James Avery

Mulatto male, the father of a stillborn infant buried in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery. He was called “Jim” in the child’s death certificate. He was born in Alabama. His wife was Mary Catherine Irvins Avery, born in Georgia.

James appeared in the 1913 Pensacola City Directory, where his race was recorded as Mulatto. His occupation was porter, and his residence was the same as that listed on the infant’s death certificate: 105 W. Main St.

James has not been found in any other documentation as yet. His wife, Mary Avery, appears in the 1916 City Directory without him; however, no death record has been found. Mary was enumerated in the 1920 census as married; she was not identified as the widow of James until the 1927 City Directory.

In Mary Catherine Avery’s obituary, her survivors were identified as her daughter, Vivian, and two nephews: Roy and Authur Stevens. They were children of Annie L. Smith Stephens, widow of Edward. The only connection I can find that would make Mary Avery the aunt of Roy and Authur is that perhaps Annie was born an Avery. In the 1930 census, she declared she was 12 years old at her first marriage, which is earlier than her marriage to Edward Stephens, so it may be that Smith was her first married name and not her maiden name. Annie Smith Stephens was born in Alabama, which is the only place of birth in her family that matches anyone in Jim Avery’s family, and it matches Jim’s birthplace. Research continues.

FAMILY:

Children: Unnamed stillborn son and Vivian Ann Avery

Wife: Mary Catherine Irvins Avery

Possible Sibling: Annie L. Stephens

SOURCES:

Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

The Pensacola Journal, 25 April 1970, p. 3

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.