charlie w. evans, sr.
1932-2009
Life Story
A Life Rooted in Lawrence
The life of Charlie W. Evans, Sr. stands as a testament to the deep roots and enduring presence of the Evans family in the soil of Newton County, Mississippi. Born on March 12, 1932, Charlie was the son of William Evans, Jr. and Elizabeth Moncrief Evans. He grew up in a large, bustling household that reflected the strength, resilience, and interdependence of African American farming families in the Jim Crow South.
Early Life and Family Roots
In the 1940 Census, five-year-old “Charley” was living in the Roberts community of Newton County. He was surrounded by a large circle of siblings—Ola, Mamie, Nettie, Ossie, Hassie, and Mary Ella—in a household shaped by hard work, kinship, and the rhythms of rural life.
By the time of the 1950 Census, Charlie was eighteen years old and working as a farm helper on the family farm. That record captures both his labor and his place within a changing household. While some of the older children had begun establishing lives of their own, Charlie remained at home alongside younger siblings including Joseph, Bernard, Deuteronomy, John, Lamar, Cleo, and Betty Mae. His work was recorded as labor performed without pay for 40 weeks of the year, a telling reflection of the collective effort required to sustain a family farm in mid-twentieth-century Mississippi.
A Life Rooted in Lawrence
Unlike many African Americans of his generation who left Mississippi during the Great Migration, Charlie remained in the community that had shaped him. He spent his life deeply rooted in Lawrence, Newton County, where he became a steady and familiar presence.
Records from the 1980s through the early 2000s place him consistently in Lawrence, associated with addresses such as RR 1 and PO Box 91. These details suggest more than simple residence; they point to a man whose life was closely tied to the land, the roads, and the local institutions of his home community. Over the decades, Charlie lived through enormous changes in Newton County, witnessing the transformation of a rural world shaped by agricultural labor into a very different modern landscape.
Legacy and Rest
Charlie W. Evans, Sr. passed away on February 18, 2009, at the age of 76. He was laid to rest at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Mississippi.
His burial there carries deep meaning. Union Chapel is more than a cemetery site; it is a historical anchor for the local community and for the Evans family itself. In that ground rest generations whose lives helped shape the story of Lawrence and Newton County.
Charlie’s legacy is that of a man who stayed. He remained in the place of his birth, worked the land, and helped preserve the continuity of a family whose roots in Newton County ran deep. His life reflects the quiet strength of those who built stability not through public recognition, but through endurance, labor, and presence.
Biographical Summary
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Charlie W. Evans, Sr. |
| Born | March 12, 1932, Newton County, Mississippi |
| Died | February 18, 2009 |
| Parents | William Evans and Elizabeth Evans |
| Occupation | Farm Helper / Agricultural Laborer |
| Primary Residence | Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi |
| Final Resting Place | Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Mississippi |
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Beat (Roberts Community), enumeration district unknown, household of William Evans; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [04/22/2026]).
- 1950 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, household of William Evans; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [04/22/2026]).
- Ibid. (1950 U.S. Census); Charlie W. Evans listed as “farm helper,” working without pay.
- U.S., Public Records Index, Vol. 1 & 2, entries for Charlie W. Evans, Sr., Lawrence, Mississippi; database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [04/22/2026]).
- Social Security Death Index (SSDI), entry for Charlie W. Evans, Sr., born March 12, 1932; died February 18, 2009; database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [04/22/2026]).
- Find a Grave, memorial for Charlie W. Evans, Sr. (1932–2009), Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi; digital image and memorial, Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed [04/22/2026]).
- Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery records, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi; burial of Charlie W. Evans, Sr., February 2009.
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