Joseph Evatt was born in 1718, the youngest child of Benjamin and Mary Evatt.
Joseph's occupation
In 1862 Joseph married Sarah King. He gave his occupation as basket maker
Sarah King
Joseph married Sarah King and I found the marriage record. Transcript of wedding starts: Joseph Evatt of Castle Donnington in the county of Leicester Basket Maker and Sarah King of Nottingham Widow. There was a marriage of Francis King to Sarah Doncaster in 1759 but there is no record of Francis's death. He may not have been a Quaker himself, or she may not have been a Quaker until she married Joseph Evatt in which case she could have married anyone!
Doubt about Sarah Doncaster
Sarah Doncaster was born in 1824. Her last child, Joseph was born in 1775 so she would have been 51, but Sarah Evatt's age at death was recorded as 75 which would give her a birth date of around 1831. I can find no other Quaker Kings getting married to a Sarah - other than Francis.
Children of Sarah and Joseph
Joseph and Sarah had 5 children: Joseph b 1763, Benjamin b 1764, William 1766, Sarah 1767 and Samuel in 1775. Joseph, Benjamin and Samuel were all basket makers and stayed in Castle Donington. William moved to Sheffield. Samuel died while on a visit to William in 1836 and it was through that notice in the Sheffield papers that I made the link back to Castle Donington. In fact William, Joseph and Benjamin all died in 1836.
Historic Context
Basket Making in Castle Donington
The craft of basket making, for which Castle Donington was well known-one of the few old trades practised here to survive into the twentieth century-seems to have been carried on in small family shops. The number of men and boys employed at this craft in 1841 was 46. Since the craft was to some extent seasonal, several basket-makers had other trades to occupy their slack periods. Amos Frakes(1870), for example, also kept a baker's shop in Clapgun Street. It is possible to pick out from the commercial directories several family names associated with this craft-Evatt, Hardy, Lees, Merrin, Potter and Rayns-and evidence that the trade was often organised by partnerships of brothers. EXTRACT FROM page 62 of 'The Rise and Fall of a Market Town: Castle Donington in the Nineteenth Century' By J M Lee Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society.
Quaker Travels
Through the 18th Century many Quakers travelled, preaching, around the country and further afield and they kept diaries. One such Minister was Ruth Followes whose diary survives and is available on google e-books. On one occasion in 1761 she mentions being accompanied by Joseph Evatt