Shawnee County KS Archives Biographies.....Washburn, Avery 1818 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com September 26, 2006, 5:01 am Author: James L. King (1905) AVERY WASHBURN. AVERY WASHBURN, one of the pioneer citizens of Shawnee County, has resided continuously on his farm in Topeka township, in section 35, township 11, range 15, since 1857, except 12 years spent in the East, and in addition to farming has at times engaged in business in the city of Topeka. He was born on a farm in Safford, Connecticut, October 23, 1818, and is a son of John Elithorpe and Lovina (Avery) Washburn. The Washburn family has been established in the United States for many generations. Our subject's great-grandfather, Solomon Washburn, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Warner, who died in 1816, and they reared 11 children, who lived to an average age of 86 years. One of these children was Nathan, grandfather of our subject, who was a soldier in the War of the Revolution. He participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and other notable ones, and with Washington's army endured the privations and hardships of wintering at Valley Forge, when the soldiers were but half clothed and many were without shoes. He married Annah Elithorpe, who lived to reach the age of 92 years, and they were parents of six daughters and one son. John Elithorpe and Lovina (Avery) Washburn became parents of eight children, two of whom are now living, namely: Avery; and John Randolph, who is 84 years of age and lives in Connecticut, in which State he has served nine terms in the Legislature. The father, who was born May 19, 1788, in Connecticut, died October 2, 1858, and his wife, born August 13, 1787, died May 4, 1829. Avery Washburn was reared on a farm in Stafford, Connecticut, where he attended the common schools, and later attended select school in New York State, also taking one term in Middlebury Academy. He left home for New York State at the age of 19 years and there worked upon a farm. He engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods and' continued for a period of 25 years, also being identified for a number of years with the First National Bank of Brockport, New York, 17 miles west of Rochester. He came West to Topeka, Kansas, in 1857, and pre-empted a quarter-section of land in section 35, township 11, range 15, in Topeka township, but returned to New York State in the fall of the following year to look after his extensive business interests. He again came to his farm in Shawnee County in 1869, and has resided continuously upon it ever since. He has farmed this place with a great deal of success, and also served as cashier of the Kansas National Bank of Topeka for four years. He is a man of unusual business ability, and has achieved a high degree of success. When he first came to this county it was in a primitive state, and the east line of the Pottawatomie Indian reservation was just one mile west of his claim. He has seen the community develop into one of the richest in a State which is destined to become one of the very foremost in point of wealth and resources. He has served as treasurer of a number of the organizations of his township. During the Civil War he served as a provost marshal's officer, and is a member of the G. A. R. and the Sons of the American Revolution. He assisted in the construction of school buildings in his district, and in the erection of the new Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a member. Mr. Washburn was united in marriage with Castorn Gordon, who was born in Vermont, March 10, 1820, and is a daughter of William and Martha (Gary) Gordon, and granddaughter of James Gordon. The last named came from Scotland with General Burgoyne and served in Washington's army, becoming one of the early pensioners in this country. Three children have been born to our subject and wife: Lovina, deceased at the age of three years; Cornelia, who died at the age of six years; and Frank Monroe, who lives adjoining and has four children,—George Avery, born March 1, 1889; Ell wood Gordon, born July 8, 1893; Frances E., born April 8, 1898; and Mary C, born September 11, 1903. A portrait of the subject of this sketch appears on a foregoing page. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF SHAWNEE COUNTY, KANSAS AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS EDITED AND COMPILED BY JAMES L. KING TOPEKA, KANSAS "History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples" PUBLISHED BY RICHMOND & ARNOLD, GEORGE RICHMOND; C. R. ARNOLD. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 1905. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/shawnee/bios/washburn42nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ksfiles/ File size: 4.9 Kb