Person:Andrew Overby (1)

                        Newspaper accounts about the Death of Andrew Overby

From the Petersburg Index and Appeal, Petersburg, Virginia November 25, 1877 THE FLOOD AT RICHMOND

The water rose higher at Richmond than in any remembered or recorded flood. Sunday November 25, 1877 was a day of immense excitement and alarm, everybody gathering at the river to witness the efforts made for the preservation of property and life. All the bridges were at times in great danger. One half of Mayo’s bridge was washed away.

Two hundred hands were at work on the Danville bridge, tearing of the planks to enable the water to rush through. Sixty heavily loaded cars were also placed on it to steady it against the flood. The bridge of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad seems to have stood beautifully. The Tredegar bridge also held its own. The damage at Richmond was apparently pretty much confined to the offices and small houses along the river and its tributary creeks, that were washed away by the flood.

A special from “Chester," dated November 26, 1877 says: “The river is receding slowly. It went two feet higher than the flood of 1870. Our bridges here are all safe, except that one half of Mayo’s bridge is gone.”

NARROW ESCAPE OF MR. ANDREW OVERBY

The Richmond Dispatch Extra gives a thrilling account of the narrow escape from death of Mr. Andrew Overby, of Manchester. That paper says: Mr. Overby was a carpenter in the employ of the Richmond and Danville Railroad company, - He, in company with other workmen, was engaged in removing the framework from the railroad bridge in order to afford a free passage for the water, and thus lessen the immense strain upon the structure.

Mr. Overby, along with Mr. James Brown, a fellow workman, had progressed nearly to the northern end of the main bridge (between Belcher’s and Vauxhall’s Island), when a large box was observed coming directly to the bridge. Mr. Overby with his pole attempted to throw the box out of its course and prevent it striking the bridge. In doing so the pole became entangled in the box, and he was pitched headlong into the river, which at this point was very rough. As he went through the bridge Mr. Brown made an effort to grasp him, but failed.

Mr. Brown stated that his last words to the unfortunate man were to be of good cheer, that he would be picked up below, or might grasp a tree. Captain West saw Overby washed down the stream, and in an instant he was at Mayo’s bridge. A gentleman residing in Richmond stated that as he passed under the bridge he held out his cane, which was seized and broken, and that he saw nothing more of the body.

It seems that Mr. Overby was finally rescued at Rocketts, and restored to consciousness through the efforts of those who found him.

{

The Richmond State of yesterday evening says that the report that Mr. Overby was rescued is incorrect. A reporter from that newspaper visited the family at 2 o’clock P.M. yesterday, and at that hour, they had received no news of Mr. Overby’s safety.}

Follow-up report: Mr. Andrew Overby, of Manchester, who is reported to have been drowned in James river, on Sunday, while working to guard the Richmond and Danville Railroad bridge, was a native of Petersburg, and leaves many friends and relatives here.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census (1). (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the;;)
   Year: 1850; Census Place: Petersburg, Petersburg (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: M432_941; Page: 360A; Image: .

   Birth date: abt 1835Birth place: Residence date: 1850Residence place: Petersburg, Petersburg (Independent City), Virginia _FOOT:

2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Virginia Marriages, 1740-1850. (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.Original data - Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers.Original data: Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early Amer;;)
   Middle Initial found on Lilly Overby & John F. Ragland Marriage Record.

   Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940birth: 1849parents: J.S. Ragland, A.S. Raglandspouse: Lily M. Overbymarriage: 27 Jan 1903 — Richmond, Virginiarecord title: Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940groom's name: John F. Raglandgroom's birth date: 1849groom's age: 54bride's name: Lily M. Overbybride's birth date: 1868bride's age: 35marriage date: 27 Jan 1903marriage place: Richmond, Virginiagroom's father's name: J.S. Raglandgroom's mother's name: A.S. Raglandbride's father's name: A.J. Overbybride's mother's name: Sarah Overbyindexing project (batch) number: M01791-8system origin: Virginia-EASysource film number: 2048499 _FOOT:

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census (1). (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003.Original data - 1870. United States. Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration. M593, RG29, 1,761 rolls. Minnesota. Minnes;;)
   Year: 1870; Census Place: , , ; Roll: M593.

   Birth date: abt 1836Birth place: VirginiaResidence date: 1870Residence place: First Revenue Division, Chesterfield, Virginia _FOOT:

4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census (1). (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1;;)
   Year: 1860; Census Place: Manchester, Chesterfield, Virginia; Roll: M653_1340; Page: 434; Image: 440.

   Birth date: abt 1835Birth place: VirginiaResidence date: 1860Residence place: Manchester, Chesterfield, Virginia _FOOT:

5. ↑ Petersburg Index and Appeal. (Name: Name: Newspaperarchive.com;;)
   Daily Edition.

   _FOOT: