OVERTON, John H., Avoyelles, then Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller




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Overton, John H., the well known attorney of Alexandria, was born in 
Marksville, Sept. 18, 1875.  He is the son of Judge Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Waddill) Overton, the former of whom is elsewhere extensively written 
about in this volume.  Elizabeth Waddill was a native of Louisiana and a 
daughter of John T. Waddill, a prominent lawyer of this state, of Scotch 
descent.  The Overtons are of English extraction and are descendants of 
Gen. Overton of Hull, England.  The father of Judge Thomas Overton was 
John Holmes Overton, a native of Tennessee, who came to Louisiana in the 
early part of the last century.  In this state he became a prominent lawyer 
and served as district judge for 25 years.  His father was Thomas Overton 
of Tennessee, a captain of the Dragoons in the Revolutionary war, intimate 
friend of Andrew Jackson, and long prominently identified with Tennessee 
history, the name of Overton being inseparably connected with the state 
both historically and geographically.  The present John H. Overton of 
Alexandria is the youngest child of his parents, was educated in the 
Louisiana state university where he graduated in 1895.  Subsequently he 
took a course in the law school of Tulane, from which he received the 
degree of LL. B., 1897.  The following year he located in Alexandria and 
began the practice of his profession.  Mr. Overton is and has been active 
in political affairs of Louisiana and during the last state election 
campaigned the state with Gov. Hall.  Fraternally, he is prominent in 
the Masonic order, having attained the Knight Templar degree in York Rite, 
and the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite.  In 1905 he was married to Ada 
Ruth, daughter of M. L. and Katie (Jack) Dismukes, a well known family 
of Natchitoches, La.  They have 2 daughters Katherine and Ruth.  Although 
still comparatively young, Mr. Overton has acquired an enviable place in 
the bar of Louisiana.


Source:  Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, 
Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), 
p. 340.  Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D.  Published in 1914, by 
Century Historical Association.