Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Robert Lee Overby "Papa O'by" (1882-1960)
Birth, Parents and Siblings
Lee Overby was born on February 16, 1882, in Dixon, Kentucky, Webster County to parents Macy Ellen Cavanah, age 26, and John W. Overby, age 30. He was the third oldest of eight children, including Willie Truman (5 SEP 1864 - 16 AUG 1913), Lucinda (25 JAN 1876 - 27 AUG 1878), Edward Bayless (2 APR 1878), Rufus (15 FEB 1889), Drew Leamon (5 May 1880), Mattie B (SEP 1885) and George White (22 JUL1892).
Growing up
According to Webster County Schools Volume 1, in 1895 Robert attended school along with his siblings in District 4 of Webster Co. No picture of his school was recorded.
Marriage & Children
He married Norma Lee Stone on November 28, 1901, in Webster, Kentucky when he was 18 years old and she was 16 years old. Possibly right after graduating from school in Dixon and several months after his father died in June. They had five children in 16 years, starting when he was 20 years old, including Elizabeth (Bess: 1903 – 1990), Cletus (Died young: 1906 – 1908), Bonnie Maude (1911 – 1996), Maurice (1913 - 1995) and Lois (1919-1988). Later in life he and Norma were known as Papa and Mama O’by by their grandchildren and even children, which was the young grandchildren’s attempt to pronounce Overby.
Adulthood
On his WWI draft card, he was described as stout, medium height, light brown hair and blue eyes. On his WWII draft card his height was recorded as 5’8”, weight 210, blue eyes, gray hair, complexion ruddy.
According to the 1900 census, he is still living at home as a student. It is unclear where he and Norma lived from 1901 to 1908 but likely living with either her or his parents.
Robert and Norma Overby bought an 81.75 acre farm from A. B. and Sarah Stone, Norma’s father and mother, on January 1,1908 (DB 47, page 248), for $1000, when Robert was 26 years old, $600 down and a note for $400. They bought this property months before Cletus died 25 May 1908. Robert was listed as a farmer in the 1910 census. He sold it to James P. Duncan on April 7, 1919 (DB 59, page 568) for $1,500.
In February or 1920, Robert and Norma moved in with Mama O’by’s mother, Sarah Jane (Jenkins) Stone when her dad, A B Stone died, in order to take care of her until she died in May 1938. This would have been shortly after his mother, Macy Cavanah, died in January of 1920. In the 1920 census, he is listed as a drayman, likely responsible for driving a dray, a type of low, flatbed wagon, typically pulled by horses or mules to transport goods, materials, and equipment to and from the railroad station, or to move goods within the railroad yard. After Sarah Jane died in 1938, Robert and Norma bought their own home in Dixon on US 41.
Robert was Sheriff of Webster County from 1930 until 1934, which would have been during the peak of the Great Depression. Henderson to Evansville, he patrolled the bridge over highway 41 over the Ohio River, which had been rebuilt in 1932. It became the BiState Vietnam Gold Start Memorial Bridge in 1965 and is currently being renovated as part of the NAFTA Superhighway. One November during that time, one of the incidents that he was called to during his stint as sheriff was striking coal miners stopping an Illinois Central freight train between Providence and Wheatcroft in Webster County, in the heart of the coal fields. They flagged it down with a red lantern to warn the engineer and the crew not to haul any more coal or empty cars into that territory. The engineer backed up 6 miles to Wheatcroft and notified Robert, who organized a posse, but by the time they reached the scene the miners had dispersed. No arrests were made the following day.
On February 15,1932, or April 8,1932 Robert and Norma bought another farm, the one Judy (Judy Overby Mitchell, granddaughter) and Bonnie E (Bonnie Elizabeth Dinsmore, granddaughter) played on every summer when Bonnie E and her mother, Bonnie M were visiting. They bought it at a Master Commissioner Sale at the courthouse door (deed says “liquidation of Webster County Bank and T. C. White et al.”) (Commissioners Deed Book of Sales 6, page 88.) It was 175 acres, consisting of 5 tracts. On this farm there were crops over the years, corn, beans and wheat. Bonnie E has found a ledger of Robert’s and Norma’s, dating back to the early 30’s detailing their purchase of seed for corn, threshing wheat, seed sacks, and purchases and sale of hogs, and cows, and listings of payments for oil produced in their oil wells, clear on up through 1947. This farm was home to cows, horses, for pulling the ploughs and for riding, (Judy’s mother Jane Lofton Overby and Bonnie E’s mother, Bonnie Maude Overby Dinsmore were both excellent horse women.), pigs to slop, and fatten up for the time of slaughter (They could be heard squealing at the back of the farm.), Bonnie E used to help her Grandpa slop the hogs, but she never made the connection between the feeding and the slaughtering. There were also chickens for laying eggs and providing the occasional Sunday dinner. There were dogs outside, Shep in particular, and barn cats. This farm did not have indoor plumbing, so there was an outhouse which could be reached by going out the back kitchen door, and going left past the smoke house, a bit further from the house. It was a two-hole outhouse, and there was a Sears catalog inside, the provision for toilet paper. The farm was located on State Route 132, between Dixon and Clay. He was listed as a farmer in the 1940 census.
