Second Generation
2. Thomas AVERY1,3 died on 6 September 1744.1 Is this a possible record for Thomas? St Giles in the Fields, St Giles High Street, Holborn, Camden, England - baptism 5 Sep 1669, father - Thomas Avery; mother - Jane Avery. In 1693, Thomas Avery had a seat in the meeting-house at Portsmouth. Brewster's "Porstmouth, p.63, says that he was in Portsmouth in 1688, probably the Greenland part. New Hampshire Town Names and Whence they Came
Elmore Munson Hunt
Noone House, Peterborough NH, 1970
p.184 Portsmouth:
first colonized 1630; first called Piscataqua, name of river on the East; then Strawbery Banke until 1653
Named Portsmouth after Portsmouth England where the founder of the NH colony, Capt John Mason had been captain of the port.
Became capital of NH 1679 when NH became a separate province
Incorporated as a city in 1849
p,171 Greenland Originated 1638 as a parish of Portsmouth. Named in honor of Henry Greenland, one of the town officers. Granted a separate town in 1704.
10 Apr 1694, Thomas mortgaged land to John Partridge Sr.
Abigail Coombs was a widow when she married Thomas Avery. One source says the marriage was recorded in Dover, not Greenland.
New Hampshire Residents 1633-1699
Jay Mack Holbrook
Holbrook Research Institute, Oxford, MA, 1979
Name Yr of Record Location Purpose Source Averry, Thos 1694 Portsmouth CM TIB906:174 Avery, John 1690 Portsmouth TR 18 POR 645:291 Avery, Tho 1658 Portsmouth MR 120 HAC 886:38
Avery, Tho 1661 Portsmouth LG 13 POR645: 91
Avery, Tho 1671 Portsmouth MR 60 POR645:176
Avery, Thomas 1678 Portsmouth RS BRE859:61
Avery, Thomas 1680 Portsmouth TH 2 NCP674:1
Avery, Thomas 1681 New Hampshire ED 113 BAT907:256
Avery, Thomas 1688 Portsmouth TR 24 POR645:276
[Petts not there] CM - Church Member
TR - Tax Rate [rates payable]
MR - Minister's Rate [rates payable]
LG - Land Grant [acreage]
RS - Resident
TH - Taxable Heads over age 16
ED - Estate Value at Death value in pounds TIB906 Tebbetts, C. W., 1906, Seats in Portsmouth Meeting House, NHGR Vol 3
POR645 Portsmouth 1645-1713 Town Records, Vol 1, Concord NHSL
HAC886 Hackett, F. W. 1886 Portsmouth Records 1645-1656
BRE859 Brewster, C. W. 1859 Rambles about Portsmouth
NCP674 North Church 1674. Papers. Portsmouth North Church Parish House
BAT907 Batchellor, A. S. 1895 New Hampshire Town Charters. Vol. 25
NHGR - New Hampshire Genealogical Record
NHSL - New Hampshire State Library, Concord NH Robert Avery & John Avery were witness to a deed executed by Thomas & Abigail Avery in 1710 - they were possibly Thomas's brothers. One source states that they were likely sons, but they could not have been sons of Thomas & Abigail since they had married in 1697 and a son could not have been older than about 12 in 1710. Thomas could have had an earlier marriage, however - depending on when he was actually born - a fact unknown. This deed was dated 17 Mar 1710, 10 or 12 acres sold to Walter Philbrook. A List of Parish tax in Greenland, NH, 5 Feb 1711/12 included both a Thomas and a "Robbard" Avery. NEH&G Register, 1868, Vol. 22, p.451-452
Again, a Robert Avery born after the marriage to Abigail, would not yet be taxable.
New Hampshire State Papers: Probate Records of the Province of New Hampshire
Vol. II 1718-1760
State Papers Series, Vol. 32; R. W. Musgrove, Printer, Bristol, NH 1914
p.377
1730 Greenland Will of Walter Philbrick
Dated 21 May 1730; proved 8 Aug 1732
Item….to son Simon and son Walter all the land I bought of the Wiggin's & of Sinkler where Thomas Avery now lives.
Deaths in Statham, N.H. were listed in the NEH&G Register, 1878, Vol 32, p.49.
On 6 Sep 1744 "old Thomas Avery died"
Thomas AVERY and Abigail COOMBS were married on 8 October 1697 in Greenland, New Hampshire.1 Abigail COOMBS1 was born (date unknown). Abigail's first husband may have been Philip Coombs. I have seen that she was a daughter of Peter Coombs and Joanna Hodgkins but that seems very unlikely if she was the widow Coombs. Thomas AVERY and Abigail COOMBS had the following children: |