Thomas Arrington Avera was born on February 20, 1890, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Avera was an attorney and cashier at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Rocky Mount when he applied for and received exemption from the military draft of World War I. Outraged citizens, who felt he had been given exemption due only to privilege, appealed to the governor who asked the exemption board to take another look at the case. Avera was subsequently inducted into the service in February 1918, serving stateside in administrative roles until his honorable discharge the following November. Avera died in Rocky Mount on April 5, 1952.