John William Evans (1870-1906) was a Liberal politician and public figure in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. Evans was born in

Hirwaun Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a populati ...

in 1870. His father Evan J. Evans, was a prosperous business man in Hirwaun, and a deacon at Tabernacle Congregational Chapel, and one of the founders of the church. He was educated locally and at St. Andrew's College, Swansea, and the Independent College, Taunton. He entered the legal profession, and was articled to Mr. Coe, of Cardiff, before setting up a successful practice at Aberdare. He was married with one son.

Public life

When only 21 years of age, Evans was selected a member of the Merthyr Board of Guardians. It was said that he was at the time the youngest guardian in the United Kingdom. In late

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

he unsuccessfully sought election to the Aberdare Urban District Council but shortly afterwards, in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

he was elected to

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local ...

to represent the Aberdare Town Ward, and in 1898 was made an alderman. In 1900 he was elected to the Aberdare Urban District Council, a position which he held without opposition until his retirement two months before his death It was said that 'his presence at the meetings of municipal bodies would invariably banish dulness and monotony, for he was extremely humorous. His ready wit and repartee was as refreshing as a summer shower on a parched desert, being of a social disposition, he was most pleasant and genial in conversation, and beloved by everybody.'

Death

Evnas died in 1906 at the early age of 36. He was buried at Penderyn Churchyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, John Williams People from Hirwaun Members of Glamorgan County Council 1870 births 1906 deaths