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tom jefferson evans, sr.

1870-1955

Life Story

Early Life and Family Roots

Tom Jefferson Evans, Sr. was born on October 14, 1870, in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi. He was the son of Benjamin Evans (born about 1840–1841) and Nancy Watkins Evans (born about 1847), both lifelong residents of Newton County.

Tom first appears in the 1870 United States Census as an eight-month-old infant living with his parents and older sister, Laura. By 1880, the Evans family had established their home in Beat 4, where Tom attended school alongside his siblings Laura, Fannie, and Robert. His childhood unfolded during the Reconstruction era, a period when formerly enslaved families worked to establish stable homes, educate their children, and acquire land despite the growing restrictions of the post-Reconstruction South.

First Family

As a young man, Tom entered into a relationship with Charlotte Jones as indicated on the death certificate of their son Alex. Together they became the parents of four sons:

Charlotte appears to have died before 1900, leaving Tom with four young boys to raise. Her death is reflected in the family’s changing household structure between later records and the 1900 census.

Marriage to Sallie Lillie Cooper

On March 5, 1900, Tom married Sallie Lillie Cooper (November 10, 1874 – December 2, 1966), who had been raised in the household of Albert and Sarah Bobbett.

When the federal census was taken later that year, Tom and Lillie were living together in Beat 4 with Tom’s four sons from his first family. Lillie assumed the role of stepmother to William, Alex, Easmond, and Albert, helping raise the boys following the death of their mother.

Together, Tom and Lillie expanded the household, welcoming numerous children of their own, including:

Together they created a blended family that would become one of the larger Evans households in the Lawrence community.

A Life of Farming and Landownership

Throughout his adult life, Tom earned his livelihood as an independent farmer. Census records consistently describe him as farming on his own account, reflecting a measure of economic independence that was especially significant for African American landowners during the Jim Crow era.

His farm lay in the fertile agricultural region surrounding Lawrence, where cotton remained the principal cash crop.

Tom gained local recognition in August 1906, when The Newton Record reported that he had produced Newton County’s first bale of cotton for the season. Harvested approximately four miles north of Newton, the bale was sold to merchant C. R. Hoye for ten cents per pound, and Tom received a barrel of flour as a prize for bringing the first bale to market. His name also appeared in local newspapers on several occasions for bringing the season’s earliest cotton blooms to town, reflecting his reputation as one of the county’s successful farmers.

Faith, Community, and a Brush with Violence

Like many residents of the Lawrence community, Tom participated in the annual gatherings of African American churches that served as centers of worship, fellowship, education, and community life throughout central Mississippi.

In October 1908, Tom attended the annual session of a Negro Baptist Association held at Pine Bluff Church, located approximately four miles north of Newton. According to The Newton Record, between 2,000 and 3,000 African Americans gathered for the association, making it one of the largest community events of the year.

During the meeting, an altercation erupted between Tom Evans and members of the Dallas family. The newspaper reported that gunfire broke out, leaving Tom wounded in the shoulder by a .32-caliber bullet while another participant was seriously injured. The article described Tom’s wound as severe but not believed to be fatal. No additional records have been located explaining the circumstances of the confrontation or whether criminal charges resulted.

Tom recovered from the shooting and resumed his farming operations, continuing to build his family and contribute to his community for nearly another five decades. Rather than defining his life, the incident serves as a reminder that even important religious gatherings could occasionally be disrupted by violence during an era marked by limited legal protections and heightened social tensions.

Community Service and Civic Participation

Like many respected farmers of the Lawrence community, Tom participated in civic activities beyond his own farm.

In January 1918, during the First World War, he was listed among the African American residents of Lawrence who enrolled in the American Red Cross campaign supporting the national war effort.

County records also document his participation in public road work, for which he received payment. Such work helped maintain the rural transportation network that connected farming communities with Newton and neighboring towns.

Economic Challenges During the Depression

Although Tom spent decades building his farm, the economic hardships of the Great Depression reached even established landowners.

