Ellen Frances Evans, of Franklin, whose intelligence and worth command the highest esteem of her large circle of friends and acquaintances, was born June 27, 1845, in Sanbornton, N.H., daughter of Edward and Phœbe (Morrison) Evans. Her ancestors were prominent among the pioneers of Belknap County. Miss Evans’s father, a native of Sanbornton, generally known as Master Evans, for a number of years successfully taught schools in Andover and Sanbornton; and many of his pupils have attained prominence in business and professional life. For thirty-seven years Mr. Evans resided at the Morrison farm in his native town. He died of apoplexy, September 14, 1872, aged seventy-seven years. Having done much for the general good of the community, he was generally mourned. His wife, Phœbe, who was also a native of Sanbornton and a daughter of David Morrison, died August 16, 1875, aged seventy-five years. Her noble and unselfish character was demonstrated in her every-day life, and her charity was dispensed liberally among the needy and suffering. While residing with her son in Boston, she suddenly became conscious of her approaching end, and, at her desire, was brought to her old home in Sanbornton. Here her last days were
Edward and Phœbe (Morrison) Evans were the parents of eight children; namely, Ransom Flagg, Edward Dustin, Lucy Ann, Mary Jane, Sarah, Susan, George Sullivan, and Ellen Frances. Ransom Flagg Evans, born January 9, 1824, who became a member of the firm Sands, Furber & Co., and was connected with the wholesale and retail produce business in Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, for over forty years, died suddenly in 1896. He not only improved the old homestead, but generously provided for the comfort of his relatives in Sanbornton. The Evans family monument in the new cemetery in Franklin, placed there by him in 1880, is one of the most costly and imposing shafts erected in this vicinity. Edward Dustin Evans, born May 16, 1826, married Frances Perley, of New Bedford, Mass., and resided in that town until a year previous to his death, which occurred December 25, 1859, at the age of thirty-three years. Lucy Ann Evans, born October 19, 1831, on March 12, 1865, married Jacob Fottler, who was born August 19, 1839, and is now a member of the firm of Sands, Furber & Co. Mr. and Mrs. Fottler, who reside at 57 Chestnut Street, Boston, have two children: Frances Belle, born July 16, 1866; and Milton Evans, born April 14, 1869. Mary Jane Evans, who was born June 9, 1834, married Nathaniel M. Colby, an extensive farmer of Franklin, N.H. Sarah Evans, born April 9, 1836, on November 16, 1870, married Beniah B. Davidson, who was born in Holderness, N.H., July 31, 1835. They reside at the old homestead, and have one of the finest residences in Sanbornton. Susan Evans, born April 22, 1838, died March 2, 1854; and George Sullivan Evans, born November 1, 1840, died June 23, 1857. Ellen Frances Evans, the subject of this sketch, spends much of her time with her sisters in Boston and Sanbornton, and she also makes frequent visits to Mr. and Mrs. S. P. Thompson in Franklin.