William Franklin Avera was born in Alabama, December 23, 1846, and moved to Camden, Ouachita County, Arkansas with his parents at the age of two. With the exception of the war years, he grew up and spent his life in Ouachita County. At the age of sixteen, he joined the Fifth Arkansas Artillery Company, C.S.A., and served for the duration of the war. Upon returning to Ouachita County he became identified with the business, civic and political activities of the county and state. He served two terms as County Judge, three terms in the state legislature from 1875-1878 and from 1885-1886, and was postmaster at Camden. He owned and edited the Ouachita Herald, was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Industrial University, and he held other posts of honor and trust.

Avera died November 19, 1904 in Camden.

In the spring of 1904, while living in Camden, he wrote an account of his life at the request of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lula Avera. He dealt particularly with the Civil War and with social and economic conditions in the years following the war. The memoirs begin in chronological order. After this, the remaining pages are about events written as Avera recalls them. Avera also kept a journal near the end of his life which is included in the memoirs. Avera's grandson, E.H. Cathey, Jr., inspired by his grandfather's memoirs, wrote his own reminiscences. Although he was not born until 1931, Cathey's memoirs build off of the legacy of William Avera.