James AVERY

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He was one of the grantees of Chiswick, Lisbon, Landeroff, and Lincoln, all in New Hampshire. He purchased the rights of the other charter members of Chiswick and sold them for five hundred pounds, March 13, 1769, to Israel Morey and Moses Little (History of Littleton, N.H., 1:155). He was also one of the proprietors of the Susquehanna land company. He d. Feb. 22, 1794, at Poquetannock, Conn., and is buried in the ground given by his brother, Samuel, as a burial lot for the descendants of his father.

James married Martha SMITH on 13 Nov 1769 in Plainfield, Connecticut. Martha was born on 23 Apr 1751 in Sterling, Windham Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Benjamin AVERY was born on 16 Nov 1783; died on 28 Jan 1853 in New Lebanon, Connecticut.

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Humphrey Avery was a freeman of Groton. In deeds given and received, he called himself a carpenter. He was justice of the peace for New London County, 1733, 1737, 1740, 1742, and as such was ordered, with others, "To perambulate the dividend boundary line" between Connecticut and Rhode Island and to set up the monuments. He was deputy from Groton from 1733 to 1735 inclusive, 1738, 740, 1741, 1743 (Conn. Col. Rec., 7: 403, 4420, 424, 464, 482, 545 & 8:28, 81, 159, 188, 224, 551). He was deacon, 1730; tythingman, 1730; lister, 1732; selectman, 1736. February 12, 1738, he was appointed to defend Groton's rights at the ferry. May 5, 1741, he and Christopher Avery were members of a committee to collect money from the sale of western lands belonging to the town. In 1747, he was deputy from Preston, to which place he had moved about 1745. He called himself of Preston, FEb. 4, 1750, at which time he sold land in a new township north of Wendellstown, Mass., to Bartholomew Arthur; Feb. 13, 1751, he sold land in the same township to John Maclewean; also to Daniel Lothrop and to Obadiah Gore (Springfield Deeds, U:150, 337 & X:542, 544). He was one of the Susquehanna company, Wyoming Valley, n the Susquehanna River, was purchased by the Connecticut Susquehanna Company fro the Six Nations in 1754. In 1769, a body of forty connecticut pioneers came to this region, but found the Pennsylvanians on the ground, the Indians having sold them the same tract the year before. From that time until the Revolution the conflicts between the two parties were numerous and bitter. Humphrey Avery and all of his sons owned shares in this company.

Humphrey Avery bought a large tract of land in Winthrop's Patent, Long Island, stretching four miles along South Bay and extending seven miles back into the interior. Becoming involved in debt by fire and sickness, he procured the passage of an act by the New York legislature in 1756, authorizing him to dispose of his lands by lottery to pay his debts. The estate was appraised at L6,900. There were in the lottery 1,616 prizes to 6,384 blanks, making 8,000 tickets sold at 30 shillings each. There were 1,580 cash prizes at L8 each; the land was cut into thirty-six parts, each of which was a land prize. The tract abounded in pine timber with a fine range for sheep and cattle; was divided by creeks into seven necks, Pine Neck, Swan Creek Neck, Pachoug Neck, Short Neck, Smith Neck, Tooker's Neck, and Blue Point Neck. It had on it four houses, a grist mill, and a saw mill.

In 1762, Humphrey Avery bought of Col. John Henry Lydius one seventy-sixth part of township 16, at Otter Creek, where it empties itself into lake Champlain. The price was one shilling in hand, and annually, for twenty years, one pepper corn; the improvement of the land within the twenty years; and after that five shillings for each hundred acres of arable land to be paid to Lydius or his heirs or assigns annually forever.

Humphrey Avery's wife died Sept 20, 1763, Groton. He married 2d, Martha Coit, dau. of the Rev. Joseph and Experience (Wheeler) Coit, b. about 1713. At the time of his second marriage he was living in Windham. he was one of the grantees of Chiswick, 1764 (new Hampshire State Papers, vol. 25:260). His wife became a member of the Separatist Church of Preston, April 13, 1777.

Humphrey married Jerusha MORGAN on 01 Feb 1723/24 in Groton, New London Co., Connecticut. Jerusha (daughter of William MORGAN and Margaret AVERY) was born on 14 Jan 1703/4 in Groton, New London Co., Connecticut; died on 20 Sep 1763 in Groton, New London Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]