richard “dick” evans
1834-death unknown
Life Story
Formerly Enslaved Agricultural Worker, Church Watchman, and Longtime Resident of Newton County, Mississippi
Richard “Dick” Evans was born about 1834 in Mississippi, during an era when African Americans throughout the Deep South lived under the institution of slavery. Enslaved by Catherine McInnis Evans in Newton County, Mississippi, Richard survived emancipation and established a family in the Mount Moriah community, where he remained for more than four decades after the Civil War.
Known as Dick in the records of Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church and in later federal censuses, he appeared under his formal name, Richard Evans, in the 1870 census. The two names are consistent with the common use of Dick as a familiar form of Richard. Their identification as the same individual is further supported by his age, residence, wife Nancy, and continuing association with the Evans community.
His life is documented through federal census records from 1870 through 1910 and the surviving minutes of Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church. These sources identify him as an enslaved church member, a participant in proceedings concerning unauthorized religious gatherings, and one of two African American men appointed as watchmen over the congregation’s Black membership in 1866.
His longstanding association with Scott Evans, another formerly enslaved member of the Evans plantation household, provides an important connection between the religious community that existed during slavery and the African American families who remained in the Mount Moriah area after emancipation.
Early Life and Enslavement
Richard Evans was born about 1834, most consistently reported as Mississippi in the federal censuses of 1870 and 1900. The 1880 census, however, recorded his birthplace and those of his parents as Alabama. These discrepancies are not unusual in nineteenth-century census records and leave his precise birthplace uncertain.
By the 1850s, Richard was enslaved by Catherine McInnis Evans, whose plantation household was located in Newton County, Mississippi.
The 1850 federal slave schedule recorded a sixteen-year-old Black male among the people enslaved by Catherine Evans. The 1860 schedule recorded a twenty-four-year-old Black male associated with the same enslaver. Both entries are consistent with Richard’s approximate age and may represent him.¹
Because enslaved individuals were generally not identified by name in these schedules, neither entry can be conclusively assigned to Richard.
More direct evidence of his enslavement appears in the records of Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church.
The church’s “List of Colored Members” identified Dick as a servant of Mrs. C. Evans, establishing his connection to the plantation household of Catherine McInnis Evans.²
The register places Richard among the enslaved African Americans who participated in the religious life of Mount Moriah under the supervision of the church’s white governing Session.
Religious Life at Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church
Richard’s religious life is documented in the surviving Session minutes of Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church.
On October 26, 1853, the Session received Dick, along with several other enslaved individuals associated with the Evans household, into the congregation. Among those received were Leven, Marilla, and Jenny.³
These admissions demonstrate the participation of enslaved African Americans in the Presbyterian congregation during the years preceding the Civil War.
One of the most revealing episodes involving Richard occurred in April 1856.
On April 26, 1856, the church Session investigated allegations that several enslaved members had attended unauthorized religious meetings in the neighborhood.
The proceedings involved George, Leven, and Dick, all associated with Mrs. Evans’s household.
The investigation reflected the restrictions placed upon enslaved African Americans who attempted to participate in religious gatherings outside arrangements approved by white church authorities.
The Session questioned the men concerning their involvement. George and Leven were suspended after proceedings concerning their statements, while Dick was dismissed with an exhortation.⁴
The record does not establish that Dick was expelled from church membership or suspended from communion in this proceeding.
His appearance in the minutes is nevertheless significant because it documents his participation in the congregation and his exposure to the disciplinary authority exercised over enslaved Black members.
The church records also preserve an important connection between Richard and Scott Evans, another enslaved man associated with the Evans household.
Both men remained connected to Mount Moriah after emancipation.
Reconstruction and Appointment as Church Watchman
Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Richard continued his association with Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church.
On December 23, 1866, the church Session appointed Dick and Scott as **“watchmen over the colored portion of the congregation.”**⁵
The appointment occurred during the early years of Reconstruction, when formerly enslaved African Americans were beginning to exercise greater responsibility within religious institutions.
The Session minutes do not fully describe the duties of the watchmen, nor do they identify Richard and Scott as ordained ruling elders.
