Evan Ragland 
- Born: Abt 1715, New Kent County, Virginia
- Marriage: Amey Merritt  about 1744
- Died: Nov 1778, Granville County, North Carolina about age 63
Evan Ragland left Bertie Co., NC and moved into Edgecombe Co., NC where he bought and received in grants 470 acres of property and married. Later he moved his family to Granville Co., NC, settling in the Nutbush District. His plantation was located along Flat Creek and was astride the Occoneechi Indian Trail and would in time grow to almost 2,000 acres, mostly planted in tobacco.
The Occoneechi Indian Trail as described by Albert Coates in "The Structure and Workings of Government in the Cities, Counties, and The State of North Carolina" was as follows: "It was the Indian path from the Chesapeake Bay region to the Catawaba lands, in what is now South Carolina. The trail entered North Carolina by two routes, one through present Granville County from Clarksville, VA, and the other through Warren County from the area of South Hill, VA. They joined in what is now Durham County just north of the present city of Durham and continued westward dividing again just beyond the present location of Burlington. The right fork passed through the present site of Greensboro where it turned southward and passed through the present cities of High Point, (crossing the Yadkin Trail) Salisbury on the Yadkin River (the Indian village of Sapona Town) and Charlotte and continued on into South Carolina. The left fork passed near Randleman, continued across Davidson County to the Yadkin River where it connected with the Yadkin Trail. It is interesting to note that some of the major cities of North Carolina today have developed along this trail."
With the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754 Evan was appointed to the rank of first lieutenant in the Granville County militia. In 1754 he was promoted to the rank of captain and made commander of one of the companies of the "Granville Foots," a position which he would hold until the end of the war in 1763.
Evan married Amey Merritt , daughter of Nathaniel Merritt  and Unknown, about 1744. (Amey Merritt  died in 1789 in Granville County, North Carolina.)