Person Page 718

He signed the Oath of Allegiance in 1776 in Amhurst, NH; Received 6 pounds + as solder in the Revolutionary War . Served 7/1/1781 - 11/22/1781 with the 6th Regiment, Nelson's Company.

Thomas^ Averill, also called "Avery" (John^, William-,
William'), b. Dec. 17, 1713, at Topsfield, Mass. {T. R.) ;m. May
20, 1739, at Ipswich, Mass. {T. i?.), Sarah Kneeland (called also
Nealand, Neeland, Neland), who was then of Ipswich (T. R.) .
She was bap. June 17, 1716, at Topsfield (Ch. R.) , and was the
dau. of Phihp Kneeland (or Nealand), who was of Topsfield and
Ipswich, and of Martha Graves, his wife (see The Kneeland
Family). Thomas was in Topsfield, Dec, 1738, and in Andover,
Essex Co., Mass., Dec. 8, 1741, and in Amherst, N. H., in 1760,
or earlier.

The following items from the Essex Co. Mass. Registry of
Deeds may be of interest:

I Thomas Averill of Topsfield in consideration of the sum of £115; to

me in hand paid by John Averill of the same town and

county aforesaid Husbandman have . . . sold . . . unto him the
s'd John Averill a certain parcel of upland and meadow situated in Topsfield
Bounded South Easterly with land of Jacob Perkins, Southwesterly with
land of W"' Perkins, NorthWesterly 27 Pole and 8 links with land of Thomas

Averill aforesaid, etc. etc ten acres more or less

part of an Estate of Inheritance

March 19, 1736/7 (Signed) Thomas Averill

Wit^ Eunice Averil

Nathaniel Averill Jun''

Ack. by Thomas Averill May 18, 1738 (Essex Reg., Vol. 74, p.
257).

I Thomas Averill of Topsfield Husbandman, for the sum of £104 to me

in hand paid by Nathan Wilds of Topsfield do sell him a

certain tract of upland and meadow situate in Topsfield bounded as follows:



The Fourth Generation 191

beginning at an ash tree standing by Mile Brook thence South Westerly
with lands of John Averill to a heap of stones by land of W" Perkins,
thence North Westerly by lands of s'd Perkins to a great white oak tree;
South Westerly by lands of W'" Perkins, then North West by land of John
Wildes, then North West by land of John Averills. Thence Easterly
with land of said Averill, to land which is ye Widow Ann Averills Thirds,
thence North Easterly with ye s'd Widows thirds to ye Brook aforesaid
. . . . thence down the brook to the first mentioned bounds ....
in all 8 acres 110 poles.

Dec. 11, 1738. (Signed) Thomas Averill

Wit's

Jacob Averill

Nathaniel Averill.

Ack. by Thomas Averill Feb. 21, 1738 {Essex Reg., Vol. 77, p.
231).

I Thomas Averill of for the consideration of £81,

sell 7 acres 15 poles of land to John

Wildes Butted and Bounded .... Being at a Cor-
ner bound Between John Averill's land and ye aforesaid Thomas Averill's
land and ye above said Wild's lands Easterly to Perkins lands, so to
Highway and thence as the fence stands by said way to the above said John

Averill lands which land is owned in right of a

good perfect and absolute estate of inheritance by the said Thomas Averill.

July 3, 1738. (Signed) Thomas Averill

Wit^- John Wildes Jun""
Elisha Wildes

Ack. Feb. 21, 1738. (Same date as previous instrument,
Essex Reg., Vol. 77, p. 231.)

I Thomas Averill of Andover in ye County of Essex Prov. Mass. Bay
yeoman for and in consideration of the sum of £15 to me in hand paid by

Nathan Wildes of Topsfield sell him ye

one half of a Barn Standing in Topsfield the Easterly end of which Barn
John Wildes own, ye other half of which said Barn together with all my

right of land in ye foreside and Easterly end of said Barn

I own in my own right as a good perfect and absolute Estate of inheritance
Dec. 8, 1741

his
Thomas X Averill
mark
Wit'' John Wildes

John Wildes jun"'

Ack. by Thomas Averill March 17, 1744 before

Daniel Appleton {Essex Reg., Vol. 87, p. 24.)