Nevertheless, the appointment establishes that both men were entrusted with recognized responsibilities concerning the African American members of Mount Moriah.
For Richard, this was a significant development.
A man who had worshipped under slavery and had been questioned by the white church Session in 1856 was now appointed to a position of responsibility within the same congregation.
His service alongside Scott Evans also demonstrates the continuation of a relationship that had existed during slavery.
Four years later, the federal census would place their households immediately beside one another.
Marriage to Nancy Evans and Family Life
Following emancipation, Richard established a household with his wife, Nancy Evans, born about 1840.
The 1870 federal census enumerated Richard Evans, aged thirty-six, as a farm laborer in Township 5, Range 11 East, Newton County, Mississippi.
He lived in dwelling 40, family 40, with Nancy Evans, aged thirty, and several younger household members.⁶
The household included:
- Sarah Evans (born about 1853)
- Susan Evans (born about 1858)
- Johnson Evans (born about 1861)
- Rashing Evans (born about 1863)
- Nancy Jane Evans (born about 1868)
- Richard Evans (born about 1870)
Also residing in the household were Rachel Evans, aged fifty-seven, and Lucy Woodham, aged fifty-seven.
The census does not identify the relationships of Rachel and Lucy to Richard or Nancy. Their presence suggests additional household or family connections that require further investigation.
An especially important detail appears in the neighboring household.
Immediately preceding Richard’s household in dwelling 39, family 39, lived Scott Evans, aged forty-two, with Harriet Evans and their children, including Samuel “Sam” Evans.
The neighboring residences provide direct evidence that Richard and Scott remained closely situated within the same African American community after emancipation.
Both had been enslaved by Catherine McInnis Evans, both had participated in Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, and both had been appointed church watchmen in December 1866.
Their shared surname, similar ages, and longstanding association raise the possibility of a family relationship. However, no record examined thus far conclusively establishes that they were brothers.
Farming and Family Life, 1880–1900
By 1880, Richard, recorded as Dick Evans, continued living in Beat 4, Newton County.
The census identified him as forty-five years old, married to Nancy Evans, aged forty, and employed as a farm laborer.
Their household, enumerated as dwelling 504, included several children:
- John Evans, aged eighteen
- Andy Evans, aged fourteen
- Nancy Evans, aged twelve
- Richmond Evans, aged ten
- Joseph Evans, aged eight
- Manuel Evans, aged four
- Fannie Evans, aged two
- Lanie Evans, aged two
The census identified Richard as unable to read or write, reflecting the educational disadvantages experienced by formerly enslaved adults who had been denied access to formal schooling.
The household records also demonstrate the continued growth of the Evans family during the years following emancipation.
By 1900, Richard remained in Beat 4, Newton County, where he was enumerated as Dick Evans, aged sixty-five.
The census recorded his birth as June 1834 and identified his wife as Nancy Evans, aged fifty-five.
The couple reported that they had been married for forty years, suggesting a marriage or marital union beginning around 1860, while both were still enslaved.⁷
The 1900 household included:
- Fannie Evans, aged twenty-three
- Lela Evans, aged fifteen
- Mann Evans, aged fifteen
- Richard Evans, aged twenty-four
- Tobe Evans, aged one
- Peter Evans, aged twenty-one
The presence of younger and adult household members suggests that the family continued to share a residence across generations. However, the relationships of every individual cannot be established from the household list alone.
The census identified Richard as a farmer occupying rented agricultural property.
He remained unable to read or write, but the surviving records demonstrate that he and Nancy maintained a household and family connections in the same rural community where they had lived since emancipation.
Later Years and the Williams Family Connection
By 1910, Richard’s circumstances had changed.
The federal census enumerated him as Dick Evans, aged eighty, in Beat 4, Newton County, Mississippi.
He was recorded as widowed, indicating that Nancy Evans had died sometime between the 1900 and 1910 enumerations. Her precise death date and burial location remain unknown.
