Eleazer Claiborne Overton (1812-1903)
Son of Jesse Overton
Eleazer C. Overton was the eldest son of Jesse Overton, thus
presumably getting "first shot" at purchasing the family farm near
Columbia, Tennessee. He paid his other siblings $5,700 for their share of
the estate, then proceeded to lose much of the value in the aftermath of the
Civil War. Eleazer is shown in the left photo and his middle son, Claiborne
Hayes Overton (1864-1924) and family on the right. From the left is
Claiborne Hayes; his elder daughter Alleen (Overton) Jackson (b. 1891);
his younger daughter Josephine (b. abt. 1895) and his wife Delle
(Johnson) Overton (1865-1923).
(Above photographs courtesy of Thomas Peebles,
Jr. of Columbia, Tennessee, a direct descendant of Claiborne Hayes Overton)
Eleazer was a prolific penman, and many of his letters to his
brother John F. Overton in Texas have been preserved, transcribed and available
for online
reading at the Smith County, Texas Rootsweb website. One particular
letter from Eleazer was addressed to his half first cousin, once removed, Miss
Martha "Mattie" Belle Overton (b. abt. 1860), also called
"Pet" by her family. This letter is a "must read" for
any Overton family historian. "Mattie" is pictured below, along
with her husband, Judge Franklin D. Brame (b. abt. 1855).
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Click
here to go to the Childress/Mathis Family Tree data on Roots Web for notes
on the above individuals.
More Overton Ancestor Photos:
