Clayton-Evans family papers

The Clayton-Evans family lived scattered across the Maryland-Delaware state line. The family held strong military traditions with their most famous member Amos Alexander Evans (1785-1848) serving as the Surgeon General aboard the USS Constitution during the War of 1812.

Amos Alexander Evans, the oldest son of John Evans and Mary Alexander Evans (1761-1820), was born November 26, 1785, at the residence of his parents on the banks of the Big Elk, about five miles north of Elkton in Cecil County, Maryland. He attended school in Newark, Delaware, and at the age of 19 began the study of medicine with Dr. George E. Mitchell, of Elkton, with whom he studied for three years. He also attended the lectures of Dr. Benjamin Rush and the lectures of other professors at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Evans passed an examination by board of medical officers and was licensed to practice medicine by the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland. In 1807, he was appointed surgeon's mate to the 49th Regiment of Maryland militia, and in 1808, he was appointed an assistant surgeon in the United States Navy by President Thomas Jefferson. On April 20, 1810, he was commissioned as surgeon. He joined the crew of the frigate Constitution, then at Washington City, and sailed on June 11, 1812.

Dr. Evans married Mary Oliver (1795-1881) of Boston, Massachusetts on March 28, 1816. The couple had three children together: Alexander Evans (1818-1888), Andrew Wallace Evans (1829-1906), and Mary Evans (1833-1908). Dr. Evans died on January 15, 1848 in Elkton.

Mary Evans was born on February 12, 1833 in Elkton and in 1861 she married James White Clayton (1834-1880), a politician from Delaware. The couple had one son together, Paul Clayton (1862-1932). On November 6, 1894, Paul Clayton married Helen Brown of Philadelphia. The couple had two children, Mary Evans Clayton (1895-1992) and Barbara Lydia Clayton (1904-2001).