Richard was living in the household of Oliver Williams, aged thirty-six, and Zela Williams, aged twenty-five.⁸
Family research identifies Zela Williams as the same individual recorded as Lela Evans in the 1900 census.
The 1910 census described Richard as the father-in-law of the household head, establishing a family relationship through marriage.
Taken together, the census records support the identification of Lela (Zela) Evans Williams as a daughter of Richard and Nancy Evans who married Oliver Williams.
The difference between the names Lela and Zela may reflect handwriting interpretation, transcription, or variation in the recording of her name.
The 1910 census also recorded Richard as unable to read or write.
His reported age of eighty conflicts with the ages recorded in earlier censuses, particularly the 1900 enumeration, which identified his birth as June 1834. The earlier records suggest that he was approximately seventy-five or seventy-six in 1910.
Despite these inconsistencies, the continuity of his name, community, and family relationships supports the identification of the same individual across the census records.
Death and Burial
The 1910 federal census is the latest record presently identified that documents Richard “Dick” Evans.
At that time, he was widowed and residing with the Williams family in Beat 4, Newton County.
His exact date and place of death have not been established.
Because he was living when the 1910 census was taken, his death occurred sometime after that enumeration.
No confirmed death certificate, burial record, or gravestone has yet been identified.
His longstanding association with the Mount Moriah and Bethel communities makes Evans Cemetery a possible subject for further burial research. However, there is presently insufficient evidence to identify it as his resting place.
Legacy
Richard “Dick” Evans belonged to the generation of African Americans who endured slavery and remained in Newton County after emancipation, establishing families and participating in the religious life of their community.
His documented history extends from enslavement in the household of Catherine McInnis Evans to membership in Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, appointment as a church watchman in 1866, and continued residence in Newton County through at least 1910.
The surviving church minutes preserve an important part of his experience under slavery. They document his reception into the congregation, his involvement in the 1856 investigation of unauthorized religious gatherings, and his later appointment to a position of responsibility during Reconstruction.
His relationship with Scott Evans provides another significant connection between the enslaved community and the African American households that emerged after emancipation.
Their joint appointment as watchmen in 1866 and their neighboring residences in 1870 demonstrate the continuity of their association across the transition from slavery to freedom.
Through his marriage to Nancy Evans and their children, Richard also contributed to the growth of the extended Evans family in the Mount Moriah community.
His later residence with Oliver and Lela (Zela) Williams demonstrates the continuation of family ties into the twentieth century.
Although much of Richard’s personal life remains undocumented, the surviving records establish his place among the formerly enslaved African Americans whose labor, families, and religious participation helped sustain the Black communities of Newton County.
Chicago-Style Footnotes
- 1850 U.S. census, slave schedule, Newton County, Mississippi, Catherine Evans household, possible identification of a sixteen-year-old Black male; 1860 U.S. census, slave schedule, Newton County, Mississippi, Catherine Evans household, possible identification of a twenty-four-year-old Black male. Neither identification is conclusive.
- Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, “List of Colored Members,” 6–7, entry identifying Dick as a servant of Mrs. C. Evans; Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, microfilm roll 36108.
- Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, Session Minutes, October 26, 1853, reception of Dick, Leven, Marilla, and Jenny, servants of Mrs. C. Evans.
- Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, Session Minutes, April 26, 1856, proceedings concerning alleged unlawful religious meetings involving George, Leven, and Dick.
- Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church, Session Minutes, December 23, 1866, 78, appointment of Scott and Dick as watchmen over the colored portion of the congregation.
- 1870 U.S. census, Newton County, Mississippi, Township 5, Range 11 East, Newton post office, page 17, dwellings 39–40, households of Scott Evans and Richard Evans, enumerated June 7, 1870.
- 1880 U.S. census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, dwelling 504, household of Dick and Nancy Evans; 1900 U.S. census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, sheet 8, dwelling 139, family 142, household of Dick and Nancy Evans.
- 1910 U.S. census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, enumeration district 93, sheet 7A, household of Oliver Williams, including Zela Williams and Dick Evans, identified as father-in-law.
Resting Place
Unknown
Photos/Albums
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