First came the death of Mrs. L. W. Read, for whom he had the utmost respect and admiration. With tears in his eyes he said to me the day of her death, 'This has broken me up. I knew her from a little girl. I knew her virtues, and she was a model woman.' And then he ceased to speak and wept bitterly. And then came the death of the distinguished jurist, Judge Yerkes,' and again he seemed lost in sorrow. Then it was that he said to me, 'They are all leaving me behind. I never expected this to come to pass.'

These extracts from recent conversations, as given by Dr. F., would seem to indicate that the doctor thought his lifework done, and that others more useful than he were being taken and he left behind.

The testimony of Dr. E. A. Wood, of Pittsburg (late Senator), to Dr. Corson's peculiarities, is as follows: "He always impressed me with the idea of a great man, but of that kind of greatness void of ambition-that is to say, he made no effort to be great, but was great in spite of himself.”

JAMES B. EVANS, ESQ.

James B. Evans was the son of James Evans, Esq., of Limerick township, Montgomery county, where he was born February 26, 1820. His father, for whom he was named, was at one time a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Lower House of Assembly for the sessions 1826, '27 and '28. He had three brothers, Josiah W., Thomas and Owen B., the first and last elsewhere recorded in this book, and four sisters, Anna, Charlotte, Elizabeth and Harriet.*

In 1830 Jacob Fry, Jr., of Trappe, was appointed Prothonotary at Norristown, and chose Josiah W. Evans his clerk or deputy, the latter filling the place during Mr. Fry's term, as also that of his successor. At the conclusion of the Ritner administration, in 1839, Josiah W. Evans was first appointed Prothonotary by Governor Porter, and afterwards under the

*For the ancient genealogy of this Evans family see the sketch of Owen Evans elsewhere in this volume.

requirements of the new constitution, elected to that office for three years. He at once appointed his youngest brother, our subject, James B., his deputy, being then in his twentieth year. From that time he filled the place with great fidelity, boarding with his brother, Josiah, until the end of the latter's official term, in 1842, when Dr. Jones Davis was elected Prothonotary, who, finding young Mr. Evans expert and proficient in the duties of the office, continued him in trust as his deputy also. This very convenient arrangement enabled the Doctor to still reside in Lower Providence, where he had considerable practice in his profession. At the end of Doctor Davis' term, and on the election of Mehelm McGlathery, 1845, the new incumbent, finding Mr. Evans so long and well fitted to discharge the difficult duties of the office, retained him, as his predecessor had done, and he served Mr. McGlathery to the end of his term also. This long continuance in the post of Deputy Prothonotary had now made Mr. Evans widely acquainted with the people, and his courteous, obliging deportment in intercourse with the bar rendered him the prominent aspirant for the office he had so long filled as deputy. Therefore, industriously bringing his name before the Democratic electors of the county, to which party he had always belonged, he was taken up at the autumn convention, 1848, and elected to the office for the usual term of three years.

A little previously, however, he had formed the acquaintance of Miss Ann J., daughter of Thomas and Hannah Cowden, of Plymouth township, and they were married March 20, 1844, he purchasing a mansion, to which they removed, on Swede street, above Airy, where they resided while he lived. About that time Mr. Evans, having a quick perception of the future growth of Norristown and the advantage of investing his considerable savings in town lots, purchased at public sales, then common; and, associated with Michael C. Boyer and Samuel E. Hartranft afterwards, purchased thirty acres of land, west of Stony creek, of Thomas P. Knox, most of which was sold to lot speculators at a considerable advance on cost; but quite a number of these he retained or bought in for himself. These lots being then in Norriton township (but sure to come into the borough later) were not subject to heavy taxes,

a fact Mr. E. shrewdly foresaw, and he held them while he lived under little expense in the way of taxation. The very

great increase in the value of these with other investments, have given his widow considerable property to look after, and left her in comfortable circumstances.

We turn back now to detail the conclusion of our subject's official term and business career. In 1848 or '49, on the sale of his father-in-law's farm, in Plymouth, James B. Evans purchased it at public auction very cheaply, as was thought, and shortly after sold it again at considerable advance. In 1852 his official term ended, and the following year, November 25, he was admitted to practice law, having sometime previously been entered as a student in the office of James Boyd, Esq. He was enabled to give much time to study during the latter part of his official term by reason of having his nephew, Jared Evans, well trained in all the duties of Prothonotary, to which office he also was chosen at the next election. James B. Evans was a laborious, patient man of business, and close application to a sedentary life for over a dozen years had greatly undermined his health so seriously that for the last three or four years he was a constant sufferer from a complication of diseases, which finally carried him away June 30, 1857, aged thirty-seven years, four months and four days.

