(This is one of the families included in the new book, Early Hamilton Settlers, by John Wilson.)
The William Evitts were among the earliest settlers at Ooltewah, but they left for Walker County, Ga., after Yankees burned their home. One of the descendants of the Walker County clan is H.Q. Evatt, a popular county sheriff.
The Evitts were in Buckingham County, Va., then in Washington County. Residing just above the Tennessee line in 1796 were Thomas, Nehemiah, John, James and Hundley Evitt.
William Evitt, who was born in 1804, first made his way to Bledsoe County, then to Ooltewah. He married Rebecca Rippietoe, who was born about 1810. William was said to be of Welsh descent and Rebecca of Dutch descent. Rebecca was one of the 30 charter members when the Rev. Hiram Douglas organized the Ooltewah Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1841. Others included Nehemiah, Martha and Malinda Evitt. Nehemiah was apparently a brother of William. Nehemiah Evitt paid 50 cents an acre
for 40 acres in 1841. William Evitt had obtained 80 acres in 1839, but he had to pay $2 an acre. But he found another 80-acre grant in 1842 for just about a penny an acre. Charles W. Evitt, who apparently was another of the brothers, in 1843 sold
Nehemiah 480 acres for $2,500. Nehemiah became a deputy sheriff and was presiding at a foreclosure sale in 1845. Charles W. Evitt was the highest bidder, calling out $6 each for two 40-acre tracts. However, Russell Royston raised the bid to $243.79. Charles W. Evitt died of scrofula (tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands) in September 1850 at the age of 42.
William and Rebecca named one of their sons Charles William and another Nehemiah. They also had William Jr., Malinda, George H., James, Samuel and Minerva. Samuel was killed by a bulldog when he was 11. Malinda married Richard Baker, while Minerva married Ed Coulter. Nehemiah and Charles W. became blacksmiths. Nehemiah married Emeline Andrews Beaird. Charles W. married Mary Kein. George's wife was Nancy J. Blair. George died in 1874 at age 31. James moved to Ringgold, Ga., and had a cotton gin there.
When the Civil War broke out, Charles W. Evitt enlisted Oct. 17, 1861, at Ooltewah in Co. K of the 43rd Tennessee Infantry. He was transferred to the cavalry company of his neighbor, William Snow, on June 1, 1862. He was paroled at Washington, Ga., in May 1865. Nehemiah Evitt also joined the Snow unit - Co. B of the First Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's) - at Cleveland and rose to the rank of sergeant.
The William Evitts retreated to McLemore's Cove by Lookout Mountain in the war's turmoil. Nehemiah Evitt, after the war, was a Baptist minister and merchant in addition to being a blacksmith. On Jan. 17, 1891, he was paying off workers on Pigeon Mountain after killing hogs when one of them - ex-convict Roscoe Marable - noticed he had a wad of money and hit him with a large stick. Nehemiah Evitt died the next day. The family offered a $500 reward and Marable was captured in Florida, still carrying some of the stolen money. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and publicly hanged in LaFayette. Nehemiah's son, Alfred, married Mary Elizabeth Underwood, and daughter, Cora, married Will Williams.
Children of Charles W. were Lena who married Earl Kell, Ida, William who married Mary Aiken, John, Lon who married Ida Henson, and Elmer. Another son was Charles Lotsford who married Laura Moore, then an Everidge, then Ollie McDaniel who was first married to Alonzo Smith. Bernyce Evitt, daughter of Charles L. and Ollie Evitt, still resides in McLemore's Cove. She taught 42 years, including many years at the Cedar Grove and North LaFayette schools.
William Evitt died in 1875 and he and Rebecca are buried at the old Antioch Cemetery at McLemore's Cove.
ANOTHER GROUP OF Evatts (they spelled it differently) had been in Walker County at Fricks Gap since about 1840. These included Jesse, Thomas, Rial and James Hundley Evatt. Their mother, Sisley Evatt, was born in Virginia about 1770 and was living in Walker County when she was in her 90s. These Evatts had gone from Washington County, Va., to the section of Pendleton District, S.C., that became Pickens County and were cousins of the William Evitts.
James Hundley Evatt was born in Pendleton District in 1813 and was married to Mary M. in 1832. Their large family included Sarah L., Sisley M., Rachel M., Thomas L., Frederick N., Greenberry Garvin, William, James H., Wiley P., Robert, Arizona M., Miles Cicero, Richard Bayless and Franklin L. Sarah married James W. Head, and Rachel married Elbert E. Payne. Sisley died in 1840 at age five. Two of the sons of James Hundley Evatt died during the war period. Robert died in 1864 and Thomas in 1865. Miles Cicero died in 1879 and Franklin in 1880. Richard Bayless “Bale'' Evatt, who was born in 1856, married Mary Lou Hunter, daughter of Alexander and Louisa Emaline Wheeler Hunter of Cedar Grove. Louise Wheeler was the daughter of John Riley and Sarah Hoge Wheeler, who also lived at Cedar Grove. The Hoges trace back to Musselburgh, Scotland. Bale Evatt was a well-known farmer of Mission Ridge in Walker County. He had just finished rocking a granddaughter in his chair when he suddenly died in January 1923 at the age of 67. A son, Elas, had moved to San Diego. Other sons were William Franklin, Audrey L. and the eldest, Henry Quillian. The daughters were Myrtle Lee who married J. Ed Strickland, Minnie who married Oliver M. Henson, and Emma who married C.T. Shaw. Dr. Ed Strickland, son of J. Ed and Myrtle Lee Evatt Strickland, was a Chattanooga doctor who now lives in Florida.
Henry Q. Evatt was a superintendent at the American Lava Corp., and the family lived in East Lake. He married Hettie Lou Wallin. Henry Q. Evatt died in 1937 when his youngest son, H.Q. Jr., was eight. A talented basketball player, H.Q. Evatt graduated from Central High School in 1947 and went into the Marine Corps. Then, at age 39, he became one of the youngest sheriffs in Hamilton County's history. He came into especial notice by twice running down escapees from the county jail, nabbing one in front of Miller Bros. He is married to Bobbie Anderson. His daughter, Sherry Evatt Swilling, and son, Michael Scott Evatt, work for the local schools.
Albert Leroy Evatt, older brother of H.Q. Evatt, married Violet White. He lived in Brainerd and worked for American Lava. Their children were Mary Lou, A.L. Jr. and Robert W. A.L. Jr. is a dentist near Atlanta. Eloise Evatt, sister of H.Q. Evatt, married George Thomas Walker, then Clark Grissom. Another sister, Betty June, married James Terrance Cotter.