I love finding interesting facts and people to include in my stories, so when I researched how bones were set in Regency England, I was excited to find an article on the DNA analysis of a bonesetter in Wales. Although I found no record that Evan Thomas ever visited London, he was a real person to bring into my story to help Elizabeth in A Respectable Gentleman. After all, his family was known for their skill as bonesetters going back to his grandfather, who was also named Evan.
The first Evan Thomas’s origins and life are fascinating. Evan and his twin brother survived a shipwreck sometime in the 1740s. By some accounts, the brothers washed up on the northern coast of Wales, but other accounts have them pulled from the water by a local smuggler. Evan’s brother, who they named Matthew, only lived a few days while Evan was adopted by a local doctor. Evan had darker skin and hair and spoke no English or Welsh, which perpetuated a myth for centuries that he was Spanish–some even claimed him to be Spanish nobility.
From an early age, Evan showed a talent for healing broken limbs by treating local birds and animals. Eventually, the people of the area began coming to him for treatment, and soon after, the gentry began to request his services. He was even known to have treated a viscountess when local doctors had tried and failed. Her husband was so impressed with Evan’s work that he commissioned a marble plaque in Evan’s honor at the church in Llanfairynghornwy.
The first Evan had four sons. Richard, who was a farmer, proved to be the most famous of them. Richard then had three sons and four daughters. All of the family practiced bone setting with the daughters emigrating to the Americas, specifically Wisconsin, and practicing there.
Richard’s son Evan (the Evan in our story) had decided to emigrate to the Americas like his sisters in 1831. However, upon reaching Liverpool, he had run out of money, so instead, he remained and worked in a factory. His choice of occupation at that time was fortuitous for him and those with whom he worked since a great many accidents occurred in factories at this time, and often Evan treated his co-workers injuries.
It did not take long for the talk of Evan’s talents to spread, and soon he opened a surgery on Crosshall Street in Liverpool where he also lived. At first, no barriers existed between him and the local doctors and physicians. In fact, they would send him all of their traumas, but when he began making large sums of money from his practice, the cordiality disappeared. The other doctors even persuaded Evan’s displeased patients to sue him and succeeded nine times–including once for manslaughter.
Now our Evan had two daughters and five sons, and those five sons all became doctors. However, his son Hugh Owen Thomas is acknowledged in history books as the “father of modern orthopedics.” His most famous achievement is the Thomas splint. Hugh later adopted his orphaned nephew, Robert Jones, who carried on the family legacy. Robert saved many lives by using the Thomas Splint on the Western Front during World War I.
And just in case you are wondering, the original Evan Thomas was not in fact Spanish like the rumors claimed. DNA analysis has concluded he haled from Caucasus Mountains.
If you have not yet read A Respectable Gentleman, purchase your copy here.
Sources:
https://ganapathihipkneesurgeon.com/the-anglesey-bonesetters-modern-orthopaedics/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-19012179
https://bylines.cymru/voices-lleisiau/bonesetters-of-ynys-mon/
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/remarkable-tale-anglesey-bonesetter-re-told-2661425
