Along with his classmates, Taylor Overton \u201922 will march at Commencement this weekend, entering the ranks of Big Red alumni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019ll also join his brother, Jonathan Overton \u201919, in a much smaller club: a Cornellian family six generations strong. Their diplomas are the most recent in a chain that stretches back 138 years to their great-great-great grandfather, Floyd Overton Sr., Class of 1884.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to University Archivist Evan Earle \u201902, MS \u201914, the Overtons may be the only<\/em> six-generation Cornell family\u2014or, at least, one of very few. It\u2019s hard to know, he explains, because such tracking is spotty and mostly self-reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard of another,\u201d he admits, \u201cthough I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if one is out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Overtons\u2014an agricultural family from northern New York\u2014weren\u2019t even fully aware of their extensive Big Red lineage themselves, until it became clear during some recent genealogical research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe knew we had plenty of family members that have gone to Cornell,\u201d says Jon and Taylor\u2019s dad, Tom Overton \u201991, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think it was in our mindset that there was that much of a string.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Overton who started it all was born near Watertown, NY, in 1859 and endured a tragic youth: his mother passed away when he was just 12, and three younger siblings died of scarlet fever three years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere\u2019s a kid who lost a lot,\u201d says Katrina Peck Overton \u201991, Tom\u2019s wife and the de facto family historian. \u201cHe was the third son on a family farm, yet he was taking college prep courses in high school\u2014and did well enough to get a scholarship to Cornell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The brothers studied on the Hill at the same time: Floyd Overton Jr. earned a DVM in 1910, while Kent Overton was a special student in CALS who attended from 1909\u201310. After graduation, both returned to work at Overton Farms, the family\u2019s agricultural operation in Adams, NY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kent\u2019s son, Richard M. Overton \u201943, majored in agricultural engineering\u2014putting himself through college by selling strawberries from the family farm. He and his wife, Marie Loomis Overton \u201943, met on the Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Her brother, Clifton Loomis \u201937, PhD \u201953, was also an alum.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marie and Richard were brought together by a shared passion for horses: she was on the equestrian team, he was in the cavalry through Army ROTC. A family photo captures them on the Balch Hall steps in spring 1941\u2014both wearing riding boots, and beaming with happiness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Like his dad, Richard K. Overton \u201966, BS \u201970\u2014known as Dick\u2014financed his education with the fruits of his labor on the family farm. (Or, rather, vegetables: he sold sweet corn by the roadside.) He returned to the farm briefly, but segued into a career in agri-finance, working for John Hancock in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dick\u2019s two children\u2014Tom and his brother, Hotelie Kurt Overton \u201994\u2014followed the family footsteps to Cornell. So did Dick\u2019s nephew and niece, Matthew Greene \u201900 and Andrea Greene Lassen \u201906. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Matthew now teaches agriculture in a town near the Canadian border; Andrea lives in Oklahoma and works for an energy company.)<\/p>\n\n\n Like Richard and Marie, Tom and Katrina\u2014both animal science majors in CALS\u2014met on the Hill and married soon after graduation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom, a Cornell faculty member for nearly a quarter century, is currently chair of animal science; Katrina is assistant director for graduate student affairs in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clan\u2019s newest grad\u2014Taylor, who majored in computer science and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha\u2014has landed a remote job in cybersecurity, as a cloud engineer for a Dallas company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jon was a mechanical and aerospace engineering major on the Hill; since graduation, he has been working for an Ithaca-based firm, making COVID testing equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe \u2018legacy\u2019 really didn\u2019t hit me until I was here as a student,\u201d Jon says, pondering his family\u2019s Cornellian tradition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was walking around campus one day, and I realized: my dad walked on the same spot\u2014and so did my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top image: Floyd Senior, about a year after graduation. (Illustration by Cornell University from a provided photo)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Published: May 27, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continuing a tradition stretching back to the 1880s, its latest Cornellian member graduates with the Class of \u201922<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":8282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[285,335,337,391,403,449,499,505,517,521,529,555,621],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-8304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","cornell_year_post-285","cornell_year_post-335","cornell_year_post-337","cornell_year_post-391","cornell_year_post-403","cornell_year_post-449","cornell_year_post-499","cornell_year_post-505","cornell_year_post-517","cornell_year_post-521","cornell_year_post-529","cornell_year_post-555","cornell_year_post-621"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Katrina,](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Katrina_Jonathan_Richard-K_Taylor_Thomas-Overton-May-2018-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"graphic](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/OvertonsFamilyTree-9g2-1024x576.jpg\")
The first Cornellian: Floyd Senior<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Second generation: Floyd\u2019s sons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Third generation: a Cornellian couple<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Marie](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Richard-M-Overton_Marie-A-Loomis_Balch-Hall-Spr-1941-1-A-819x1024.jpg\")
Fourth generation: their son<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fifth generation: five Cornellian cousins<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Katrina](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Thomas-R-and-Katrina-Peck-Overton_06_18_1994-A-1024x576.jpg\")
Generation six: young alums<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Overtons_Commencement_2019-B-1024x1024.jpg\")
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