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nancy watkins evans

1847-1954

Life Story

Born into Slavery

Nancy Watkins Evans was born in Newton County, Mississippi, around 1847, during the final decades of American slavery. She belonged to the generation of African Americans whose lives bridged two vastly different worlds—from enslavement to freedom and eventually into the modern twentieth century.

Throughout her later years, Nancy shared firsthand memories of slavery. She recalled that when she was approximately seven years old, she was sold for $500. Those memories, preserved in her obituary, made her one of the last members of her community able to speak personally about the institution of slavery and its lasting impact on African American families in Newton County.

Her obituary identified her as having been enslaved in Newton County, while other documentary evidence connects her to the Watkins family, suggesting that she was likely enslaved by members of that family before emancipation.

Building a Family After Freedom

Following emancipation, Nancy helped build a new life during the difficult years of Reconstruction.

Around 1867, she married Benjamin (“Ben”) Evans, and together they established their home in the Lawrence community of Beat 4, Newton County, Mississippi.

Together they raised thirteen children, including:

Their family became one of the best-known Evans households in the Lawrence community, with descendants eventually spreading across Mississippi and beyond.

Life in the Lawrence Community

After Ben’s death in 1904, Nancy remained the center of her extended family.

Federal census records document her adapting to whatever work was necessary to support herself and those around her. Across different decades she appears as a homemaker, farm laborer, and laundress—occupations that reflected the determination of many African American women who carried enormous responsibility in the years following Reconstruction.

Neighbors throughout Lawrence affectionately knew her simply as “Aunt Nancy.”

Her obituary remembered her as a woman who was:

“…very frank, honest, and without hypocrisy.”

Those simple words describe a woman respected not for wealth or public office but for integrity, sincerity, and strength of character.

Faith and Community

Faith remained a cornerstone of Nancy’s life.

According to her obituary, she united with the Presbyterian Church while still young and remained a faithful member throughout her life until declining health limited her participation.

Her funeral, however, was conducted at the Lawrence Colored Methodist Church by the Rev. Olen C. Hull, illustrating the close relationships that often existed among Black congregations in rural Newton County. Families frequently maintained friendships and community ties across denominational lines, particularly during funerals and other important community events.

A Living Link to Slavery

By the time of her death, Nancy had become one of the oldest and most respected residents of the Lawrence community.

The newspaper estimated that she was approximately 107 years old, making her one of the last surviving former slaves in Newton County.

Her obituary emphasized that she had been preceded in death by her husband and eight of her thirteen children, yet she left behind an extraordinary family that included:

  • four sons,
  • one daughter,
  • and more than 200 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Few lives better illustrate the continuity of African American family history in Newton County. Born into slavery, Nancy lived long enough to witness emancipation, Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow, two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the early stirrings of the Civil Rights Movement.

Death and Legacy

Nancy Watkins Evans passed away on November 4, 1954, in the Lawrence community of Newton County.

Funeral services were held on November 8, 1954, at the Lawrence Colored Methodist Church, with Rev. Olen C. Hull officiating. She was laid to rest at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, where generations of her descendants would later be buried.

Today, Nancy’s legacy extends far beyond the remarkable length of her life. She stands as a living bridge between slavery and freedom, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and between the earliest Evans families of Lawrence and the many descendants who continue to preserve their history today.

Resting Place

Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery

Photos/Albums

Nancy Watkins Evans
Nancy Watkins Evans, 1847-1954

Sources

  • 1870 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Township ___, dwelling ___, family ___, Benjamin Evans household, documenting Nancy Evans and her family during the early Reconstruction period.
  • 1880 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District (ED) ___, sheet ___, dwelling ___, family ___, Benjamin Evans household, listing Nancy Evans and her children.
  • 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Benjamin (Ben) Evans household, documenting Nancy Evans and members of her family.
  • 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Nancy Evans household, recording her residence following the death of her husband.
  • 1920 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Nancy Evans household.
  • 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Nancy Evans household, listing her occupation as a laundress.
  • 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Nancy Evans household, documenting her continued residence in the Lawrence community.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), November 1954, obituary, “Former Slave Dies at Advanced Age,” reporting Nancy Watkins Evans’s death, her recollection of being sold into slavery at approximately seven years of age for $500, her membership in the Presbyterian Church, her survivors, and her funeral at Lawrence Colored Methodist Church.
  • The obituary identifies Nancy as having been born during slavery in Newton County. While it does not name an enslaver, census records and family associations connect Nancy to the Watkins family of Newton County. This relationship represents a genealogical conclusion based upon the available documentary evidence rather than a surviving slave record directly identifying her enslaver.
  • Newton County, Mississippi, marriage records and federal census records consistently identify Benjamin (“Ben”) Evans and Nancy Evans as husband and wife following the Civil War.
  • Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi, cemetery records and gravestone documentation for Nancy Watkins Evans.
  • Find A Grave, memorial for Nancy Watkins Evans (c. 1847–1954), Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.

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