James "William"
Overfield Sr.
(1853-1937)
James
"William" Overfield Sr. was born on Aug. 3, 1853 in Barbour
County, WV, the
son of John Edgar and Sarah (Hanshaw)
Overfield.
Said the Preston County (WV) Journal, "He was a native of Barbour county but came to Preston when a young man and lived here since."
William married Anna Eliza "Lida" Zinn (1859-1938), a native of Preston County, and the daughter of Alexander W. and Anna E. (Wright) Zinn. They had eight children -- Ida Brown, Bessie A. Born, Roxie Peterson, Eva Summers, Percy "Jean" Grandon, Nettie Born, James William "Junior" Overfield and George Overfield.
For
many years, William resided at Brown Mills near Reedsville, Preston County, WV,
where he labored as a farmer.
At the death of his uncle Dr. Guy Hanshaw in 1908, William was entitled to one-forty-eighth of the estate. He received an immediate payout from the estate of $38.54 in 1909. At intervals over the years, through 1942, he received royalty payments from the oil and gas wells. The high point was in 1918, when he received $16.36. In total, he received $171.74 in inheritance.
William
died of a stroke at the age of 83, on Jan. 16, 1937, while living in the home of
son J.W. Overfield Jr. in Lumberport, near Reedsville, WV. He was buried at Reedsville Cemetery,
following the funeral at the Methodist Episcopal Church. In his obituary, the Clarksburg
Exponent said he was "one of the county's oldest residents." At the time of his
death, William and Eliza had 52 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
The following year, on Sept. 14, 1938, Eliza passed away, at age 79, and was laid to rest beside her husband. She had suffered from stomach cancer. Daughter Roxie was the informant for her death certificate.
Daughter Ida Overfield (1881-1976) married Walter F. Brown (1882-1973). Circa 1937, the Browns lived in nearby Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV. In 1957, they were in Rock Forge near Reedsville. Walter passed away in 1973, and Ida died in 1976. They are buried in Reedsville Cemetery.
Daughter Bessie Overfield (1885- ? ) married Kasper H. Born (1875-1973). They lived in Reedsville. They had at least one daughter, Lillie V. Born (1904-1905) who died at age 1. Bessie became interested in the inheritance situation in 1959, "while visiting in Salem W.Va. recently, [and] decided to go into Harrisville, W.Va., to learn what she could about the heirs' interest there." She found the estate administrators "evasive," but learned of the existence of other heirs. Kasper died at age 98 in 1973, and was laid to rest in the Reedsville Cemetery.
Son
J.W. "Junior" Overfield (1897-1957) lived in Lumberport, Harrison County, WV in
1937, where he likely labored in coal mines. By the mid-1950s, he was residing
in Dellslow, Monongalia County. He married Jessie Lee (1901-1973) and had 11 children --
Dair Overfield, James Overfield, Perry Overfield, Junior Overfield, Clifford
Overfield, Jessie Teaford, Betty Pyles, Bonnie Bradley, Shirley Overfield,
Sandra Overfield and Judith Overfield. Said the Preston County Journal,
he "was a veteran of World War I, having served with the 312th Field
Artillery. His last employment was as night watchman for the G.C. Murphy Co. in
Morgantown. He was a member of the Mellon's Methodist Chapel, Veterans of
Foreign Wars and District 50 of United Mine Workers." Junior died in the
Veterans Administration Hospital in Clarksburg, Harrison County on Feb. 24,
1957, at the age of 60, of liver and colon cancer. He was buried in the
Reedsville Cemetery. Jessie outlived him by 16 years. She passed away on June
10, 1973.
Daughter Roxie Overfield ( ? - ? ) married R.W. Peterson and lived in Morgantown in the late 1930s. By the late 1950s, and at least as recently as 1971, she was residing in Baltimore, MD.
Daughter Nettie
Overfield
(1891-1939) married Edd Born (1871-1948), a lifelong resident of Preston County,
and the son of German immigrants Jacob and Mary (Oupkey) Born. He was two
decades older than she was. They resided at Reedsville, Preston County. They had
16 children -- Glen Born, Guy Born, Harry Born, Jacob Born, Gerald Born, George
Born, Carl Born, Edward Born, Robert Ford Born, Mrs. Russell Trickett, Jessie
Baldwin, Eveadell Wilhelm, Waunita Nuce, Mrs. Judson Trickett, Mary Rose
Trickett and Dorothy Jean Born. Nettie died in 1939, at the age of 48. Tragically, their
son Robert died of uremia and acute nephritis
at age 12, on Jan. 9, 1941. He was buried at the Reedsville Cemetery. Edd passed
away on March 29, 1948, on his 70th birthday, and he was laid to rest beside his
wife and son. Their grave was decorated with bright red flowers when
photographed in June 2006.
Daughter Eva Overfield (1892-1980) first was married married (?) Summers. Circa 1937, she was married again, to Charles Francis Taylor (1891-1954), the son of John Reuben and Emily Jane (Blaney) Taylor. They resided in Reedsville, where Charles labored as a coal miner. He was a member of the United Mine Workers of America. Charles passed away at age 63, on Oct. 31, 1954, of hardening of the arteries, along with rheumatoid arthritis. Eva died at age 88 in 1980, and was buried beside her husband at Reedsville. Their sons Charles Edgar and Harry Francis and daughter Helen Virginia Taylor also are buried at Reedsville. Their surviving children were May Oma Born, Lois Smith, Lucille Martin and Melba DeGolyer.
Son
George A. Overfield (1882-1971) married Hester P. ( ?
-1966). He resided in Reedsville, in the section of Rock Forge. In the dead of winter 1939, he visited the offices of
the Preston County Journal in Kingwood, bringing with him an old
newspaper, the Ulster County Gazette, dated Jan. 4, 1880. "The paper was
published by Samuel Freer & Son," said the Journal. "It
carried several interesting articles about them being an account of the death
and burial of General Washington and the opening address of President John Adams
to Congress. The paper was well preserved and had many things of interest of the
early history." George was a longtime employee of the A & P Store, and
was a member of the Piedmont United Methodist Church. In 1971, when he was 88,
George fell at home, and was taken to University Hospital in Morgantown. He died
there on March 2, 1971. Burial was in the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Westernport,
MD.
Daughter Percy "Jean" Overfield ( ? - ? ) married
Philip Grandon. They lived in Bakersfield, CA in 1937 and were still there in
1971.
In 1950, Bonnie Overfield of Arthurdale (seen at left) served as a Festival Princess at the Ninth Annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival. It is not known precisely how she fits into the family, but this is being researched. Distant cousin John "Donald" Everly (son of J. Ami Everly) served as one of the event organizers. The festival celebrated Preston County's position as "West Virginia's and the nation's number one county in the production of buckwheat," said a 1958 festival program. "Preston County threshed 63,800 bushels and had an acreage of 2,831... This grain is used in astronomical proportions during the Festival. It is the principal ingredient of 15,700 buckwheat dinners served at three Kingwood serving centers." The Festival honored local achievements and public service in the areas of firefighting, education and agriculture.
Copyright © 2004, 2006, 2008 Mark A. Miner