George2 Overton (John1) was born probably before 1745 (calculated upon a 1767 or earlier birth year for his son Willis3 who had a married son of his own by 1788). George Overton apparently died in Spotsylvania County about 1805, the year his estate is first mentioned in both the land rolls and personal-property tax lists. His only documentable wife, Mary [-?-], lived at least until 7 April 1795.17
George's known adulthood spanned from 1777 to 1804. In that earlier year, he appears amid residents of Orange County who petitioned the state legislature to have the county divided.18 He paid personal-property taxes in Orange from 1782 to 1789 and land taxes in Spotsylvania, on 175 acres, from 1785 through 1790. How he received that land is not apparent from Spotsylvania deeds or land-tax books. His return to Spotsylvania from Orange can be dated at 1790-91 via the personal-tax lists of Spotsylvania, where he was assessed between 1790 and 1804. The date of this move coincides with the parental donation of 150 acres.
Extant records of Spotsylvania do not permit a precise reconstruction of the economic life of this Virginia farmer. The receipt of his father's 150 acres brought his holdings to 325. On 7 April 1795, he and his wife Mary sold two parcels of their accumulated holdings-70 acres, more or less, to Benjamin Massey and about 57 acres to Thomas Moore19-leaving roughly 200 acres that should still have been in their possession. However, the 1805 land-tax roll credits his estate with only 100 acres.
In the wake of George's death, his land passed inexplicably (perhaps by right of a daughter's marriage) into the hands of Willis3 Overton, son of George's apparent brother Obediah2. Tax rolls after 1805 assess this Willis for the tract; but, again, no timely conveyance is on file. On 2 May 1842 there was very tardily recorded a deed of sale that had been drafted 6 May 1829. By the terms of this document, 54 acres from the estate of George Overton were sold for $20 to "Willis Overton, Sr." by a group of individuals who can reasonably be identified as heirs of George-i.e., Willis Overton, Jr.; John Overton; William Cammock; and William P. H. R. Davidson, attorney for Westburry Overton and George Overton. The deed also specifies that this land was part of a larger tract already occupied by Willis, Sr.20
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Overton-1889
