 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
help make our Villages presentation possible.
|
Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia Canada The name is descriptive of the fact that the community is located across, or "over" the harbour from the town of Yarmouth. The post office was established there in 1882. *from the book "Place Names of Atlantic Canada" Ref 917.16 HAM in the Western Counties Regional Library: Or Was It? Ralph Lent Jeffery one of the world's top 10 mathematicians
|
 There
is a reference on this site stating that the name Overton comes from the
fact that this village is "over-from the-town". I have seen this
reference many times before, but I would like to see the evidence that
it is correct. Personally, I believe it is UNLIKELY to be true. Overton
is a family name, like Churchill, Doucette or Bain. In the early days of
Yarmouth county there was a British General stationed in Halifax by the
name of George Overton. It's more likely that the village of Overton got
it's name from him or some other Overton family member. I have made
this public challange before, but it always seems to fall on deaf ears
and blind eyes. I would think some knowledgeable Yarmouth history student
would find it fun to present the evidence to prove me right or wrong.
Until that day comes I will cringe every time I see the reference to Overton as over-from-the-town. I guess that name must have given someone "from Town" a greater sense of importance or something when that term was coined.
Another comment.....the region I remember as "Yarmouth Bar" was the area just preceeding Cape Forchu. It joined "Lower Overton" to the causeway to the Cape. Certainly all the residents called this "the Bar" and all lands after the causeway were called "the Cape". Has this changed in the last 50 years????? All your photos of Yarmouth Bar are in fact photos of Cape Forchu. Hope this has helped. Wonderful web site. Makes everyone homesick. Linda (Nickerson) Wallace Paloheimo
Comments: Re the message that the village of Overton in Yarmouth county
was named after a place called Overton in Great Britain-- And from the
tone of the message, anyone who thinks otherwise is ignorant and uninformed.
The point is that yes, Overton, Yarmouth county, COULD have been named as the person said. Where is the evidence? Thinking something does not necessairly make it true. While we are at it, where did the name for the town of Yarmouth come from. I have also made this challange before, in the Vanguard. No one replied. This stuff is part of our history, I really don't understand the lack intrest. I would like to thank the person who did respond re the Overton name Issue. It made me dig deeper than I might have otherwise. I learned quite a bit about the name Overton. Jim Jeffery
I got another good one for Overton the other day, on reading the August 20'th edition of "TIPPIN" in the Vanguard.This time it was my grandfather Brad Bain. From "Tippin" I read, "Back in the days when Brad Bain was Chief of the local police department do you think we would have what we have hanging around in front of the old Royal Store? Not a chance. Move along or be moved citizens. When he spoke we listened". I was very young when my grandfather was the Chief. I was the oldest grandchild and spent more time with my grandfather Bain than I did with my father. He took me everywhere, and I especially enjoyed meeting his (Liberal) political friends. As I mentioned earlier, it was he and Eddy Babine that orchestrated the appointment of the first Acadian Senator from the area. I didn't know that until 1970, when I interviewed Eddy about the Little River Duck dog. Eddy was also the constant duck hunting companion of my uncle Dick Crowell (married to my fathers sister) from Argyle, and a well known Tolling dog trainer, as was Eddy. I was aware of the respect many Yarmouthians had for my grandfather at a very young age. It was quite something to walk down main street with him. They still "Tiped the hat" in those days, as a greeting and to show respect. It seemed this took place about every 10 steps. I was obviously impressed. I don't know if you know of Kent Bain. He is a teacher and was a well known baseball player in Yarmouth. Brad Bain is also his grandfather. I will work with Kent to hopefully prepare a small tribute to him for your Overton site. Hopefully we can make easy to handle to keep your work and time to a minimum. We will try. As you implied earlier, developing your site would be an overwhelming task for one individual. Yarmouth has a long and interesting history, and each village has a history of its own. But what a challange. I only hope the people down home realize the great sense of history and accomplishment you are giving to the area. You certainly have my humble thanks. Cheers,
|
 Ralph
Lent Jeffery was born October 3rd, 1889 in Overton, Nova Scotia. Working
as a fisherman and with only a eighth grade level of education, at the
age of 21, he went back to school. He became principal of a secondary school
and then went to Acadia University, where he majored in economics and took
a few math courses. However, Jeffery's graduate studies were in mathematics,
which he studied at Cornell and Harvard. He was head of the Department
of Mathematics at Acadia University from 1924-1942, except to complete
his Ph.D. at Cornell in 1928, and in 1939 to become acting head and professor
at the University of Saskatchewan.
Ralph is the uncle to the famous blues player Rick Jeffery. |
| Link | Brief | |
| 1 | Ralph Lent Jeffery (Fourth President of the CMS 1957-1961) | Ralph Jeffery was born on October 3, 1889 in Overton, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. He left school in the middle of Grade 8 to join his father as a fisherman. However, |
| 2 | Jeffery Hall | Jeffery Hall was named in honour of Ralph Lent JEFFERY who was Head
of the Mathematics Department from 1940 to 1960 and was also the first
Chair of the
Graduate School. The CONFERENCE ROOM |
| 3 | Mathematics and Statistics at Queen's | Under the headship of Ralph Lent Jeffery, from 1943 to 1960, the faculty of the Department expanded from two .... |
| 4 | Little River Duck Dog | (The Overton Connection to:) The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever by James C. Jeffery & Douglas W. Coldwell |
Overton
Overton (Y) : The name is descriptive of the fact that the community is located across, or "over" the harbour from the town of Yarmouth. The post office was established there in 1882. *from the book "Place Names of Atlantic Canada" Ref 917.16 HAM in the Western Counties Regional Library*
Name (Y) : Probably so called after Mr. Paul Bunker, another early settler.
*from the book "Place Names of the Province of Nova Scotia"Ref 917.15
BRO in the Western Counties Regional Library*
I
would like to comment on the confusion about the village name "Overton"
located across the harbour from the town. This is obviously named
after the town of Overton in England..............as is Yarmouth and many
places in Canada. The gentleman from Halifax long ago named Overton
was likely from the ancestors of this village in England. It
has nothing to do with "being over the harbour" etc.
Check the world atlas.....Overton, England.
Jeffery
was elected to the 