Christopher Evans papers

Thomas Chalkley (1675-1741) was born in London, the son of George Chalkley. In school, he was stoned because he dressed as a Quaker. In 1695, Chalkley began to preach and traveled in England and later in America. He married Martha Betterton, also a Quaker minister, in 1699, and together they emigrated to Philadelphia in 1700. He published some works.

Henry Cope (1793-1865) was the son of Thomas Pim Cope and Mary Cope. Henry Cope married Rachel Reeve (1794-1863) in 1818. Henry and Rachel's children included Mary Drinker Cope (1819-1890), Francis R. Cope (1821-1909), Thomas Pim Cope (1823-1900), and Ruth Anna Cope (1834-1879). Henry Cope was the founder of the family enclave, "Awbury,” in Philadelphia. During the 1850s, he bought about 40 acres in Germantown (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and built his house there. Henry and Rachel's children were raised at Awbury and in turn built their own homes on the property.

Thomas Evans (1798-1868), a Quaker, was the son of Jonathan and Hannah Bacon Evans. He was educated at the Academy in Philadelphia and, by 1819, had embarked on a career as a druggist in Philadelphia. He married Catharine Wistar in 1834; they had five children. He was one of the founders of Haverford College in 1833, and became a minister of the Society of Friends in ca. 1844, working to prevent the Gurney-Wilbur separation in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. With his brother, William Evans, he published the 14-volume Friends Library between 1837 and 1850.

Daniel Offley (1756-1793) of Philadelphia was the son of Daniel and Rachel Offley. An anchorsmith, he was convinced to join the Friends by Jonathan Evans, Jr. He was imprisoned for refusal to pay war tax. In ca. 1780, he became a minister of the Society of Friends and visited most of the meetings in the United States, later also visiting many of the islands in the West Indies. He died of yellow fever.

(Information from internal evidence, the Dictionary of Quaker Biography, Cope-Evans Papers)