Elroy M. Avery
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, author, and historian. Avery was an Ohio State Senator
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...
in the 1890s before becoming an early resident of west Pasco County, Florida
Pasco County, Florida
Pasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 344,765. The July 1, 2007 census estimate according to the U.S. Census Bureau for the county is 462,715. Its county seat is Dade City, Florida which is in the northeast part of the county - somewhat...
and was the first mayor of New Port Richey, Florida
New Port Richey, Florida
New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. As an author, Avery wrote school textbooks about physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
as well as books about the history of the United States, Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and New Port Richey.
Avery was born in Erie, Michigan as the elder son of Caspar Hugh and Dorothy (Putnam) Avery. He fought in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
achieving the rank of Sergeant-Major while with the 11th Michigan Cavalry
11th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
The 11th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 11th Michigan Cavalry was organized at Kalamazoo and Detroit, Michigan October 10-December 10, 1863. Among its ranks was future Michigan politician and author...
. Also in the 1860s, he worked as a writer for the Detroit Tribune. In Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
, he was a high school principal in 1869 and married Catherine Hitchcock Tilden on July 2, 1870.
In 1871, Avery graduated from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and relocated to Cleveland where he continued as a school principal from 1871 to 1879. In 1891 and 1892, Avery was on the Cleveland City Council
Cleveland City Council
Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Cleveland in Ohio. Its members are elected from 19 wards to four-year terms. The number of council members has decreased over the years...
before being elected to the state senate and serving from 1893 to 1897.
On December 22, 1911, Mrs. Avery died. Elroy Avery worked as a publisher in Cleveland until he retired and moved to New Port Richey, Florida in June 1919. He brought a personal collection of over 1,000 books which he used to help establish the Avery Library and Historical Society on April 10, 1920 (currently the New Port Richey Public Library and West Pasco Historical Society Museum and Library). He was also the chairman and director of the First State Bank of New Port Richey which was founded on October 25, 1921. On October 27, 1924, New Port Richey was incorporated and Avery was named its first mayor at age 80, serving until 1925.
Partial list of publications
- The Complete Chemistry: A text book for high schools and academies, 1883, ASIN B0008735MU
- Elements of Natural Philosophy : a text book for high schools and academies, Sheldon and Company, 1885, ASIN B000JG6HCA
- The Averys of Groton, 1888, ASIN B000894JK0
- Elementary Physics, Sheldon and Company, 1897, ASIN B00069Y8IA
- The Evolution of a Colonial System, 1900, ASIN B0008C7BWK
- A History of the United States and Its People from Their Earliest Records to the Present Time, 16 volumes, the first was originally from 1904 (reprinted in 2001, ISBN 140219482X).
- John Humfrey, Massachusetts magistrate: Did he marry the daughter of the third Earl of Lincoln!, 1912, ASIN B0006AGIUA
- A History of Cleveland and Its Environs, 3 volumes, 1918, ASIN B000GPVFBC
- The Genesis of New Port Richey, 1924, ASIN B00085U8WW