The last time we took a vacation trip was in October of 2002. That year, I didn’t realize I had a break coming at all until it just happened. We had several babies due one month but they all came early. Suddenly, I realized that I wouldn’t be on call again for another couple of weeks. It had been a long time since we had taken a vacation, so we made last minute arrangements, packed the car and headed out for about a week. It was a crazy fun vacation because we had a general plan of where we were headed but no specific daily agenda.

We knew we wanted to drive out-of-state, but when you live in South Texas that takes some doing. (Larry loves to quote an anonymous Texas Cowboy/Poet on the subject of traveling in Texas: “The sun has riz./The sun has set./And here I is/In Texas yet!”) It takes the first day of driving just to get out of Texas. We also knew we wanted to chase down some family roots. So, the second day, we headed through Louisiana and into Mississippi. Larry’s Great-great grandfather Jesse Dial Overton was the fifth of seven children, the first to be born in Mississippi, in what is now Alcorn County, in the northeastern corner of the state. We checked out the local library and the Alcorn County Courthouse in Corinth, Mississippi. Larry found many interesting documents.

From there, we drove west to “Overton Hill.” Larry’s Great-great-great grandfather Abel Overton and his Great-great grandfather Jesse Dial Overton had lived there. Overton Hill was—and is—also the location of Overton Hill Community Church (OHCC). Jesse Dial’s log house had been situated on the hill, which doubled as the post office (Jesse Dial was the postmaster). This service put “Overton” on the Mississippi map in Alcorn County December 8, 1890. Since the post office was closed out in 1911, the town is no longer on the map. But if you drive about 15 miles due west of Corinth on Highway 72, turn north on Alcorn County Road 747, intersect Alcorn County Road 770 and drive west and north for a mile, you’ll come upon the “meetin’ house” for old OHCC.

There we met a very nice young man who directed us to the nearby home of the Drewery family, who are members of OHCC. They were lifelong residents, and really knew the history of the area. Southern hospitality is alive and well in Alcorn County, Mississippi. Though she’d never laid eyes on us before, Mrs. Drewery invited us into her home, offered us supper and cake, and told us ever so much about our family on Overton Hill. We were also seeking directions to the cemetery where Abel Overton was buried. Travis Drewery was the 5th District Supervisor for Alcorn County, and he gave us wonderfully precise directions to Bethel Cemetery (“Ol’ Bethel,” in local parlance). We found it, and the obelisk-shaped monument to Abel and Mary E. Overton, Larry’s Great-great-great grandparents. We even dug up a small seedling pine tree from the grave site and brought it home with us. We managed to keep it alive for a while, but eventually our South Texas heat was too much for it.

I guess you can tell that Larry and I like “family” vacations. By that I mean we want to visit family or learn about family roots. Theme parks and such are okay, but we never seem to have as much time as we would like to see our far flung family (my sister lives in Seguin and my brother in Elgin, and our oldest daughter and her family live in Sugar Land), so our vacations most often involve seeing family. We look for opportunities to visit family wherever we can get it. I’m really looking forward to this little mini-vacation for that very reason.