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ory is reasonable both from tradition and the etymology as given in the foregoing. EVANS is a Welsh form of JOHN, a Greek word of Hebrew derivation, meaning "the grace of God." This tradition is further strengthened by another: that the immigrant ancestors of the family, sometime after their arrival in Pennsylvania, fell heir to their father's estate in Wales. In court they were required to give additional evidence as to their identity by reason of their having changed their names, before their shares of the estate were distributed to them. Through these official channels should be found the missing links, which will connect the American Lines with the Welsh, and extend the genealogical tree across the Atlantic Ocean. By these means only can the family seat, ancestry, arms and name be discovered, for the item of the estate witnesses the fact that it was of no "common origin." The indifference of the Welsh in the use of surnames is well shown by the transcript of some documents of an estate of an old Stephens in Pennsylvania, in the possession of the writer, wherein two brothers are named, one "Evans Stephens" and the other "Stephens Evans." Searches in the offices of the Register of Wills, and the old Probate Courts of Pennsylvania, and the Doctors' Commons and the Herold's College, of London, as well as of the files of old Pennsylvania newspapers, and the archives of the various historical societies of Pennsylvania should throw more light on the early history of these immigrant ancesters, and possibly discover collateral branches which are now seemingly hopelessly lost. Such searches require the expenditure of more time and money than the writer now (1892) has, and if never done by him, it is to be hoped that some family historian will come to the front with the necessary abilities. The family history, then, really begins thus: FIRST GENERATION 1. EVANS AP ----, (1), a member of that ancient race, the Welsh, the lineal descendants of that most ancient race, the Kelts, who inhabited western Europe from time immemorial, lived in Wales, the territory reserved for this branch of the Aryan family. He had a son: SECOND GENERATION 2. STEPHENS AP EVANS, (2), who lived and died in Wales, and was the owner of considerable estate. The liberal terms of Penn's grant in America attracted the attention of his three sons: THIRD GENERATION 3. JOSHUA AP STEPHENS AP EVANS, (3), the immigr
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