Avery's of New London and Groton, Connecticut

My research has connected my great grandmother Lura Nye to Christopher Avery of Devon, England.  It was Christopher and his wife Johanna (or Joanna) who bore their son Christopher Avery who immigrated to the colonies some time around 1631. His son James was 11 years old at the time.  In 1643 James married Joanna Greenslade in Massachusetts. Their son James was the first to settle in Groton, Connecticut where the Avery name would remain for generations.

My quest is to document their movements and daily lives.  If anyone has research material and documentation on families in New London and Groton, CT I would appreciate the source information or copies of documentation for Avery, Lamb, and Wightman.

Mothers Day - 2013

The past few days I have tried to share some stories about the women of my family who have in some way influenced my life.  They have all been part of my blood.  But, like many of you, there have been other women (read: Mothers) who participated in our total development over the years.  One of my high school friends mother who provided a Mr. Hyde to my mother's Dr. Jekyll.  Thus increasing my appreciation for my Mother.  My girlfriends grandmother Gertrude who gave me advice on how to interact with her son.  Allowing me to become that beautiful woman's husband.  Then my wife's mother Ann.  What a grand lady and friend to me from day one. Gone now over 14 years, she is missed every day.

Judy, Jason and Ann - 1983

Today I celebrate Mothers Day with my best friend Judy.  Quick with her beautiful smile and the most thoughtful person I have ever known.  She has me under her spell and I love every minute.  I have tested her resolve through the years and she has always been there to encourage and support.

In a single word, she is 'adventurous'. My partner in life for over 47 years - I Love You Babe!

California Girl - 1920's Version

1943 - Dorothy Faye Hamilton Kerr

My mother, Dorothy Faye Hamilton, was born August 26, 1920 in Santa Monica, California. The first child of Colorado natives William Hamilton and Faye Nye Hamilton. William was a construction worker specializing in concrete and stone masonry while Faye was the typical, for the times, stay at home wife and mother. Dorothy attended the Christian Science Church with her parents and graduated from the Santa Monica High School in 1938. She loved the beach and ocean and was active in Girls Baseball and Volleyball. During these high school years, summers were spent with her family working at various locations in the agriculture fields of California and Oregon picking everything from Oranges to Hops. She worked in the employee cafeteria kitchens of the Douglas Aircraft Company until marrying Joe Lee Kerr on February 25, 1940.  

The story goes that Dorothy would walk past the gas station where Joe worked.  They said hello a few times and then went on a few dates. This lead to their marriage in 1940. They lived in a rental house at 654 1^st Street, Hermosa Beach as Dad now managed a service station on Pacific Coast Highway and North Catalina Ave in Redondo Beach. This would come to an end as he entered the Army as a Private on February 1, 1943. 

Mom and me and Sox (her dog)

By the end of WWII I had been born and a home was being established in Redondo Beach California.  Mom quickly became involved in community activities and eventually lead to being a precinct captain.  Every election brought neighbors to our house as their designated polling place.  Then came Little League baseball.  Her love of sports in general and baseball specifically was

instilled in me and my brothers.  She loved being involved in every aspect of the baseball program.  By now she has 4 boys to watch over and with each year her involvement seemed to double.  All of us learned from her the personal joy and fulfillment of service to others. 

She has been gone from this earth 34 years but never from my heart.

My Maternal Grandmother - Faye Irene Nye Hamilton

April 1966 - Faye Hamilton and Larry Kerr

Grandma Hamilton was born in Colorado in 1898.  During her formative years, the Nye family was moving around the Weld and Denver counties looking for work and saving money to get their own farm.  She would live on the farm for only a few years before meeting a Navy cook in training.  Based at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, William Hamilton found himself smitten by Faye Nye and the two were wed on May 25, 1918.  This was a double marriage, as Faye's sister Marie took vows with Elbert Lawson at the same ceremony.