In 1936, a trustee’s foreclosure notice announced the sale of approximately eighty acres located in Section 34, Township 6 North, Range 10 East, following a default on a Land Bank Commissioner deed of trust executed in 1934.

Like many farmers across Mississippi, Tom experienced the financial pressures that accompanied falling crop prices and difficult agricultural conditions during the Depression. Despite these setbacks, he and Lillie remained in the Lawrence community, continuing to farm and maintain their household.

Later Years

By the 1940 and 1950 United States Censuses, Tom and Lillie were still residing on the Lawrence–Conehatta Road, surrounded by children, grandchildren, and extended family.

Their home remained a gathering place for generations of the Evans family, reflecting the enduring kinship networks that characterized the Lawrence community throughout the twentieth century.

Death and Legacy

Tom Jefferson Evans, Sr. passed away on June 25, 1955, at the age of 84.

He was buried at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Mississippi, where Lillie was laid to rest beside him following her death in 1966.

Tom’s life bridged the generations from Reconstruction through the modern Civil Rights era. As a farmer, landowner, husband, father, and community member, he witnessed extraordinary changes in the lives of African Americans in Mississippi. His family reflected two chapters of his life: the four sons he shared with Charlotte Jones before her untimely death and the large blended household he built with Sallie Lillie Cooper after their marriage in 1900.

Today, his descendants remain connected to the Lawrence community, and his burial at Union Chapel Cemetery stands as a lasting reminder of one of the Evans family’s enduring patriarchs.

Resting Place

Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery

Photos/Albums

Tom J. Evans
Tom J. Evans, 1870-1955

Sources

  • 1870 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Township 6, dwelling ___, family ___, Benjamin Evans household, listing eight-month-old Tom Evans with his parents and sister Laura.
  • 1880 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District (ED) ___, sheet ___, dwelling ___, family ___, Benjamin Evans household, listing Tom Evans attending school with siblings Laura, Fannie, and Robert.
  • Newton County, Mississippi, Marriage Record, Tom Evans and Sallie Lillie Cooper, married March 5, 1900.
  • 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District (ED) ___, sheet ___, dwelling ___, family ___, Tom Evans household, listing Tom and Lillie Evans with Tom’s sons William, Alex, Eastland, and Albert.
  • Mississippi Death Certificate No. 7088, Alex Evans, April 18, 1913, Newton County, Mississippi, identifying his parents as Tom Evans and Charlotte James. The death certificate, together with the 1900 census and Tom Evans’s 1900 marriage to Lillie Cooper, indicates that Charlotte was Tom’s first wife and the mother of William, Alex, Eastland, and Albert, while Lillie Cooper became their stepmother following Charlotte’s death before 1900.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), August 1906, reporting that Tom Evans produced Newton County’s first bale of cotton for the season, which was sold to merchant C. R. Hoye, earning Evans a barrel of flour as a premium.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), various issues, 1906–1907, reporting Tom Evans among Newton County farmers bringing the season’s first cotton blooms to market.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), January 1918, listing Tom Evans among African American residents of Lawrence enrolled in the American Red Cross campaign during World War I.
  • Newton County, Mississippi, Board of Supervisors Minutes, various entries documenting payment to Tom Evans for public road (team) work in Beat 4.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), April 1936, trustee’s foreclosure notice concerning approximately 80 acres in the East Half of the Southwest Quarter, Section 34, Township 6 North, Range 10 East, secured by a Land Bank Commissioner deed of trust executed in 1934.
  • 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Tom Evans household, Lawrence–Conehatta community, occupation: farmer.
  • 1950 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Enumeration District ___, sheet ___, Tom Evans household, residing on the Lawrence–Conehatta Road.
  • Mississippi Death Certificate, Tom Jefferson Evans, Sr., June 25, 1955, Newton County, Mississippi; burial at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Mississippi.
  • The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), October 8, 1908, reporting a shooting during a Black Baptist Association meeting at Pine Bluff Church involving Tom Evans and members of the Dallas family, in which Evans suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
  • Find A Grave, memorials for Tom Jefferson Evans, Sr. (1870–1955) and Sallie Lillie Cooper Evans (1874–1966), Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.

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