John and Harriet Bevans

John Paul and Harriet Hildreth Bevans

John Paul Bevans was born on January 17, 1825, in Allegheny, Maryland, to Walter and Mary Ann Bevans. John’s wife, Harriet Hildreth, was born on December 23, 1835, in Lewis Countey, Missouri, to Jonathan and Mary Ann Hildreth. John and Harriet “Hattie” Hildreth were married on January 3, 1854, in Lewis County, Missouri.

John and Harriet had eleven children: John Jr. (1854), Marcellus (1856), Walter (1859), Lawrence (1861), and Marion (1863), all born in Missouri; and Harriet (1866), George (1868), Arthur (1871), Terese (1873), Margaret (1877), and Henry (1879), all born in Potter Valley.

In 1865, John and Harriet, along with their first four children, traveled to California with Harriet’s brothers, William Jefferson Hildreth and John Hildreth. Also traveling with them were William Jefferson Hildreth’s wife, Florence Bevans, and Mary Bevans DeVilbiss with her two sons, in addition to approximately 100 other people. The wagon train, using horses and mules, took six months to reach California. Many members of the Hildreth and Bevans families were part of the journey. The families were searching for fertile farmland rather than gold, and they found it in Potter Valley.

The trip from Missouri was long and difficult and was not without incident. At one point, a Native American man rode into their camp. The travelers detained him because they feared he would return to his tribe and cause trouble for the wagon train.

When the families arrived in Potter Valley, there were very few settlers in the area, and they stayed with the Tom Potter family. The valley was named after the Potter brothers. John later acquired property on the west side of the valley, where he built a large home and raised his family. According to historical records, by 1884 John owned 280 acres, raised sheep, cattle and farmed the land.
John’s son, John Jr., died in April 1883 while on a cattle drive through the town of Centerville. He was thrown from his horse while it was running at full speed. John struck his head on a hard object, was knocked unconscious, and later died from his injuries.

Harriet died in 1901, and when John died in 1903, their sons Walter and Arthur took over the family farm. After Arthur died in 1924, Walter purchased his brother’s share and continued farming until his own death in 1931.

Marcellus, the second child of John Paul and Harriet, worked on the family farm for many years. In 1904, he purchased his own farm on East Road from Charlie Bice.

The Ukiah Republican Press reported on May 27, 1904, that James Kinslow of the well-known marble firm Kinslow Brothers was in town that week. He stated that they had installed one of the finest monuments in the county, from an artistic point of view, on the Bevans family plot in Potter Valley Cemetery. The bases, die, and cap were made of highly polished dark gray granite and were surmounted by a life-sized statue of white Italian marble representing remembrance and hope. The statue was carved by the famous Italian sculptor Tempesti.

Nine of John and Harriet’s children, along with members of their families, are buried in Potter Valley Cemetery. Margaret is buried in Ukiah, while the burial location of John Jr. remains unknown.