(1898 – 1960)

Evan Carlyle Mezick (Sr.) is the son of Luther Franklin Mezick and Carrie Roberta Robertson.

Carlyle’s [we assume that like many of the family, Evan Carlyle went by his middle name] dad, Luther was born in Tyaskin, MD on 11 Jan 1869. The 1900 census lists his occupation as oysterman, but by 1910 he is a gospel singer by profession, and travelled the country with his teen-age daughter, Audrey, proclaiming the gospel with religious, patriotic, and temperance-themed songs.

The Robertsons and this Mezick Family have many interesting connections.

Connection #1
Luther married Carrie Roberta Robertson on 24 June 1891 in Trinity Methodist Church, Tyaskin. Carrie is the eldest child of Esther Adeline and James W.T. Robertson, our great grandfather and his first wife.

Connection #2
Luther was very involved with the temperance and national prohibition movements, as were our great and great-great grandfathers (James W.T. and George Robertson).

Connection #3
Luther died on 27 March 1917 in Clara, MD. Carlton and Mattie Robertson, our grandparents, witnessed his will.

Connection #4
Luther was the son of Elizabeth Jane White and her second husband Isaac Francis Mezick. With her first husband, Thomas Hughes, Eliz. Jane White was Mattie’s grandmother.

Luther and Carrie had three children: Audrey (1893-1969), Herbert Luther (1900-1966) and Evan Carlyle.

Evan Carlyle was born 7 Jan 1898 in Clara, MD. He married Lillian Ruth Young on 5 June 1920. (She was born in Baltimore in 1901).

They had 8 children. The first child, a baby girl, was stillborn. The other children are:

• Evan Carlyle Jr. (1925-1991)
• Marvin Gerald (1926-2006)
• Ronald Bryan (1928-1998)
• Eugene Arlon (1930—1993)
• Sharlene Ruth (1933-2014)
• Burton Alan (1946 –2015)
• and a daughter who is still living.

In the 1930 census Carlyle is listed as a radio salesman. In 1940 he is still a salesman, but his Selective Service Registration Card identifies his employer as the Balmar Corporation in Woodberry, Baltimore.

The Balmar Corporation was a foundry that specialized in parts for steam locomotives, but also, during the 1940s, helped with the war effort – parts for B-26s, and Liberty Ships. There is also an indication (Baltimore Sun November 24, 2017) that the company contributed to the Manhattan Project. What Carlyle did at the Balmar Corp is not clear.

Evan Carlyle died on 8 March 1960, at the age of 62. He is the only member of his immediate family that is buried at the Robertson Cemetery.

[Note: His father and mother are buried at St. John’s United Methodist Church Cemetery in Fruitlands, Wicomico County. Lillian, his wife, died on 20 July 1976, at age 74, and is buried in the Oak Lawn Cemetery in Baltimore County.]