rosie mae evans knight
1938-2006
Life Story
Early Life in Newton County
Rosie Mae Evans was born on April 10, 1938, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi, to Albert Evans and Francis Wheaton Evans.
She was born into a large Evans family with deep roots in the Lawrence community. Her father had children from his earlier marriage to Rosie Mitchell, and his marriage to Francis Wheaton added another generation of sons and daughters to the household.
Rosie Mae was among the older children born to Albert and Francis, growing up with siblings that included Ezelle and Gertrude, followed by a number of younger brothers and sisters.
Childhood on the Family Farm
The 1940 Federal Census provides an early glimpse of Rosie Mae’s childhood. At approximately two years old, she was living with her parents and other members of the Evans household in rural Newton County.
Agriculture remained central to the family’s livelihood. Her father, Albert, spent much of his adult life farming in the Lawrence community, while her mother, Francis, would become active in church, homemaker, Extension, and youth activities.
Rosie Mae therefore came of age within the rural world that shaped generations of the Evans family in Beat 4 of Newton County.
Marriage and Adult Life
Unlike several members of the extended Evans family who eventually left Mississippi for cities such as Detroit and other destinations, Rosie Mae remained closely connected to Newton County throughout her adult life.
Social Security records document her under her birth name, Rosie Mae Evans, by April 1956.
By June 1966, those records reflect her married surname, Knight, documenting her transition from Rosie Mae Evans to Rosie Mae Evans Knight.
Her later records continued to place her in the Lawrence area, including along Lawrence-Hazel Road, not far from the community where she had grown up.
A Life That Remained in Lawrence
Rosie Mae’s story represents another side of the twentieth-century Evans family experience.
Many family biographies naturally draw attention to migration—the sons and daughters who left rural Mississippi for Detroit, Chicago, Florida, and other destinations.
But migration was never the entire story.
Others remained.
Rosie Mae belonged to the generation that witnessed relatives disperse across the country while she continued to make her home in the community where earlier generations of the Evans family had lived.
Her life therefore provides an important counterpoint to the migration stories found throughout the family. The history of the Evans family was shaped both by those who left Newton County and by those who remained there.
Death and Legacy
Rosie Mae Evans Knight passed away on August 14, 2006, at the age of sixty-eight. Her death date is documented in the Social Security Death Index.
Rosie Mae’s life remained closely connected to Lawrence and Newton County, the community where she had been born nearly seven decades earlier. While several members of the extended Evans family left Mississippi and established new lives in Michigan, Florida, and other parts of the country, surviving records show Rosie Mae continuing to make her home in the Lawrence area.
Her story therefore represents an important part of the larger Evans family experience. The twentieth century brought migration and geographic separation to many branches of the family, but others remained rooted in the communities their parents and grandparents had helped build.
Rosie Mae belonged to that continuing presence in Lawrence. Born into the large family of Albert and Frances Wheaton Evans, she spent her life in the community where generations of her family had lived before her.
Her legacy is part of both sides of the Evans family story—the relatives who carried their Newton County heritage into new communities across the country and those like Rosie Mae who remained at home, preserving the family’s enduring connection to Lawrence, Mississippi.
Resting Place
Unknown
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Albert Evans household; National Archives microfilm publication T627. Rosie Mae Evans, approximately two years old, was enumerated in the household of her parents, Albert and Francis Evans, along with other members of the family.
- Social Security Administration, Applications and Claims Index, Rosie Mae Evans Knight. Social Security records document her birth as April 10, 1938, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi, and identify her parents as Albert Evans and Frances Wheaton.
- Ibid. Social Security records document her under the name Rosie Mae Evans in April 1956 and later record the surname Knight in June 1966.
- U.S. Public Records Index, Rosie Mae Knight, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi. Later public records document her continued residence in the Lawrence area, including Lawrence-Hazel Road.
- Social Security Death Index, Rosie Mae Knight, born April 10, 1938, died August 14, 2006; Social Security Administration, U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014.
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