In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1900) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1826
From The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; (1880), A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography (1900)
J. B. AVERY, farmer, Sec. 3; P. 0. Woodington; an old settler of Darke Co.; born in New London Co., Conn., Aug. 27, 1826; at 17 years of age, he commenced farming and school teaching until 1847, when he came to Darke Co., and, in the following year, purchased his present place of 80 acres, where he has since lived for a period of thirty-one years; upon locating here, there were some 7 acres only partially cleared; no building, no fences; he first put up a small frame house in which he lived several years, and to which he has since attached a much larger residence; he has cleared some 55 acres of his place and brought the same to a good state of cultivation by his own hard labor. His marriage with Marcella Earhart occurred Nov. 14, 1848. She was born in Darke Co. Jan. 10, 1827, and has always lived within one mile of the place where she was born; she was a daughter of Samuel Earhart, one of the early pioneers, who was born in Warren Co., Ohio, in 1802, and came to Darke Co. in 1820, and located on Sec. 10, Greenville Towhship; he died January, 1854; he married Elizabeth Scribner; she was a daughter of Azor Scribner, who was the first permanent settler of this county; he established a trading post in Mina Town in 1806; Mrs. Earhart died March, 1873, at the age of 67 years. The children of J. B. and Marcella (Earhart) Avery were five in number — Prudence M., born Sept. 20, 1849; Franklin P., born Jan. 21, 1852 (died May, 1869); Emily M., born Oct. 8, 1858; Lizzie M., born July 28. 1862, and Ira J., born Feb. 28, 1869. Mr. Avery has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for upward of thirty years; his wife, for a period of thirty-eight years, and all the children, save the youngest, also being members of the same church.
As printed in The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; (1880). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
JAMES B. AVERY.
The subject of this sketch needs no special introduction to the readers of this volume but the work would be incomplete without the record of his life. He has ever cheerfully given his support to those enterprises that tend to public development and has done all in his power to advance the moral, educational and social welfare of his township and county.
This worthy citizen of Greenville township, whose home is on section 3, traces his ancestry back to Christopher Avery, who was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1590, and who, tradition states, came to America in 1630 or 1631 and landed in Salem, Massachusetts, though his home was for the most part in Boston. He had one son, James, who subsequently settled in Connecticut and from whom all the Averys in New England are descended. He left four sons, one of whom was an ancestor of our subject. The family has always been well represented in the wars of this country. Some have been noted in professional life and have distinguished themselves in letters and politics, but it has been in manufacturing circles that they have been most prominent. Elroy M. Avery, of Cleveland, Ohio, is the author of a series of school text books and has represented his district in the state senate, and in ministerial work members of the family are scattered through the various Protestant denominations.
Our subject was born in New London county, Connecticut, August 27, 1826, a son of Billings and Prudence Avery, in whose family were four children, three of whom reached years of maturity, namely: James B., Theopolis and Amos G. Theopolis is now deceased. The father died in Connecticut July 15, 1833, at the age of thirty years, and the mother March 23, 1833, at the same age.
In the county of his nativity James B. Avery grew to manhood, aiding in the work of the home farm and attending the local schools. In 1847, °n attaining his majority, he came west alone, and after looking the country over stopped in Greenville township, Darke county, where he taught a district school during the winter. In the spring of 1848 he returned to Connecticut, but the following fall he located permanently here, buying eighty acres of the land in Greenville township where he now resides. To this he has added until he now has one hundred and thirty acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. Only a few acres had been cleared when he took up his residence thereon.
In the fall of 1848 Mr. Avery married Miss Marcella Earhart, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Scribner) Earhart, early settlers of this county. By this union wereborn five children: Prudence M., now the wife of David Hartle, Jr., of Darke county; Franklin, deceased; Emily, the wife of Orin Hartle, also of this county; Lizzie, the wife of Frank Townsend; and Ira J., who lives with his parents.
Samuel Earhart, the father of Mrs. Avery, was a son of George and Mary M. (Smith) Earhart, who were among the first
646- settlers of.Warren county, Ohio, and about 1818 came to Darke county, entering land in Greenville township. George Earhart was a Virginian by birth and of German descent. He died in Greenville township in 1852, his wife in 1858. They had ten children, namely: Martin, Samuel and Elizabeth, all deceased; Mary; Washington; Mahala; William; Nancy; Julia and Henry J. They were earnest Christian people the grandfather being a member of the Christian church, his wife of the Presbyterian. Mrs. Avery's parents were life-long residents of Darke county and her father was an elder in the Presbyterian church, to which both belonged. He died in 1854, aged fifty-three years, Mrs. Earhart in 1873, aged sixty-seven. Their children were Marcella. the wife of our subject; Anna M., Mary Jane and William Henry, all deceased; George F., a resident of Oregon; Samuel M. and Mrs. Elizabeth Sarah Warnfelt, both of Darke county; Stephen James, of Oregon; Isaac S.. of Oklahoma; David, of Florida; and Mrs. Lucinna Mergler, of this county. Azor Scribner, Mrs. Avery's maternal grandfather, came from New York to Darke county, Ohio, in 1806 or 1807 and traded with the Indians. Both he and his brother, Abraham, were soldiers of the war of 181 2. He died in 1822, leaving the following children: Mrs. Sarah McCann, Mrs. Elizabeth Earhart, Mrs. Rhoda Clare, Mrs. Emily Kidder, Mrs. Maria Gates, Mrs. Nancy Stacy, Mrs. Julia Lee and Mrs. Mary Hool. The mother of these children was three times married, her third husband being a Mr. Davis. She died about 1849.
Mr. Avery is a well informed, enterprising man who has taken an active interest in educational affairs, and has efficiently served as a school director many years. He votes the Republican ticket, and both he and his wife are active and consistent members of the Presbyterian church of Greenville, in which he has served as an elder. He is a man of exemplary habits, of strong religious convictions and has endeavored to live up to the teachings of the Golden Rule. He has always been charitably disposed to all worthy enterprises, is well informed on current topics, possesses a retentive memory and is incisive and clear in speech. In fact he is one of Darke county's best and most valued citizens, a kind husband and father and a good neighbor.
As printed in A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography (1900). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Named in this biography: David Hartle (b. 1824)
The printed record stops around 1880. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.