According to Evans, he became convinced the Sioux had been wronged and lost all interest in fighting. After fighting against the Confederates in the Civil War, Evans was sent to Minnesota and served in General Custer's Seventh Cavalry as a scout to fight the Sioux. No official record of this exists, assuming because he joined under a false name. After experiencing Independence Day celebrations that year, Chris felt inspired to enlist in the Union Army at Buffalo, New York, under an assumed name. ![]() In the summer of 1863, at age sixteen, Chris left home and crossed the border into the United States. They married in Bell's Corner in 1837 and together they had eight children, including Chris. His parents, Thomas and Mary Ann Evans, were both Irish natives who came to Canada separately. Sketch taken from a locket photograph of Chris Evans taken on his wedding day, 1871Ĭhristopher Evans was born on February 19, 1847, in Bell's Corner, about twelve miles from Ottawa, Canada. Championed by author Jack London, Morrell was pardoned in 1908 and thereafter became a well-known advocate for prison reform.īeginnings Canada to California Evans is interred in Portland at Mount Calvary Cemetery.Įvans' accomplice, Ed Morrell, served fourteen years total in Folsom and San Quentin. He also wrote a socialist book which calls for expanded government to check what he viewed as the abuses of the business community. Banished from California, he died in Portland, Oregon, in 1917, denying to the end that he had ever robbed a train and continuing to assert that he had killed only in self-defense. John Sontag's younger brother, George Contant, testified against Evans and hence acquired the lifelong hatred of Evans' family.Īfter Evans served for seventeen years at Folsom, he was paroled in 1911 by Governor Hiram Johnson, a liberal Republican, who had been elected on an anti-Southern Pacific campaign theme. After his surrender, Evans was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California. After escaping for several months in the mountains, Evans and Morrell were eventually captured after being lured into Visalia under the false belief that Evans son was deathly ill. He was taken into custody, but then escaped from the Fresno County Jail while awaiting his trial with the help of an accomplice, Ed Morrell. Later, John Sontag was mortally wounded in what is called the Battle of Stone Corral.Įvans was himself severely wounded at Stone Corral, having lost an eye and his left arm. They had a shootout with a posse at Youngs cabin, which resulted in the death of Wilson, the posse leader, and McGinnis, a former friend of Chris Evans. The outlaws evaded capture for ten months, all while being hunted by posses of lawmen, railroad detective, and hundreds of bounty hunters. While Evans and Sontag hid out in the mountains, writers Ambrose Bierce and Joaquin Miller championed their cause in the San Francisco Examiner. After killing a member of a posse outside his home on the outskirts of Visalia, he fled to the Sierra Nevada mountains with his younger partner, John Sontag. He was the leader of the Evans-Sontag Gang.Įvans was accused of robbing the Southern Pacific Railroad in California between 18. Sons: Eugene (died in infancy), Elmer (died in childhood), Joseph, Louis Napoleon, John Christopher, Carl Ĭhristopher Evans (Febru– February 9, 1917), a native of Bells Corners near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was an American farmer and teamster turned outlaw. Mary Jane "Molly" Byrd Evans (married 1874-1917, his death) Mount Calvary Cemetery in Portland, OregonĪmerican outlaw, incarcerated at Folsom State Prison partner of John Sontag
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |