Civil War Service Records for Alvis E. Averett

Civil War service papers for Alvis E. Averett (1846—1894), the younger brother of David Averett, were found on Fold3.com and are displayed below. This is a picture of Alvis E. Averett, likely taken several years after the war, and was posted to Ancestry.com by member, Sam Casey, who has done extensive work on other and earlier branches of the Averett family tree.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

My 3rd-great grand-uncle, Alvis E. Averett enlisted on 5 February 1864, at the age of about 19 years, at Tallassee, Alabama, a town I already know to be near the farm of his father (and my 4th-great grandfather), John Averett (1808—1871). These records begin in February 1864 and end in March 1865. As was the case for his brother, David Averett (1837—1927), there are gaps but they contain information that sheds light on his military service and where he was hospitalized both prior to and after his wounding in action.

Alvis E. Averett was a Private in Company A, 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment, the same Company in which his brother, 1st Sergeant David Averett, served.

He enlisted on 5 February 1864 in Tallassee, Alabama by a Sergeant Averett (almost certainly his brother, David), for the duration of the war.

He was noted present on the Company Muster Roll for January and February, 1864. It was noted that he was due pay from the date of his enlistment.

There is no record in this packet for March and April, 1864.

He was noted present on the Company Muster Roll for May and June, 1864. He had been paid by a Captain Lapsley through 30 April 1864.

His brother, David Averett, also in Company A, was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on 6 May 1864. Alvis must have been nearby and may have assisted him in reaching medical help. The story I heard when growing up was that David was knocked unconscious when he was struck and was left for dead. When he regained consciousness, he had been blinded (temporarily, it turned out) and he followed the sound of the battle ahead of him to rejoin his unit. Perhaps it was then that Alvis was either made aware that David had been hit or realized that David was still alive. Wherever and whenever it happened, it must have been an emotional moment for both men.

Alvis was noted absent on the Company Muster Roll for July and August, 1864. He had been paid through 30 June 1864 by a Captain Dawson. His absence was due to his presence at “General Hospital” on 24 August 1864. David Averett’s records also mention “General Hospital”. (See Image 6 of 11 in my previous blog post about David’s service records.)  There is no mention of battle wounds at this time and I suspect he had been hospitalized due to disease.

The service records for both Alvis and David Averett mention that they had been sent to “General Hospital”. So, where was this hospital? It turns out there were a number of them and there is a very nice web site created by Mr. Mike Gordon called “Civil War Richmond” that provides quite a lot of information about the extensive network of Confederate hospitals in Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War. He includes an index of all the hospitals, along with their locations. It turns out that wounded soldiers were sorted among the hospitals according to their state and there were at least three and possibly four hospitals for Alabama soldiers:

• Alabama Hospital [First] - The Civil War Richmond web site indicates that this hospital was initially located in Manchester, Virginia, which is now apparently a suburb of Richmond. After 1862 it was located at 25th and Franklin Streets (37.529953N -77.420446E), becoming “General Hospital #20”. It closed after June 1863, so neither David (wounded in May 1864) or Alvis Averett (hospitalized in late August 1864 and treated for his wounds in October 1864) would have been treated there.
• Alabama Hospital [Second] - Located at a tobacco factory building at the southwest corner of 25th and Franklin Streets. Mr. Gordon indicates that the hospital was still open in late 1863 and became part of “General Hospital #21”. It closed after September 1863, so neither David nor Alvis Averett would have been treated there.
• Alabama Hospital [Third] - Located at another tobacco factory building at the northwest corner of 21st and Franklin Streets. It was closed after December 1863, so neither David nor Alvis Averett would have been treated there.
• Alabama Hospital [Fourth] - Mr. Gordon indicates that the hospital was mentioned as being open in 1863 but the item has no link to further information. It is possible that David and/or Alvis Averett were treated there.

Both David and Alvis were wounded in 1864 and I am uncertain where to begin searching archival records for them. I am planning a second blog post to analyze the circumstances more thoroughly and to observe which of the archival resources listed in the Civil War Richmond web site might be useful in finding further information.

Next, Alvis’ name appeared on a Register of General Hospital, Howard’s Grove, Richmond, Virginia, having been received on 27 August 1864. This card was from information extracted from the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 204, page 194.

The Civil War Richmond web site indicates that the General Hospital at Howard’s Grove was in an area "now confined by the City streets of Mechanicsville Turnpike in the east, Coalter street in the west, Redd Street on the north, and Q Street (extended) on the south [in the vicinity of 37.5442813N -77.41854E], and having an extension east of Mechanicsville Turnpike to 19th Street with T Street on the north and Fairmount Avenue on the south [in the vicinity of 37.544512N -77.416132E]. An annex was located between 21st and 23rd Streets, T Street, and the alley south of Fairmount Avenue” [in the vicinity of 37.542503N -77.412735E].

The Civil War Richmond web site also provides an image of a painting by an unknown Confederate soldier of the General Hospital at Howard’s Grove:

Alvis’ name also appeared on another register of the General Hospital at Howard’s Grove. The card containing this information indicates that he was admitted to the hospital on 27 August 1864 and was furloughed for thirty-five days, dated 22 October 1864. The information was extracted from the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 196, page 67. The circumstances of this hospitalization and furlough remain to be determined because information presented below indicates that he was wounded in action on 7 October 1864 at Darbytown, Henrico County, Virginia. Presumably this means he rejoined his unit before the expiration of his furlough.

He was noted absent on the Company Muster Roll for September and October, 1864. He had been paid by a Captain Sanford through 31 August, 1864. This time his absence was due to his presence at the “General Hospital” due to being wounded in action on 7 October 1864.

His named appeared on a 5 March 1865 list of casualties of the 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment, from 6 May 1864 to 5 March 1865. The source of the information on this card was "Series 1, Vol. 36, part 1, page 1060".

This card noted that he had received a slight wound to the hand on 7 October 1864. Of course, “slight” could describe a wide range of degrees of severity. For example, my grandfather, William Obeyn Jackson (1909—1988), was “slightly wounded” (according to the War Department) in August 1944 near St. Malo, France. It took six months to recover from his “slight” wound in England before being sent back to France. He was then transferred from his infantry division and assigned to a Military Police unit.

According to the Muster Roll shown in an earlier post on this blog, Company A had been engaged in a one-day battle at Darbytown, Virginia. Wikipedia indicates that the Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads in Henrico County, Virginia on that day resulted in “a Confederate withdrawal to Richmond and thus [a] Union victory.” The Wikipedia article indicates that the battle occurred in the vicinity of 37.4576N -77.3467E. The first following map shows the location of the battlefield.

I have also included a second map to make clear the location of the battlefield with respect to modern-day (2014) Richmond. It is about 6.5 miles (as the crow flies) from the battlefield to the vicinity of the Alabama Hospitals in 1864 Richmond.

On 8 October 1864, his name again appeared on a register of the General Hospital, Howard’s Grove. It indicated that he or the register had been “received” on 8 October 1864. The card contains no further clarification. The information was extracted from the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 204, page 209.

On 8 October 1864, his name appeared yet again on a register from the General Hospital, Howard’s Grove. The register indicated that he had been furloughed, dated 22 October 1864, for 35 days. This information is from the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 193, page 3.

On 10 October 1864, he appeared on a register of the "Receiving and Wayside Hospital, or General Hospital No. 9" in Richmond. This information was taken from the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 108, page 10.  The register indicated that he had been admitted to the hospital on 9 October 1864. This means that he had been readmitted to the hospital a day after being discharged on furlough for reasons not specified.

According to the Civil War Richmond website Hospital Index, both General Hospitals No. 7 and No. 9 were referred to as the “Receiving and Wayside Hospital”. But the one that was also known as “General Hospital No. 9” was on the "northside of Grace Street between 17th and 18th Streets” [37.5351942N -77.4268745E], according to Confederate Military Hospitals in Richmond, by Robert W. Waitt, Jr., Official Publication #22, Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee, Richmond, Virginia, 1964. The Civil War Richmond web site indicates that this hospital, sited at a warehouse, “functioned as a receiving hospital because of its nearness to [the] Virginia Central Railroad depot”.

The Civil War Richmond web site also provides near-contemporary images of General Hospital No. 9. The first is a photo of "Seabrook’s Warehouse (General Hospital #9), taken shortly after the war”:

The second is a “Harper’s Weekly engraving from 11 November 1865 of the interior of Seabrook’s Warehouse”.

