author
Charles Evans
1802–1879
A Philadelphia Quaker physician who also became a careful historian of his faith, he wrote about William Penn, early Friends, and the life of minister William Evans. His books blend religious history with the perspective of someone deeply involved in the Quaker community himself.
1 Audiobook
A Concise Biographical Sketch of William Penn
by Charles Evans
About the author
Born in Philadelphia on December 25, 1802, Charles Evans was a physician as well as an active member of the Religious Society of Friends. Archival records describe him as deeply involved in Quaker life, including the meetings around the 1827 Orthodox–Hicksite separation, and note that he served for many years as an attendant physician at Friends Asylum.
Alongside his medical work, he wrote and edited books centered on Quaker history and biography. Works associated with him include Friends in the Seventeenth Century, A Concise Biographical Sketch of William Penn, and Journal of the Life and Religious Services of William Evans, showing a lasting interest in preserving the people and ideas that shaped early Friends.
He died in 1879, leaving behind a body of writing that is still remembered mainly by readers interested in Quaker history, Philadelphia religious life, and the world of nineteenth-century reform-minded scholarship.