John Clark Overhiser

Member for: 10 years 6 months 1 day
Find a Grave ID

Bio

Member since October, 2013.
Working on my 3,240th.. approved edit plus the 342 currently managed Memorials, 95 of which are Overhisers (out of 450 total in FAG).
Currently wkg. on adding "FOUNDING FATHER" & "FOUNDING MOTHER" designations to all bios. of those Overhiser's who moved to a new state with at least 1 child or other family member including a horse or a pet!
Let us start on the Overhiser Ancestry with a Historical quotation:
"About the year 1750, three brothers named Overhiser came from Germany to this country. One of them, Gasphier, settled in Delaware County, whence a son of his, Abraham, removed to Hillsdale in 1810. Abraham had nine children, one of whom, Barnett, succeeded his father in possession of the farm. Upon his death the farm passed to his son, Ambrose L., who died a few years since, when the property was sold and bid in by the latter's brother in law, Mr. Hoffman, who now occupies it."
(Taken from History of Columbia County, Hillsdale, NY).
Please bear in mind that "OVERHISER" can not be found in German ancestry. Perhaps "OBERHAUSER" was misspelled upon disembarkation from the ship.
My focus as a FAG contributor is to finish a complete history (via Memorial options and bio. edits) of my Overhiser family in NY and surrounding states. As we know, the family started in Fishkill, Dutchess Co., and expanded westward thru NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA, OH, MI, MN, MO, IL, NB, KS, IA, TX, WY, FL, & CA (during the gold rush). I believe our family may hold the record with 21 offspring of 1 father (John Casper b.1782 FAG#83029530) and 2 wives. This would be way too many for the size of the farm (typically the eldest 2 sons would split the farm properties and accessories), therefore most of the other siblings would have to relocate in order to survive (hence the westward migration).

OVERHISER MIGRATION BY REGION AND STATE
(as of 4/2/2020)
CAL 15, AZ 1, OR 5 Total 21
CT 5, NJ 6 VT 3 Total 14
FL 9, MD 2, NC 1, VA 2 Total 14
IL 4, COL 4, IO 4, OH 6, KAN 2, NB 20 Total 40
IN 45 Total 45
MA 10 Total 10
MI 90, MN 3, WI 1 Total 94
NY 229 (some migration between Counties)Total 229
PA 26 Total 26
GRAND TOTAL ALL OF BURIALS BY STATE Total 503 (374 of which had migrated).

See FAG Memorial #185244330 for Gasphier Overhiser (all Overhiser's Founding Father) for many more details of how the family got started.

Family connections:
For my family:
OVERHISER, from Germany to New York & then to CT, MA, PA, OH, IN, MI, KS, & CA.
CLARK, from England to Boston, then to Orange, New Haven Co., CT, then to Henderson, Jefferson Co., New Hartford, Oneida, Co.in upstate NY and then back to Trumbull, Fairfield Co., CT.
DILLENBACH, from Bern, Switzerland to Stone Arabia, including Capt. Andrew Dillenbach, NY Militia, KIA, Battle of Oriskany, Rev. War.
SPRAKER, from Saxony, Germany to upstate, Stone Arabia, Palatine Bridge, Canajoharie, Montgomery Co., New York.
ROBINSON, from England to upstate, Jefferson Co. New York.
For my wife Norma's family:
ENGLAND, from Scotland to Quebec, Canada, Vermont & then to CT.
DRAKE, from England to CT
FISHER, from England to Virginia & then to CT
THORNTON, from England to Virginia.
My OVERHISER lineage is as follows:
In the USA, we are all descended from Gasphier and Fronah Overhiser (Oberhauser)
1st Generation: Gasphier 1730-1800? Germany to Columbia Co. NY
2nd Generation: Conrad 1754-1840 Columbia to Steuben Co.
3rd Generation: John Barnett (Barney) 1801-1889 Dutchess to Onondaga Co.
4th Generation: John C. Overhiser (Overhizer?) 1836-1890 Dutchess to Onondaga Co.
5th Generation: Harlow G. 1871-1961 Syracuse, Onondaga Co., NY
6th Generation: Dean Harlow 1904-1969 Ilion, Herkimer Co. to Trumbull, CT in 1944 for WWII work at Remington Arms, Bridgeport.
7th Generation: John Clark Overhiser, I am 76, b. 1942, Utica, Oneida Co., md. 1971 to Norma Lee (Leigh) England b. 1948 in Stratford. We have 2 children, Lee Elizabeth, RN MSN, and John Clark, Jr., CSP
8th Generation: Lee Elizabeth b. 1973, md. 2019, John Clark Jr. b. 1974, md. 2003 in Portland, Maine to Page Kinnan. They have 2 children, Clark and Caitlin.
9th Generation Clark Edward, b. 2006 in Arlington, VT. and Caitlin Kinnan, b. 2008 in Trumbull, not married yet.