On 17 October, 1864, Alvis signed a receipt roll for clothing at the Howard’s Grove General Hospital.   The source of this information is not specified.

His name appeared on a register of the Medical Director’s Office in Richmond, indicating that his hospital was the Howard’s Grove Hospital for the period to 28 October. The source of this information was the Confederate Archives, Chapter 6, File No. 177, page 177.  The remarks section was marked “Tallapoosa, Alabama”. It may indicate that he intended to return home to his father’s farm in Tallapoosa County [now Elmore County] in Alabama. Does this mean he was granted another furlough?

Two undated cards also note that his name appeared on a register of General Hospital, Howard’s Grove. The information on them was extracted by the Copyist from

• Confed. Arch., Chap. 6, File No. 200, page 416; and
• Confed. Arch., Chapt 6, File No. 200, page 431.

On 10 December 1864, Alvis' name, under General Order Number 87, was associated with an “Hon. Roll”. The meaning of this and the source of the information has yet to be determined.

Finally, on 10 April 1865, his name appeared "on a Roll of Prisoners of War belonging to the Army of Northern Virginia, who have been this day surrendered by General Robert E. Lee, C.S.A., commanding said Army, to Lieut. Genl. U.S. Grant, commanding Armies of the United States. Done at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, April 9, 1865. Roll dated Camp 15 Reg’t Ala. Infty., April 10, 1865.” The only source information on the card was "Number of roll:  21".

According to Fold3.com, the information and the service record images shown below are from Publication No. M311, Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama, National Archives ID 586957, Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, compiled 1903 — 1927, documenting the period 1861—1865, Record Group 109, State of Alabama, Roll 0240, Fifteenth Infantry.

1840 Census - John and Mary Averett Family

This post is intended to tentatively establish that my GGG-grandfather, David Franklin Averett (1837-1927), lived in Muscogee County, Georgia with his parents and siblings at the time of the 1840 U.S. Federal Census. His parents were John Averett (1809 - unknown) and Mary LEDBETTER Averett (1815 - unknown). This is based on comparison with the 14 September 1850 US Census (which I documented in my blog post 1850 US Census - John and Mary Averett Family) on 19 November 2011 and on a process of elimination over about 154 candidates families provided by a search on Ancestry.com.

The 1840 US Census was in some ways not nearly as informative as those that followed. For example, only the name of the head of the family was supplied, along with "binned" ages for all members of the family, free blacks, and slaves, if any. The head of the family seems to have been always male, if living, based on what I've seen so far.

In the 1850 US Census, the John and Mary Averett family, residing in Putnam County, Georgia, did not own any slaves, included:

• Line 22: John Averett; Age = 41 
• Line 23: Mary Averett; Age = 35 
• Line 24: Harris Averett; Age = 19 
• Line 25: Mary Averett; Age = 15[?] 
• Line 26: Catherine Averett; Age = 14 
• Line 27: David F. Averett; Age = 12 
• Line 28: Sarah M. Averett; Age = 9 
• Line 29: I.J.L. Averett; Age = 7 
• Line 30: Alvus Averett; Age = 5 
• Line 31: Nancy Averett; Age = 3

So in 1840,

• John Averett would have been about 31 years old,
• Mary Averett would have been about 25 years old,
• Harris would have been about 9 years old,
• Mary would have been about 5 years,
• Catherine would have been 4 years old, and
• David would have been 2 years old.

John and Mary married on 24 Feb 1830 so it is reasonable to assume that Harris was the oldest child, probably being born in late 1830 or before 14 September 1831. In the 1840 US Census the pattern we're looking for will be at least similar to:  A family of six free white people (and an unknown number of slaves, hopefully zero) distributed as shown among the following age "bins":

• 1 male (0 - 5 years old)
• 1 male (5 - 9 years old)
• 1 male (30 - 39 years old)
• 1 female (0 - 5 years old)
• 1 female (5 - 9 years old)
• 1 female (20 - 29 years old)

This will be exact if we know about all living children in 1840. That is, there would have been no children living in 1840 who subsequently died and would therefore not have been enumerated in the 1850 US Census.

Begin by searching for John Averett in any census taken in the 1840s on Ancestry.com.  The result looks like the following:

The Ancestry.com search algorithm provides two results that it thinks are especially likely possible matches, along with 152 lesser candidates. For the first, the John Averett family living in Columbus Ward 4, Muscogee County, Georgia, here is a copy of the 1840 Census enumeration sheet: (click to enlarge)

The family of this particular John Averett has two free white males under five years of age, one free white male of age 20 - 29 years, one free white male of age 30 - 39 years, one free white female under five years of age, one free white female of age 29 - 39 years, no free blacks, and no slaves (which are shown on the facing page in the census book, not shown here).

For the second John Averett, the one living in District 724 in the same county, here is a copy of the enumeration sheet.

The family of this particular John Averett has one free white male of age under five years, one free white male of age 5 - 9 years, one free white male of age 30 - 39 years, one free white female of age under five years, one free white female of age 5 - 9 years, and one free white female of age 20 - 39 years. Interestingly, this is exactly the pattern we are looking for.

Since we want to account for the cases in which children (or parents living with the family) have died during the decade of 1840 - 1850, we should look for families that have:

1. At least 1 free white male of age under 5 years,
2. at least 1 free white male of age 5 - 9 years 3,
3. at least 0 free white males of age 10 - 14 years,
4. at least 0 free white males of age 15 - 19 years,
5. at least 0 free white males of age 20 - 29 years,
6. at least 1 free white male of age 30 - 39 years,
7. at least 0 free white males of age 40 - 49 years,
8. at least 0 free white males of age 50 - 59 years,
9. at least 0 free white males of age 60 - 69 years,
10. at least 0 free white males of age 70 - 79 years,
11. at least 0 free white males of age 80 - 89 years,
12. at least 0 free white males of age 90 - 99 years,
13. at least 0 free white males of age 100+ years,
14. at least 1 free white female of age under 5 years,
15. at least 0 free white females of age 5 - 9 years,
16. at least 0 free white females of age 10 - 14 years,
17. at least 0 free white females of age 15 - 19 years,
18. at least 1 free white female of age 20 - 29 years,
19. at least 0 free white females of age 30 - 39 years,
20. at least 0 free white females of age 40 - 49 years,
21. at least 0 free white females of age 50 - 59 years,
22. at least 0 free white females of age 60 - 69 years,
23. at least 0 free white females of age 70 - 79 years,
24. at least 0 free white females of age 80 - 89 years,
25. at least 0 free white females of age 90 - 99 years, and
26. at least 0 free white females of age 100+ years.

Equivalently, we can rule out all families that have fewer than:

1. 1 free white male of age under 5 years,
2. 1 free white male of age 5 - 9 years,
3. 1 free white male of age 30 - 39 years,
4. 1 free white female of age under 5 years, and 
5. 1 free white female of age 20 - 29 years.

It should be easier to check five conditions for each family instead of twenty-six conditions for each family. The John Averett family in District 724 of Muscogee County (includes the city of Columbus, Georgia) looks promising but we need to find out how many John Averett families there were in Georgia and maybe in nearby states. Possible variations on the name include "John Averett", "John Everett", "J. Averett", "J. Everett", "Averett", "Everett", etc.

We have a list of 154 families that the Ancestry.com search algorithm has determined are similar to, or are somewhat similar to, our ideal match. I constructed a spreadsheet that summarizes the reported age distributions of each family, summarizing one family for each line in the spreadsheet. Click to enlarge:

All lines that did not satisfy the constraints were then discarded by graying them out. For example, excluding all families that did not have at least one free white male child under the age of 5 years allows us to immediately discard 97 candidate families. This leaves 57 families, some of which will also be discarded after applying the other four conditions. Click to enlarge.

At the end of the process we are left with only six families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• Allen Arentt family in Stewart County, Georgia
• Soloman Averett family in District 787, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi
• Wilie H.H. Everett in Davidson's District 290, Jasper County, Georgia
• Jas. Everett in District 952, Chatooga County, Georgia

Keep in mind that these names are what the human transcribers wrote and are the names used by the Ancestry.com computer search algorithm. Most of the time, the accuracy of the transcribers is not bad, but sometimes they are. Inspection of the handwriting on the actual census forms shows only one difference between what I read and what the transcribers read in the names of the heads of these families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• Allen Averett family in Stewart County, Georgia
• Soloman Averett family in District 787, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi
• Wilie H.H. Everett in Davidson's District 290, Jasper County, Georgia
• Jas. Everette in District 952, Chatooga County, Georgia

Sometimes the difference is startling so it is worth your while to see if you, being familiar with the names in question, can come up with a better transcription than what is supplied.  Examples:  "Drury Avent" should read "Drury Averett", "Thos. Avoritt" should be "Thos [or Thomas] Averett", and (worst of all):  "Philip Hockenburg" was mis-transcribed/incorrectly "corrected" by another genealogy researcher as "John Everitt". (!!!)

Since we are fairly certain that the given name of the head of the family was, in fact, "John", we can discard all but the following two families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi

If we had been left with no names, it would have been necessary to go back and think of another strategy to narrow the results. This is why I kept and copied so much data into my spreadsheet. I don't have enough experience yet to know whether this is going to be necessary all the time or not.

The results of the Ancestry.com search indicate that the family in Muscogee County, Georgia (3.5 stars) is much more likely than the family in Yazoo County, Mississippi (1.5 stars) to be our John and Mary Averette family. Is this only because the spelling of the surname "Averett" is exactly what we're looking for, as opposed to "Everett"? (Although"Everett" is said to be a known variant of Averett according to other research on this family.)

How try this:  sort the spreadsheet to find all candidate families in Muscogee County, Georgia. Click to enlarge the result:

We find five families, all named "Averett" and all spelled that same way, each residing in Muscogee County, Georgia. After looking for candidate families in Yazoo County, Mississippi, I found only the one "John Everett".  This doesn't prove that our John Averett is the one in Muscogee County, of course, but I have a feeling that at least some of these Averett families in the county are relatives of our John Averett. Similary, the fact that we found only one "Everett" in Yazoo County does not prove that he isn't my ancestor. But the difference in spelling, unsurprising as it might be, tends to make me think that Muscogee County is the one we want.

Tentative conclusion: It seem more likely that the John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia is the John and Mary Averett family to which my ggg-grandfather David Franklin Averett (1837-1927) belonged in 1840. But I would feel MUCH better if I could find some corroborating evidence to further support this conclusion.

The next step is to extract as much information as possible from the 1840 US Census for this family.

Here are the two images (facing pages, apparently) that report on this family:

1840 John Averett Family - 1840 US Census (page 1 of 2)

1840 John Averett Family - 1840 US Census (page 1 of 2)

Using a blank 1840 US Census template supplied by Ancestry.com, the column headers for the two facing pages are as follows.

Column Headers for Page 1 of 2

• Name of the county, city, ward, town, township, parish, precinct, hundred, or district
• Names of heads of families
• Free white persons (including heads of families)
• Males
• Under 5
• 5 & under 10
• 10 & under 15
• 15 & under 20
• 20 & under 30
• 30 & under 40
• 40 & under 50
• 50 & under 60
• 60 & under 70
• 70 & under 80
• 80 & under 90
• 90 & under 100
• 100+ 
• Females
• Under 5
• 5 & under 10
• 10 & under 15
• 15 & under 20
• 20 & under 30
• 30 & under 40
• 40& under 50
• 50 & under 60
• 60 & under 70
• 70 & under 80
• 80 & under 90
• 90 & under 100
• 100+
• Free colored persons
• Males
• Under 10
• 10 & under 24
• 24 & under 35
• 36 & under 55
• 56 & under 100
• 100 & upwards
• Females
• Under 10
• 10 & under 24
• 24 & under 35
• 36 & under 55
• 56 & under 100
• 100 & upwards

Column Headers for Page 2 of 2

• Slaves
• Males
• Females
• Total
• Number of persons in each family employed in
• Mining
• Agriculture
• Commerce
• Manufacture and trade
• Navigation of the ocean
• Navigation of canals, lakes, rivers
• Learned professional engineers
• Pensioners for Revolutionary or military services, included in the foregoing
• Names
• Ages
• Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Insane White Persons, Included in the foregoing
• Deaf and Dumb
• Under 14
• 14 and under 25
• 25 and upwards
• Blind and Insane
• Blind
• Insane and idiots at public charge
• Insane and idiots at private charge
• Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Insane Colored Persons, Included in the foregoing
• Deaf, Dumb, and Blind
• Deaf and Dumb
• Blind
• Insane and Idiots
• Insane and idiots at private charge
• Insane and idiots at public charge
• Schools & c.
• Universities or college
• Number of students
• Academies & Grammar Schools
• No. of Scholars
• Primary and Common Schools
• No. of Scholars at Public charge
• No. of white persons over 20 years of age in each family who cannot read and write

Finally, here is a transcription of the 1840 US Census form tentatively associated with my ancestors, John Averett (1809 - unknown) and his wife, Mary Averett (1815 - unknown):

(No. 4) 
SCHEDULE of the whole number of persons within the division allotted to Michael Helaske (difficult to read handwritten name) by the Marshal of the District (or Territory) of Georgia. 


Page 1 of 2 (line 25)

• location = 724th District [difficult-to-read handwriting: G M?]
• name = John Averett
• Free white males under 5 years of age = 1 [probably David Franklin Averett]
• Free white males of age 5 to 9 years = 1 [probably Harris Averett]
• Free white males of age 30 to 39 years = 1 [husband/father John Averett]
• Free white females under 5 years of age = 1 [probably Catherine Averett]
• Free white females of age 5 to 9 years = 1 [probably Mary Averett]
• Free white females of age 20 to 29 years = 1 [probably wife/mother Mary Averett]
• Free colored persons = 0
• Slaves = 0

Page 2 of 2 (line 25)

• total number of persons = 6
• no marks under any other headings, including the type of employment

I am relieved that this family owned no slaves but I am disappointed that the occupation of the husband/father John Averett was not marked. I suspect that it was an oversight and that, had it been marked, it would have indicated that he was employed in "Agriculture" because the 1850 US Census and the 1860 US Census both indicate that he was a farmer in those years.

Since this is the first time I've discussed this location in this particular blog, I have included a Wikipedia map showing the location of Muscogee County with respect to the rest of the state of Georgia. Material on Wikipedia is copyrighted under Creative Commons, which I believe gives me permission to use it here, since I have specified where it came from. Click the image to see the full Wikipedia entry for Muscogee County.

1850 Census - John and Mary Averett Family

David Franklin Averett (1837-1927) probably lived in Putnam County, Georgia with his parents and siblings at the time of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census. The census page shown below was completed on 14 September 1850 and the purpose of this post is to point out correlations between the John and Mary Averett family in this 1850 US Census and the John and May Averett family in the 1860 US Census that I documented on 16 November 2011. Based on these associations, which includes fairly consistent ages and names of children, I assess that these two families are, in fact, the same family.

(Click graphic to enlarge.)

Here is a transcription of the 1850 information relevant to David's family:

SCHEDULE I. -- Free Inhabitants in [unreadable] 70th District in the County of Putnam, State of Georgia, enumerated by me, on the 14th day of Sept 1850. L.H. Jackson, Ass't Marshal.


Column Headings:

1. Dwelling house numbered in the order of visitation.
2. Families numbered in the order of visitation.
3. The Name of every Person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1850, was in this family.
4. Description: Age
5. Description: Sex
6. Description: Color: White, black, or mulatto.
7. Profession, Occupation, or trade of each Male Person over 15 years of age.
8. Value of Real Estate Owned.
9. Place of Birth, naming the State, Territory, or Country.
10. Married within the year.
11. Attended School within the year.
12. Persons over 20 y'rs of age who cannot read & write
13. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict.

Lines in which the John and Mary Averett family appear:

• Line 22: Dwelling house = 180; Family = 180; Name = John Averett; Age = 41; Sex = Male; Color = Unmarked [which presumably means = white]; Occupation = Farmer; Value of Real Estate Owned = $900 [indistinct: could say $700 or $900]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Married within the year = no [unmarked]; Attended School within the year = no [unmarked]; Persons over 20 years of age who cannot read & write = no [unmarked]; Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict = no [unmarked]
• Line 23: Mary Averett; Age = 35; Sex = Female; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = [unmarked]
• Line 24: Harris Averett; Age = 19; Sex = Male; Color = White [unmarked]; Occupation = Farmer; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = [unmarked]
• Line 25: Mary Averett; Age = 15[?]; Sex = Female; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = yes [marked]
• Line 26: Catherine Averett; Age = 14; Sex = Female; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = yes [marked]
• Line 27: David F. Averett; Age = 12; Sex = Male; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = yes [unmarked]
• Line 28: Sarah M. Averett; Age = 9; Sex = Female; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = no [unmarked]
• Line 29: I.J.L. Averett; Age = 7; Sex = Male; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = no [unmarked]
• Line 30: Alvus Averett; Age = 5; Sex = Male; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = no [unmarked]
• Line 31: Nancy Averett; Age = 3; Sex = Female; Color = White [unmarked]; Place of Birth = Ga. [Georgia]; Attended School within the year = no [unmarked]

By way of comparison, the following siblings of David F. Averett appear in the 1860 US Census:

• David F. Averett (age 12 years in 1850 and age 22 years in 1860)
• John L. Averett (named "I.J.L." and age 7 years in 1850 and age 17 years in 1860)
• Alvis E. Averett (named "Alvus" and age 9 years in 1850 and age 14 years in 1860) -- inconsistent ages
• Nancy L. Averett (age 5 years in 1850 and age 12 years in 1860) -- inconsistent ages
• Willson W. Averett (age 10 years in 1860)
• Romulus Averett (age 8 years in 1860)
• Rebecca Averett (age 6 years in 1860)
• Charles Averett (age 2 years in 1860)

Willson W. Averett (age 10 years in 1860) does not appear in this 1850 US Census, so he must have been born after 14 September 1850 (the day on which the Census form was completed). Romulus, Rebecca, and Charles would have been born after 1850.

So we see three very similar given names (David, Alvus/Alvis, and Nancy) and one somewhat similar name (I.J.L./John L.) for four of the children of John and Mary Averett. We see perfect age consistency for David and and John L. but we see not terribly good consistency in ages for Alvis and Nancy. But, from what I have seen over the past few years, the accuracy of data in census data is highly variable in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The census takers were probably being paid for how many names they collected, not how accurately they recorded the data. Human nature being what it is, laziness or impatience have not changed since then. They probably wrote down what they thought they heard and moved on. There may have been some kind of error checking in place, probably based on whether the managers of the census takers knew the families being interviewed, but it wouldn't have been much more than that. So I don't think the inconsistency in ages for Alvis and Nancy, by itself, necessarily proves the two families are not the same.

Next, the following siblings of David Averett appeared in the 1860 US Census but not in this 1850 US Census

• Harris Averett (would have been approximately 29 years old in 1860)
• Mary Averett (would have been approximately 25 years old in 1860)
• Catherine Averett (would have been approximately 24 years old in 1860)

All three of these children would have been more than old enough to marry in 1860. It is reasonable to assume that they either died at some point between the taking of the 1850 US Census and the taking of the 1860 US Census, or that they married and started their own family and resided in a separate household.

And, as a matter of fact, on line 26 of the 1860 U.S. Census, immediately following lines 16 through 25, which enumerated the members of the John and Mary Averett family, is one "Harris H. Averett", age 26 years (but not 29 years as would be expected based on the 1850 US Census), whose occupation was "mechanic" and who was born in Georgia. His wife, shown in line 27, was Malinda A. Averett, age 24 years and also born in Georgia. Their son, "Amona A. Averett, age 1 year, was born in Alabama. It seems reasonable that Harris might be the son of John Averett, although that would have to be further substantiated.

Parenthetically, since David Averett's occupation was shown as "mechanic" in the 1860 US Census, it is possible that he worked for or with his brother Harris.

Note to self: Look for Mary and Catherine in the 1860 US Census. It'll be tougher to find them if they married because they would have changed their surnames to reflect that of their husbands.''

Finally, because this 1850 Census was from Putnam County, Georgia, it may be relevant to point out that I found a marriage record for "John Averette" and "Mary Ledbetter" that occurred on 24 February 1830 in Putnam County, Georgia on the LDS FamilySearch.org web site:

If this is the right marriage record, I will have determined the maiden name of John Averett's wife, Mary (thus confirming what has been reported on other family trees found on Ancestry.com). But family trees on Ancestry.com and elsewhere on the Internet say a LOT of different things, much of which is incorrect. So I continue to be careful about concluding anything until I can confirm it with other sources, hopefully primary sources when available. So I am not ready to assess that Mary's surname was "Ledbetter" but if it was, the date of their marriage, 24 February 1830, would be consistent with the birth year of their first son, Harris. Harris was born about 1831 according to this 1850 US Census ("age 19 years").

I found the following graphic showing the location of Putnam County in Georgia from Wikipedia on 19 November 2011: