Evan Protheroe was a Quaker and he, along with others, was persecuted in Wales for his beliefs. In 1670 he was fined £8. 10s for attending Quaker religious meetings. In 1674, he had taken from him by the servants of Evan Harris, the farmer, and Nicholas Roberts, Priest, three cart loads of hay and corn valued at 20 shillings. In 1675, for absence from "national worship" [Church of England] he had taken by distress goods worth £1.15s. In 1678, he had taken from him for tithes corn, hay, lambs, and other goods valued £1.9s.

In the early 1600's, James I, king of England, granted charters for the purpose of establishing colonies in America. These charters went to companies of merchants and individuals who were called proprietors. The proprietors were responsible for recruiting people to settle in America and, at first, for governing them. By the mid-1700's most of the settlements had been formed into thirteen English colonies. The thirteen colonies stretched along the Atlantic seaboard from what is now Maine in the north to Georgia in the south.

In 1681, William Penn of England received a charter from Charles II, grandson of James I, that made him proprietor of Pennsylvania. Penn was a Quaker - a religious group that was persecuted in many countries. At Penn's urging, Quakers and other settlers who sought religious freedom flocked to Pennsylvania. Penn also became proprietor of the Delaware area. Evan Protheroe came to America with his wife, Elizabeth nee Morgan, and two sons, John and Lewis, in 1683 and settled in Radnor township in Pennsylvania. He and Elizabeth emigrated in 1683 from Wales.