James Robert Overton was born on December 2, 1889, in Lewiston, North Carolina. Overton was a steward for the state prison in Electric, North Carolina, when he registered for the draft (World War I) in June 1917. He was subsequently inducted into the service in August 1918 and served with the 157th Depot Brigade until honorably discharged in April 1919. He was deployed overseas from September 1918 to March 1919. Overton died in Charlotte (Mecklenburg County) on December 12, 1963.