192 Averell, Averill, Avery Family

The following abstracts also refer to said Thomas : Deed
from John Whitney of Tewkesbury, gent, for £680 to Thomas
Averill and John Chapman Jr. both of Topsfield, yeomen, who
bought 117 acres of upland meadow and swamp, situate in
Tewkesbury (Mass.) (1) 90 acres lying on W. side of Road that
goes to Borland farm from Billerica, with houses and buildings
and b'd w. by Concord River; (2) Parcel of land E. side of Road
27 acres on Road to Tewkesbury Meeting house.

July 1, 1738, & July 5, 1738 {Reg. of Deeds, Middlesex Co.,
Mass., Vol. 42, p. 438).

Dec. 24, 1741, Thomas Averill sold the above to Davis
Chapman.

In Mass. Archives; Colonial Records, A — 1710 — (unpub-
lished) ; we find:

Thomas Averall appears on a Muster Roll dated Boston, Feb. 27, 1756,
of a Company of his Majesty's service under the command of Capt. Henry
Ingalls: Quality, Sentinal; Residence, Andover; Entered services, Oct. 3;
Served until Dec. 27. Length of service 12 weeks 2 days. Remarks: en-
dorsed: Co. on Crown Point Expedition: Year: — Not given; probably
1755. Reported: Allowed subsistence from Albany home [Muster Rolls,
Vol. 94, p. 108].

The first record of Thomas Averill Sr. in the town of Am-
herst, N. H., was in 1760, when appears as a tax payer. In
1763 he signed a protest from Amherst against the annexation
of part of Monson to Hollis. He and his son Thomas ''Avarel"
Junr., signed a petition from Amherst against the division of
the town, which was filed Feb. 4, 1771. On March 14, 1776, his
son Thomas offered with others to do his utmost to aid the
Colonies ; but the father's name does not appear on the record.
He was then 63 years of age.

July 4, 1758, he purchased land in Amherst, N. H., from
Andrew Bixby of New Plantation, called Sowhegan West, No, 3
(now Amherst) Province of New Hampshire in New England,
paying £60 for lot No. 47, in the first Division. (Hillsborough
Co., N. H., Reg. Deeds, Vol. 17, p. 304.) In this instrument he
is called Thomas Avery of Andover, Co. Essex, Prov. of Mass.
Bay, husbandman. This land was sold by Thomas "Avery" Sr.
to his son Thomas ''Avery" Jr., Mar. 4, 1793, for £60, with the
reservation that he (the father) was to have one half the annual



The Fourth Generation 193

income during his life {Hillsborough Co. Reg. Deeds, Vol. 30,
p. 453).

He therefore d. after Mar. 4, 1793, at which time he was
about eighty years of age. The following named children of
Thomas and Sarah (Kneeland) Averill are the only ones of
whom we have any record, but there may have been others.*

Children :

166. i. JoHN°t "Avery" or Averill, b. Oct. 13, 1741.

167. ii. THOMAS°t "Avery" or Averill, b. Sept. 26, 1747, at Andover,

Mass.; m. Mary ? .

168. iii. SARAH^t "Avery" or Averill, b. Nov. 3, 1751; m. (1) James

Hutchinson; (2) (as 2d. w.) Ebenezer Chandler.

MEMORANDA.

* It is possible that William Averill, mentioned once in Bedford,
Hillsborough Co., N. H., April 12, 1769, was another son. Ed.

t A family Bible with records of Thomas Avery (No. 167) and his
children, contains the only data we have as to the birth of John (No. 166)
and Sarah (No. 168) brother and sister of Thomas. We are much indebted
to Mrs. Ella M. (Averill) Ellison, wife of Harry Hildreth Ellison, of Battle
Creek, Mich., for records of this family, which are in her grandmother
Averill's Bible.

Question about husband - possibly John Price.