Philip Evens (abt.1660-1693) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Philip Evens aka Evins, Evans

Born about 1660 [location unknown]

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling(s) unknown]

Husband of Deborah (Unknown) Evens — married about 1686 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

[uncertain]

Descendants

Father of Elizabeth Evans and John Evens

Died 20 Aug 1693 at about age 33 in Ipswich, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Profile last modified 19 Oct 2020 | Created 16 Apr 2015

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1 Biography
2 Sources

Biography

Birth Date and Place; Parentage; Possible Origins

The date and place of birth and parentage of the Philip Evens who had children in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1687-1692 are unknown. Based on the date of birth of Philip's first known child in 1686, Philip was probably born sometime in 1656-1664, with about 1660 being a reasonable midpoint estimate.

There are two possible clues to Philip's origin, which seem to lead in divergent directions. First, there are records showing that a Thomas Evens was on the tax rolls of the town of Newbury, Massachusetts in 1685,^[1] married Hannah Brown in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1686,^[2]^[3] and had children in Salisbury from 1687-1710.^[4]^[3] There thus seems to have been a Thomas Evens who lived in the same general area of Massachusetts as Philip and who seems to have been an appropriate age to have been a brother of Philip. According to "Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury," Thomas Evens was born in 1663 at or near Dover, New Hampshire, and was the son of John Evens, who was born in Wales in 1632 and settled in Dover.^[5] It is thus possible that Philip was another son of John Evens of Dover, New Hampshire.

Second, the only record of a Philip Evens in Massachusetts from 1660-1700 apart from the records of births of children in Ipswich to a Philip Evens from 1687-1692, is a record showing that a Philip Evens took the oath of allegiance in the Dorchester, Massachusetts (now part of Boston) in 1678.^[6] Since William Pillsbury (whose daughter is claimed by some to have married Philip) originally lived in Dorchester before moving to Newbury, it is reasonable to surmise that the Philip Evens who was in Dorchester in 1678 may have also moved to the Newbury area and was the Philip Evens whose children's births appear in the Newbury records. The record showing that a Philip Evens took the oath in Dorchester in 1687 also shows that a Mattias Evens, Thomas Evens and Richard Evens took the oath at the same time.^[6] If that Thomas Evens was the same Thomas Evens who later appears in Newbury and Salisbury, the link between Philip of Dorchester and Philip of Newbury/Ipswich would be that much stronger. There is, however, a record of a Thomas Evens marrying a Hannah Glover in Dorchester in 1686.^[7] Therefore, absent an error in either the Dorchester or Salisbury records, the Thomas Evens who took the oath with Philip in Dorchester in 1678 was not also the Thomas Evens who appears in Newbury and Salisbury records.

Identity of Spouse; Date of Marriage

Based on the records of the births of his children, Philip married a woman named Deborah. Torry's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 indicates that her last name may have been Pillsbury.^[8] A significant number of family trees show that she was the Deborah Pillsbury, who was born in Dorchester in 1642 and was the daughter of William Pillsbury.^[9]^[10] In support of this theory, the transcription of William Pillsbury's will contained in "The Pillsbury Family" refers to a daughter named "Deborah Ewens."^[11] Although Evens and Ewens are pronounced quite differently, Ewens could quite possibly be a transcription error of Evens. Additional circumstantial evidence in support of Deborah Pillsbury being Philip's wife comes from the evidence that, as discussed above, both Philip and Deborah Pillsbury may have originally settled in Dorchester before moving north to the Newbury/Ipswich area. The main problem with the theory that Philip's wife was the Deborah Pillsbury who was the daughter of William Pillsbury is that the birth date we have for that Deborah, in 1642, would have made her 45 at the time of the birth of their first known child and 50 at the time of birth of their last known child. This seems highly implausible. One possibility is that the Deborah Pillsbury who was born in 1642 died young and William Pillsbury had another daughter named Deborah who was born in the 1660s. This is pure speculation, however, and no evidence has been found of the death of a first Deborah or the birth of a second Deborah. Due to the difficulties with Deborah Pillsbury's birth date, her status as Philip Evens' wife must be considered uncertain.

Torry's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 indicates that Philip and Deborah (whatever her maiden name) were married sometime before 1687.^[8] Based on the birth dates of his children, Philip and Deborah were probably married no later than January 1687 and more likely somewhat before then. If Deborah was the Deborah Ewens mentioned in William Pillsbury's will, Philip and Deborah must have been married prior to the April 22, 1686 date of the will.^[11] Assuming that William was their first child, a likely marriage date consistent with all theories might be early 1686.

Children

Newbury records show that Philip and his wfe, Deborah, had the following children, all born in Ipswich:

William, b. October 13, 1687^[12]
Elizabeth, b. November 8, 1689^[12]
John, b. April 30, 1692^[12]

Death; Estate

According to the record of the inventory of Philip's estate, Philip died on August 20, 1693 in Ipswich.^[13]

His inventory was appraised on September 16, 1693 by Thomas Lovell and Samuel Walis and was valued at £32.2.6.^[13] Deborah Evens, administratrix, made oath on September 29, 1693 that the inventory was true and perfect.^[13]

^[12] ^[13] ^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]