Lillian Drake Avery Research Card Collection – Key to Abbreviations

Lillian Drake Avery was a machine. A research machine. She put some serious horsepower into the indexing and cataloging of the OCPHS library and collection over a long number of years. We are to this day very grateful for her contributions to the society and to her efforts to record and preserve Oakland County’s history (and getting women the right to vote!)

She was also very active in a number of Oakland County’s organizations:

Mrs. Lillian Drake Avery was born November 22, 1856, at Farmington. She was graduated at the high school at Chelsea. For three years Miss Drake taught school at Farmington, until she married (October 22. 1879) Dr. A. H. Avery, a schoolmate at the Chelsea high school, and a graduate of the University of Michigan, medical department. In 1885, Dr. and Mrs. Avery moved to Pontiac, where Dr. Avery died in 1911, and where Mrs. Avery still resides. In 1892, Mrs. Avery became the first president of the History Class. This organization is now known as the Woman’s Literary Club. She was early associated with the work of the Chautauqua Circle and from 1887 to 1895. she was a member of the Ladles’ Library Board. When the General Richardson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, was formed, she was one of the charter members and served as vice-regent two years and as regent for the years 1902-1903. She has been Registrar of the chapter since 1905. The compilation of genealogical records of the Ingersoll family has occupied much of Mrs. Avery’s time for the last fifteen years. Another work in which she is also much interested is” the compilation of the records of the old families of Oakland county.

Source: “Michigan Historical Collections,” vol. xxxix, 1915, pg.436.

One of her legacies is a set of research cards prepared by her as she researched families, places, and events. Mrs. Avery of course abbreviated these records a great deal, and wasn’t always consistent.

Here is a key to the abbreviations we most commonly see in these cards: