 27, 1844 – January 16, 1904)
Born in Hancock County to Sterling G. and Mary West Evans, John and his wife Ella, followed his business partner/brother-in-law John Samuel “J.S.” Betts (July 29, 1848 – April 25, 1918) and moved to Turner County in 1888 before it was even known as Ashburn or Turner County. John soon established himself as one of Turner County’s most entrepreneurial and civically active citizens. He was a leader in establishing the town as we know it. John was a bookkeeper for the firm and a prominent partner in the J.S. Betts Company which brought a lot of interest to the area with their sawmill. He also had his hand in the Betts-Evans Trading Company and Evans Realty Co. When the first post office was opened in Ashburn, he served as the first postmaster. He was also the Sunday school superintendent of the Methodist Church.
“He had the wisdom twenty-five years ago to see that there had come a golden age for the lumber business, and forsook a good position to try his hand in a field of larger opportunity. He built up a great enterprise and made much money, and in doing of this was a chief factor in the building up of one of the best towns of South Georgia, and enabling a large number of men to make an [sic] hundredfold more than he made for himself. Not only did he make two blades of grass grow where one grew before, but he made many blades to grow where none grew before, and served his generation well.” To read more about John West Evans, check out Men of Mark in Georgia Volume 6 (covering the period of 1733-1911), pages 224-226.
(September 27, 1844 – January 16, 1904)
Born in Hancock County to Sterling G. and Mary West Evans, John and his wife Ella, followed his business partner/brother-in-law John Samuel “J.S.” Betts (July 29, 1848 – April 25, 1918) and moved to Turner County in 1888 before it was even known as Ashburn or Turner County. John soon established himself as one of Turner County’s most entrepreneurial and civically active citizens. He was a leader in establishing the town as we know it. John was a bookkeeper for the firm and a prominent partner in the J.S. Betts Company which brought a lot of interest to the area with their sawmill. He also had his hand in the Betts-Evans Trading Company and Evans Realty Co. When the first post office was opened in Ashburn, he served as the first postmaster. He was also the Sunday school superintendent of the Methodist Church.
“He had the wisdom twenty-five years ago to see that there had come a golden age for the lumber business, and forsook a good position to try his hand in a field of larger opportunity. He built up a great enterprise and made much money, and in doing of this was a chief factor in the building up of one of the best towns of South Georgia, and enabling a large number of men to make an [sic] hundredfold more than he made for himself. Not only did he make two blades of grass grow where one grew before, but he made many blades to grow where none grew before, and served his generation well.” To read more about John West Evans, check out Men of Mark in Georgia Volume 6 (covering the period of 1733-1911), pages 224-226.
Source
Men of mark in Georgia : a complete and elaborate history of the state from its settlement to the present time, chiefly told in biographies and autobiographies of the most eminent men of each period of Georgia's progress and development
by Northen, William J., 1835-1913; Graves, John Temple, 1856-
by Northen, William J., 1835-1913; Graves, John Temple, 1856-
Date
1907-1912?, c1906-[1912]
Collection
Citation
“Portrait of John West Evans,” Turner County Project Digital Archive Repository, accessed May 19, 2024, http://turnercountyproject.com/archive/items/show/235.
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