Thomas Overton
{{Short description|American army officer}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thomas Overton
| image = US General Thomas Overton.jpg
| alt =
| caption = General Overton, c. 1812
| birth_name =
| birth_date = August 15, 1753
| birth_place = Louisa County, Virginia, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1824|2|27|1753|8|15}}
| death_place = Tennessee, U.S.
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| spouse = {{marriage|Sarah Woodson|1787|1793|end=died}}
{{marriage|Penelope Holmes|1795}}
| children = 5 (incl. Walter)
| relatives = John Overton (brother)
Gabriel Holmes (brother-in-law)
Thomas Overton Moore (grandson)
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Thomas Overton (August 15, 1753 – February 27, 1824) was an American military and political leader, best known for having been the second to Andrew Jackson in his duel with Charles Dickinson in 1806.{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.ky.gov/land/journal/articles/bryant/dueling.htm |title=Kentucky: Secretary of State - Although Kentucky law forbade dueling... |website=www.sos.ky.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325132616/http://sos.ky.gov/land/journal/articles/bryant/dueling.htm |archive-date=2008-03-25}}
Biography
Thomas Overton was born in Louisa County, Virginia on August 15, 1753. His parents were James Overton and Mary Waller. His younger brother, John (of Travellers Rest) would go on to become one of Andrew Jackson's closest friends and was the founder of the city of Memphis. Overton served throughout the Revolutionary War in the Continental Army, and was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati in Virginia.{{cite web |title=Officers Represented in the Society of the Cincinnati |url=https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/soldiers-and-sailors-of-the-revolutionary-war/officers-represented-in-the-society-of-the-cincinnati/ |website=The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati |access-date=19 March 2021}}{{Cite book|url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6951503M/List_of_original_members_of_the_Society_of_the_Cincinnati_in_the_State_of_Virginia.|title=List of original members of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia.|first=Society of the Cincinnati in the State of|last=Virginia|date=Aug 22, 1896|publisher=The Society|ol=6951503M|accessdate=Aug 22, 2020|via=The Open Library}}
He was first appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th Virginia Regiment in 1776 and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1778. He was transferred to the 1st Virginia Regiment on March 14, 1778 and was made a Lieutenant, adjutant of the 4th Continental Dragoons on July 1, 1779. He was made a Captain on April 24, 1781.
Overton married Sarah Woodson (1760-1793) in 1787, and they were married until her death. Overton then married Penelope Holmes (1765-1843) (a sister of Gabriel Holmes) in 1795. He had five children (three with Woodson and two with Holmes): his daughter Jane (by his first wife) was the mother of Thomas Overton Moore, Governor of Louisiana from 1860 to 1864, and his son (by his first wife) Walter Hampden Overton was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1828.{{Cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=O000147|title=Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details|website=bioguideretro.congress.gov|accessdate=Aug 22, 2020}}
He spent a number of years in mid-life in North Carolina (where he represented Moore County as a Senator in the State Legislature,{{cite web |url=https://www.carolana.com/NC/Early_Statehood/nc_statehood_1800_senate_1792-1793.html |url-access= |title=North Carolina State Senate 1792-1793 |last= |first= |author= |author-link= |last2= |first2= |author2= |author-link2= |date= |year= |orig-date= |website=www.carolana.com |series= |publisher=J.D. Lewis |language=English |access-date=20 August 2024}} which made him a Brigadier General), and around 1804 he moved to Tennessee, where he died on February 27, 1824.https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11384394/thomas-overton
References
{{Reflist}}
Read more
- Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution [https://books.google.com/books?id=C3gZAQAAIAAJ&dq=Sarah+Woodson+and+John+Butler&pg=RA1-PA183 Volumes 59-60]
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=147696 Historical Marker for General Thomas Overton]
- [http://www.sos.ky.gov/land/journal/articles/bryant/dueling.htm The Duel Between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson]
- [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11384394/thomas-overton Find A Grave-Thomas Overton]
- [https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org Society of the Cincinnati]
- [https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/ American Revolution Institute]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, Thomas}}
Category:People from Louisa County, Virginia