On Ancestry.com message boards, family trees and Rootsweb, there are several references that attempt to link James Merritt Avery, of Lake County Michigan, to Elvira Parazade or Parazadia together in marriage or liaison. We did some fact checking and let the evidence take us where it would.
1870: An Elvira Avery is enumerated in the 1870 Census at Fountain City, Buffalo Wisconsin with presumed daughter Anna, who was born in 1860. James Merritt Avery was enumerated in 1860 in Clinton County, MI living with his father John Avery. In 1870, he is enumerated in Clinton County, MI living with his father, wife Sarah and their children, including a Dennis Avery.
James Merritt Avery was in Wisconsin. On 29 August 1864 he enlisted in Company C 42nd Wisconsin Infantry at Dekorra, 153 miles (10 days travel) from Fountain City, Wisconsin. He was discharged 20 June 1865 at Milwaukee.
1880: An Elvira P. Avery is enumerated in the 1880 Census in New Albin, Allamakee, Iowa with daughters Stella and Lena. 1880: James Merritt Avery is enumerated in Cherry Valley, Lake County, Michigan with wife Sarah and daughter Catherine Amy and son John Edward.
No Elvira Parazade appears in any Michigan census. We could find no census record of a James Avery and Elvira in the same household.
We searched for marriage records in Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. There was one listing in Michigan: James W Avery and Alvira Webb were married in Branch County, Michigan on 7 Jan 1872.
In summary, we could find no evidence about a connection between James Merritt Avery and Elvira or Alvira Parazade. It may be that people have confused James Avery of Lake County, MI with another James Avery. We searched the 1860 Michigan census and found 4 others by the name of James Avery (but without an Elvira in the household). From military sources we found a Merritt Avery who served with the 16th Reg Michigan Inf. and two other James Averys.
In 1860 an Alvira Avery is enumerated in Ionia, MI with husband Abel Avery, however this is not the correct person. No other Elvira or Alvira Avery or Parazade appears in the census records of Michigan, that we could find.
James Merritt Avery, of Clinton and Lake County Michigan, was actually married to Sarah Emeline Campbell. They lived together until their death in 1913. They had 5 children.
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