A Family on Four Continents:  England, Australia, Africa, and North America.

Our Roots in England and Wales                                                

The Evans branch of the family probably originated in the north-west countries of Wales, particularly Merionithshire and Anglesey Island. It is known from the genealogy prepared by Addie Bottrill that Gabriel Evans and Mary Hughes were married in Cerrigydrudion, Merionithshire, Wales in 1822. Their first child, Mary¹ (our ancestor) was born the next year in Standeroll, Merionithshire, Wales. Except for the oldest son, William², in their adult years the other Evans children lived in the vicinity of Rugby and Towchester, south of Birmingham in the Midlands. Gabriel Evans was 66 in 1862 when he died; Mary Hughes Evans died in 1851 at age 53.

This oldest daughter, Mary¹ Evans, was married to William B. Bottrill in 1846. Their first five children were born in England.

The Australian Branch 

In 1853 William B. and Mary¹ went to live in Australia leaving their oldest daughters Mary^1-1 and Elizabeth^1-2 with the grandparents, but taking William E.^1-3, Catherine^1-4, and Margaret^1-5 along. (William B.'s great uncle, a stone mason also named William, had been deported from England to Australia in the 1830s for sheltering refugees of the corn law rebellion. His wife and 8 children were left behind. He was freed upon reaching Melbourne, settled near Adelaide, made money mining silver, joined the gold rush of 1851, and built some of the earliest stone buildings in the area.)

In Australia, William B. and Mary ¹Bottrill had five more children, three of which lived past babyhood: Sara^1-6, Adelaide^1-7 and David^1-10. William E.^1-3 returned to England to be educated as a barrister, and eventually went back to Australia. Adelaide^1-7 and David^1-10 went to England upon the death of their mother when Adelaide was eleven and David was six. David returned to Australia when he was 18. Adelaide spent most of her life in England. 

Catherine^1-4 married Wm. Hardy. Sara^1-6 married Joseph Bath, and Margaret^1-5 married Joseph Phillips. The Australian branch grew as these couples had children.

Top

The African Branch                                                                                 

Ivy^1-5-2 Phillips, the daughter of Margaret^1-5 and Joseph, was a noted singer. While on a concert tour in South Africa, she met and married Dr. Phineas Smuts, adding another continent to our family map.

Top

Elizabeth^1-2 Bottrill married James Hamilton Clark in 1875. The Evans relatives were so angry about James plans to take this gently-reared young woman to the hardships of Kansas, they refused to attend the wedding. Elizabeth had been educated in the Misses Chater's School for Young ladies in music, languages, literature and social graces. She would have to learn housekeeping and child care "on the job," with no servants and little money as a pioneer in Clay County, Kansas. The bridal couple arrived "home" just in time to be greeted with the grasshopper invasion, low prices, prairie fires, drought and plenty of hard work.

During the next 11 years, Elizabeth and James became the parents of 8 children. Hilda^1-2-1 Mary (1876), Ewing^1-2-2 Hamilton (1877), Evans^1-2-3 Maurice (1878-he died the next year from diarrhea from drinking mild from a newly freshened cow), Cecil^1-2-4 Maurice (1880), an unnamed son^1-2-5 who lived only 8 hours (1882), Stanley^1-2-6 Penrhyn (1883), Millicent^1-2-7 Emma (1885), and Adelaide^1-2-8 Lisette (1887).

In the 1880's the Clarks lived on several farms before they came to the last one which is about two miles south of Wakefield. It was close to the church and post office, both important to the Clarks. James was a community leader and a respected friend as evidenced in his donation of land from the original homestead for a school that was named for him, and for a church in 1887.

In the early pioneer days, many homestead owners made deals to acquire better land or to be closer to town or school. James spent much time in real estate and financial deals leaving Ewing to do the farm work. In the late 1880s, James apparently lost their 3 farms (involving a trade for lots in the Highland Park addition in Topeka, Kansas) and subsequently, the family moved to Chapman, Kansas in about 1893.

When James' health began to fail in 1897, he sought medical help in Kansas City and died at home in 1898 of stomach cancer. The widowed Elizabeth and four children lived in Kansas City until 1900 when they moved to College Hill in Manhattan, Kansas. Elizabeth died in 1905 of a blocked bile duct, "too old at 58 to have a corrective operation."

Top

The facts and events mentioned above are merely excerpts of more detailed stories and information to be found in the various collections listed in the Archival Register.

Continue to discover your rich ancestry by examining the collections, photograph albums and artifacts on display at the reunion. Help keep our family tree up-to-date by notifying Laura Kampschroeder (see Directory page) of changes in your family status such as address, marriage, birth, death, etc.

We look forward to the next time when we can share our mutual interest in our great heritage when we come together in 2003.

Top