Evan Jones was born in Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, Wales, in 1855, the son of John and Joyce Jones (née Evans). His family worked a farm, and Evan had a number of brothers and sisters.
Evan entered into a relationship with a woman named Mary Williams, who was a domestic servant in a neighbouring farm. Their relationship ended with Mary pregnant, and she issued civil proceedings in the local court to have Evan declared the child’s father. The child, named Margaret, was born on the 28th June 1883, and it isn’t known whether or not Evan was still in Wales for her birth, as in that year, he emigrated to the United States of America.
The Court of Petty Sessions in Llansawel ultimately ruled that Evan was the father of Margaret. She was adopted by a Mr. John Jenkins and his family, and Evan paid £20 towards her upkeep.
On his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, he encountered Mrs. Jane Jones, who was also from Wales, and who was travelling to her husband, David P. Jones, who had settled in Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa. Mrs. Jones was accompanied by her children.
Evan Jones accompanied Mrs. Jones and her children to Iowa, and moved in to their home. He found work as a coal miner, and also helped out the Jones’ on their farm. He acquired some land of his own, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1896.
Over the years, the Jones family, accompanied by Evan Jones as their lodger, moved a number of times, mostly within Wapello County, and eventually settled in Ottumwa. Then, in 1901, David P. Jones died, and five years later, on the 13th August 1906, Evan Jones married his widow, Jane. Jane had four children through her marriage to David Jones, but there were no children as a result of her marriage to Evan Jones.
In January 1914, Jane Jones died, and Evan decided to return to Wales to live out the rest of his life. He decided to sell his properties, which consisted of two farms and some city real estate, and having done so, by early 1915, he left Iowa and travelled to New York City, where he booked third class passage on the May sailing of the great Cunard liner,
RMS Lusitania. Before leaving Ottumwa, his bank manager persuaded him to leave most of his money on deposit until he reached Wales and established himself there. Evan left $20,000 in his bank account, and took a bank draft to the value of $2,000 with him.
Arriving at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour, on Saturday, 1st May, Evan Jones boarded the great vessel in time for her scheduled 10a.m. departure. The sailing was delayed until the afternoon, however, whilst the liner took on board passengers, cargo and some crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned as a troop ship.
Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine
U-20, twelve miles off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and sank only eighteen minutes later. At that stage of her voyage, she was a mere twelve or fourteen hours away from the safety of her home port.
Evan Jones lost his life as a result of the sinking, and as no trace of his remains were ever found, he has no known grave. He was aged 60 years at the time of his death.
Evan Jones died intestate, and following the news of his death reaching his family in Wales, his surviving siblings – Thomas Jones, Mary Jones, John Jones, Mrs. Elizabeth Davies, Mrs. Sarah Williams, Rees Jones, and William Jones, applied to have his estate divided equally between them; however, his illegitimate daughter, who was now married and named as Mrs. Margaret Adams, made a similar application. To compound the matter, Emrys Jones, who was the son of David P. and Jane Jones, and born in 1888, also laid claim to Evan Jones’ estate, claiming that Evan Jones was his actual father – not David P. Jones!
Following a series of legal proceedings in Courts in Iowa, the matter concluded in a Supreme Court case in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1921, which decided in favour of Evan’s daughter. The estate was processed in the Probate Court of Wapello County, Iowa, and Margaret Adams returned to her home in Wales with over $22,000!
The administrator of his estate, on behalf of his daughter, also filed a claim for compensation for his death which was considered by the Mixed Claims Commission. They declined to make any award as no American citizen was directly affected by his loss, or were dependant on him.
Iowa Marriage Records 1880 – 1951, 1861 Census of England & Wales, 1871 Census of England & Wales, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Cunard Records, Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758 – 1997, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 2191, Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier, Evening Times-Republican, Western Mail, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.