Charles W. Chesnutt to Elroy M. Avery, 21 August 21 1924
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August 21, 1924
Hon. Elroy M. Avery,
New Port Richey,
Florida.
My dear Mr. Avery,
I was distinctly pleased to receive by mail the other day, presumably from you, a copy of the pamphlet describing the Municipal birthday party at which you were inaugurated as octogenarian and the Grand Old Man of the community which is honored by your residence in its midst.1
As a citizen of Cleveland who has enjoyed your acquaintance and friendship for many years, I could repeat everything Mr. Jackson, Mr. Baker2 and Mr. Pack have said, as quoted in the booklet, and add more to it, but I shall content myself by adding my congratulations to theirs and those of the others who have expressed themselves.3 Permit me to hope that you may live to celebrate many more birthdays, which, in view of your fine physique and excellent health, if they have not changed from what I remember, is more than likely.
Cordially yours, CWC:WCorrespondent: Elroy McKendree Avery (1844–1935) was a White educator, politician and historian who was originally from Michigan but came to Cleveland after serving in the Civil War. He worked as a high school principal (1872–1878) and textbook publisher and wrote several books on the history of Cleveland. He served on the Cleveland City Council (1891–1892) and then in the Ohio State Senate (1893–1897). He remained involved in education and publishing, and Chesnutt likely knew him before they both became members of the Tresart Club and involved in locating the land purchased by the Chester Cliffs Company around 1903 (see Helen Chesnutt, Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Pioneer of the Color Line [Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1952], 186–188). In 1919, Avery relocated to New Port Richey, Florida, with his second wife, Ella.
1. The pamphlet was likely a reprint of an extended article, "Dr. Avery is Honor Guest of Townsmen," New Port Richey Press, Friday, July 17, 1924 (1, 6, 8) on the occasion of Avery's 80th birthday on July 14, 1924. Since moving there in 1919, Avery had founded the Avery Library and Historical Society in town, and compiled a history of the community that was published in September of 1924 through the Society. In October 1924, New Port Richey, Florida (population just over 800), voted to incorporate the town; Avery was chosen as its first mayor and served until the first mayoral election in December 1925. [back]
2. Newton D. Baker (1871–1937) was a White lawyer and Democratic politician born in West Virginia. After earning a law degree from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, he practiced law in West Virginia and then in Cleveland, Ohio, where he founded the prestigious corporate law firm Baker, Hostetler, and Sidlo, in 1916. In Cleveland, he served as city solicitor (1901–1909) and mayor (1912–1915), then as U.S. Secretary of War (1916–1921). He then returned to his law practice and remained a leader in the Democratic party in Ohio as well as serving as president of Cleveland's Chamber of Commerce. In early 1932 he showed interest in running for president, but did not publicly announce; his name was also circulated as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee. [back]
3. Alongside Newton D. Baker, the former mayor of Cleveland, the two others are also mentioned as congratulants with Cleveland connections who sent letters or telegrams in "Dr. Avery is Honor Guest of Townsmen" (New Port Richey Press Friday, July 17, 1924, 6): James F. Jackson (1861–1927), long-time General Secretary of the Cleveland Associated Charities (1904–10, 1912–27) and Cleveland's General Superintendent of the Department of Charities and Correction (1910–12), and Charles L. Pack (1857–1937), of New Jersey, who had grown up in Cleveland and was the major force behind the "Victory Garden" or war garden movement during World War I. Chesnutt occasionally corresponded with Baker, but likely also knew the other two personally. [back]
