Data Base Introduction
                           
WELCOME TO THE AVARY DATA BASE
            Introduction by Craig M. Kilby


            Ever wonder where you came from? Do you get confused on how all
            these Avarys are related? This database can help you. It is indexed
            to the name you select on the index, which will take you to the
            tree. The best place to start is probably with yourself.

            You will note that the database you are about to access is out of
            date, and contains erroneous information. For example, beginning
            with Yeo1, we now know he was born in 1673 (see text below). We also
            know that his 2nd wife's father was George Harbin, not Henry Harbin.
            We are working on an update to this database, and on improvements to
            the format. If you have additions or corrections, please send them
            to Mary Avary Whittier. The database will be updated and uploaded
            periodically.
                  Surnames IndexDatabase



            1. Yeo1 Avory (1673-1760)


            Our story begins with Yeo1 Avory (the "1" in superscript behind his
            name means first generation). His surname is usually spelled AVORY
            in the old records in Virginia, and the name is consistently spelled
            AVERY in England.. This may alarm some people. It should not. The
            "AVARY" spelling is purely an invention of Yeo's three grandsons in
            Virginia and their later descendants in the South. (John, Charles &
            William). Thankfully, the AVARY spelling has been a surprisingly
            consistent clue for modern day researchers.

            Yeo1 was christened 3 July 1673, in Stratton Parish, Cornwall,
            England "son of John Avery". In Cornwall, we find members of the Yeo
            and Avery families related. The 1635 will of Jane Yeo (widow of
            Richard Yeo) names, among others, her grandson Yeo Avery. This Yeo,
            first of the name, was the the father of John Avery (b. 1641) and
            the grandfather of Yeo Avery (b. 1673). It must be stressed at this
            point that research in Cornwall is just beginning.

            The first record of Yeo Avory in America is in Richmond County,
            Virginia, in 1707, when he and his wife RUTH leased some land to one
            William Lymus. A lack of records for him in the New World prior to
            this date suggests he was in fact the immigrant. We have no record
            of how he obtained this land.

            Ruth died shortly after this lease agreement. In June 1710, Yeo
            Avory married Elizabeth Harbin, a daughter of Hannah and George
            Harbin (d. 1696-1698). George Harbin was the first of Hannah’s four
            husbands.

            We have many records for Yeo and Elizabeth in Richmond County until
            1722. They lived on the north side of the Rappahannock River in
            Sittenbourn Parish. Then they “disappear” for ten years and next
            appear in 1732 when Yeo Avory patented 400 acres of land in Prince
            George Co., Virginia (which in 1734 became part of the newly formed
            Amelia County).

            Where were they in the mean time? There are two possibilities. One
            is that upon the creation of King George County in 1721 from
            Richmond County, they became residents of King George County. If so,
            however, there are no records of them there. A second, more likely
            possibility, is that they had already moved to Prince George County,
            whose records are more or less destroyed. When Amelia County was
            formed in 1734, Yeo's land fell within the new county, and here
            comes Yeo Avory again, leaving plenty of records behind him until
            his death in 1760. His will there names son George Avary and a
            grandson Charles Avary.


            2. George2 Avary (c1715-1801)


            Yeo had only one known child, and that was George2 Avary. So it is
            through George that we are all related. In 1775, his wife was
            recorded as Elizabeth, but we do not know her family name.

            George was born ca 1715 in Richmond Co., VA, moved with his father
            to Amelia County, and then, in 1775, moved to Brunswick Co., VA
            where he died in 1801. His will named three sons and two daughters.
            The two daughters were Mary and Elizabeth. We know that Mary married
            a man named Wilkins and that Elizabeth married Matthew Jackson who
            lived, after 1771, in Mecklenburg County, VA. We have a lot of
            information on Elizabeth’s children, but virtually nothing on Mary
            Avary Wilkins, except that she had one daughter, Elizabeth, who
            married a Sanford.

            The "Three Avary lines" refer to the three sons of George2 and his
            wife Elizabeth. They were:


              John3 (c1738 - 1818) who m. Phebe (maiden name not known) and
              moved first, in 1770, to Mecklenburg Co., VA and then, in 1789, to
              Richmond Co., GA, on the west bank of the Savannah River which
              later became Columbia County. His will was proved there in 1818.


              Charles3 (c1742-1825) who m. Martha Morriss. He lived for a while
              in Amelia Co., then to Brunswick Co., VA and eventually with most
              of his children to Greenville Co., SC. His will was proved there
              in 1825. This is by far the largest Avary line, Many descendants
              later went to Georgia, Alabama and Texas.


              William3 (c1744-1794) who m. Hannah Clay. He died in 1794 in
              Amelia Co., leaving his widow Hannah, and 11 children, many of
              them under age. Two of his sons moved to Columbia Co., GA. One
              seems to have moved to Greenville Co., SC. Other children went
              west, to western Virginia and Kentucky.