John Avery (politician)

Summary

John Avery (February 29, 1824 – January 21, 1914) was a physician and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897.

John Avery
From 1896's An Illustrated Congressional Manual.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 11th district
In office
March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897
Preceded bySamuel M. Stephenson
Succeeded byWilliam S. Mesick
Member of the Michigan Board of Health
In office
1880–1893
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office
1869–1870
Personal details
Born(1824-02-29)February 29, 1824
Watertown, New York, US
DiedJanuary 21, 1914(1914-01-21) (aged 89)
Greenville, Michigan, US
Resting placeForest Home Cemetery
Greenville, Michigan
Alma materCleveland Medical College
ProfessionPhysician
Military service
AllegianceUnited States (Union)
Branch/serviceUnion Army
Years of service1862-1865
RankMajor (Surgeon)
Unit21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsMarch to the Sea
Carolinas Campaign

Early life and education edit

Avery was born in Watertown, New York, and moved with his parents to Michigan in 1836. He attended the common schools and entered Grass Lake Academy in Jackson, where he studied medicine for two years. He graduated from the Cleveland Medical College in 1850 and commenced the practice of medicine in Ionia, Michigan. He then moved to Otsego, Michigan, in 1852 and continued the practice of his profession.[1]

Civil War service edit

During the American Civil War, he was assistant surgeon and surgeon of the Twenty-first Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He served in the Army of the Cumberland in Kentucky and Tennessee and was with General William Tecumseh Sherman on his March to the Sea, as well as during the subsequent Carolinas Campaign.[1]

Political career edit

He settled in Greenville, Michigan, in 1868 and again engaged in the practice of medicine. He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1869 and 1870. He was appointed a member of the State Board of Health in 1880 and was reappointed in 1886.

Avery was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives for the Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1897. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1896.[1]

After leaving Congress, Avery went back to Greenville and returned to the practice of medicine. He died at the age of eighty-nine and was interred at Forest Home Cemetery of Greenville.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Who Was Who in American History - the Military. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8379-3201-9.

External links edit

  • 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Page on Avery
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by United States Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Michigan
1893 – 1897
Succeeded by