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Joshua Evans
was born
at Bradwell, Derbyshire in 1833, the eldest son of a lead miner Robert
Evans (1811-1874) and his wife Sarah Barber (1811-1881).
Sarah
Barber was an aunt of Frederick Barber,
who later became a prominent photographer in Sheffield &
Matlock. Joshua
started
off by following his father into the mining industry, and at the time
of the 1851 Census he was working as a lead
miner.
In the same census, however, Joshua's younger brother Stephen - then
aged
14 - was described as an apprentice optician, and Joshua himself
followed
suit soon after. Both worked for their uncle Isaac Barber,
another brother of Sarah Barber and husband to Margaret Evans, who was
sister to Robert Evans. Isaac Barber, possibly after an
initial
apprenticeship in Sheffield, had opened up a business in Bradwell in
1850 to manufacture telescopes, opera glasses & possibly camera
lenses. His apprentices included Stephen, Isaac and Joshua
Evans,
who eventually opened their own business, "Evans Bros." in an old hat
factory belonging to another uncle, the wealthy and locally well known
hat-manufacturer, William Evans. Joshua married Hannah Greaves on 11 Jul 1859 and their first child Alwin/Alvin Wilson Evans was born at Bradwell in April 1860. By the time of the census a year later, Joshua was working as an optician and living in the household of his mother-in-law at Smalldale, a hamlet in Bradwell parish. They continued
living
at Bradwell until at least 1867, but by the April 1871 census they had
moved to Sheffield in Yorkshire, where daughter Louisa was
born in 1874. Family member Peter Evans
(pers comm) believes
that new machinery and industrial methods of manufacture had made it
impractical for the Evans Brothers to continue meeting governement
contracts. The census of April
1881 shows them living at Vicar Lane, Sheffield, with Joshua now
working
as the manager of an "Oil and Colour Warehouse." They later
moved
to 38 Glover Road in nearby Eccleshall Bierlow, where Joshua described
himself as a "traveller" - presumably a salesman in todays terminology
- in April 1891. Joshua & Hannah Evans had returned
to live
in
Bradwell by 1901, where he was once again an "Oil & Colour
Dealer." |
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Sarah
Evans née Barber (1811-1881) Portrait almost
certainly by
Joshua Evans c. 1869 at Bradwell Image © & courtesy of Peter Evans |
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It is not
clear exactly how long Joshua Evans operated a photographic studio in
Bradwell.
Adamson (1997) only gives a date of 1869. It is perhaps worth
noting that Joshua's cousin, Frederick Barber,
had returned from London to Sheffield in about 1867, and opened a
studio there, perhaps influencing Joshua's brief foray into photography. Joshua Evans died at Bradwell on 19 October 1907. He had been a local Methodist preacher in Bradwell and Sheffield for over thirty years. |
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Stephen
Evans, brother of Joshua Evans - Artist
unknown Image © & courtesy of Peter Evans |
Maurice
Evans, nephew of Joshua Evans Artist unknown Image © & courtesy of Peter Evans |
Portfolio |
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Two
unidentified gentlemen by Joshua Evans of Bradwell Undated, but probably taken in the late 1860s Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of John Bradley Nothing further is known about this photo |
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William
Bocking (1782-1869) by Joshua Evans of Bradwell Undated, but probably taken in the late 1860s Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of John Bradley Notes:
This gentleman has been tentatively identified as William Bocking, a
Wesleyan Sunday School teacher from Bradwell, by Andre Hallam, to whom I am
very grateful. William Bocking, son of William Bocking
(1753-1820) and Hannah Hill (1757-1824), was the Sunday School
Superintendant of the Wesleyan Church in Bradwell for over 60
Years. He married Alice Dearnley (1784-1821) in 1806, and they
had nine children. Further information regarding Andre's
identification of this gentleman, and further clarification by Peter Evans, may be found in
my Photo-Sleuth
article. |
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Unidentified haymakers, by J.
Evans, possibly Joshua Evans
of Bradwell Undated, but probably taken in the late 1860s or early 1870s Format: Carte-de-visite Size: Mount 106 x 63.5 mm Photo 97.5 x 57 mm Image © & collection of Brett Payne |
References Images and information provided by Andre Hallam, Brett Payne, Peter Evans and John Bradley 1841-1901 UK Census - online from Ancestry.com FreeBMD International Genealogical Index - online from the LDS church North West Derbyshire Sources - by Marjorie Ward White, F. & Co. (1857) History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Derby. Transcribed by Neil Wilson. Derbyshire Wills: 1525-1928 by Michael Spencer on John Palmer's Wirksworth web site |
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