EVANS, Josiah James, jurist, born in Marlborough district, South Carolina, 27 November 1786; died in Washington, D. C., 6 May 1858. He was graduated at South Carolina College in 1808, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1811, and gained a high reputation as a lawyer. He was chosen to the legislature from Marlborough district in 1812'13, and in 1816 from Darlington district, whither he had removed in that year. He was state solicitor for the northern circuit in 1817'29, was elected circuit judge in 1829, and, on the abolition of the court of appeals in 1835, and became a judge not only in the first but also in the last resort. He was elected to the U. S. Senate as a state rights Democrat in 1852, and served from 1853 till his sudden death from heart disease. Both political friends and opponents paid the highest tributes to his character. In 1856 Judge Evans made a speech in the senate in vindication of South Carolina, in reply to Charles Sumner.