Biography:

Holden Garthur Evans

Holden Garthur Evans was born in South Carolina on August 2, 1805. His family was residing in Alabama by 1815. Evans married Charlotte L. Cross on November 5, 1829. She was the daughter of William and Susannah Lane Cross of Shelby County, Alabama. The couple moved to Texas shortly after their marriage, but they had returned to Mississippi by 1838. The Evanses moved to Steen’s Creek (Florence), Rankin County, Mississippi, in 1849. There, Dr. Holden Garthur Evans established a medical practice and also engaged in farming.

The Evanses had nine children: Susan Matilda (b. September 23, 1830), Laura Josephine (b. February 20, 1832), William Cross (b. March 11, 1835), Thomas Bell (b. January 5, 1837), Holden Garthur, Jr. (b. July 2, 1838), Mary Elizabeth Hudson (b. January 25, 1840), Harriet Eleanor (b. March 25, 1844), Charlotte Eliza Gage (b. December 30, 1845), and John Lane (b. October 17, 1848). Charlotte L. Cross Evans died on March 14, 1854, and was buried at Wesleyana Church Cemetery near Star, Rankin County, Mississippi.

Nancy Patterson Passmore

Dr. Holden Garthur Evans married his second wife, Nancy Patterson Passmore, on August 19, 1855. She was the widow of Francis Passmore of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Nancy Passmore Evans had three daughters from her first marriage: Nancy R. (b. ca. 1846), Arin Eliza (b. ca. 1848), and Zelura Taylor (b. ca. 1850). The Evanses had two sons: Edward Everett (b. July 30, 1857) and Henry Littleton (b. June 12, 1860). Dr. Holden Garthur Evans died on September 27, 1878, and was buried at Wesleyana Church Cemetery.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of correspondence, deeds, and receipts relating to the Evans-Passmore family of Steen’s Creek (Florence), Rankin County, Mississippi.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Evans Family Papers. 1868-1903; n.d. 1 folder.

The Evans family papers contain deeds, receipts, and a map of land owned by Dr. Holden Garthur Evans and his son, John Lane Evans. An 1878 Rankin County tax collector’s deed is for property owned by an Evans family member, probably John Lane Evans, which was sold to William Allen for delinquent taxes. A 1900 deed is for land owned by John L. Evans in Harrison County, Mississippi. There are two 1868 store receipts of Dr. Holden Garthur Evans and two receipts of John Lane Evans. The tax receipts are for properties in Harrison and Rankin counties that were owned by John Lane Evans or the estate of his half-brother, Henry Littleton Evans. Also included is an undated, hand-drawn map of tracts of land, probably in Rankin County, which were owned by various Evans family members or their neighbors.

Box 1, folder 1

 

Series 2: Passmore Family Papers. 184[?]; 1848-1855. 1 folder.

The Passmore family papers contain two letters, a deed, and vouchers of Nancy Passmore (Evans) or her first husband, Francis Passmore of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Nancy Passmore addressed both letters to Francis Passmore. The first concerns an 1840s lumber order; the second regards an 1850s financial matter. An 1880 deed is for land owned by Nancy Passmore Evans in Rankin County. The vouchers date from 1848 to 1855 and concern Passmore family debts that were paid by Nancy Passmore Evans.

Box 1, folder 2

 

Series 3: Miscellaneous Papers. 1850-1890; n.d. 1 folder.

Among the miscellaneous papers are an 1871 deed and an 1890 article of agreement regarding tracts of land in Rankin County, probably owned by Evans family members, and what appears to be a recipe for dyeing cloth.

Box 1, folder 3