;; s : I : X r J> THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY AN OLD COLONIAL FAMILY BY MARY COFFIN JOHNSON "I HAVE WRITTEN FRANKLY, GARRULOUSLY, AND AT EASE, SPEAKING OF WHAT GIVES ME JOY TO REMEMBER SOMETIMES VERY CAREFULLY OF WHAT I THINK MAY BE USEFUL FOR OTHERS TO KNOW, AND PASSING OVER IN TOTAL SI- LENCE THINGS WHICH I HAVE NO PLEASURE IN REVIEWING." Prceterita LIMITED EDITION NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY MDCCCXCVI Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1892, by MARY COFFIN JOHNSON, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 2012371 / OM f PREFACE. THE story in this book is not new; it is but a repetition of the story told " o'er and o'er " since man's existence " born, married,, died." It is a plain record of the lives of a great many noteworthy plain people, as well as of a number of men and women who have distinguished themselves in their relations to life. The faults or deficiencies of the subjects are not dwelt upon. "It is always fair," Henry Ward Beecher used to tell us, "to credit a man at his best let his enemies tell of his worst." The work contains many side lights on topics relating to the times in which its subjects lived, and glances at the early settlers in the beginnings of many of our States and Territories. Great pains have been taken to make the work historically accurate. The fullness of the biographical sketches is a notable feature. I much regret that many individuals and families are mentioned only in the genealogical line. This is because our information concerning them was quite incomplete, very few facts or none at all having been contributed. But no amount of painstaking can render a genealogical work perfect. The errors, especially in dates, are as frequently the fault of the contributors as of the editor. I have from first to last had in mind the young people. There is already a whole generation of youths and maidens, whose activities and influence belong to the wider development of the twentieth century, now growing up in the remote new West and South under the onward progress and changes of the present period ; they are found in the full tide of enterprise and eager desire of the American spirit, near rapidly built railroad lines, new villages and towns, oil cities, natural gas discoveries, elec- trical appliances, mines, and quarries. To these the old New England Puritan story of their grandsires is quite unknown ; they read latter day publications and have scarcely been afforded iii iVr PREFACE. a glimpse of the domestic portraits and life surroundings that made their ancestor human. For such this book is written. This work was first projected by Greenleaf W. Higley of New York City, and was first begun without an idea of so extensive an enterprise as it has proved; indeed, when undertaken by the editor it was not intended to go beyond arranging, for print, some valuable MSS. and scraps of traditions which Mr. Higley had interested himself to gather, he having for some years been far from indifferent concerning his ancestors. In its earlier prosecution, without the slightest expectation of pecuniary compensation, he took upon himself the entire expense incurred in gathering the material, till on account of failing health and other unavoidable reasons, he was reluctantly obliged to abandon the work. To Judge Warren Higley of New York City is due the honor of assuming the financial responsibility of the publication of the book. From the beginning of the undertaking I was the recipient of his uniform kindness, cheerful encouragement, and practical co-operation; his due appreciation of the vast amount of labor imposed upon me in securing the facts taken from official records by extensive personal research, as well as in handling the large volume of contributed matter, and answering hundreds of letters, was practically shown during the long interval till its completion, and justly deserves here to be recorded with honorable mention. The pleasant duty is also mine of expressing grateful acknowl- edgements to others who have cheerfully extended every facility that could be extended, not only from time to time giving fresh im- pulse to the work, but who have generously given of their time and labor toward collecting material and obtaining traces of lines of descendants not of their own. Among those whose names in this connection may be justly associated with this book, are Pomeroy Higley of West Simsbury, Conn., Albert C. Bates of East Granby, Conn., Henry W. Goddard of Simsbury, Conn., all of whom reside in the neighborhood of the old ancestral localities; Thompson Hig- ley of Windsor, O., William A. Higley of Windham, O., Miss Emma L. Higley of Middlebury, Vt., and Milo H. Higley of Rutland, O. To mention some who have lent important assistance in fur- nishing material in their own lines of descent would be to the writer most gratifying. MARY COFFIN JOHNSON. BROOKLYN, N. Y., March, 1896. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. BOYHOOD OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, THE FIRST AMERICAN ANCESTOR, i II. A BIT OF HISTORY, . 5 III. PURITAN GRANDSIRES, 7 IV. ONE OF THE FOREFATHERS, 15 V. MATERNAL ANCESTRY 19 VI. ANCESTRAL LINKS, 22 VII. YOUTH AND MARRIAGE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, . . 28 VIII. EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, 1671-78, 33 IX. BUSINESS PROSPERITY. A GRANDMOTHER'S MEMORIES, . 41 X. SIMSBURY, CONN., 47 XI. PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, .... 56 XII. CAPTAIN JOHN V HIGLEY'S SECOND MARRIAGE. LIFE'S AC- TIVITIES, . 63 XIII. LAST SCENES IN CAPTAIN HIGLEY'S LIFE, ... 71 SKETCHES OF THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY OF HIGLEYS. XIV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOHN HIGLEY, JR., . . 85 XV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JONATHAN HIGLEY, IST, 88 XVI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ELIZABETH HIGLEY BAN- CROFT, .. 4 ...... gi XVII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE, 96 XVIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ENSIGN BREWSTER HIG- LEY, SR., 99 XIX. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL, 106 XX. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOSEPH HIGLEY, . .114 XXI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SAMUEL HIGLEY, IST, . 115 XXII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. MINDWELL HIGLEY Tis- DALE FITCH, 135 XXIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SARAH HIGLEY LOOMIS, . 137 XXIV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. NATHANIEL HIGLEY, . 139 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE XXV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOSIAH AND JOSHUA HIG- LEY ' . 144 XXVI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ABIGAIL HIGLEY THORP, 147 XXVII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SUSANNAH HIGLEY BLACK- MAN, 149 XXVIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ENSIGN ISAAC HIGLEY, 153 XXIX. DESCENDANTS OF KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE, . . .159 XXX. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 20, 162 XXXI. ENSIGN BREWSTER HIGLEY, 30, ...... 169 XXXII. HANNAH HIGLEY ALFORD PORTER, . . . . 176 XXXIII. SETH HIGLEY, IST, 185 XXXIV. WARREN HIGLEY, SR., AND HIS DESCENDANTS, . . 199 XXXV. AMELIA HIGLEY BATES, 220 XXXVI. JUDGE BREWSTER HIGLEY, 4TH 233 XXXVII. ERASTUS HIGLEY, 243 XXXVIII. REV. HERVEY OWEN HIGLEY, 249 XXXIX. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 4TH, . . . 267 XL. DAVID HIGLEY, 280 XL1. CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 284 XLII. MICAH HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS, . . . 300 XLIII. COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY, 304 XLIV. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY, . . 321 XLV. LIEUTENANT ASA HIGLEY, 340 XL VI. OZIAS HIGLEY, . 349 XL VII. ABIEL HIGLEY, 354 XLVIII. SIMEON HIGLEY, 373 XLIX. HANNAH HIGLEY OWEN MILLS, 376 L. JOHN BROWN 380 LI. HESTER HIGLEY CASE, 390 LII. JOHN HIGLEY, SR., 392 LIII. HAYDEN HIGLEY, ' . . . 401 LIV. CARMI HIGLEY, 409 LV. "DEACON" OBED HIGLEY, SR., 416 LVI. POMEROY HIGLEY, SR., 428 LVII. ELIZABETH HIGLEY MILLS, 440 LVIII. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL, . . 444 LIX. DESCENDANTS OF GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL, SR. , . 464 LX. JONATHAN HIGLEY, SON OF SAMUEL, IST, . . . 474 LXI. DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. (OR 20), . . 492 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER PAGE LXII. HON. JONATHAN HIGLEY (30), . 500 LXIII. HUME HIGLEY 517 LXIV. ALLEN HIGLEY, . . 544 LXV. MARY HIGLEY WHITE 570 LXVI. DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY, . 583 LXVII. ROSWELL HIGLEY, ..... LXVIII. FAMILY OF SOLOMON HIGLEY, . 621 LXIX. LIEUTENANT DANIEL HIGLEY, . 635 LXX. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, IST, . 658 LXXI. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, IST, 674 LXXII. ELIJAH HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS, . 688 LXXIII. JAMES HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS, . . . .70? APPENDIX, 713 INDEX, 721 ILLUSTRATIONS. FACING PAGE WESTWARD, Ho ! . . . Frontispiece MRS. MARY COFFIN JOHNSON, i HOME OF DEACON JOHN MOORE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, . 15 MAN IN STOCKS, 17 ARMS OF DRAKE 20 THE HIGLEY COPPER, 126 HOMESTEAD OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 20, 162 REV. WALTER O. HIGLEY, 193 CHAUNCEY AND MARGARET H. HIGLEY, 203 CHESTER AND PRUDENCE MILLER HIGLEY, 207 HON. WARREN HIGLEY, 209 CHRISTINA J. HIGLEY, 218 ELIZA Z. HIGLEY NICKASON, 218 ALBERT C. BATES 223 HERMAN WARD HIGLEY, 228 PROFESSOR EDWIN HALL HIGLEY, 258 JULIUS B. HIGLEY, 271 MARIA L. FUQUA HIGLEY, 272 HON. BRAINARD S. HIGLEY, 289 WILLIAM E. HIGLEY, 296 ARTHUR LUCIEN HIGLEY, 297 CHARLES WILLIAM HIGLEY (OF BOSTON), 297 COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY, 304 ROBERT McKowN HIGLEY, 319 EDWARD B. HIGLEY, 320 JULIA M. HIGLEY, 321 LORIN HIGLEY, ' 324 MATTHEW P. HIGLEY 331 ALFRED M. HIGLEY, 336 JOHN BROWN 380 HAYDEN HIGLEY 401 POMEROY HIGLEY, 429 CLAYTON W. HIGLEY, . . 431 X ILL US TRA TIONS. FACING PAGE GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL 444 RECORD OF JONATHAN HIGLEY'S BIRTH (FROM " PUBLIC RECORDS OF SIMSBURY, CONN."), 474 GREENLEAF W. HIGLEY AND FAMILY, 533 JONATHAN HIGLEY (OF WINDSOR. O.), 55 CURTIS DIVINE HIGLEY, 595 SARAH E. BUELL HIGLEY, . 