James Avery (1620April 18, 1700) was an American colonial landowner,

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

, and a military commander in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

Early life

Avery was born in

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony as a child with his parents. As an adult he received several land grants in the vicinity of

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

, in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Pioneer

Avery was among Stonington, Connecticut’s early settlers, for whom Avery Point is named. A monument stands on the location of his 1656 home in Groton, called ''The Hive of the Averys''. The home burned down in a fire started from an ember of a passing train on July 20, 1894.

General Assembly

He was Deputy to the General Court of

12 times from 1656 to 1680. He also served for 20 years as a town selectman.

Military service

Avery was a captain in the

colonial militia Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various military units recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonies may lie overseas or in areas dominated by neighbouring land powers such ...

, In the

Great Swamp Fight The Great Swamp Fight or the Great Swamp Massacre was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and W ...

, a battle at

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. The population was 6,974 at the 201 ...

on December 19, 1675. Avery commanded a group of allied

Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or t ...

Natives, in a battle against natives' fighting for

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

and land. Avery served as a captain in command of forty Englishmen from Stonington, Lyme, and

in 1676. He also served as captain of one of four companies which protected the frontier.

Descendants

Avery has thousands of living descendants. Among his descendants are

John D. Rockefeller Sr. John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

, Governor and

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Nelson Rockefeller, Senator

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virg ...

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-winning screenwriter & director

Roger Avary Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. He collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on ''Pulp Fiction'', for which they won Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Acade ...

References

External links

*
John Frederic Randall, Member of...
1620 births 1700 deaths People of colonial Connecticut People from Groton, Connecticut People of Cornish descent Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony Deputies of the Connecticut General Court (1639–1662) Deputies of the Connecticut General Assembly (1662–1698) King Philip's War {{US-hist-stub