There were born to Mr. and Mrs. James B. Evans four children, two sons and two daughters, namely, Charles Wallace, Mary, William (deceased in infancy) and Ellen. The son Charles W. is intermarried with Lydia A. Streeper, and they have one daughter, Mamie.

James B. Evans was an affectionate husband, a kind and indulgent father, and his memory is dearly cherished by those he left behind so early in life. He was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church, as are nearly all of the family. His remains lie buried in Montgomery Cemetery, marked by a fitting memorial tablet.

James B. Evans was under the average stature, slightly dark complexion, black hair and of a quick, ready deportment, and so courteous as to be heartily esteemed by all who knew him.

EDMUND A. KITE.

If, in the good time coming, including civil service reform, it shall come to pass that faithful officers are "retired with all the honors" (even without "half pay"), then the gentleman whose name stands above has won that distinction and right, as will fully appear from what is hereafter stated of his business career of near sixty years.

Edmund A. Kite, of Norristown, was born in Philadelphia June 2, 1813. His ancestors, who are only traced back two generations, were doubtless English Friends of the early emigration of the last century, settling in or near that city. His grandfather Kite's name was Benjamin and his wife's Sarah. Their son Isaac married Rachel Marple, a widow, whose maiden name had been Roberts, and born in Plymouth, who were parents of the following children: Edmund A. (our subject), Mary Ann and Rachel. When a boy Edmund A. Kite had only a fair common school training by attendance at Friends' school on Race street, below Fourth. At the age of sixteen he apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a tailor, and after reaching majority continued a few years working at the business. In his twenty-fourth year, 1837, April 9, he was married to Elizabeth Harman Jackson, who bore him eight children, hereinafter named and referred to. Subsequently, in 1844, he took a position on the Norristown railroad as conductor, holding it acceptably five years, until June, 1849, when engaged in uncoupling cars at School Lane he was thrown beneath the wheels and had the misfortune to lose one finger, and for considerable time afterward almost the use of his left hand. On partial recovery in August he was offered and accepted the higher position of station or ticket agent, or rather superintendent, at the then termination of the road at Norristown, taking the place of Major Matthias Holstein, who was then near his demise. In this very responsible and difficult office he continued with special acceptance to the company and good will of the people till 1870, a period of about twenty-one years, when the expansion of the business of the road led to division of duties; then Mr. Kite was made ticket

clerk alone with, however, the same general supervision of the depot as before. This last appointment Mr. K. filled for a further term of sixteen years, until finding his health and vigor declining and the wear of long service or weight of years demanding rest, induced him, September 1, 1886, to surrender his post to younger hands. He still, however, for a time was recognized as ex-officio superintendent or overseer, as his health and strength might permit, but the recent wholesale retrenchment of the board of management has retired him altogether.

At this point it may be pertinently added that it is doubtful if there is a like railroad example in the United States where two superintendents have served a company to full acceptance with cordial sympathy of the people also, during its whole history as a busy line of freight and travel, covering a term of half a century, as in the case of Major Holstein and Edmund A. Kite, they serving respectively fifteen and thirtyfive years.

Four years before Mr. Kite's retirement from the chief responsibility at Mill street station he had the deep misfortune to lose by death the life-long partner of his cares and joys, his beloved wife, who died of paralysis July 1, 1882, in her sixty-second year, which finally led to the breaking up of his household and retirement among his children, who are settled about him in life. The offspring born to E. A. Kite and wife have been William A., Isaac, Charles (both the latter died in infancy), Eliza J., Edmund A., George R., Harry (deceased), and John P. The eldest son, William A., married Henrietta Foreman and has one daughter, Breta. Their next child, Edmund A., married Sarah Ann Perry, now deceased, and had by his first wife three children, George, Ella and Horace. His present wife is Addie C. Reinoehl. George R. was married to Emma M. Moir; their children are Bessie Maria, Mary Emma, James M., Karl K. and George E. Mrs. Emma Kite is deceased. Mr. Kite's sons at this writing are occupying business positions as follows: William is clerk in employ of Reading railroad, at Conshohocken; Edmund holds a similar position at Cox's brewery; George R. is teller and assistant cashier at First National Bank, Norristown; John P. is in