ory is reasonable both from tradition and
the etymology as given in the foregoing. EVANS is a Welsh form of JOHN,
a Greek word of Hebrew derivation, meaning "the grace of God."

This tradition is further strengthened by another: that the immigrant
ancestors of the family, sometime after their arrival in Pennsylvania,
fell heir to their father's estate in Wales. In court they were required
to give additional evidence as to their identity by reason of their
having changed their names, before their shares of the estate were
distributed to them. Through these official channels should be found the
missing links, which will connect the American Lines with the Welsh, and
extend the genealogical tree across the Atlantic Ocean. By these means
only can the family seat, ancestry, arms and name be discovered, for the
item of the estate witnesses the fact that it was of no "common origin."

The indifference of the Welsh in the use of surnames is well shown by
the transcript of some documents of an estate of an old Stephens in
Pennsylvania, in the possession of the writer, wherein two brothers are
named, one "Evans Stephens" and the other "Stephens Evans."

Searches in the offices of the Register of Wills, and the old Probate
Courts of Pennsylvania, and the Doctors' Commons and the Herold's
College, of London, as well as of the files of old Pennsylvania
newspapers, and the archives of the various historical societies of
Pennsylvania should throw more light on the early history of these
immigrant ancesters, and possibly discover collateral branches which are
now seemingly hopelessly lost. Such searches require the expenditure of
more time and money than the writer now (1892) has, and if never done by
him, it is to be hoped that some family historian will come to the front
with the necessary abilities.

The family history, then, really begins thus:

FIRST GENERATION

1. EVANS AP ----, (1), a member of that ancient race, the Welsh, the
lineal descendants of that most ancient race, the Kelts, who inhabited
western Europe from time immemorial, lived in Wales, the territory
reserved for this branch of the Aryan family. He had a son:

SECOND GENERATION

2. STEPHENS AP EVANS, (2), who lived and died in Wales, and was the
owner of considerable estate. The liberal terms of Penn's grant in
America attracted the attention of his three sons:

THIRD GENERATION

3. JOSHUA AP STEPHENS AP EVANS, (3), the immigr