Who was James B. Evans (1895-1977) one of the three main participants in the WSIC sell off scheme?
James Beatty Evans was born January 24, 1985 to Charles Noble Pumphrey Evans and Clara May Barker in Washington, DC. His father was paperhanger, or one who hangs wallpaper. He had six siblings, of those that survived to adulthood they went into the family occupation of wallpaper and interior design. His maternal grandfather owned a hardware and plumbing business in DC.
He lived with his retired grandfather in 1910 (just him, not parents or siblings) working as a 15 year old stenographer for an office. He continued to work in an office into WWI, doing secretarial work in a government office with a window washing business on the side. In 1920 he was a messenger for a trade journal.
He married Carmen Louise Mayer (1897–1983), the daughter of a German born military doctor, in 1924. Together they had three children, James B. Evans Jr., William Joseph Evans, and Patricia A. Evans.
The family lived west of the Park in different residences from 1930-1960. First, the family was a little south of Cathedral Heights, in Westchester. Then they moved to Dexter St. NW in Berkley, a neighborhood west of Westchester.
With the exception of a few articles about charitable organizations and wedding announcements, James B. Evans doesn’t show up much in the newspapers. In the Times Herald, Jan 1, 1951 Evans was noted to be the treasurer for all three of the Colonial Investment firms. The 3 being Colonial Construction Company, Colonial Investments Company and Colonial Mortgage Corporation.
As a side note, it appears he was some sort of Protestant. And that’s all I have about the man. He kept a low profile.