My mother Jo Overstreet Long (b. 21 March 1918 in Dade City (Pasco County), Florida, d. 10 June 2002 )wrote an essay in high school about her great-grandfather, George Eason Overstreet.
I'd like to share it with you in honor of her death two years ago.
There are some inaccuracies: the George William Overstreet she refers to is George Eason. And we believe his oldest son was William Rabon Overstreet, not Taft.
I'm also attaching a copy of a newspaper article about the Indian raid my mother describes in her essay. (This newspaper article has been added to the end of this essay)
All the best,
Jody
Why I Consider My Grandfather a Hero
My great grandfather, George William Overstreet, moved from Landers County (I think this should be Lowdes), Georgia to Florida about two years after the United States purchased it.
He moved to Marion County, in a small settlement about fifteen miles from Ocala.
About the time he got his land cleaned up and his first crop planted the Seminole War began.
My great grand father enlisted in the United States Army on the twenty-first day of March 1854.
He left his family in care of his oldest son, Taft Overstreet. (I think this refers to Dr. Silas Taff Overstreeet).
All went well with the family until about the middle of December, then the supplies gave out, and it was necessary for Taft to go after more.
He left the twentieth of December and was to return in three days.
He had special orders from his mother to buy two dolls of some kind for his smaller sisters. The family thought this an extravagance, but the two little girls had been so good, hoping that Santa would remember them with a doll, that their mother couldn't refuse them this pleasure.
The next oldest son who later became my grandfather and who was named William Raborn came in from the fields about sunset, so he would have time to tend the stock before dark.
Just as he threw the last load of hay to the horses, he heard a gun shot.
He ran to the house to find it partially surrounded by Indians. He ran in at the back door and rushed to the front room of the log house to find his two little sisters laying on the floor in front of the fire place dead.
At this moment the group of blood thirsty Indians stepped upon the front porch.
My grandfather ran out at the back door, but as he did he thought of his poor old mother being let to the mercy of those fieriest savages.
He immediately turned around and ran back to get her. He found her bending over her small children weeping.
He grabbed her up, and just as he got her sister off the floor he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. He looked and saw one of the Indian's arrow's in his wrist.
He ran on with his sister, leaving the arrow in his arm. After they had reached safety in the woods, he pulled the arr ow from his wrist.
After they had fled from the house the Indians burned it and the two little children, who were in there dead.
My grandfather was bothered with this wrist alll of his life, but I'm sure he would rather have been bothered with it, than to have known that he left his mother to those fierce Indians.
We people today can hardly imagine the pain and agony that he suffered or even realize what a sad Christmas they had for two days later they learned their father had been killed this same day in the Battle of Micanopy.
Newspaper Article ohio * norwalk * experiment * 1841-12-01INDIAN MURDERS--Mineral Springs, Fla., Oct. 21, 1841---To the Editor of the St. Augustine News: Sir, I here hasten to give you an account of recent murders by our savage foes, on the family of one of our most respectable citizens. On Sunday night the 17th inst., between the hours of 7 and 8 o'clock, the house of Mr. George Overstreet, distant 10 miles from this place and on the west bank of the Suawannee river, in Ham- ilton county, was fired on by a party of Indi- ans, supposed to number about fifteen. Two of Mr. G. Overstreet's children were killed and his wife and two children wounded.
Two of Mr. Silas Overstreet's children were in the house at the time, but escaped unhurt. Dr. Raglin, who was also in the house at the same time, is mortally wound- ed, having received three balls in his body. He immediately fled from the house, but from the loss of blood was unable to proceed more than three hundred yards, where he se- creted himself until morning. Mr. Over- street, his lady, and two wounded children fled, and made good their escape. Mrs. O. and her two children who are wounded, were shot with arrows. This is almost conclusive proof that the ammunition of the Indians must be nearly exhausted. The Indians plundered the house and then applied the torch, burning it to the ground, with the life- less bodies of Mr. O.'s two children in it.--- Mr. O. who was well situated in life, and who had every thing comfortable around him, is now, with his wounded wife and two children thrown upon the world with scarcely a change of clothes.