Biography of Avery M. Blount, White County, Arkansas *********************************************************** Submitted by: Bonnie Palmer Date: Jun 1997 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ar/white/white.html *********************************************************** From "A Centennial History of Arkansas", edited by Dallas T. Herndon, the Director of the Dept. of Archives & History, published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago-Little Rock, 1922. AVERY M. BLOUNT Avery M. BLOUNT, attorney at law at Searcy, is a representative of one of the old American families. His great-grandfather, Jesse BLOUNT, held the office of high bailiff in England but due to his sympathy with the American struggle for independence he resigned his position & made his way to the colonies, after which he enlisted in the American army, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant & served throughout the Revolutionary War, giving valiant aid to the cause of liberty. He remained a resident of the new world, becoming the founder of the family on this side of the Atlantic. His son, Jesse Fields BLOUNT, was born in Rhode Island & removed to Virginia. He was a teacher by profession & organized an academy in W. Tenn. He served as justice of the peace & was a man of prominence & influence in his community. His liberal education, his high standards & his sterling worth made him a forceful factor for good in the community in which he lived. He was at one time a slave-owner but becoming convinced of the injustice of this method he freed his slaves. He made extensive investments in land in Tenn. & he sold each of his slaves 40 acres, giving them their freedom when it was paid for. The greater part of his life was devoted to educational work & he made valuable contribution to progress & advancement throughout his life. He married a Miss HYATT, who was reared in PA & both died in Tenn., his death occurring at the beginning of the Civil War. They became the parents of Addison L. BLOUNT, who was born in W. Tenn. & became a contractor & builder. He worked on railroad construction on the Illinois Central in the rebuilding of the roads after the Civil War. Through experience he learned engineering & removing to AR he settled near Marianna, in Lee Co., where he became overseer of a plantation. At a later date he bought land in St. Francis Co. near Palastine & continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits for 5 years, his place being mostly given over to the cultivation of cotton. Due to the condition of his health he removed to Harrison Co., where he engaged in prospecting & in 1885 he came to White Co., purchasing land on the Bayou des Arc creek near Searcy. Some time afterward he sold most of his land but continued thereon until he retired from active business life & took up his abode in Searcy. In young manhood he wedded Louise BROWN, also a native of W. Tenn. & a daughter of John BROWN, who was a distant relative of John BROWN, the apostle of antislavery. Her father was a native of NC & owned slaves that he later freed. On leaving NC he removed to W. Tenn. & had become a resident of IN prior to the Civil War. He was a millwright by trade & engaged in the construction of several mills in W. Tenn., making most of the machinery by hand. His death occurred while the Civil war was in progress. He had married Eliz WOOD, a native of AL & after his demise she returned to Tenn. with her family & departed this state. It was her daughter, Louise, who became the wife of Addison L. BLOUNT & to this marriage there were born 8 children, 4 of whom are living: Robert Lee, a farmer of Armstrong Springs, AR; Benjamin F., who follows farming at Rosebud, AR; John B., an accountant of Canada; and Avery M. Those who have departed this life are: Walter, who died in 1907 at the age of 33 years, up to which time he had been associated with his father in the development of the home farm; Albert, who died in 1903 at the age of 20 years; and 2 children who died in infancy. The death of the father occurred in 1920, when he was 72 years of age. The mother is still living, at the age of 69 years. From the foregoing it will be seen that Avery M. BLOUNT is descended from ancestry whose outstanding characteristic has been loyalty to their honest convictions & fidelity in following the principles in which they believed. Avery M. BLOUNT was born in White Co., Sept. 6, 1888, & his life has been in harmony with that of the ancestral record. He pursued his education in the public schools & in Batesville Business College & afterward studied stenography & accepted a position of that character. He did stenographic work & studied law in the office of W. D. DAVENPORT & also pursued a correspondence course in law through the La Salle Extension Univ. of Chicago. He was admitted to practice before the supreme court. He entered upon general practice, in which he continues & he also has farm & timber lands in AR, from which he derives a good rental. Actuated by a laudable ambition he has made steady progress in his professional career and his success has come as the result of thorough study, close application & marked devotion to the interests of his clients. His entire time is given to his law practice & to his real estate interests. Mr. BLOUNT was married to Miss Grace D. BURKETT, a native of OH, and they enjoy the warm esteem of an extensive circle of friends in Searcy & the surrounding country. Mr. BLOUNT belongs to the ancient order of United Workmen & the Modern Woodmen of America & in the latter organization is now state clerk, having been elected to the office in 1921, in 1917 & again & 1919. He was a district delegate of the order to the national convention & he has also served as clerk of the local lodge. In politics he is an independent voter, exercising his right of franchise as seems to him is beneficial to the community at large. He ever seeks the welfare & progress of his community & cooperates in all plans & projects which he believes will prove of public benefit.