Personal Biography:
Born on 3 October, 1942 in St. Elizabeth's hospital, Utica, NY, while living at 76 Genessee Street in New Hartford, Oneida County, New York. Son of Mildred Frances Robinson Clark Overhiser, 1911:1995 and Dean Harlow Overhiser, 1904:1969. Moved to 31 and then to 37 Church Street in Huntington, Shelton, Connecticut in 1944 for better employment for my father during WWII and then moved to Trumbull in 1951.
Education was in Shelton, 1947, Nursery school at Ferry School in downtown Shelton; in Trumbull, 1948, Kindergarten at Lura Curtis's Nichols Methodist Church Facility; in Shelton, 1949-1951, at Huntington School, 1st. to 3rd grade; in Trumbull, 1952-1954 at Nichols School, 4th. to 6th. grade; in Trumbull, 1955-1957, at Middlebrook Junior High School, 7th. to 9th. grade; in Bridgeport, 1958-1960, at Warren Harding High School, 10th. thru 12th. grade; University of Connecticut, 1961 to 1963.
Community Service:
Volunteer 1st. Responder as Captain, Nichols Fire Department, 20 years, 1957:1977.
Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician via Nichols Fire Department starting in 1972, and also Trumbull Emergency Medical Service for 21 years, from 1976 until 1993.
Connecticut State Police, Auxiliary Trooper, 5 years, Troop G, Westport, 1970:1975.
Military Service:
Vietnam Era Veteran, drafted 1964, basic training, Fort Dix, NJ.; advanced training for Infantry Radio Repairman, Fort Gordon, GA; permanent assignment, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Division, 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX. Was posted on a levy for Vietnam in December, 1965 but later removed as a short timer (under 90 days). Honorable Discharge; Specialist E5, 3 March, 1966.
Awards: Expert Marksmanship Badge (Rifle) X 2 years, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Medal, Letter of Commendation.
Employment:
Working in the Stratford, CT Chance Vought building, where the famous Corsair Vought F4U WWII fighter aircraft was built. Over the years, in that same location, I subsequently worked for various superseding aircraft engine manufacturers as follows: Wright Radial Engines, Lycoming, Avco, Textron Bell, AlliedSignal Engines, and finally, Honeywell Turbine Engines.
In the 1960's Avco also designed and manufactured the nose cone for the Minuteman Mark 3 missile. This is where i started work as a Bill of Material Man in the Material Control department. About 15 years later I moved up to a higher level job in the Technical Publications Department where I worked my way up to senior lead technical writer. As required by these job assignments, I was granted 2 "SECRET" Security Clearances: #1 in 1963 at Avco in Stratford CT (working on the Minuteman Missile), #2 in 1995 at Ft. Campbell, KY. ((Working on the T55 Maintenance Manual for 160th SOA (Special Operations Aircraft), "Night Stalkers")). About 15 years later, I took a new job in the Final Assembly department as a Lead Process Engineer for engine overhaul and repair. Employed there for 35 years, 1963:1998, then retired, because AlliedSignal (which is now Honeywell) had moved to Phoenix, AZ.
Subcontractor to Sikorsky Aircraft, Interstate, RCM Technologies. Associate engineer, supplier and customer support, 8 years, 1999:2007, retired.
Member, Nichols United Methodist Church, men's club vice president, head usher, 1958:present.
Ham Radio Operator, N1QPJ
Find-A-Grave contributor, 2013:present, = 1000+edits.

Present Community Service:
As a Volunteer as Vice President, Secretary, and Historian for Nichols Farm Burial Ground Association with 2000+ Interments / Inurnments in our 6.75 Acre Cemetery.

2013:present.
Enjoying travel, river and ocean cruising, College basketball, Hockey and any kind of motor racing.
NOT LIKING: Covid19 (I am skipping the years 2020, 2021, so now I am only 77 years old, again).