Surname Saturday - Evans

     My Evans family line is somewhat short, only tracing back to 1850 and my Great-Great-Great Grandfather.  Here's the line:

1. Sally Ruth Evans [Great-Grandmother]
--- born: 17 Aug 1902, Hart County, Georgia
--- died: 20 Jun 1999, Hartwell, Hart County, Georgia
--- married: Bennie E Craft, abt 1918

2. John H Evans [Great-Great Grandfather]
--- born: 28 May 1879, Elbert County, Georgia
--- died: 9 Jul 1911, Gaines, Elbert, Georgia
--- married: Leila Frances Craft, abt 1897

3. William A Evans [Great-Great-Great Grandfather]
--- born: 18 Sep 1850, Hart County, Georgia
--- died: 2 Oct 1917, Ira, Anderson, South Carolina
--- married: Harriett Ann Partain, abt 1872

4. Unknown Evans
--- born: ?
--- died: bef 1860
--- married: Bedie / Beady

     Having written that out, I see that not only does this line go back very far, but it has been elusive regarding marriage licenses!

     The initial problem with this line is that I can't find the family in the 1850 census. William's parents should have been married, perhaps just starting out together. I also haven't found a marriage record for a Mr Evans to a Bedie / Beady in Georgia.  It's likely they were both from South Carolina, which doesn't have as many available records. I don't see this line a brick wall, so much as a temporary road block.  I need to spend (a lot of) time going through records to find GGGG Grandpa Evans. I'm sure there's some record of him somewhere. There are a few online trees, that do not give sources, that say he was Powell Evans from Cherokee County, South Carolina.  But without sources, I have no idea where this idea comes from and have yet to come across any substantiating evidence myself.

     Interestingly, this is a family line that I have confirmed via DNA.  My dad and I match two sisters, who are descendants of Mr Evans and Bedie's son James L Evans. You can see where they show up on my dad's DNA on chromosome 6.