William Waightstill Avery
William Waightstill Avery (born May 25, 1816 in Burke County , North Carolina , † July 3, 1864 in Morganton , North Carolina) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and lawyer from the US state of North Carolina.
Avery served first in the House of Representatives and later in the North Carolina Senate , from which he was elected Speaker in 1856 . Two years later, in 1858, he ran for a seat in the US Congress , but a split among the Democrats led to the victory of Zebulon B. Vance .
After the secession of his home state from the United States in 1861 , he represented it as a delegate in the Provisional Confederate Congress . He then returned to Burke County to set up a regiment for the Confederate Army . He died of his wounds in 1864 after a battle with part of the Army of the Tennessee .
family
William had a brother named Isaac (1828–1863) who was a plantation owner and officer in the Confederate Army. They were the sons of Isaac Thomas Avery and Harriet Eloise Erwin and the grandsons of Waightstill Avery (1741-1821), a lawyer and soldier who in 1788 had a duel with the future US President Andrew Jackson . William married Mary Corinna Morehead in 1846, daughter of Governor John Motley Morehead .
Web links
- Biography on Documenting the American South page
- Waightstill & William Waightstill Avery
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Avery, William Waightstill |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 25, 1816 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Burke County , North Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 3, 1864 |
| Place of death | Morganton , North Carolina |