Evans, Frederick William

Evans, Frederick William

(1808–93) reformer, editor, Shaker elder; born in Leominster, Worcestershire, England. Having been influenced by the Owenites and a group of freethinkers and reformers in England, he sailed to America (1820) with family members. He edited with his brother several publications devoted to radical reform. After visiting a Shaker community in Lebanon, N.Y., he joined it, spending 57 of his last 63 years with the community as elder. A born leader and natural orator, he became one of the nation's most influential Shaker leaders and published much on this topic.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.