Above: Margaret's family lines include the Evans / Davis lines and the Johnson / Melquist lines. Margaret's grandparents were all born outside the United States and much less is known about her family history, compared to Keith's family history. For this reason, all four major family lines are shown on this single chart (unlike Keith's, whose paternal and maternal lines were shown on separate charts). Margaret's paternal family line can be traced four generations and her maternal family line is traced five generations.

[NOTE: Three deaths occurred after making this graphic: Margaret Evans died in 2012, Mary Lou Evans died in 2013 and Carol Evans died in 2021]

WILLIAM DAVIS AND ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

The direct Evans Line is only traced to Margaret's grandfather, Robert Evans. However, Robert's wife’s family (Elizabeth Davis) is traced one more generation back. Elizabeth's parents, William and Mary Davis, were from South Wales, probably living in, or near Dowlais. At one time, Dowlais was famous for being the largest iron works in the world. It was also notorious for the cholera epidemics and child labor in the mines, making this a grim place to live. This is now considered to be a beautiful area of Wales. William and Elizabeth emigrated to the United States in 1881 with their children. William lived to the age of 86 and Mary lived to be 73. There is no record of their marriage, although they apparently had several children, including their daughter Elizabeth.

Above: Wales. The Evans and Davis families moved to the United States from Wales in the 1880's. The Evans family was from Northern Wales and the Davis Family was from Southern Wales.

ROBERT EVANS AND ELIZABETH DAVIS

Elizabeth Davis was born in Dowlais, South Wales in 1869. She emigrated to the US with her parents and arrived on July 4, 1881 when she was twelve years old.

Robert Evans was born in 1862 in Llangybi village, in North Wales. Llangybi is five miles north of Pwllheli in Caernarvonshire. At the time, Llangybi was a small village with a population of 455 in an area with numerous slate quarries. Robert received his education in the schools of Wales and later in Liverpool, England. He emigrated to America in June 1883, at the age of 21. After arriving in the United States, Robert came first to Arvonia, Kansas, located about 20 miles South of Osage City, and lived with relatives for a short time. He then moved to Peterton, located about 2 miles North of Osage City, where he engaged in the mining business. Robert met Elizabeth Davis after arriving in Kansas and they were married in 1886.

Robert and Elizabeth had six children between 1887 and 1897, including their fifth child, Mark. However, their first three children did not survive childhood, leaving only Mark, his younger brother John (Jack) and older sister Mary. In 1912, after nearly 30 years in mining, Robert and Elizabeth began farming about four miles northeast of Osage City. In the spring of 1929, Robert retired from farming and moved into Osage City. They purchased a home on California Street and resided there for several months before his sudden death later that year.

Elizabeth continued living in Osage City until 1962 when she moved to Kansas City to live with her daughter Mary Thatcher. Elizabeth died three years later in 1965 at he age of 95. Her daughter Mary died an hour later when she was awakened and told of her mother's death. Her two sons, Mark and John Evans, survived her. Both Robert and Elizabeth are buried in the Osage City Cemetery.

Above: Elizabeth and Robert Evans on the Evans' farm near Osage City. Elizabeth and Robert are the parents of Mark Evans and the Grandparents of Margaret Strait. Robert and Elizabeth were both born in Wales and met each other after coming to Kansas in the 1880's.

Above: The Evans' family farmhouse near Osage City, Kansas. The farm was established by Robert Evans and later owned by Mark Evans. This is where Margaret (Evans) Strait grew up. The house was moved into Osage City after Mark Evans died in 1966.

Above: Mark Evans (left), age 13, father of Margaret Evans (Strait), and his brother John (Jack) Evans (right), age 11. Enlargement from the Peterson School Class Photo.

MARK EVANS AND HULDA JOHNSON

Mark Evans was the first generation of the Evans family to be born a United States citizen. He was born in 1894, in Peterton, Kansas, a small town located a mile or two north of Osage City. He was eighteen when his parents moved from Peterton and his father began farming on a property located four miles north-east of Osage City. This is where Mark would live the rest of his days.

Mark married Hulda Johnson in 1920 in Osage City. She was born on her parent's farm, northwest of Osage City in 1896. Like Mark, she was the first in the Johnson family to be born in the United States. Her parents were both born in Sweden. Her father came to the US in 1872 and her mother arrived about 1888. Mark and Hulda lived on the Evans’ family farm, about a half-mile east of Robert and Elizabeth Evans' farmhouse. In1924, his only brother, John "Jack" Evans moved to Grand Junction, Colorado and the farming responsibilities were left solely to Mark and his father. His father retired from farming in 1929, leaving Mark, and his growing family, to work the entire farm. Mark, Hulda and their four daughters, including Margaret, moved into the family farmhouse after Mark's father retired. Mark and Hulda had two more daughters. He was a prosperous farmer raising a wide variety of crops and livestock. He died at the age of 71 from a heart attack while working his fields on Labor Day, 1966. He is buried in the Osage City Cemetery.

Above: Mark Evans, about 26 years old. He is the father of Margaret (Evans) Strait. Mark took over his father's farm and lived his entire life within a few miles of Osage City, Kansas.

Above: Hulda and Mark Evans at their farm on Christmas Day, 1943

Above: Mark Evans (age 60), is the father of Margaret (Evans) Strait. Mark was born near Osage City, Kansas on October 13, 1894 and died September 5, 1966 (Labor Day) working on his farm near Osage City, Kansas. This was included in the "Before We Met" book and incorrectly labeled as ~1965. The actual date taken is May 1955.