Randolph Avera

RANDOLPH AVERA
Born May 21, 1826 - Died about 1902

Randolph Avera was the son of David and Elizabeth (Hood) Avera; both were born in Washington County and reared twelve children. David was a member of the Legislature from Crawford County and later moved to Houston County where he died in 1876. Randolph Avera and his brother Thomas moved to Quitman and built the first brick store and set out the first shade trees in the new town of Quitman in 1859.

On July 21, 1861, Mr. Avera married Mrs. Mary Jane (Young) McElveen who represented one of the oldest families in South Georgia. She was born in Thomas County September 29, 1830, the daughter of Michael Young and Mrs. Sarah Everett Young; the grand-daughter of William and Mary Henderson Young. William Young, in 1775, 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 assemblage of the Provincial Congress. He was afterwards a planter in Screven County.

Michael Young, son of William and Mary Henderson Young and father of Mrs. Avera, was born in Screven County January 16, 1797. He married Miss Sarah Everett who was born in Bulloch County. In 1828, Michael with his family and slaves, moved to the new county of Thomas and settled three miles from Thomasville, subsequently developing a very large plantation there which he farmed profitably until his death. He was a member of the legislature from Thomas County; as there were no railroads he had to make the journey to Milledgeville on horseback. He died on his farm August 24, 1856. His wife died in 1876. They had reared nine children.

Mary Jane Avera first married William Henry McElveen of Decatur County in 1850; they bought land and lived on their farm until his death at the age of 35. She was left with three small children. After her husband's death she bought a tract of land in 1857 in what is now Brooks County, to be near her brother, James Everett Young. There was no Quitman and her land was a pine forest. With her slaves she cleared the land and built a home; first, a log house and later a colonial-style residence set far back among fruit and shade trees. Here she and Mr. Avera lived for over fifty years and reared four children. Mrs. Avera was untiring in her service to the county and to the welfare of the community. She was one of the founders of the Ladies' Memorial Association and an active member of the Methodist Church.

Randolph Avera was born May 21, 1826, at Fort Valley, Georgia. He and Mary Jane had the following children: Clara Lavinia, James Walter, John Randolph and Charles Young Avera.

James Walter Avera married Margaret McMullen and their children; Mary Mec, Walter McMullen, Sallie Lee and James West Avera. Mary Mec married Walter Thomas Horne and they have: Walter T., Jr., and Margaret who married Eddy N. Ekdahl. Walter McMullen Avera married Allie Thomas and James West Avera married Mamie Smith. John Randolph Avera married Beulah Whittington and their children: Kathleen, Mary Jane, Virginia McDonald, Ruth, John Randolph Jr., Beulah Whittington, Benjamin Whittington and Dougal McDonald Avera. Kathleen Avera married Paul C. Smith, later Ralph L. Slate; Mary Jane married George Robert Whitfield; Virginia McDonald Avera married Lee Howard McFarlane; Beulah Whittington Avera married Allen Wyche Groover; Benjamin W. Avera married Theresa Kirstead and their children are Benjamin W., Jr., and John Randolph Avera II.

Charles Young Avera married Florrie McMullen and their children are Daisy and Charlie Jr., and Clara Lee. Daisy married Herman James Lambert and their children are Herman J. Jr., and Robert Young Lambert. Charles Young Avera also married Bertice Smith and they have: Henry Randolph, Ruth and Eloise Avera. Herman J. Lambert mentioned above, has served in the U. S. Army for 28 years in a professional capacity. He at present is chief of the Dental Service at the Tripler General Hospital, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, where he lives with his wife and two sons. The elder son, Herman Jr., is a physician at the Queen Hospital in Honolulu, and the other son is attending the University of Hawaii.

From THE HISTORY OF BROOKS COUNTY GEORGIA by: Folks Huxford, South Georgia Historian, and compiled under the Auspices of Hannah Clarke Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, Quitman, Georgia, 1948. Transcribed from The History of Brooks County Georgia by Len Avera

NOTE - This article states that David Avera was born in Washington County, Georgia, whereas the writings of CORNELIUS AVERA says he was born in North Carolina. I tend to believe the writing of CORNELIUS AVERA over this article due to the fact that SARAH has been found as early as 1820 in Washington County, Georgia as a widow. Randolph married Mary Jane Young McElveen, a widow who had three children, all boys. He died at age 86. RANDOLPH AVERA was a first cousin to my great grandfather Thomas Jefferson Avera. THE AVERA FAMILY - Len Avera