Brooks-Washington-Thomas County GaArchives Biographies.....Avera, Randolph 1826 - 1912
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 17, 2004, 9:43 pm

Author: William Harden
p. 750-752

July 21, 1861, Mr. Avera married Mrs. Mary (Young) McElbeen, who represents
one of the old and prominent families of south Georgia. She was born in Thomas county, September 29, 1830, and is a granddaughter of William and Mary (Henderson) Young.

William Young in 1775, when the colonies were preparing to revolt from British rule, was a member of the council of safety at Savannah and on July 4th of that year represented the town and district of Savannah in the first assembling of the provincial congress. He was afterwards a planter of Screven county, where he spent his last days. Michael Young, son of this patriot and father of Mrs. Avera, was born in Screven county, January 16, 1797, later settled in Bulloch county, and in 1828 came and made settlement in the new county of Thomas.

With wagons and other private conveyances he and his family and slaves arrived in what was then an almost unbroken wilderness, and the household camped in the forest while he and his helpers cut trees and made a log-cabin home. His location was three miles west of Thomasville. The Indians were still lingering in these hunting grounds, and all this part of the state was largely as nature had made it, so that Michael Young and his family were among those who bore the brunt of pioneer work and helped to prepare this region for the uses of subsequent generations.

Michael Young had participated in one Indian war before coming here, and was engaged in another during the thirties. He cleared large tracts of land and resided in this vicinity until his death, which occurred August 24, 1856. He also was a member of the legislature and as there were no railroads here then he had to make the journey on horseback.

The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Everett, who was a native of Bulloch county, and her death occurred on April 14, 1876. Her parents were Joshua and Jane (Carter) Everett, who, so far as known, were lifelong residents of Bulloch
county.

Michael Young and wife reared nine children, namely: James Everett, America, Remer, William Joshua, Mary Jane, Thomas Jones, John Carter,Sarah Lavinia and Michael Henderson. The son John C. died while in school at LaGrange.

Mary J. Young was first married, in 1850, to William Henry McElbeen, who was
born in Decatur county, Georgia, was reared on a farm, and on beginning his
independent career bought land in his native county, where he and his wife lived
until his death at the age of thirty-five. After the death of her husband Mrs.
McElbeen with her three children returned to her parents in Thomas county. In
1857 coming to what is now Brooks county, where a brother had previously
settled, she bought a tract of land to which the Quitman city limits have since
been extended.

At that time there was not a house on the present site of Quitman and the whole neighborhood was a pine forest. With the aid of her slaves she began improving her land, and her home for more than half a century has been on the estate which she thus undertook to develop. Log houses were the first homes both for her family and her slaves, but these have long since given way to comfortable frame dwellings. Her own home is a commodious colonial residence, situated well back from the street and in the midst of fruit and shade trees and is one of the most attractive homes in this vicinity.

Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913

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