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Norma Lee Stone "Mama O'by" (1884-1976)
Birth, Parents and Siblings
Norma Lee Stone was born on December 6, 1884, in Dixon, Kentucky in Webster County in northwest Kentucky, about 38 miles south of Evansville, Indiana. Dixon was a small, rural town of less than 500 people at the time. Her father, Alexander Barrett Stone, was 28, and her mother, Sarah Jane Jenkins, was 34 when she was born. She had three older brothers, Willis Evans (1883 – 1962), Louis Alvin (1880 – 1959) and Lonnie Vernon (1882 – 1948). Her brother Louis Alvin, known as LA, was a good mentor to his niece, Bonnie Maude Overby. Notably, he was Oakland City College’s secretary-treasurer and business manager where Bonnie Maude attended college. Also notably, her brother Willis lived in Anderson, Indiana, where Bonnie Maude’s father-in-law, Carlos Dinsmore, had been the head pastor at the Baptist Church.
Growing up
In the book Webster County Kentucky Schools Volume 1, Norma attended school with her brothers Louis, Lonnie and Willis in District 47 of Webster County in1895. She attended formal school only up through 8thgrade. As the only daughter, she played a big role in household duties and in helping raise her brothers.
Marriage
She married Robert Lee Overby on November 28, 1901, in Webster County, Kentucky when she was 16 years old and he was 18 years old.
Kids
They had five children over 16 years, starting when she was 18 years old. Elizabeth (Bess: 1903 – 1990), Cletus (Died young: 1906 – 1908), Bonnie Maude (1911 – 1996), Maurice (1913 - 1995), Lois (1919-1988)
Adulthood
She was a farm based, homemaker and active in the Dixon General Baptist Church.
Mama O’by’s oldest daughter, Bess, said this about her mom in a treatise on the Stones and Overbys that she wrote for her granddaughter Jane Barrett, Bessie’s daughter June’s child.
“After our grandfather Alexander Barrett Stone (Jane was named after him.) died (January 1920) (He was a Baptist Minister), Mama and Papa Overby moved in the house with Ma Stone (Sarah Jane Jenkins) and cared for her until her death at 88 years of age. (1938). Ma Stone was considered one of the beautiful women of her day, having pretty black eyes and hair. She was also considered as a lady and acted the part with the burden of the housework and care for three brothers falling heavily on my mother, Mama Overby, the only girl.” Bess Overby Fortenberry.
Bessie again, “you know about Mama Overby and the fact that she is now past 90 years of age, mentally alert, living alone and caring for herself……She is a remarkable woman, having worked hard for her family all her life. She is understanding and agreeable, does not have characteristics common to most older persons, and has set a good example for all of us to follow.” Bess Overby Fortenberry, July 1975.
During most summers growing up, Judy and Bonnie would visit Mama and Papa O’by on their farm.
As reported by her granddaughter, Judy Overby Mitchell:
“I remember Mama Obey talking about always burning the bacon every morning, because when she got up, she was so hungry, she couldn’t cook it slowly! Also, she had green beans on her table nearly every day (probably greasy green beans, because I feel sure she was the originator of that delicious dish. Also, (per Bonnie Elizabeth Dinsmore) Karo syrup which we would mix with soft butter and put it on bread.
She never learned to drive!
When Liz (Elizabeth Mitchell) was just a newborn, I wasn’t working and went to Dixon every Friday. Mama Obey had washed her hair and I would roll on rollers and she would let it dry. That night before bed, she would take out the curlers but not comb her hair until Sunday before church! I think she was the church treasurer for many years, maybe stopping when she was in her late eighties!”
As reported by her granddaughter, Bonnie Dinsmore Riordan
"I remember Mama Obey always saying “mm, mm,” when a fly got in the house! She couldn’t rest until she killed it! (and I remember that if she saw one of those big green garbage flies she would say something like, “That’s one of those bad ones.” Or “that’s one of those awful ones.”
And one of my memories of her was while she and Papa O’by were living on their farm, and Judy and I would watch her churn the milk into butter. She had a wooden bowl that she would put it in to shape it and the wooden lid would leave a design on the top of the round formed butter. Although as I think of it, the design may have come from the bottom of the bowl itself, so that when she turned it out, the design appeared. Judy and I would dance around her, flipping our hair as though some of it might get in the butter which she always sold! Then we’d hear, “Mm,mm!! You girls get out of here with that long hair that could get into my butter!!”
