Joe Avery

Letter from Mary Lou Hardison (Sarah Rosamon Avery's granddaughter via Ida T) to Nell Murchison (Sarah's granddaughter via Tom Avery) from 1981: "... we checked the 1900 Crockett Co census and of course that was 20 years later and our grandparents were dead and all the children living some other place so I can't find out what year Uncle Joe was borned after your father, but Uncle Joe must have been a baby when Grandfather Avery died, for my mother said after he died Grandmother Avery took over his practice as a Doctor and that she exposed herself and her health and did not live long. If you notice the ages of Grandmother and her oldest son, she was only 15 years old when he was born. It is all so sad when I think about it. Mother always thought the oldest son Charlie and the other son Sam and Aunt Laura maybe could have kept the family together if it had not been for Troy and Drew Avery who took over the farm. They must have been Grandfather's brothers (NOTE: in a phone conversation July 2007 Wendell Avery said he thought the farm was sold for back taxes, and in fact was never taken over by Troy and Drew Avery)...concerning my mother's side of the house I just do not know too much about the older ones that passed on. As far as I know Uncle Sam never did marry. I know Uncle Charlie did and that's where my mother and father married was at his house for my father had it recorded in his Bible. And I'm sure he had a son named James--we always called him Jim Avery, and of course Pearl and Milburn were Uncle Joe's children. And I think their mother's name was Minnie same as your mother but I can't remember if ever knew who their mother was before Uncle Joe married her... Do come back to see us and be sure to keep us informed about Miss Velma..."

Undated letter from Mary Lou Hardison Barnett Foutch (d/o Joe's sister Ida): "The Avery family: this is just a few things to maybe help piece this Avery family together. The Grandfather, William Alexander Green Avery was a Doctor, don't know just what year he passed on but when he died his patients wanted his wife Sarah to take up his practice so she did, and it seems she had to ride a horse to go and see his patients. She was exposed to the bad weather and it affected her health and she took bad sick and died and Laura was just 12 years old and the relatives thought they could not live on there together so they scattered them out to live with relatives. My mother Ida went to live with Doc Boswell's family, a cousin. Aunt Laura lived with Chess Warmath and wife. I don't have the information on where the others lived. Troy Avery, a cousin, took over the farm and it seems that Uncle Tom Avery was the only one that ever got his part of the Farm. It seems the others never applied for their share (NOTE: in a phone conversation July 2007 Wendell Avery said he thought the farm was sold for back taxes, and in fact was never taken over by Troy and Drew Avery). I don't know if Sam was still living don't know when he died never heard of his passing or any family of his. Charles married and had one son, Jim Avery. And Aunt Laura married Sid Warmath, had a big family. Mother married George Hardison, had a big family. Uncle Tom married had a big family and Joe married, had one boy and one girl." She added to the children listed in the 1880 census, "Son Joe not borned yet. Lydia, daughter, died in infancy and Jessie, son, died in infancy." On another occasion she said the two who died in infancy came between Laura and Ida.

Regarding the Drew and Troy Avery and Doc Boswell spoken of by Mary Lou--Email July 2007 from Sherri Sontag said in part, regarding the children of James Avery, "Most of their kids married into my Boswell family...My great-great-grandfather, Napoleon Boswell, was the only one who did not marry an Avery.