They sold the farm to Herman Clark for $15,000 October 29,1947, and they moved into the house in Dixon, 7 N. Main Street. Mr. Clark made payments of $2,500 for 6 years until paid in full. Robert reserved all the coal and mineral rights from the farm, and the payments on those rights now come down to Bonnie E, Judy, and Jim, per stirpes (Imagine a grandparent creating a will and leaving their estate to their three children (A, B, and C) per stirpes. If child A dies before the grandparent, child A’s children (the grandchildren) will inherit A’s share, split equally among them.).
According to Bonnie Elizabeth Dinsmore Riordan:
"That house had a great wrap-around porch and a porch swing. Judy and I would sit on that swing with Papa, and he would let us tickle him till he laughed and cried! Other times he would sit on the swing by himself, watching the people and cars passing by, and he would often be chewing on a plug of tobacco! Chewing tobacco at that time was quite an accepted practice for farmers and men in rural areas. When they came into town to do business at the bank or the courthouse, they would find brass spittoons available for disposing of their chew."
"Judy and I loved sitting on that swing together too, and we would count the cars that went by, decide which ones we might want someday. Another of our pastimes while out on the porch, was killing flies! We became quite adept at it once we learned that flies take off backwards. To this day, I rarely miss because I learned in Dixon on that porch that flies take off backwards."
"One of the amazing things Papa O’by allowed Judy and I to do one summer afternoon was take his 1946 Ford and drive it around! I drove us into Providence, not remembering that the downtown area was on a steep hill! We learned a lot about using a clutch and a stick shift that afternoon! And Providence was with us in Providence and all our driving around that day!"
Robert and his son-in-law, Charles Fortenberry (husband to his daughter, Bess), opened an auto repair shop in downtown Dixon when Charlie and Bess sold their farm and moved to Dixon. In fact, Charlie and Bess moved to Main Street next to the Smith family and across the street from Mama and Papa Overby. Bonnie Elizabeth, “I remember the smell of the oil and all, as I walked past the garage on my way into town to get the mail.” Apparently, the repair shop was moderately successful. Bess had to get a job in Madisonville at the welfare office to add to her and Charlie’s income at that time.
By the 1950 census he is categorized as “OT”, which indicates that the person was doing something other than working, keeping house, or being unable to work during the reference week. This category was used for individuals who were engaged in activities other than those specifically listed on the census forms.
According to Bonnie Elizabeth Dinsmore Riordan:
"Papa O’by was a loving, kind, generous, modest man who loved his family dearly, and did everything in the world to make them happy. I observed to my mom one day that I had not seen Papa going to church in all my summers there in Dixon. My mom shared that Papa had said he didn’t feel worthy to go to church - that somehow it wouldn’t be right for him to do so. But he was a believer and loved God as far as I was ever able to discern and was a member of Little Zion General Baptist Church. In the end, when he passed away, he made it to church in Dixon, the General Baptist Church where he was eulogized at his funeral by loving family and many friends."
Death
He passed away on May 12, 1960, in Dixon, Kentucky, at the age of 78. Robert and Norma had been married for 58 years. He died of congestive heart failure due to arteriosclerosis.
He was buried in his hometown of Dixon, Kentucky in the Oak Grove Cemetery, where numerous family members are buried. At that point Bonnie Elizabeth had just been engaged to Bob Riordan, so Bonnie Maude said, “Don’t bring Bob to the funeral” because nobody would know him.
Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album
Young Papa O'by
Papa O'by in his hammock.
Papa O'by as Sheriff of Webster County
Example of Papa O'by's 1946 Ford, which was actually acqua green.
(Bonnie to fill in)
Papa and Mama O'by
Show More