Mama O’by was kind and sweet and generous to a fault. [She was] So loving regarding her grandchildren. I remember one summer during the WWII years when Mom and I were visiting, and it was so hot that the little girl grandchildren were just running around with nothing on except their panties. One of the adults volunteered to drive into Clay and pick up ice cream treats for all. It may have been my Aunt Lois. I thought I had ordered an Eskimo Pie, but when the ice cream treats arrived there was only one Eskimo Pie and that was Mama O’by’s and the only one left for me was a fudgesicle. I cried and moaned because I wanted an Eskimo Pie! Mama O’by pleaded with my mom to let her give me that Eskimo Pie, but Mom wasn’t having any of it from a bratty 8- or 9-year-old, and I was given the fudgesicle. I proceeded to go down and stand in front of the big old tree on the front of their property, fudgesicle in hand and did not eat it, but let it melt and run down my fingers and hands, and finally down my tummy and it ran down over my pink silk panties, all the way down my legs, and finally even in between my toes! As I have said many times before, if I had been my mother I would have killed me!!
Another thing I remember is that when we were visiting, and maybe even in. any case, Mama O’by always had a pot of oatmeal cooked and ready to serve. And in the early years it was cooked on a coal burning stove! It was thick and lush and became creamy as we poured whole milk or cream on it and then added plenty of sugar! A wonderful breakfast treat!
Another great favorite of all were Mama O’by’s bananas rolled in peanuts! Never a summer passed without plenty of those on hand!
Mama O’by took seriously always having a nice plump hen ready for family dinners. She kept a little small single occupier chicken coop right outside the back porch. She would install a hen there and feed her daily a special personal diet of all the best food designed to produce a plump tender hen. And she would talk to that hen as she fed it each day, in the most endearing terms, much like one would speak to a pet. Then the awful day would dawn when the hen was in its peak condition to become a luscious feast. Mama O’by would approach the coop, speaking sweetly, and would then reach in and say, “Come on here little chicky-chick.”, gently grab the hen and head for the side yard, where she would release the hen’s body, hold it by the neck, and start twirling it round and round! By this time Judy and I were on the side porch watching the spectacle of the hen’s being separated from its neck and its body flopping wildly around on the ground. Sad to say, that Judy and I loved watching this happen and felt no anguish for the bird whatever! Of course, our price of admission was to go in the kitchen after Mama scalded the corps to rid it of its primary feathers and pluck the pin feathers that were too small for Mama O'by to see. A residual consequence that I have experienced as an adult, however, is that I can’t eat chicken, roasted or fried if it still looks like a chicken.
Death
Her husband Robert Lee passed away on May 12, 1960, in Dixon, Kentucky, at the age of 78. They had been married 58 years.
She died on June 9, 1976, in Madisonville, Kentucky, at the age of 91. She had a stroke and died 4 days later. Her daughter, Bonnie Maude, was there for a visit, and was able to get Mama O’by medical care and transport to the hospital in Madisonville right away. Her cause of death was as follows from the Death Certificate: Acute Right Hemispheric Cerebral Infarction with (not readable) and Hemiplegia; right middle cerebral artery thrombosis; generalized Atherosclerosis.
She was buried in her hometown of Dixon, Kentucky in the Oak Grove Cemetery, where numerous family members are buried, including her husband.
Highlights About Dixon 1884:
In 1884, Dixon, Kentucky, USA was a small town with a population of around 500 people. The town was primarily agricultural, with many residents working on farms or in related industries. Dixon had a few stores, a school, a church, and a post office. The town was connected to nearby areas by railroads, which facilitated trade and transportation of goods.
Economy and Society
Dixon's economy was centered around agriculture, with tobacco, corn, and wheat being the main crops grown in the area. Many residents were farmers or worked in supporting industries like milling and livestock raising. The town had a close-knit community where neighbors often helped each other out during harvest seasons and social events like church gatherings were important for socializing.
Cultural Diversity
Dixon in 1884 was predominantly inhabited by white settlers, with a small African American population living in the town as well. The town's cultural life revolved around church events, local fairs, and community gatherings. Despite its small size, Dixon had a rich cultural heritage shaped by the traditions and customs of its diverse residents.
Education and Religion
Education was valued in Dixon, with a local school providing basic education to the town's children. The town also had several churches, reflecting the religious diversity of its residents. These churches served as not just places of worship but also as centers for social activities and community support.
Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album
Mama O'by and her mother Sarah Jane Jenkins
Mama O'by
Mama O'by's wedding in 1901
Mama O'by
Mama and Papa O'by's 50th Wedding Anniversary
Mama and Papa O'by's 50th Wedding Anniversary with family
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