William Waightstill Avery (1816 - 1864)

Born 25 May 1816 in Burke County, North Carolina, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Corinna (Morehead) Avery — married [date unknown] in Guilford, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 3 Jul 1864 at age 48 in Burke County, North Carolina, USA

Biography

William Waightstill Avery, born May 25, 1816 at Swan Ponds plantation, Burke County, North Carolina, was the oldest son of Isaac Thomas Avery (1785-1864) and Harriet Eloise (Erwin) Avery (1795-1858).

Per the Avery genealogy, He was graduated at the head of his class at the University of North Carolina ; was a successful lawyer ; a Calhoun Democrat; a member of the state legislature in 1842, 1850, and 1852 ; in 1856, he was chairman of the North Carolina delegation in the Democratic national convention that nominated James Buchanan ; in the same year he was elected to the state senate, of which body he was chosen speaker ; in 1860 he again was chairman of the North Carolina delegation in the Democratic national convention, and when that body was split, he went with the Southern wing that nominated John C. Breckenridge for the presidency and was chairman of its committee on platform. In 1861, he was a member of the Confederate provisional congress from North Carolina ; was chairman of the committee on military affairs and an earnest supporter of the Southern cause.

William W. Avery married 27 May 1846 at Greensboro, North Carolina, Corinna Mary Morehead [b. 14 Nov 1825 @ Greensboro, daughter of Gov. John Motley and Ann Elizabeth (Lindsay) Morehead; d. 1 May 1897 @ Morganton, North Carolina]. They had 6 children:

1. Anna Harriet Avery, b. 6 Nov 1848
2. Corinna Iredell Avery, b. 27 Oct 1850
3. Adelaide Matilda Avery, b. 6 Feb 1855
4. Waightstill Avery, b. 28 Jan 1858; died young
5. John Morehead Avery, b. 23 Nov 1860; lawyer at Dallas, Texas
6. William Waightstill Avery, b. 3 Sep 1863

William Waightstill Avery died as a result of hostilities during the American Civil War. Again per the Avery genealogy, Being wounded while leading an attack on a Union force, he was removed to his home at Morganton, N. C, where he died July 3, 1864.

His grave is at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery; Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, USA ^[1].

Slaves

When his father died in 1864 William W. Avery received a number of enslaved persons as an inheritance.^[2]

1. Porter age 29
2. Dorcas age 27
3. Delia age 2
4. Bellam age 1
5. Jones age 29
6. Celia age 27
7. Samuel age 7
8. Abram age 5
9. Lizzee age 2
10. Sue age 60
11. Henry age 31 sore eyes
12. Melinda age 37
13. Haldy age 10
14. Minerva age 7
15. Calvin age 37
16. Theno age 39
17. Anthony age 10
18. Luiza age 3
19. Chena age 58
20. Harris age 63
21. Virgil age 11
22. Ella age 15

See Swan Ponds, Burke County, North Carolina for more information.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #7330958
2. ↑ Chambers Family Papers, 1816-1918 https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/02828/#folder_12#1 Volume 2: Family record book, 50 pp. Manuscript volume, apparently written by Pinckney Brown Chambers, 1845-1865, continuing and correcting entries in Volume 1.
   • Folder 12: Volume 2: Family record book, 50 pp.: Scan 43