"The Capital Rover"

 Jeremiah DeBolt Overturf

1811 - 1901

 The following sketch of Lou's 3rd great grandfather comes from a publication

 "History of the OVERTURFS"

written by N.F. Overturf, 1924

"Jeremiah D. Overturf (the D. is probably for Debolt) was the fifth son and probably the eighth child of the ancestral family [Simon and Mary DeBolt Overturf], regardless of birth or any other rank, he was the capital rover of the family.

"A Mr. Samuel Oliver, who once resided east of Old Eden, Delaware County, Ohio, said he was at one time a near neighbor of Jeremiah, who owned a forty-acre tract where he lived and made his ends for necessity by shoe making.  This forty-acres was a deadening in prime shape to clear.  That Jerry would stand out by his cabin and in vision seem to see, what ease to him would come if his land produced, would with a sweep of eye and hand say, 'all that deadening will be in corn this spring.'  Spring passed, clearing not done.  Then he would say, 'Well, too late for corn, but buckwheat is a better crop for a poor man and I will clear it and put it in buckwheat.'  Clearing not done in summer Jerry would say, 'Fall of the year is the best time to clear and anyway a winter wheat crop is the best and on that new land it will make a crop if sown as late as Christmas and I'll put her all in winter wheat.'  The deadening was still there after Christmas, and he finally sold out and moved away and left the deadening.

"Whether this tale is true or false, it proves an abiding faith in the future, an unquenched hope for the better, a desire to build higher and slothful as it may appear.  Jerry's unswerving grind on hope likely crushed many of his discouragements and he somehow attained above the average of men in finance, moral and religious contact, a social life of varied conditions of family bonds.

"Narrator [N.F. Overturf] about 1892, accidentally got into correspondence with him and he wrote.  He was then living in Star City, Texas with his fourth wife; that Texas was the seventh state he had made a home in; was in the shoe trade; had several properties and was in easy circumstances.  His wife died soon after and he took up his home in Oregon, at or near Clear Water, where he died at an advanced age, best recollection is he was past 95.

"The correspondence mentioned continued until about the time of his death; was always clear and well expressed, well written in his own hand and far surpassed many written by men of much younger years.  One contained his photograph, shows a full bearded, keen eyed, self confident look, with a demeanor that expresses courage and determination void of worry, but full of hope."

I'm not sure exactly what a "capital rover" is, but wouldn't you love to have known him?  

I'll bet he had some great stories to tell!

This picture is simply labeled "Grandpa Overturf," so I'm assuming it is Jeremiah Overturf.  If you have other or additional information, please email me.