- Marksville
Thomas Overton, attorney at law and ex-judge of the Twelfth
Judicial District of Louisiana, was born in St. Landry Parish, La., in
1836. He is descended from a family which has occupied a prominent place
in the history of this country from the early days of the republic. His
grandfather served with distinction under Gen. Washington, having been an
officer of the dragoons in the Revolutionary War. He participated in many
of the trying scenes of that momentous epoch, and among others was in the
battle of Yorktown, where he maintained his reputation as a brave and
gallant officer. The father of the subject of this sketch was Judge John
H. Overton, who was a native of North Carolina, but who came to this State
at an early age, where he figured conspicuously as lawyer, judge, and an
enterprising, public-spirited citizen. Embracing law as a profession, he
soon rose to a prominent rank among Louisiana's most distinguished jurists.
He was soon thereafter elected district judge, and his eminent fitness for
the position was so marked that he was kept in that office for a period of
twenty-five years. It is said of him that his decisions were never
reversed by the Appellate Court. Judge Overton took a deep interest in all
public enterprises, and was one of the chief projectors of the Southern
Pacific Railroad, and was its first president. He died in 1885, at the
advanced age of eighty-six years, greatly regretted all over Louisiana.
Judge Thomas Overton, after acquiring the rudiments of an education in this
State, was sent to the University of Virginia, where he completed his
studies. Choosing law for a profession, he entered the law department of
the Louisiana University (now Tulane), and was admitted to the bar in 1860,
just as the war of the sections was declared. Filled with patriotic ardor,
he accepted from the governor of Louisiana a commission as captain of a
company of infantry in the State troops. He served only eight months in
that capacity, when he resigned to accept a commission from Jefferson Davis
in the regular Confederate Army, and was transferred to the staff of Gen.
D. H. Hill, of the Army of the Potomac. He afterward served on the staffs
of Gen. Wharton and Gen. Gregg, of the Trans-Mississippi Department. After
the war closed he settled in Avoyelles Parish, where he began the practice
of his profession, and where, in 1869, he was married to Miss Laura
Waddill, a lady of talent and refinement, and eldest daughter of the late
John P. Waddill,7 a prominent lawyer of this section in his day. Judge
Overton rose rapidly to distinction at the bar by his talents and
eloquence, winning a well-earned reputation as a learned and able attorney.
He filled with great credit the responsible position of district attorney
of the Seventh Judicial District, which was then composed of the parishes
of Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana. He was remarkably
successful in prosecutions. In 1884 he was elected judge of the Twelfth
Judicial District of Louisiana, comprising the parishes of Avoyelles,
Rapides and Grant. He served to 1888, and was noted for his uprightness
and impartiality, qualities so desirable in one who wears the ermine. His
decisions were rendered after the most thorough and critical examination of
the matters in contention, and were prepared with great care, showing depth
of thought and sound legal reasoning. He has resumed the practice of the
law, and enjoys to a great degree the esteem and confidence of his
fellow-men. The future has yet in store for him a career of continual
usefulness and honor before he
reaches the fullness of years.