{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder | name = Alvin Evans | image = AlvinEvans.jpg | caption = Alvin Evans | state = Pennsylvania | constituency = {{ushr|PA|20|C}} (1901–1903)<br>{{ushr|PA|19|C}} (1903–1905) | term_start = March 4, 1901 | term_end = March 3, 1905 | preceded = Joseph Earlston Thropp | succeeded = John Merriman Reynolds | birth_date = {{birth date|1845|10|04}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1906|06|19|1845|10|04}} | birth_place = Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_place = Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | party = Republican }} '''Alvin Evans''' (October 4, 1845 – June 19, 1906) was an American lawyer and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.<ref>"[https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/E000232 Evans, Alvin]," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232). Washington, DC: Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, retrieved on 2008-02-14.</ref><ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/evans1.html The Political Graveyard].</ref><ref>"[https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20080118_A__Evans_Kephart__102__former_senator.html A. Evans Kephart, 102, former senator]" (obituary of Alvin Evans' grandson). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', January 18, 2008.</ref>
== Early life and education == Born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania on October 4, 1845, Evans was a son of David J. and Jane Ann (Jones) Evans and a grandson of John Evans, a carpenter and a native of Cardiganshire, Wales. Educated in local public schools and the Iron City Business College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alvin Evins obtained a job in lumbering at the age of sixteen when his father's business failed due to the financial crash of 1857.<ref>Storey, Henry Wilson. ''History of Cambria County'', Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "[https://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/henry-wilson-storey/history-of-cambria-county-pennsylvania-volume-3-rot/page-51-history-of-cambria-county-pennsylvania-volume-3-rot.shtml Hon. Alvin Evans]." New York, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.</ref><ref>"Evans, Alvin," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.</ref><ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/evans1.html The Political Graveyard].</ref>
== Career ==
=== American Civil War === In 1862, Alvin Evans enlisted with a volunteer military unit,<ref>"[http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveItems&ArchiveID=17&FID=1164344&LID=1164393&FL=E&Page=1 Evans, Alvin]," in Pennsylvania Civil War Veterans' Card File. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives, retrieved online, June 7, 2021.</ref> which was mobilized in response to the potential invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.<ref>"Evans, Alvin," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.</ref>
=== Legal and political career === After beginning legal studies with George M. Reade of Ebensburg in 1870, he was admitted to the bar in 1873. He then established a law practice in Ebensburg,<ref>Storey, Henry Wilson, ''History of Cambria County'', Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."</ref><ref>Alvin Evans, in "[https://www.camgenpa.com/books/BP/p397.html William Davis]," in ''Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cambria County, Pennsylvania'', p. 397. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Union Publishing Company, 1896.</ref> and later advocated for clients in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well as in federal court. A one-term burgess for the borough of Ebensburg, he also worked as solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the school board and city council of Ebensburg. Involved in the incorporation of the First National Bank of Ebensburg, he was later appointed as president of that bank's board of directors.<ref>"Evans, Alvin," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.</ref>
Elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-eighth Congresses,<ref>"A. Evans Kephart, 102, former senator," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', January 18, 2008.</ref> he did not seek renomination in 1904,<ref>Evans, Susan. "[https://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/historic-cemetery-is-trying-to-raise-funds-to-cover-expenses/article_c1846417-12ec-577d-b0c7-9710af349415.html Historic cemetery is trying to raise funds to cover expenses]." Johnstown, Pennsylvania: ''The Tribune-Democrat'', August 16, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/evans1.html The Political Graveyard] .</ref> but instead returned to the practice of law.<ref>"Evans, Alvin," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.</ref>
A member of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Ebensburg, he was also active in the Grand Army of the Republic's Captain John M. Jones Post and the Free and Accepted Masons' Summit Lodge, No. 312.<ref>Storey, Henry Wilson, ''History of Cambria County'', Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."</ref>
== Personal life == He wed Kate Shryock (1846–1886) in Wilmore, Pennsylvania on November 17, 1875. They had three children.<ref>Storey, Henry Wilson, ''History of Cambria County'', Pennsylvania, Vol. 3: "Hon. Alvin Evans."</ref> Evans died in Ebensburg, and was interred in the Lloyd Cemetery.<ref>"Evans, Alvin," in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (CongBio|E000232), Office of the House Historian, U.S. House of Representatives.</ref><ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/evans1.html The Political Graveyard].</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Pennsylvania | district=20 | before=Joseph E. Thropp | after=Daniel F. Lafean | years=1901–1903 }} {{US House succession box | state=Pennsylvania | district=19 | before=Robert Jacob Lewis | after=John M. Reynolds | years=1903–1905 }} {{s-end}} {{United States representatives from Pennsylvania}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Alvin}} Category:1845 births Category:1906 deaths Category:People from Ebensburg, Pennsylvania Category:Pennsylvania lawyers Category:Politicians from Pittsburgh Category:Bankers from Pennsylvania Category:Union army soldiers Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Pennsylvania Category:19th-century American legislators Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century United States representatives