An inveterate frontiersman, soldier and statesman, Evan had a difficult time finding his permanent resting place.
Born in Wales, his family sailed to America about 1734, where they eventually settled in Maryland. His father, Evan Sr., was a merchant and farmer in the old country, and soon set up a plantation in the new.
Evan Jr. first became a farmer, and then a fur trader, where he transacted business with the Indians in the northwest.
He got his first taste of military life when he enlisted with the British during the French and Indian War, where he served as a scout, captain and surveyor.
Once his part of the war was concluded, he went back to his fur business. But then, Pontiac’s Rebellion broke out and caused his financial ruin. His creditors were relentless, and though he struggled for a number of years, he was forced to sell off his properties in Maryland.
He decided to make a fresh start on the southern frontier. He settled in the Holston River area in 1771 and set up a compound named Shelby’s Fort. He was 51 years old at the time.
His service during the Revolution was invaluable to the Patriot cause. Not only did he regularly supply Washington’s army with cattle, he also organized militia units to ward off attacks by the Cherokee, thus protecting the rear of the struggling Continental Army.
It was at this fort that his son Isaac made his final plans to defeat the British in 1780 – the result being the stunning defeat of the Loyalist army under Major Ferguson at the Battle of King’s Mountain.
The compound he created at Shelby’s Fort would eventually become Bristol, Tennessee.
When Evan passed away in December 1794 he was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Bristol. Then in 1870 his body was moved to the East Hill Cemetery, where he was buried for the second time. Mysteriously his body was dug up again and moved to a different spot in the same cemetery.
After three tries, the old soldier is finally home!
You can view his grave now, if you are ever in the area. When you arrive at the bottom of the cemetery, look up the hill. His grave is the only one surrounded by a metal fence.