Manuscript Location

University of North Carolina, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library

Place of Origin

United States ➔ North Carolina

Date of Composition

ca. 1815-ca. 1855

Description

Harriet Eloise Erwin (1795-1858) married Isaac Thomas Avery (1785-1864) in 1815 and bore sixteen children, ten of whom lived into adulthood. Her husband was the son of Waightstill Avery (1747-1821), a lawyer, a Revolutionary War leader, a drafter of North Carolina's first constitution, and, later, a representative to the state legislature. Waightstill Avery acquired Swan Ponds, a large plantation in Burke County, around 1779, and Thomas and Leah Avery brought up their children there. Thomas built a new house at Swan Ponds in 1848, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Active in politics, banking, and industry, Thomas Avery, besides managing Swan Ponds, acquired 50,000 acres of additional land, where he raised more cattle and horses than anyone else in western North Carolina. By 1850, he owned over 140 slaves and operated two gold mines in North Carolina. Four of the Avery sons died fighting for the Confederacy, and Thomas Avery died shortly thereafter. Harriet Erwin Avery's 72-page book is undated. It contains recipes for sweets, preserves, and medical cures, as well as her poetry. There is evidence of a second hand.