Orlando Evans, Defiance, Ohio, Postmaster

Until the 1870s, the postmaster of any town could send and receive mail free of charge. Despite what we moderns see as seemingly endless changes in the mail rate, postage on the frontier was higher. When the first United States postage stamp was issued in 1847, it cost 5 cents to send a letter four hundred miles, ten cents if further. When you realize that the average worker earned less than a dollar a day, mail rates were comparatively high. Thus the postmaster’s franking privilege was a much sought after plum. Not so in the case of Orlando Evans. Evans was served postmaster of Defiance, Ohio, from March 18, 1842 until March 13, 1845, but got that job early. The lifetime of hard work in politics and other occupations came later, and ended in California!

Orlando Evans was a son of pioneer parents. His father, Pierce Evans, had been a soldier during the War of 1812. Posted to Fort Defiance, at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers, he noted how beautiful the surrounding country was. He returned to the Maumee Valley in 1822. He started a general store where the town of Defiance now stands. Doing well in business, he became an associate judge of the Common Pleas Court. Long lived, Pierce Evans died in 1862.

Pierce Evans’s oldest son was Orlando Evans, our postmaster. Orlando was born around 1820. The village of Defiance was then in Williams County; Defiance County would not be carved out until 1845. If the records are correct, Orlando Evans was a very young man as postmaster. He filled several other minor offices in Defiance County. Booted out of the postmastership when James K. Polk became President in 1845, his next position was as Clerk of Courts, which he held until 1852. He also served as Recorder, Trustee, “Director” of education, and Cemetery Trustee, several of which he held concurrently.

In the Census of 1850, Orlando Evans was listed as a “merchant,” living comfortably with his wife Louisa, daughter and two servants, one of whom was African-American. By 1860, he had vanished from Ohio, while his family lived on in Defiance. What happened? Although the details are sketchy, legend has it that Orlando Evans moved to California to join the Gold Rush. We do know that by 1870, Orlando and Louisa were living in Bridgeport Township, Nevada County, California and that his occupation was listed as “miner.”

In the end, we do not know what became of Orlando Evans. His name appears in California voter registration files until 1876. After that, the trail goes cold. He may have moved back to Ohio, or moved somewhere else in California. We cannot be sure given available records. One thing is sure: Orlando Evans lived through exciting times. Not bad for the young postmaster of Defiance.