With both husbands in the military preparing to serve in WWI, Faye and Marie moved to Greeley and attended Greeley Teachers College.  They remained in Greeley working as substitute teachers until their husbands returned from the war.  Marie and Elbert remained in Colorado, but William and Faye moved to Santa Monica, California.

An active member of the Christian Science Church, Faye was a loving and caring member of every community where she lived.  I was very fortunate to live only a few houses away from her as I grew up in the late 50's and 60's.  She loved baseball and followed the Dodgers every day.  For as many years as I knew her, she drove a 1938 Willys California.  Right up until her death in 1987 just 10 days after her 89th birthday.

Maternal Great Grandmother - Lura Weatherly Nye

I'll start with this photo, taken October 1, 1944 at my great grandmothers home in Santa Monica California,  The baby is me at 17 days old being held by my grandmother Faye Hamilton.  My mother Dorothy Faye Hamilton Kerr is in the middle and our subject for today is on the pictures far left.  She is Lura Weatherly Nye, born in Marshall County Iowa July 26, 1874.

Parents are Iowa farmers James Weatherly and Viola Denbow.  By the time she was 18, she was in Longmont Colorado where she married Oscar Nye in 1893.  Lura was a part time school teacher and housewife.  She and Oscar had 3 girls, Marie, Faye, and Fern.  In 1928 Fern married and family stories have the Nye's loosing the family farm in 1929.  By this time Faye and Fern have settled in the Los Angeles area.  Making a move from Colorado to California a logical choice.  They settled in Santa Monica and Lura took up work as a seamstress plus taking on a few students for home taught piano lessons.

Memories of her are vivid to me as I mentally revisit their modest but tidy home at 1934 22nd Street.  Holidays were spent with her playing carols and the family doing our best to sing along.  I am very happy that I was old enough to know my great grandmother Lura.

My other paternal great grandmother

Yesterday I wrote about grandmother Molly.  Her mother was Elizabeth Nuckols Walters.  Born about 1854 in Kentucky, her father was Bennet Nuckols and mother Ruth Collins .  My Aunt Vivian Lillian Young provided all of the information I have about the Walters and Nuckols families.  Following Elizabeth's marriage to John Walters they had 8 children.  Grandmother Molly was number 7.  Other than the Walters being farmers in the hills of Whitely County Kentucky not much else is documented.  Updates will follow discovery of documentation.

My paternal grandmother Molly

Born Mary Magdalene “Molly” Walters in December 1882, this is my paternal grand mother. At 18 she married Samuel D Williams in 1900. Their only son Everett, was born in 1905. Sam and Molly were neighbors to Joe and Meade Kerr. Sam died in April 1909 and Meade died in May 1909.

Joe and Meade had a daughter and son. Soon after Meade's death, Joe hired Molly to keep house and take care of his two children. His work on the railroad kept him away from home for periods of time.

The family story goes that one Sunday, on the way to church, Joe asked Molly to marry him since she was already taking care of his house and kids.  It turned into a prolific match that lasted until his death in 1945.

Molly was a true hillbilly in the mold portrayed by Granny in the Beverly Hillbillys TV show. She was tough on everyone who might have stayed for any time at the family farm in Scarborough. An earlier post told the story of the farm. One cousin related that if you stayed at the farm, you were expected to work just like her kids. With the first electricity on the farm, Joe bought a washing machine. He returned to the farm one day to find Molly taking a switch to JL because he had taken the washing machine a part and was not having any success getting it put back together. Joe stopped her and his only comment was “that's what boys do”.

Molly was a frequent visitor to our home in California in the years after WWII. I remember as a child, meeting her at the train station in Los Angeles. As she stepped off the train she is holding a 1 pound coffee can full of her tobacco spit. Then the hugs that smelled of long train rides and tobacco.

As tough as she could be, family members respected her for all she had been through in her life. 14 children in 28 years. 6 of them dieing in their first few months. Widowed twice and moved from the family farm prior to WWII. She represents the hearty spirit of the early 20^th century women.