Born in
Addison, Vermont, Evans was one of five children of Calvin R. and Penelope Evans. When he was 13, his mother died. His father quickly remarried and moved to
La Porte, Indiana, with his new wife. John became a ward of his maternal grandfather, Allen Goodrich, at
Benson, Vermont. He received a public school education and, in 1838, went to reside with his father in La Porte, where he had become the proprietor of a hotel. There, he trained as an apprentice
carpenter for three years until chronic hip pain prevented him from working. A doctor advised him to seek a new career, and, in 1842, Evans began studying at the new La Porte Medical College, run by Dr. Daniel Meeker. In 1846, he earned his
M.D. as a member of the first graduating class from the college. At the outbreak of the
American Civil War, in 1861, Dr. Evans
volunteered for service and was enrolled as
surgeon for the
13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Dr. Evans served with the regiment through nearly the entire war, but was forced to resign due to health problems in 1865. Dr. Evans joined the
Masons while living in
La Porte, in 1841, and by the end of his life was one of the most prominent Masons in the state of Wisconsin. He was a member of several Masonic lodges throughout the southern part of the state, including the
Tripoli Shrine Temple, in Milwaukee, and was grand high priest of the state in 1882 and 1883. In addition to his masonic activities, he was an avid member of the
Episcopal Church, and was active in establishing the parish at Evansville, serving as senior warden from the time of its organization until his death. He died at his home in Evansville in August 1903, at age 83. He continued his medical practice until just weeks before his death. ==Personal life and family==