Brooks-Washington-Thomas County GaArchives Biographies.....Avera, Randolph 1826 - 1912 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 17, 2004, 9:43 pm Author: William Harden p. 750-752 RANDOLPH AVERA. One of the first men to engage in mercantile business at Quitman was Randolph Avera, who died at his home in Quitman, December 22, 1912. Mr. Avera was born in Washington county, Georgia, on May 21, 1826. His father, David Avera, was born in the same county, February 2, 1800, where he was reared and married, and in 1828 moved to Crawford county, where he bought a plantation and operated it with his slaves for upwards of twenty years. He was also a member of the legislature. He then moved to the adjoining county of Houston, where he spent the rest of his days and died at the age of seventy-six in 1876. He married Elizabeth Hood. She was born in Washington county, and was a daughter of William Hood, a planter and lifelong resident of that county. David Avera and wife reared twelve children. Randolph Avera spent his youth on the home farm and at the age of twenty-one began his independent career even with the world. He took up the carpenter's trade, and having served his apprenticeship followed it in various places until 1859. In that year he located at the new town of Quitman and with a brother established a store. He built the first brick store and set out the first shade trees—French mulberry. The town as yet had no railroad communication, and it was necessary to haul all goods in wagons from Dupont, forty miles away. When the war broke out Mr. Avera tendered his service to the Confederate government as a mechanic, and up to the close of the war was employed in the car-shops at Thomasville. After the war he was identified chiefly with the management of his home estate near Quitman, and lived retired up to the time of his death. July 21, 1861, Mr. Avera married Mrs. Mary (Young) McElbeen, who represents one of the old and prominent families of south Georgia. She was born in Thomas county, September 29, 1830, and is a granddaughter of William and Mary (Henderson) Young. William Young in 1775, when the colonies were preparing to revolt from British rule, was a member of the council of safety at Savannah and on July 4th of that year represented the town and district of Savannah in the first assembling of the provincial congress. He was afterwards a planter of Screven county, where he spent his last days. Michael Young, son of this patriot and father of Mrs. Avera, was born in Screven county, January 16, 1797, later settled in Bulloch county, and in 1828 came and made settlement in the new county of Thomas. With wagons and other private conveyances he and his family and slaves arrived in what was then an almost unbroken wilderness, and the household camped in the forest while he and his helpers cut trees and made a log-cabin home. His location was three miles west of Thomasville. The Indians were still lingering in these hunting grounds, and all this part of the state was largely as nature had made it, so that Michael Young and his family were among those who bore the brunt of pioneer work and helped to prepare this region for the uses of subsequent generations. Michael Young had participated in one Indian war before coming here, and was engaged in another during the thirties. He cleared large tracts of land and resided in this vicinity until his death, which occurred August 24, 1856. He also was a member of the legislature and as there were no railroads here then he had to make the journey on horseback. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Everett, who was a native of Bulloch county, and her death occurred on April 14, 1876. Her parents were Joshua and Jane (Carter) Everett, who, so far as known, were lifelong residents of Bulloch county. Michael Young and wife reared nine children, namely: James Everett, America, Remer, William Joshua, Mary Jane, Thomas Jones, John Carter, Sarah Lavinia and Michael Henderson. The son John C. died while in school at LaGrange. Mary J. Young was first married, in 1850, to William Henry McElbeen, who was born in Decatur county, Georgia, was reared on a farm, and on beginning his independent career bought land in his native county, where he and his wife lived until his death at the age of thirty-five. After the death of her husband Mrs. McElbeen with her three children returned to her parents in Thomas county. In 1857 coming to what is now Brooks county, where a brother had previously settled, she bought a tract of land to which the Quitman city limits have since been extended. At that time there was not a house on the present site of Quitman and the whole neighborhood was a pine forest. With the aid of her slaves she began improving her land, and her home for more than half a century has been on the estate which she thus undertook to develop. Log houses were the first homes both for her family and her slaves, but these have long since given way to comfortable frame dwellings. Her own home is a commodious colonial residence, situated well back from the street and in the midst of fruit and shade trees and is one of the most attractive homes in this vicinity. The three children by her first marriage were Sarah America, William Henry and Susan Tallulah McElbeen. William Henry, born in 1853, died unmarried in 1881. Sarah America, born in 1851, married Dr. D. L. Ricks, and at her death on December 16, 1901, left eight children, namely: Mary Tallulah, William L., Eunice, Ethel, Cora Lee, Leila, Josie and Hugh. Susan Tallulah, who was born May 29, 1855, and died in 1895, married Joel K. Hodges, and left four children— Mary Erne, Clara Mec, Lula Me. and Joel K. Mr. and Mrs. Avera have reared four children—Clara Lavinia, James Walter, John Randolph and Charles Young. James W. married Maggie McMullen, and their three children are Mary Mec, Walter and James West. John R. married Beulah Whittington, and they are the parents of seven children, named Kathleen, Mary Jane, Virginia, John Randolph, Beulah, Benjamin W. and Dougald McDonald. Charles Y. first married Florrie McMullen, who died leaving two children, Maggie Daisy and Charles Young; and for his second wife he married Bertice Smith, and has one son, Henry Randolph, and a daughter, Ruth. Mrs. Avera has five great-grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Mary Erne Hodges, married Joseph Austin Walker and has three children, Mary Bealer, Emma and Susan Tallulah. Her grandson, William L. Hicks, married Estelle Benedict and has a son Charles. Three other of her granddaughters are married—Cora Hicks, who married Mathew Fleming, Mary Mec Avera, who married Walter T. Home, and Kathleen Avera married Paul C. Smith. To be the head of such a family is a proud distinction. Mrs. Avera is a member of the Methodist church, as are all the children except one, who is a Baptist. Additional Comments: From: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/brooks/bios/gbs280avera.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb