Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Avery, Waightstill, 1745-1821

Lawyer; born in Groton, Conn.. May 3, 1745; studied law in Maryland. and began its practice in Mecklenburg county, N. C., in 1769. He was prominent there among the opposers of the obnoxious measures of the British Parliament bearing on the colonies, and was one of the promoters and signers of the famous “Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.” He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress at Hillsborough in 1775 which organized the military forces of the State: and in the summer of 1776 he joined the army, under General Rutherford, in the Cherokee country. He was a commissioner in framing the treaty of Holston, which effected peace on the Western frontier. Mr. Avery was active in civil affairs; and in 1779 was colonel of the county militia, serving with great zeal during the British invasion of North Carolina. He removed to Burke county in 1781, which he represented in the State legislature many years. He was the first State attorney-general of North Carolina. He died in Burke county, N. C., March 15, 1821.