John Newell Evans was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

-born farmer and political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Cowichan

Cowichan (electoral district)

Cowichan was one of the first twelve electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. It was located on southern Vancouver Island. It was a one-member riding only . Its last appearance on the husting was in 1920...

 from 1903 to 1907 as a Liberal

British Columbia Liberal Party

The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...

.

He was born in Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...

, the son of James Evans, and was educated in Wales and in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He apprenticed with a dry goods merchant in London and then left for British Columbia in 1864. He worked at building roads in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 and, two years later, went to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, where he was involved in mining until 1870. Evans then settled in the Cowichan

Cowichan Valley

The Cowichan Valley is a region around the Cowichan River and Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized form of the First Nations tribal name Quw'utsun.Communities include...

 district, where he purchased a homestead. In 1873, he married Mary Jane Davies, also a native of Wales. Evans served as reeve for North Cowichan

North Cowichan, British Columbia

North Cowichan is a District municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada and is in the Cowichan Valley Regional District...

. He was also president of the Cowichan Creamery Association. Evans was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1907 and 1909. He died in Duncan

Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.-History:The community is named after William Chalmers Duncan . He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay...

at the age of 97.