Overmier Family

John Overmyer was born December 24, 1806, in New Berlin, Union County, Pennsylvania. He married Sarah Hendricks in Sandusky County, Ohio, on May 5, 1833.

In the spring of 1849 John Overmyer moved to Washington Township, Henry County, Ohio, upon a tract of school lands, (Sec. 16) one mile north of Washington Station, now Colton, on a tract partly improved. His family occupied a round log cabin in the woods on the banks of Bad Creek. This tract had been leased from the State of Ohio by Abraham Snyder, a cousin of Mrs. John Overmyer.

Abraham Snyder was well known in Henry County as a deer hunter. He made his home three years with the Overmyer family and supplied them and their neighbors with plenty of game, some of which was hauled from the woods by Mr. Overmyer with a team of oxen.

Amid the other trials of pioneer life the family was afflicted with the "Maumee Shakes" or the "Black Swamp Ague" every summer which scorched them with fever and chilled them by turns until it made their teeth chatter.

While residing here John Overmyer found time to clear up a spot of ground and build a house 20 x 28 ft., on Section 17, canal land in Washington Township, which he had previously entered from the government. This was two and a half miles west of Colton.

John Overmyer was a trustee, supervisor, and juror in Washington Township where he lived for forty years until his death in 1889, and he is buried in Union Cemetery (now Mohler) Henry Co., Ohio. He had previously lived in Fremont, Sandusky Co., Ohio, where he spent sixteen toilsome years in clearing up his farm, only to lose it by paying bail money for a "friend" who skipped bail.

Since his grandfather came to this country from Germany in 1752, he was a member of the German Lutheran Reformed Church and the German Dunkard Church. He attended the German and English country schools and he helped his father farm and do cabinet making. He taught school in his neighborhood as a young man.

He had five sons: Philamon, Samuel, John H., Jacob, and Benjamin F., and five daughters, Elizabeth, Cathrine, Sarah, Harriet, and Rebecca. Many of his ancestors still live in this area. These descendants, now spelled Overmier, are as follows: Elizabeth died at nineteen. Catherine married John Henry Myers. Philamon married Sarah Miller, was in the Civil War, and was captured by Hood's Army and was never heard from again. Sarah married John J. Hiser. Harriet also married a Hiser. John H. married Ebenette Orton and moved to Michigan. Rebecca married Ralph Rood and Henry Hovey, her second husband. Jacob married Anna Biggins and lived in Napoleon and was a blacksmith for T. H. Biggins. Later he had his own shop. He was a member of the Napoleon Lodge #256 F. and A.M.

He died in 1931. Benjamin F. married Elsie E. Vreland. He also belonged to the Napoleon Lodge #256 F. and A.M.

Samuel, being the writer’s great grandfather, will be listed in detail. Samuel was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, in 1842, and moved with his parents, John and Sarah Overmier to Henry County in April, 1849. He attended school in the winter and worked on his father's farm in the summer. At times he helped his uncle John Hendricks in a brick yard; also he helped John Waggoner operate a horse powered threshing machine. In 1862 he worked for his Uncle Jonah Hendricks in Sandusky County, Ohio. There on October 18, 1862, he enlisted as a soldier of the Civil War. He was assigned to Company D, 14th regiment O.V.I. He took active part in the battle of Lookout Mt., Jonesborough and Chickamauga, where on Sept. 19, 1863 he was wounded, the ball penetrating through his left arm and shoulder. Enduring the hardship of army life, the enemy having burned their supplies, he and his partner Henry Andrix subsisted on parched corn which they would take from the mules. He was discharged July 11, 1865. He returned to Colton, Ohio, and on Oct. 14, 1866, married Mary E. Kessler and moved on his father's farm. They had five children: William Henry, Hattie B., James I., John E., and Arthur E.

William Henry married Eva Shoup and they had Bey, Imo B., Helen F., and Sarah E. Bey married Dolly Patton and they had Bernard. Imo married Zerbe Mohler and they had Royce. She then married Paul Weinert and they had Vern, Bill, Helen, and Betty. Helen F. married Homer Sharp and they had Dale and Lawrence. Sarah married George Campbell II and they had George III, and Ritsman. She resides in Napoleon. Hattie married George F. Slater and they had a son Faye E. He and his wife Marian have Jim and Carol. John E. married Blanche Alspaugh and they had Raymon and Gladys. Arthur E. married Josephine Trojan, born in France. James I., the writer's grandfather, married Gertrude Smith. They had Howard K., Beryl L., Frank S., and Leslie L. Howard K. Overmier, the writer's father, married Oneita Kigar and they had Marvin L., Richard W., James Bryce, Robert H., Milton L., and Paul L. Marvin Overmier married Arlene Mann and Mary Faber, his second wife. They live in Toledo, and he is a postal worker. Richard W. Overmier married Donelda Ellinwood and they have Gary L. and Randy M. They reside in Napoleon and he is a dentist. James B. Overmier married Jeanne Nolan. They have Kathy, Marsha, Connie, James, Sandra, and Beth. They reside in Leipsic, Ohio and he is a physician. Robert H. Overmier married Velma Miller. They have Debra, Diane, Edward, and William. They reside in Archbold, Ohio, and he is an office manager. Milton L. Overmier married Beverly Rudolph. They have Thomas, Christine, John, and Dawn. They reside near Liberty Center, Ohio, and he is a farmer. Thomas married Cindy Kessler and they have Jennifer and Carrie. Paul L. Overmier resides at the home farm in Washington Township, Henry County, Ohio, and is presently farming the farm of his parents Howard K. and Oneita Overmier; they purchased it from his parents James I. and Gertrude Overmier.

Frank S. Overmier married Zora Murry. They have Stewart, Karol, and Stacy. They reside on a farm near Liberty Center, Ohio. Stewart married Kay Starkey and they have Julie, Jerry, and James. They live in Liberty Center, Ohio. Karol married Terry Beilharz and they have Kelly, Kraig, Kara, and Kent. They live in Defiance County. Stacy married Barbara Myers and they have Trisha, Trudijo, and Troy. They reside near Liberty Center, Ohio.

Leslie L. Overmier married Helene Miller and Annette Wainright, his second wife, and they had James, Joyce, and James Bruce. James and wife Betty have Beth, Jill, and Don. They live in Dayton. Joyce married Blaine Dougherty and they have Greg Ellen, Darrin, and Drew, and they live in Texas. James Bruce and wife Robin live in Minnesota and have Larrissa. Beryl L. Overmier married Miles Bernard Lanker and they had Roy and Bonnie. Roy married Norma Mueller and they have Susan and Linda. They live in Gahanna, Ohio. Bonnie married Lowell Warncke and they have Paul, Danny, Ruth, and Audrey.

The writer is sorry for any errors or omissions.

Submitted by Richard Overmier