Everage / Etheridge

Our oldest Everage relatives may acutally have been Etheridge due to spelling errors by Census takers and other public officials.  The oldest known in this line is Thomas Etheridge who was born in 1605 in England. Next in line were Thomas Etheridge, then Marmaduke Etheridge, Solomon Ehteridge, Abner Etheridge wo was born in 1695 in Virginia.  His son, Abner was listed as Etheridge and Everage.  For years I never knew who he had married, but I knew a sad little story about her. 

Abner left his family in North Carolina to serve in the Revolutionary War.  While he was gone it fell to his wife to care for the farm and care for their four children, Mary Ann, Joseph M., Solomon and Nellie Everage.  Apparentley, it grew too much for her.  One day when the older children were out in the fields, she tied the young ones to the bed and walked away.  She was never seen again and assumed to have fallen over a cliff and died.  I know you could think of her as being weak, but it always touched me as how said it was that she couldn't face the challenges when so many women in the family have been strong mothers.

The four children ended up coming to Letcher county with other early pioneers.  Mary Ann had two children from an unknown father. 

These children ended up