595 IRVIN BUELL HIGLEY, 59 6 MARY E. HIGLEY McLouo, 596 ALICE E. FREEMAN PALMER, 614 GEORGE TRASK HIGLEY 649 GENERAL JOHN HUNT HIGLEY, 679 ELIJAH HIGLEY, 700 LYDIA J. HIGLEY HIBBARD, 704 REUNION AT WINDHAM, O., 716 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, THE FIRST AMERICAN ANCESTOR. If it be pleasant to behold a fair, round timber tree, sound and perfect, or a fine old mansion, not in decay, how much more an old family that has stood the weather and the winds. LORD BACON. IN the old church records at Frimley, Surrey, England, is found the following entry : "Jonathan Higley and Katherine Brewster Married January Y e 3 Anno Dom, 1647." At a later date, among the birth records appears the announce- ment: "John, Y e sonne of Jonathan Higley, borne Y e 22 of July. Baptized August Y e i2th, 1649." No other children of Jonathan and Katherine Higley are recorded upon these ancient parchments, though tradition says that John Higley had two sisters, whom he left behind with his mother when he emigrated to America. Concerning Jonathan Higley's origin in England, 1 we have not made research beyond the Frimley parish register, and all that is known of him may be briefly stated. His wife, Katherine Brewster, was clearly of the ancient Brewster family of England, to which belonged "Elder" William Brewster of the Mayflower fame. A branch of the family settled in Kent in the time of Elizabeth, where they owned lands in several parishes in 1560. The death of her father, the Rev. John Brewster, is entered upon the parish records of Frimley as taking place August 14, 1656, and that of her mother, February 23, 1657. This branch 1 The task of searching out the lineage of Jonathan Higley in England, or Germany, is left for some descendant of another generation. 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of the Brewster family were residents in this parish from a very early date of that century. Originally Frimley was a very small hamlet, surrounded with woods and heath lands, and is said to have been once connected with Windsor Forest as a hunting ground. It lies in the valley, with slight rising lands on the side, about thirty miles from London. The district has the name of having been, in years gone by, a wild, rough country, with few inhabitants. The old form of the word Frimley was Frymley. The railroad from London to Southampton now passes through the village, though Frimley- Green and its old church are a mile away. The village is seven miles from the well-known Aldershot military camp. The church in which John Higley was baptized, when he was an infant three weeks old, and in which the ancient records are found that give us the earliest history we have searched, was built in 1602, and the first entries in the register were in 1594. It was amid these surroundings that John Higley, the first ancestor of the Higleys of America, was born and nursed. To him the lineage of all by the name is traced. From Church, Colonial, State, and other public records, together with old papers, old account books, MSS. yellow and seared by age, from which copious extracts are taken, some of which furnish statements supported only by traditionary evidence, but all fully sustained and confirmed by facts in history, and con- sidered unquestionable, the story of his life is gathered. His father died about the year 1664 at the age of forty, which left the care of the family devolving upon the mother. By this bereavement the practical energy and force of character with which it is said she was particularly gifted, were called out and put into exercise. Soon after the death of his father, and according to a common custom of those times, she apprenticed John to a trade, that of manufacturing gloves. The boy was then fifteen years of age. His master proved severe and overbearing, and John Higley formed no attachment for him. The weekly tasks were hard and heavy, and the lad was overworked. One Saturday night, on failure of performance of a certain amount of work that had been allotted him, he was promised a sound flogging to be adminis- tered on the following Monday morning. His independent nature revolted at such treatment. It was not that he lacked industrious habits and close application, as will be seen in his BOYHOOD OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 3 future, but possessing a strong sense of justice and a courageous spirit, he could not consent to be beaten for the nonfulfillment of an unreasonable task. He had been apprenticed for a term of not less than seven years. 1 The law provided that should the apprentice depart from his service before the expiration of his time, "he should be legally apprehended on warrant," taken "before one of His Majesty's justices of the peace," and returned to his master with a severity of punishment far greater than that which he might have received for unfulfilled tasks. John Higley conceived the idea of running away. Keeping his intentions profoundly a secret, not even taking his mother into his confidence, it was easy for him to find a way of escape; and on the evening of the next day Sunday, he was aboard a trading vessel, setting sail for America. His first night at sea found him in severe isolation, amid the solitudes of the great ocean, a stranger to all about him, supported by no friendly boy comrade, and without money, with an uncertain voyage of many weeks before him, his destination an unknown land, with no familiar roof upon its shores " save the sky." It was certainly a period of unquestionable trial to his courageous heart, and well might his spirits have relented, had not the independence and the excitement of a boundless life on the wild new shore toward which his face was turned buoyed him up. He could not decipher the hieroglyphics in which his future was enwrapped. However, despair and gloominess had no place in his natural temperament, and full of the sensibilities of youth and hope, he sought his bunk and did not dream. John Higley had found a secure retreat from his harsh taskmaster, the glove- maker, as well as an outlet for his eagle spirit. The captain of the vessel arranged to give him his passage with the understanding that he was to be sold upon the arrival of the ship in port, for at least a sufficient amount to pay for his passage across the ocean." It was a period in the history of the colonies when inducements were offered to emigrants of every description to come to this country. "There was need, and great demand for workmen and artisans of all kinds, and tillers of the soil found ready employment awaiting them." 3 1 It is authoritatively stated that " No apprenticeship to a trade iright expire until the apprentice was twenty-four years of age." 4 " Since the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and under James and his successors, minors had been granted to court favorites, or sold in open market to the highest bidder." Extract. ' " At the outset of American colonization one finds persons bound for long terms before leaving 4 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. On the arrival of the ship off the American coast, she sailed up the Connecticut River to Windsor, the oldest settlement in the Colony of Connecticut, situated fifty-seven miles from its mouth. Here John Higley, with his own consent, was sold for a term of service. We are fully justified in the conclusion that his purchaser was John Drake, though this name is not given in the old MS., but subsequent events point strongly to the fact that he was taken immediately into the home of this worthy family. The fact is recorded that the young man worked faithfully for his employer, cleared the entire debt of his passage across the ocean, and, having his employer's full confidence, continued in his service for some time after he had attained his majority. God's smiling providence had followed the boy across the sea. England, and treated as recognized species of property. English laborers bound themselves to serve a term of years, fairly hoping to better their condition in America ; and men in domestic or other trouble would sell themselves for a term of service : trusting to luck to come up in better plight in a new world. Runaway apprentices were greedily welcomed by crimps or decoy agents concerned in shipping recruits to the new colonies. In those days of slow communication, men of every sort were as utterly lost in America to their old lives as they could have been had they migrated to the moon." Edward Eggleston, Century Magazine, 1884. CHAPTER II. A BIT OF HISTORY. 'Tis like a dream when one awakes This vision of the scenes of old ; 'Tis like the moon when morning breaks ; 'Tis like a tale round watch fires told. John Pierponfs Hymn. WINDSOR,' Conn., was the first trading post in the colony. It was established October 16, 1633. The attention of the Eng- lish colonists and Puritans on the Massachusetts coast was called to the rich broad valley of the Quonektacut," by an Indian chief,* who, escaping the savage cruelty of overpowering neighbor- ing tribes, made his way from Matianuck (now Windsor), through the wilderness to Boston, and solicited Governor Winthrop " to come to plant in his country"; extolling its richness and its ad- vantages for trade, and offering "a full supply of corn, and an annual present of eighty beaver skins." The Indians, who were numerous upon the river, belonged to several different tribes which were located forty-five miles from its mouth, and thickly settled in the region above, who were con- stantly in warlike relations, driving each other here and there. This sagacious chief no doubt desired the favor and presence of the white man to regain for him his hunting grounds and to pro- tect his people with his firearms. Governor Winthrop saw noth- ing in the proposition to merit his attention. Through similar sources knowledge came to Governor Winslow of the Plymouth Colony of these valuable lands, which were described as lying at the juncture of the two beautiful rivers, the Connecticut and its picturesque tributary the Farmington; lands rich in timber and furs, and abounding with beaver, whose future under the busy hand of trade and civilization promised to "flow with milk and honey." 1 The main facts in this historical narrative of the early settlement of Windsor, Conn., are extracts taken from Dr. David McClure's paper in the "Massachusetts Historical Collection," vol. v. ; Dr. H. R. Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor"; and the "History of Hartford County, Conn.," by J. Hammond Trumbull. 8 The Indian name for Connecticut. 8 Wahginmacut. 2 5 O THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. An adventurer, John Oldham, who with two companions were the first white men who made the journey overland to Matianuck, risking his life among the dense forests and deep rivers, returned with glowing representations of the western valley. Governor Winslow looked with approval upon a movement in this direction. The result was that the Plymouth Colony took the project in hand. The Dutch had for the last ten years been visiting the river as traders. In 1614, a Hollander, Captain Adrian Block, in the Dutch merchant service, while cruising about in a small yacht of sixteen tons exploring the unknown and rugged shores of Long Island Sound, discovered the Connecticut River, up which he sailed to near the head of navigation (now Windsor Locks). The Dutch West India Company had since the year 1621 a monopoly of trade on its banks, and had sometimes bartered with the savages for as many as ten thousand beaver skins in a single year, but had made no attempt at a settlement. However, when the attention of the English on the Massachusetts coast was being turned in this direction, the Dutch, to make their claim to the right of possession secure, and prevent usurpation of their rights, purchased in June, 1633, of the Indians, a tract of meadow land at Matianuck, and built a small fort, manning it with two small cannon. To ignore the claim of the Dutch, and get possession of the desirable lands above their rude defense, it was necessary for the English to choose a man of courage and determination, together with a crew of equal metal. Captain William Holmes, with " a large bark " belonging to the Plymouth Company, sailed from Boston in October, 1633. He had on board the frame of a house which was prepared in Plymouth with all the materials requisite for its erection. He also carried with him Nattawanut and other Indian sachems, the original proprietors of the soil, who had been driven thence by the warlike Pequots, and of whom the Plymouth people afterward purchased the land. Passing under the guns of the Dutch fort at Hartford, and up the river a few miles above, he arrived at a location chosen just below the mouth of the Tunxis or Farmington River in the present town of Windsor. Here he erected his house on a lot of 43^ acres, and proceeded to fortify it with palisades. The Dutch, after emphatic protests, finally withdrew, and in 1653, twenty years afterward, when England and Holland were at war, their little fort at Hartford was taken. In 1655 the A BIT OF HISTORY. 7 last vestige of Dutch claim on the Connecticut River was yielded. The original limits of the town of Windsor were about forty- six miles in circumference, lying on both sides of the Connecti- cut River. It was first called Dorchester. At the Com- missioner's Court held February 21, 1637, it was "Ordered, y l the plantacon called Dorchester shall bee called Windsor; " * and the ancient town has since borne that name. Here we shall find, in this old town which has pleasantly stood for more than two hundred and fifty years, the early scenes of the ancestry of the Higleys. 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records," vol. i. p. 7. CHAPTER III. PURITAN GRANDSIRES. Roll back the curtains of the years and let your eyes behold The distant times, the ancient ways, the sturdy men of old ; Across the stormy deep they came, the forest wilds they trod, To find a home for Liberty, a temple for their God. And now behold these exiles here, John Wareham and his flock, Made up of good old English names, and good old English stock ; They come with hearts that trust in God, and hands made strong for toil, To build their rude and humble homes, and break the waiting soil. I. N. TARBOX, D. D. To the illimitable New Erigland forest, uninhabited save by the wily Indian and grizzly denizens of the thickets, including every species of wild beast native to the country, came the Rev. John Wareham, Deacon John Moore, and John Drake, Sr., with their families. They were of the large body of Puritans who came with John Winthrop from Plymouth, England, and settled first at Dor- chester, Mass. John Winthrop had said, "I shall call that my country where I may most glorify God, and enjoy the presence of my dearest friends," 1 and these staunch Puritanic forefathers, echoing his declaration, accompanied him. The story of the emigration to the American coast of the church to which the Rev. John Wareham was a minister, and John Moore a deacon, and afterward its removal in a body to the wilds of Connecticut, is interesting to our readers, inasmuch as the ship Mary and John brought to this land these families from whom the Higleys are direct lineal descendants, through their honored Puritan grandmothers, ancestors in the maternal line. " It was during the years of tyranny which followed the close of the third Parliament of Charles that the great Puritan emigration founded the States of New England. The Parliament was hardly dissolved, when ' conclusions ' for the establishment of a great colony on the other side of the Atlantic were circu- lating among gentry and traders, and descriptions of the new 1 " History of the English People," by J. R. Green, M, A. 8 PURITAN GRANDSIRES. 9 country of Massachusetts were talked over in every Puritan household. The two hundred who first sailed for Salem were soon followed by Winthrop himself with eight hundred men; and seven hundred more followed ere the first year of royal tyranny had run its course. "Nor were these emigrants like the earlier colonists, 'broken men,' adventurers, bankrupts, criminals, or simply poor men and artisans. They were in great part men of the professional and middle classes; some of them of large landed estate, some zealous clergymen like Hooker and Cotton, some shrewd London lawyers, or young scholars from Oxford. They were driven forth from their fatherland, not by earthly want, or by the greed of gold, or by the lust of adventure, but by the fear of God, and zeal for a godly worship." 1 In March, 1630, this strong body of Puritans met in Plymouth, Devonshire. After spending a solemn day of fasting and prayer in the New Hospital, they covenanted in church fellowship. Two of the grandsires of the Higley ancestry were placed in responsible church relations, the Rev. John Wareham, " who was chosen a minister, and John Moore, who was appointed a deacon. 1 From " History of the English People," by J. R. Green, M. A. 8 Rev. John Wareham was a clergyman of Exeter, England, ordained by the bishop of that diocese. He was a learned man of celebrity and widespread influence in his native country. He espoused the Puritan faith, and it is recorded that li his example as much as his precept greatly aided the decision of others " to emigrate to America. Roger Clap, in his " Memoirs," mentions his name with other " famous ministers," as " sound, godly, learned men." After remaining more than five years at Dorchester, Mass., he again transplanted his church, the larger proportion of its membership coming with him, to Windsor, Conn., in 1635. Here he was devoted and untiring in his labors during a long pastorate of thirty-four years. It is said that he was more liberal in sentiment than many of his Puritan ministerial brethren of those times, and was a preacher of great attractive power, "having an uncommon influence over his hearers of all ranks and characters." He is said to have been the first minister in this country who used notes when preaching. His biographers are faithful enough to tell us that he was subject to moods of gloomy fancies, and that there were times when he refused to partake of the sacraments on account of a " sense of unworthiness," even when he officiated in the presence of his people. It is sup- posed that he possessed good estates in England. He was twice married, and had a large family. His daughter Sarah married Return Strong, May n, 1664. His granddaughter Sarah Strong, the eldest child of his daughter Sarah, became the second wife of John Higley, and was the mother of seven of his children. At his death, Rev. Mr. Wareham left a large estate in lands. His tomb at Windsor, Conn., which has been carefully preserved for more than two hundred years, in the old cemetery surrounding the church. " now the oldest orthodox church organiza- tion in America" (Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor," p. 858), bears the following inscription : " IN MEMORY OF THB REV. JOHN WAREHAM. " He was installed Pastor of this Church at its organization in Plymouth, England, in 1630, They arrived in this country the 3oth of May the same year, and remained at Dorchester. Mass., five years, when they removed to this town. Here Mr. Wareham continued his pastoral labors to his flock until April i, 1670, when he slept in the Lord. He was among the most eminent of New England's early Divines. " ERECTED BY HIS CHURCH." 10 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The ship Mary and John, a vessel of four hundred tons, was chartered for the voyage to America, and fitted out at Plymouth. The large company embarked on the twentieth of the month, and were seventy days in making the passage. Says Roger Clap, who was one of the number, in an interest- ing account of the voyage and landing, given in his " Memoirs": "What a wondrous work of God it was, to -stir up such Worthys to undertake such a difficult Work as to remove themselves, and their Wives and Children, from their Native Country, and to leave their galliant situations there, to come into this Wilderness to set up the pure Worship of God here ! So we came, by the good Hand of the Lord, through the Deeps comfortably; having Preaching or Expounding of the Word of God every Day for Ten Weeks together by our Ministers. "When we came to Nantasket, Captain Squeb, who was Captain of that great ship, would not bring us into Charles River, as he was bound to do, but put us ashore, and our Goods, on Nan- tasket Point, and left us to shift for ourselves in a forlorn Place in this Wilderness." Procuring a boat of some Planters, and "some men well armed," they proceeded up the Charles and finally landed "with much Labor and Toil, the Bank being steep. Night soon came on and we were informed that there were hard by us three hundred Indians. A man was sent to advise them not to come to the camping pilgrims in the Night. Sentinels were appointed, and we laid ourselves down in the wilderness to sleep. In the morning some of the Indians came and stood at a distance off, looking at us, but came not near us; but when they had been a while in view, some of them came, and held out a great Bass towards us. So we sent a man with a Biskit, and changed the Cake for the Bass. Afterwards they supplied us with Bass, exchanging a Bass for a Biskit, and were very friendly to us. " In the beginning many were in great straits for want of Provi- sion for themselves, and their little ones. Oh, the Hunger that many suffered, and saw no hope in the Eye of reason to be supplyed; only clams, and muscles, and Fish. But Bread was with many a very scarce thing; and flesh of all kinds as scarce. And in those Days, in our straits, though I cannot say God sent a Raven to feed us as He did the Prophet Elijah, yet this I can say to the praise of God, that He sent poor ravenous Indians, PURITAN GRANDSIRES. II which came with their Baskits of corn on their Backs to Trade with us, which was a good supply unto many. " . . . In those Days God did cause his People to trust in him, and to be contented with mean things. It was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to drink Water, and to eat Samp, or Homonie without Butter or Milk. Indeed, it would have been a strange thing to see a peice of Roast Beef, Mutton, or Veal, though it was not long before there was Roast Goat. "After the first Winter, we were very healthy, though some of us had no great store of Corn. The Indians did sometimes bring Corn and Truck to us for Clothing, and Knives; and once I had a Peck of Corn, or thereabouts, for a little Puppy Dog. Frost- fish, Muscles, and Clams were a relief to many." One account relates that "We found out a neck of land joyning to a place called by y e Indians Mattapan, so they settled at Mattapan. They began their settlement here at Mattapan y e beginning of June, A. D. 1630, and changed the name into Dorchester." For full three years the pilgrims at Dorchester lived in har- mony. We quote again from Roger Clap 1 : "In those days Great was the Tranquility and Peace; And there was great love one to Another; very ready to help each other; not seeking their own, but every one another's Wealth." They early made progress toward comfortable living. Wood writes, in 1633, " that they had fair corn fields, pleasant gardens, a great many cattle, goats, and swine, and that the plantation had a reasonable harbor for ships." There seems to be some obscurity as to the primary cause of the agitation which resulted in the decision of this ancient church to remove in a body to the Connecticut wilderness. It was probably owing to a variety of reasons. Clap goes on to say : "But the work of God towards his People here was soon maligned by Satan; and he cast into the minds of some corrupt Persons, very erroneous Opinions; which did breed great Dis- turbance in the Churches. . . The Godly Ministers were accused of preaching false doctrine, and theological points came into discussion. Troublers of the country went about and many were drawn away with their Disseminations." Added to this, the Massachusetts Colony had enacted laws which were a yoke to their liberty-loving and determined spirits, 1 " Memoirs of Capt. Roger Clap," printed in Boston, New England, 1731. 12 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. and their intense love of freedom was undoubtedly another cause prompting their removal. It is clearly evident that they had a high instinctive consciousness of rights and possibilities in the pursuit of the true principles of religious freedom, and believed that somewhere upon the soil of the New World there was a spot where they could enjoy happiness. The Massachusetts law per- mitted "none but Church members to even be called freemen or to become voters." They were interfered with in a thousand little matters which were of a private nature, and which might 7 best have been left to themselves. Sir Richard Saltonstall, who came with the fleet in 1630 and returned to England the follow- ing year, wrote to the Boston ministers as follows: " It doeth not a little grieve my spirit to hear what sadd things are reported daily of your tyranny and persecutions in New England, as that you fyne, whip, and imprison men for their conciences. These rigid ways have layed you very low in the hearts of y e saynts." * The subject of removal westward was weighed in its different bearings by Mr. Wareham's entire church. They held days of prayer and fasting, and finally the main body determined to leave Massachusetts for the Connecticut valley. Rev. Mr. Wareham was the minister and leader-in-chief of the new and hazardous undertaking. The decease of his associate, Rev. Mr. Maverick, had previously taken place,, They sent a party in advance to view sites for the settlement where is now Windsor, and the main body of sixty men and women set out in the autumn of 1635, carrying with them the original records of the Church. They were fourteen days making the journey. Their road lay through the unbeaten and almost trackless paths of an unknown forest, with deep muddy soil and across swift, swollen streams, which were without bridges and without ferries. During storms the tall trees of the thick woods were often prostrated in heaps like stubble across the rude Indian paths which sometimes led their way. They had scarcely any provisions during the journey except what they carried with them, procuring by the way such as the forests afforded. "Their household furniture, bedding, and winter provisions were sent around by water, and it is probable that some families also took this means of conveyance. ' Never before had the forests of America witnessed such a scene as this.' Driving the 1 " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull, vol. i. p. 26. PURITAN GRANDSIRES. 13 cattle before them, the compass their only guide, commencing and ending each day's march with songs of praise and heartfelt utterance of prayer, which sounded strangely among these soli- tudes they journeyed on. "Before they reached Connecticut the hues of autumn had faded from the forests; winter set in unusually early. By the fifteenth of November the river was closed with ice, and as yet the vessel containing their household goods and provisions had not arrived, nor were there any tidings of it. The rude shelter and accom- modations which had been provided for themselves and their cattle proved to be quite insufficient to protect them against the extreme inclemency of the season. They were able to get only a portion of their cattle across the river, the- remainder were left to winter themselves as best they could on the acorns and roots of the forest." l Disputes and contentions with other claimants about posses- sion of the choice lands at Matianuck met them upon their arrival, November i, 1635, which added to their discouragements. In less than a month a small party from their number, "driven by hunger and distress," retraced their way to the eastern coast amid great vicissitudes and at peril of their lives. A larger num- ber journeyed down the river on foot to within twenty miles of its mouth, where they found a small vessel which had been ice- bound in the river, and which fortunately had just been loosened by a winter thaw. In this they set sail for Boston. The hard- ships and sufferings of the families which remained were direful in the extreme. They had not sufficient food or shelter, and it is said their loss in cattle was very heavy. In the early spring those who had made their way back to Massachusetts during the winter returned, and settled them- selves permanently with their Connecticut friends. These settlers first established themselves under the general government of the Massachusetts Colony, but it was not long before they formed a separate commonwealth the " COLONIE OF CONNECTICUT." 1 Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor," p. 25. CHAPTER IV. ONE OF THE FOREFATHERS. " Love, Truth, and Justice stamp the man of worth And yield the homage of enduring fame." THE Moores and Drakes were participators in all the changes and experiences of the migrating Puritan Church which gathered itself together in the dark days of Protestantism at the seaport of Plymouth, England. John Moore appears to have been active in the notable Day of Prayer held just before the embarkation at Plymouth, since he received the appointment and "came as Deacon," and ever after was closely allied in friendship with the Rev. Mr. Wareham, who found in him a stanch supporter during the remainder of his life. He was made freeman * at Dorches- ter, Mass., May 18, 1631. In Matthew Grant's MSS. ancient Records of the Church at Windsor, Conn., 2 the following interesting entry is found: " List of Members of the Church that were so at Dorchester, and came up here with Mr. Wareham, and are still with us." Among other names in the " List " is that of " Deacon John Moore," and " of women, Deacon Moore's wife." Thomas Moore, the father of John, appears to have come to America, and to have finally settled in Connecticut with his son. In the earliest grants given of lands in Windsor was a "lot ten rods wide " 3 which was " set off " to him, adjoining on the north one of like measurement "set off" to Deacon Moore. "The 1 One who is entitled to franchise. " The principal part of the first settlers having no political rights under the charter, the court immediately made arrangements for extending the privileges of freemanship to all suitable persons, and on the first application of this right, October igth, 1630, among 108 persons, twenty-four belonged to Dorchester. " Besides the right of suffrage, freemen enjoyed advantages in the division of lands. The prin- cipal qualification for this privilege was church membership." History o/ Dorchester ; p. 27. * In possession of the Connecticut Historical Society. 8 The Court of London, held May 21, 1629, had ordered : " For the purpose of mutual defence settlements must be very compact, and that within a certain plot, or pale, every one should build his house. A half-acre is named as the size of a house lot within this pale." Says Eggleston : " No man might live far away from the meeting house. The Church was a pow- erful force from within holding the town compacted, and the almost unflagging hostility of the savages for nearly one hundred years, gave a pressure from without, making it convenient to live, not upon farms, but upon home-lots." The Century, 1884, p. 851. 14 HOME OF DEACON JOHN MOORE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. ONE OF THE FOREFATHERS. 15 two lots correspond very nearly with the grounds now held by the present resident, the Hon. H. S. Hayden. " There is little recorded of Thomas Moore except that he served as juror from the year 1639 to ^42, and died in 1645. He was probably advanced in years. Deacon John Moore became possessed of large landed estates, and in later years built one of the most costly houses of the times. By special courtesy of Henry R. Stiles, M. D., a drawing of the residence is presented. " It was in its day a fine house. Some of its ornaments remain, sufficient to hint of its former glory." . . " I have pointed out [says the writer] the door for the cat, for at that early day it was considered a very necessary accommodation to so important and privileged a member of the household. The old elm which over- shadows the house always possessed as much interest as the dwelling in the hearts of the descendants, being one of the oldest and most beautiful trees in the town." J A portion of the venerable house the gable end, was still to be seen in the year 1888. Deacon John Moore enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his townspeople in matters of local and public trust, and held a con- spicuous place in the town proceedings. In those days the town meeting served all the local purposes of the community. By it almost every concern was regulated. None but men of stanch integrity and upright life held the affairs of these meetings in their hands. We find Deacon John Moore's name at the General Court serving as member of the jury as early as 1642, and in 1643 he was a deputy. The General Court, which consisted of the governor, the magistrates, and deputies, afterward became the General Assembly. To this body he was repeatedly re-elected representative until 1677, the year of his decease. In those times the civil officers served for the honor of the office and the good of the community without compensation. In his public career he was closely associated with Governor Winthrop, Mr. Henry. Wolcott, Benjamin Newberry, and other distinguished Connecticut men of the times, in perfecting the foundation system upon which the structure of the State and our National existence was afterward reared. 2 1 " History of Ancient Windsor," by H. R. Stiles. '"Connecticut's Town Government had a peculiar character. The town was the original unit, the State a confederation of the towns. Each town was a miniature republic and sent its repre- sentatives to the General Court. It was by Connecticut ideas, historians agree, the troubles of forming the United States Government were solved." from Speech of Senator Joseph R. Hawley. 1 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Deacon Moore was a Puritan after the straitest of his sect. We may imagine his supernatural look of grave dignity as he sat in the General Court, confirming various enactments of stringent law and rule, and voting strictly against any measure which tended toward loosening in any wise the bands of their rigid high beliefs. The old Puritan commanded reverence, not by words more than by his awe-inspiring, somber dignity, so that even at middle age his appearance was venerable. Many of the Acts of the "General Court," during the period that this honorable grandsire was a member, are to be noticed with special interest. In December, 1642, he was among the number who framed and established the Capital Laws. 1 The Code contained twelve different offences for which the penalty of death was imposed. Neither did these eminent religionists spare the gossips and 1 " Capitall Lames, Established by the General Court, the First of December, 1642 : " i. If any man after legall conviction shall have or worship any other God but the Lord God, hee shall bee put to death. Deut. 13 : 6, and 17 : 2. Ex. 22 : 20. "2. If any man or woman bee a Witch (that is, hath or consulted with a familiar spirit), they shall bee put to death. Ex. 22 : 18. Lev. 20 : 27. Deut. 18 : 10. " 3. If any person shall blaspheme the name of God the ffather, Sonne, or holy Ghost, with direct, express, presumptuous, or high-handed blasphemy, or shall curse God in the like manner, hee shall bee put to death. Lev. 24 : 15, 16. " 4. If any person shall committ any willfull murder, which is manslaughter committed uppon malice, hatred, or cruelty, not in a man's necessary and just defence, nor by mere casualty against his will, hee shall be put to death. Ex. 21 : 12, 13, 14. Numb. 35 : 30, 31. " 5. If any person shall slay another through guile, either by poisonings or other such Devillish practice, hee shall bee put to death. Ex. 21 : 14." The 6th, /th, 8th, and gth laws relate to unchastity and were punishable by death. Lev. 20 : 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20. Deut. 22 : 33, 24, 25. " 10. If any man stealeth a man or mankinde, hee shall bee put to death. Exodus 22 : 16. " ii. If any man rise up a false wittness, wittingly and of purpose to take away any man's life, hee shall bee put to death. Deut. 19 : 16, 18, 19. " 12. If any man shall conspire, or attempt any invasion, insurrection, or rebellion against the Commonwealth, hee shall bee put to death." The following Laws were adopted in 1650 : " 13. If any Childe or Children, above sixteene years old, of suffitient understanding, shall Curse or smite their natural) father or mother, hee or they shall bee put to death ; unless it can bee suf- ficiently testified that the parents have been very unchristianly negligent in the education of such children, or so provoke them by extreme and cruell correction that they have been forced thereunto to preserve themselves from death, maiming. Ex. 21 : 17. Levit. 20. "14. If any man have a stubborne and rebellious sonne of sufficient years and understanding, viz., Sixteen yeares of age, which will not obey the voice of his ffather, or the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastized him will not hearken unto them ; then may his ffather and mother, being his naturall parents, lay hold on him and bring him to the Magistrates assembled in Courte and testifie unto them, that their sonne is stubborne and rebellious and will not obey theire voice and Chastisement, but lives in sundry notorious Crimes, such a sonne shall be put to death. Deut. 21 : 20, 21." MAN IN STOCKS. ONE OF THE FOREFATHERS, 17 slanderers, who were made to feel the keen punishment and dis- grace of the stocks and pillory; and in some cases the whipping- post, which "we have it as a tradition," says Trumbull, "was placed on Broad Street Green, the most conspicuous part of the town." It was not entirely abolished until 1714. For defama- tion, " one Bartlett, in 1646, was sentenced to stand in the pillory during the weekly church lecture, then to be whipped, pay a fine of five pounds, and suffer six months imprisonment." " For the preventing and avoiding of that foul and gross sin of lying," an ordinance was passed " that when any person or persons shall be accused and found guilty of that vice, it shall be lawful for the particular Court to adjudge and censure any such party either by fine or bodily correction." ' " Branding with the letter B for burglary, and whipping at the cart's tail for crimes against morality, were also methods of punishment."" In the year 1648, one Peter Bussaker was sentenced by the Court to "bee committed to prison, and there bee kept in safe custody till the sermon, and then to stand in the time thereof in the pillory, and after the sermon be severely whipt, for saying: that he hoped to meet some of the members of the Church in hell ere long, and hee did not question but hee should." a On the 6th of December of the same year, with dignified solemnity the Court considered the state of their Zion, and decided that Heaven should be besieged by prayer for her pros- perity. The following was passed : " Ordered, that there bee a day of Humiliation kept by all the churches in this Jurisdiction, to seeke y e face of y e Lord in be- half e of his Churches upon this day fortnight" 4 The next morning, upon resuming their seats in council, the jury presented a bill of indictment against one Mary Johnson, declaring that "By her own confession shee is guilty of familly- arity with the Devill. " 5 In the days of Deacon Moore they wrestled with witches. Superstition still had a hold upon them. It must be remembered that their new religious principles were engrafted upon an old system, which was environed by superstitions from which they 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records." 4 " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull, p. 508. ' " Connecticut Colonial Records." The sermon was anywhere from one and a half to two hours long. 4 " Connecticut Colonial Records." * " Connecticut Colonial Records." 1 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. were not yet emancipated, and says Green : " With all the strength and manliness of Puritanism, its bigotry and narrowness had crossed the Atlantic too." ' Mary Johnson had tried the forbearance of our ponderous and solemn heroes before this frank confession which she now made. The records show that their executive power had been called into exercise concerning her in 1646, when she was found " guilty of theury," and was "Ordered, to be presently whipped, and to be brought forth a month hence at Wethersfield and there whipped." Upon this second consideration of her case they appear to have been roused into a spirit quite the contrary to that religious "charity which never faileth." Mary was found guilty of witchery and was probably executed early in 1649. "There seems but little doubt," says J. H. Trumbull, "that a woman was hung in Windsor for witchcraft (and perhaps other crimes) about this time, and there were in the Commonwealth several accusations and trials for witchcraft, and a few execu- tions." s Deacon John Moore continued to fill the office of deacon of the church until his death. The latest record in connection with his official duties in this station, is a bill for bread furnished for sacraments from June, 1666, to February, 1673, amounting to ;4 2s. od. He also filled his seat as representative to the General Assembly at the May session previous to his decease. Among his children was a daughter, Hannah, one of the ancestral grandmothers of our story, who was probably born in England, or soon after the arrival of her parents in America. In Windsor Records are found the dates of the births of other chil- dren, one of whom was John Moore, Jr., who was also for many years a deacon. John Moore, Sr., died September 18, 1677. The interment was in -Windsor burying ground on the following day. 1 " History of the English People," by J. R. Green. a " Connecticut Colonial Records." * " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull, vol. i. p. 352. CHAPTER V. MATERNAL ANCESTRY. O faithful worthies, resting far behind In your dark ages, since ye fell asleep Much has been done for truth, and humankind. WHITTIER. THE Drakes were a very ancient family. They descended from a long line of valiant men, who can be traced back for many centuries. There is sufficient well-authenticated history relative to these maternal antecedents of the Higleys to fill a separate volume. From the time of the Reformation they are of the purest Protestant blood; and as far as can be learned, the good grand- mothers so impressed their principles upon their offspring that the Higleys, at least, to this day maintain with hereditary instinct the characteristic of clinging bravely to reforms, and hold with tenacious devotion to broad and liberal principles. From a genealogical book published by a descendant, Samuel G. Drake of Boston, in 1845, the following extracts are taken : l "As early as the Norman Conquest there were several families of the name, residing chiefly within a small compass, in the south part of Devonshire, England. In Doomsday Book a six estates are mentioned as possessed by persons of the name. Indeed, we are told that Honiton, one of these estates, was well known to the Romans, and was held by Drago the Saxon, before the Conquest. Hence the fact that the Drakes were Saxons. Not long after the conquest of England by William of Normandy (1066), we find a family seated at Ebcmouth, the head of which was John Drake. 3 1 " Account of the Drake Family in America," by S. G. Drake. 1 The Doomsday Book is the result of a survey begun in 1080 by William the Conqueror, and completed in 1086, and briefly registers the names of the Saxon landholders and their possessions. The original book is still in existence and is in two volumes. Taxes were levied from it down to 1522, when a more accurate survey was taken. 3 Several members of the Drake descendants are mentioned in various connections in ancient records of Great Britain. "An ancestor [John] went from Devonshire to Ireland in isisby special permission of Edward II. ' to go beyond the sea,' and we have distinguished mention of some of his descendants. " Captain George Drake of Apsham [1553] was the first Englishman who explored the river St. Lawrence. " Robert Drake suffered as a martyr. He was a minister of Thundersly in Essex, who was burnt 20 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. "Prince, vicar of Berry-Pomeroy, who wrote and published ' The Worthies of Devon,' speaking of the Drake family at Ashe [in the parish of Munsberry, about i^ miles to the south of Axminster], says: 'This ancient and honourable family came originally from Exmouth, a small hamlet on the east side of the river Ex where it flows into the mouth of the British Ocean. Here dwelleth JOHN DRAKE, a man of great estate, and a name of no less antiquity.' 'This account,' says Prince, he 'received from Sir William Pole [descended from that family on the maternal side], who says : "I copied it out of an old Roll, and written all with mine own hand in the month of April, in the year of our Lord God, 1616." " The motto has always been : " 'AQUILA NON CAPIT MUSCAS." " The figure in the shield is called by heralds a wivern, which is another name for the fabled Dragon of antiquity. Draco or Drago is the Roman name of Drake. . . We find that the Dragon was displayed on the banners of the Britons as early as 1448, and that churches have borne the emblem from time immemorial. at the stake in Smithfield, April 23, 1556, in the reign of Mary. When exhorted by Bishop Bonner to renounce his heresy, Drake made him this bold and memorable reply : ''As for your Church of Rome, I utterly deny and defy it with all the works thereof, even as I deny the Devil and all his works? He had then lain nearly a year in prison, and was immediately thereafter ordered to execution. " The father of Admiral Sir Francis Drake, Knt., was named Robert, and was also an outspoken Protestant clergyman, who, to avoid suffering in the same flames which had consumed his kindred, fled his place of nativity, near South Tavistock, Devon, and secreted himself and his family in an old forsaken ship for many years. He had twelve children, all sons, several of them born ' in the hulle of the shippe,' most of whom followed the sea in foreign parts. " Sir Francis was the eldest of the twelve boys. By perseverance and resolution in overcoming difficulties, and by unflinching courage, he rose in gradual succession to the highest rank in the English Naval service, and to the honor of knighthood bestowed by the Sovereign. This extraordi- nary man was the first Englishman that circumnavigated the globe, or, as one of his historians says, ' the first who ploughed a furrow round the world.' A special coat of arms was granted him in recognition of his distinguished services to his country." Life of Sir Francis Drake, by John Barrow. " Of the Drake descendants from the house of Ashe a century later, and of more modern times, was Samuel Drake, D. D., a man of eminent literary attainments, who died in 1673 ; Francis Drake, M. D., surgeon of York and F. R. S., a great antiquary, the author of the history and antiquities of York ; William Drake, A. M., F. S. A., Vicar of Isleworth, was his son. Of the same family was Nathan Drake, M. D., of Hadleigh in Suffolk, the well-known essayist and most skillful and suc- cessful annotator and biographer of Shakespeare. And before him in point of time was Dr. James Drake, F. R. S., whose discoveries in anatomy are not surpassed in importance by those of Harvey. " This list might be extended with names equally claiming attention." Account of the Drake Family, by S. G. Drake. 1 " The eagle doth not prey upon the fly." ARMS OF DRAKE. MATERNAL ANCESTRY. 21 " That the original bearer of the Arms of DRAKE * performed some act to entitle him to it, there is perhaps no question, but what that precise act may have been has long since passed beyond the utmost bounds of tradition. "John Drake of the Council of Plymouth, one of the original Company established, by King James in 1606 for settling New England, was of a branch of the house of Ashe, two of whose sons came to America John, who came to Dorchester, near Boston, in 1630 with two or more sons, and who finally settled at Windsor, Conn., and Robert, who settled in Hampton, N. H. From these brothers are descended all by the name in New England, and most, if not all of those bearing the name in the middle, southern, and western United States." 1 The armorial bearings of the Drake family are the same in all the lines of descent, except the special arms granted to Sir Francis Drake. All by the name, whose antecedents are traceable to the Devonshire family, are justified in claiming lineage from this distinguished ancestry. CHAPTER VI. ANCESTRAL LINKS. It was the star of Bethlehem that Jighted their way across the Atlantic and went before them to the place where the young child of the Republic lay in its wilderness manger. CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. THE American colonist, John Drake, was one of the con- temporary band who came with his family in the Winthrop fleet. Persecution, nearly a century before, had intensified Protestan- tism, and at a later period infused Puritanism into the veins of the descendants of the ancient family, and these principles were born in John Drake's blood. Both himself and his wife were stanch Puritans. His application to be made freeman is found in the list of the first persons who requested that franchise at Dorchester, Mass., October 19, 1630, only a few months after the arrival of the Puritan ships. It is believed by some historians that he resided for a brief period at Taunton, Mass., where members of his family remained, before he came to Windsor, Conn. In 1639 he is found at the latter place, where he spent the remainder of his life. Land grants were not put upon record in Windsor until the year 1640. Among the earliest entries of that year is one relat- ing to a portion twenty-two and a half rods in width, "set off" to John Drake. In 1643 he served the General Court as juror, and was again a member in June, 1646. From an entry upon the Colonial Records about this period, it appears that this high old Puritan sometimes permitted his temper to get the best of him, and with it fell his dignity. Using language, one day, which his fellow-jurors considered profane, they at once imposed upon him a fine to the full extent the law allowed, viz. : "John Drake, for his misdemeanor in p p phane execrations is fyned 40 s." * Singularly enough, Deacon John Moore, his friend and neigh- 1 "Connecticut Colonial Records," 1636-1635. ANCESTRAL LIXKS. 23 bor, was a member of the jury and of the court which con- demned his unadvisable utterances. In October, 1648, his temper was again wrought to a boiling point at the slanderous gossip of one John Bennett, a townsfellow of doubtful reputation, who declared that he John Bennett " had intised and drawne away the affections of his daughter." ' Straight to the General Court he goes and enters complaint. John Bennett was duly brought up at the next sitting of the Court, whereupon he retracted his statement, and promising to be more careful in his conversation about the girls thereafter, 9 the " Court was willing once more to pass by his Corporall punishment," and he was "bownd over for good behavior." 5 The law was not only expressly severe upon backbiters and slanderers but "against any man who should inveigle the affec- tions of any ' maide, or maide-servant,' unless her parents or gaurdians should 'give way and allowance in that respect.'" * With the exception of these few unflattering experiences, and they are the only ones that can be traced, John Drake's life at Windsor, Conn., among the number who were shaping the future of the young colony, was marked by usefulness, and left its good impress upon generations of posterity. His wife, Elizabeth Drake, was born in England in 1581. This worthy pair were nearing middle age when they came to America. They left behind them all the comforts of an English home of the "gentry" class, severed themselves from cultured society and associations, and came to the strange wild shores of an unin- habited wilderness, for the sole purpose ..." serenely high, Freedom to worship God." They were the parents of three sons, Jacob, Job, and John Drake, Jr., all of whom, together with their daughters, one of whom bore the name Hannah, were born in England. Their children accompanied them to America and became prominent in church affairs, and in founding their Christian Commonwealth. Job Drake married Mary, the daughter of Henry Wolcott, Esq., the founder of a family distinguished to this day. It was a most natural circumstance that came to pass between these two good families of the forests, the Moores and the 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records." * " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1636-1635. * We may conclude that his conduct improved, as in 1652 he was granted liberty by the town " to be entertained by William Hayden in his family." Edward Eggleston in The Century, 1884. 24 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Drakes, who were knitted together by the common bond of religious fervor and voluntary exiles from their motherland, that Deacon John Moore's daughter, Hannah, became the wife of John Drake, Jr. Their marriage took place at Windsor, November 30, 1648. The following narrative of John Drake, Sr.'s, sudden death, which occurred on the iyth of August, 1659, is taken from the ancient Town Records at Windsor: " Mr. John Drake, Sr., dyed accidentally, as he was driving a cart loaded with corn to carry from his house to his son Jacob's. The cattle being 2 oxen and his mare, in the highway against John Griffin's, something scared the cattle, and they set a run- ning, and he labored to stop them by taking hold on the mare, was thrown upon his face and the cart wheele went over him and broke one of his legs, and bruised his body so that he was taken up dead; being carried into his -daughter's house had life come again, but dyed in a short time, and was buried on the i8th day of August, 1659." Elizabeth Drake survived her husband twenty-two years, and died October 7, 1681, at the ripe old age of one hundred years. In the last years of her life she was ministered to by her son Jacob and his family. She was one of those mothers of colonial times of whom it has been said : " From the time when that ' faire maide,' Mary Chilton, first leaped upon the rock at Plymouth, to the present day, their influence has been an important element in our national character." Mrs. Sigourney beautifully portrays them: "On the unfloored hut, she who had been nurtured amid the rich carpets and the curtains of the motherland, rocked her babe and complained not. She who in the home of her youth had arranged the gorgeous shades of embroidery, or, perchance, had compounded the rich venison pastry as her share in the housekeeping, now pounded the coarse Indian corn for her children's bread, and bade them ask God's blessing ere they took their scanty portions. When the snows sifted through their miserable rooftrees upon her little one, she gathered them closer to her bosom; she taught them the Bible, and the catechism, and the holy hymn, though the war whoop of the Indian ran through the wild. Amid the untold hardships of colonial life, she infused new strength into her husband by her firmness, and solaced his weary hours by her love." ' 1 " History of Dorchester," by a Committee, p. 142. ANCESTRAL LINKS. 25 JOHN DRAKE, Jr., as has been already stated, came with his father to America and settled at Windsor, Conn. He had thorough Puritanic training in the home of his parents. Like his father, the younger Drake was active in the opening and widening field of western-world civilization. He filled many places of public trust, and became identified with the founding of both the towns of Windsor and Simsbury, Conn., being among the first grantees and landed proprietors in these "plantations." After his marriage with Hannah Moore in 1648, he took up his residence in Windsor. In April, 1655, according to the ancient record, the "wife of John Drake" was "taken into full communion" in the transplanted Windsor church, the oldest orthodox church organization in America. Of the names and ages given of "Men and Womenkind," "set down" as born and baptized in the same church, is a daughter whose birth is entered in this wise : "Of womenkind, Hanna, of John Drake, 'born Aug. 5, 1653, baptized April 15, '55. "' This girl "Hanna," as will presently appear, grew to be a notable woman in the ancestry of the Higleys. She was one of a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters. At just what period John Drake, Jr. or 2d, removed from Windsor to Simsbury is not known. It appears, however, to have been between the years 1672 and 1676 if indeed he ever removed at all. It is evident that he remained a resident at Windsor for several years after he was the owner of lands in Simsbury. Among the first grants of lands at Massacoe, the Indian name of Simsbury (1677) of which there is any record, are portions "set off to John Drak." This was, no doubt, the younger Drake, or John Drake 3d. Spots and places in the latter town retained the Drake name for one hundred and fifty years. The hill opposite the old Congregational Church upon which the residence stood bore the name for more than two centuries, and the memories of those who have scattered to every part of our broad land from the old town recur with pleasure to the familiar scenes of their early childhood about Drake's Hill and Drake's Brook. In 1676 Simsbury was on the very edge of the settlements. The Indians were fierce and menacing, and a general solicitude was felt throughout the colony for the safety of the inhabitants. Finally, in the month of March a general order was issued for them to remove at once for safety, and they all left with dispatch, the larger number fleeing to Windsor. On Sunday, the 26th, the Old Church Record. 26 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. town was pillaged and burned by the powerful Phillip and his dusky warriors. Whether John Drake the elder, with his family, was among the number who fled and did not return is not clear. It is supposed that he was. His son, John Drake 3d, returned and spent his life here. His name, with others, is found signed to a petition by the owners of estates at Simsbury to the General Assembly in the following year (1677), while the town was yet deserted, requesting a lighter taxation on account "of the late afflictive bereavement, having been greater sufferers than the other plantations in the Colony," and incapacitated "to rayse rates in the common way as the law required." The General Assembly granted the petition, exempting "persons, land, and cattell," for three years from taxation. The home life of John Drake, Jr.'s, family (of Windsor), of which John Higley became a member when he landed from Eng- land, as indicated in the first chapter, was of a Christian type. They were strictly church-loving people, and were liberal to the distressed. The "distressed," however, belonged to other colonies, for there were few poor in Windsor. A report to the General Government about this time (1667) says: "The people, as respecting religious views, were 'some strict men, and others more large (or liberal) Congregational men." Both law and gospel were thoroughly taught in John Drake's, as in all the colonial homes of this period. "You might find in every house a shelf upon which was kept a large Family Bible, and several other books of a religious kind." 1 Regular family worship was required, reading the Scriptures, "catechizing the children," and "dayly prayer, with giving of thanks," was to be attended to conscientiously by every family, " to distinguish them from the heathen whoe call not upon God. " a McClure states that "the aged people among us say that they could never learn that an individual Windsor Indian ever became a Christian." These laws governing households were by no means a dead letter. The select men were vigilant to see that they were put into practice. If any "heads of families were obstinate and refractory," and would not yield to the power of persuasion in the performance of these required duties, the grand jury were to 1 From that time to this the most popular of all religious books has been the Puritans' allegory of " The Pilgrim's Progress," and the most popular of all English poems, the Puritan epic of the " Paradise Lost." History of the English People, by J. R. Green, p. 582. * " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1665-77. ANCESTRAL LINKS. 27 present such persons to the Court to be fined or punished. The fine in every instance of neglect was twenty shillings. The Capital Laws were required to be taught weekly in every household, and legal surveillance demanded that all persons should attend church services, not only upon the Sabbath day, but all thanksgivings and days of fasting and prayer, on penalty of a fine. A young man might not "board or sojourn " in a family without permission granted by the Town Meeting; and it was "Alsoe, Ordered, that all such boarders or sojourners as doe live in families shall carefully attend the worship of God in those families where they so sojourn, and bee subjected to the domes- ticall government of the family, upon the penalty of forfeiting five shillings for every breach of this order." ' Such was the discipline of the household of which John Higley became a member when he landed in America. John Drake, Jr., the head of this hospitable home, died at Windsor, the place of his residence, in the latter part of Sep- tember, 1689. His will was made on the izth of the month just before his decease. The inventory was taken October 31, 1689, and amounted to ^223 25.* The father and son died near together. His son, John Drake of Simsbury, who had been John Higley's close companion since first they met, died on the gth of July (1689) preceding his father's death. He was one of the very early settlers at Simsbury, where he resided until his decease. The tombstone which marks his grave is the oldest in the ancient cemetery, and has stood for more than two hundred years. The following is its inscription : fjere Xe^s Gbe :OOE of Hobn SJrafee limbo Departed Cbis ILifc tb 1688 ageo39 " O mind then man, thy life's a fpan look here & learn To dye how soon yt death can ftop thy breath then comes Eternity." The inventory of his estate was taken by John Higley and Thomas Barber. His property was valued at ^393 155. 4 I " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1665, p. 77. II " Hartford Probate Records," book v. pp. 24, 25. a This date is an error. John Drake, 3d, died July 9, 1689, as recorded in " Simsbury Records," book i. Also as shown by his Will. 4 " Simsbury Record of Grants," book i. pp. 80, 82. CHAPTER VII. YOUTH AND MARRIAGE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. It is a deep mystery the way the heart of a man turns to one woman out of all the rest he's seen i' the world, and makes it easier for him to work seven years for her, like Jacob did for Rachel, sooner than have any other woman for th' asking. GEORGE ELIOT. JOHN HIGLEY had ready adaptability, and soon accustomed himself to the interests and habits of the well-ordered household of the Drakes. His infantile years had passed during the event- ful time of Cromwell's reign. Charles I. was beheaded the year he was born. Until he was eight years old, he no doubt fre- quented the home of his grandfather, the Rev. John Brewster (for whom he was probably named), when " England was greatly stirred, and eager debates and heated arguments on Puritanical subjects were continually taking place m every household," especially those associated with ecclesiastical affairs. The time lapsing between eight and sixteen years of age, following his grandfather's death, great events had been passing. Charles II. had come to the throne. " Puritanism had been well-nigh silenced under stern repression. The Revolution and great changes had taken place in the social world." ' Though young in years we may well conclude that his quick perception and naturally sagacious mind had fully taken in a good many of these things that were passing. " On the restora- tion of Charles II. to the throne, religious despotism with merci- less energy was revived." The sight which John Higley had seen before he left England, "of pious and learned clergymen driven from their homes, and their flocks ; of religious meetings broken up by constables ; of preachers put side by side with thieves and outcasts ; of jails crammed with honest enthusiasts whose piety was their only crime," * must have left a deep impression on his youthful mind. No lad of sixteen years with his lively intellect could have been ignorant of the iron hand which was laid without mercy upon the Quakers during this time (1662-65). "The fires of persecution 1 Extracts from Green's " History of the English People." 3 " History of the English People," by J. R. Green, p. 609. 28 YOUTH AND MARRIAGE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 29 were hot," says Sewell. The victims were flogged in the streets; husbands and wives were separated and condemned to transpor- tation; they were distrained of their property, and large numbers were banished to strange countries. 1 " In 1662 the returns from their meetings throughout England showed that between four and five thousand were then lying in prison " merely for religion's sake." "These prisons were cold, leaky, and filthy, and many men and women had nothing but a board to lie upon." Many were relieved only by death. 3 It may have been that these measures, taken against inof- fensive peace-loving religionists, not only touched John Higley's tender and sensitive nature, but kindled a strong instinctive sense of their unjust treatment, which had the effect of giving him the tolerant spirit, and which rooted in him the idea of the indi- vidual liberty of every man, with which he was endowed in after life. The summer previous to leaving London he had witnessed the awful devastation of the Plague (1665), a never-to-be-forgotten period of his life. Death reigned in the streets. Entire families were swept away. Citizens who were apparently in health in the morning, were found dead in the afternoon. Sewell relates that " the city became so emptied that grass grew in those streets that used to be so populous, few people being seen by the way. Thus the city became a desert, and the misery was great. Great fires were kindled in the streets to purify the contagious air ; but no relief was found by it, for in the latter end of September there died in London alone eight thousand people in one week, as I remember to have seen in one of the bills of mortality of that time. There was little to be earned by the tradesmen. Travel- ing in the country was stopped." " The plagues of the Lord fell heavily," continues the narrator. "It is stated that the entire number of deaths during that fatal summer exceeded sixty-eight thousand." De Foe, in his story of the Plague, mentions " glove- makers" among other tradesmen whose establishments were closed. It was one of these to whom John Higley was apprenticed. It is reasonable to suppose that he returned for the time to his mother's cottage-home in Frimley, though here was no safe refuge, for the destroying pestilence mowed down the inhabitants of the 1 " History of the People called Quakers," by William Sewell. 9 " The Fells of Swalhmore." ' " History of the People called Quakers," by William Sewell. 30 THE HIG LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. suburbs adjacent to London, and "blasted into voiceless and life- less desolation " many of the beautiful valleys in the vicinity. But our reader will remember that it was neither religious per- secution, nor political principles, nor the destroying pestilence, that exiled the lad from his native shores. The boy no doubt often experienced in his new life in the western world a strange yearning rising within him, for the glen in which he was born. He may have had many a longing look toward the stars that were twinkling above his mother home and the group assembled there. Sometimes when among the solitudes there may have fallen upon his heart a shade of melancholy, as memory brought before his face the boy-friends and associates whom he had left behind. But he was not disappointed in his American home. He was admitted to the family as one of its number, and became a favorite in the household. Soon an intimacy sprang up between the young English stranger and the young people of John Drake's house. The eldest son was near his own age two months younger and Hannah, the eldest daughter, was a bright girl in her teens just enough his junior to be interesting. As a matter of course they were brought into daily association. The time came when the large heart of the stripling was no longer his own. He saw in Hannah Drake all that was worth living and striving for, and if she, in her maidenly reserve, had resolved not to allow herself to be ensnared by his handsome appearance and good qualities, her resolution did not hold out. The young lovers came to an understanding, to which her parents appear to have freely consented. But the affairs of true love were sometimes fraught with great difficulties in those days, as they are in these. The hard old taskmaster in England was yet alive, and the unexpired appren- ticeship from which young John had fled lay unsettled. Besides this, the Article of Indenture under which he had been appren- ticed read, " No Apprentice shall contract Matrimony within the said term of apprenticeship." 1 The colonial law also imposed a penalty upon "both male and female not being at his or her own disposal," who should "either make or give entertainment to any suit in way of marriage without the knowledge and con- sent of surviving parents, masters, or guardians, or such like. " a 1 From Book of Old English Laws. a " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1643. The following law was enacted by the General Court June 3, 1644, which had not then been repealed : YOUTH AND MARRIAGE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 31 The wide Atlantic lay between him and his mother, and these formidable obstructions to his future happiness. However, it was not probable that one of his earnest nature, and of the force that was born in him, would be deterred by barriers. His first step was to pen a carefully written letter to his mother stating his case. We may easily imagine the young lover in the attic of the rough-hewed wooden house of early colonial days, with anxious heart and puzzled brain, straining every nerve to put upon paper just the proper thing to be said, which would insure her favor, and her mediation between the offended employer and him- self. Then the uncertainty of receiving a favorable answer to his petition arose in his mind. Another plan came into his devising brain. Success was already crowning his labor, and with his savings he would return to England the bearer of his own letter, visit his mother, and settle all claims. Instigated by the noblest spirit of life, with his heart set upon an idol-love, he was off at once. He retraced his way across the wide ocean to his English home. In those days is was a serious undertaking to cross the Atlantic. It required fifty-one days to make the passage. Ocean steamers were as yet unknown. The journey occupied more than four months. Landing safely in England, he reached Frimley and gazed once more upon familiar scenes. He soon crossed the threshold of his mother's home. The tall, well-formed man, roughed in personal appearance by forest-life in the New World, and bronzed by the winds of a seven weeks' sea voyage, did not closely resemble the glover's apprentice boy whose sudden dis- appearance had caused such consternation five years previous. He placed his letter, which contained the declaration of his true and honest heart, into her hand, unrecognized. As she read it, she wept then glanced at the stranger before her, and read again. Then, another scrutinizing glance. Maternal instinct is subtle and keen. Advancing to his side she parted his hair and pierced all dis- guises; for she discovered a well-known mark, a scar that he received by a fall on the stairs when he was ten years of age, " Whereas many stubborn, refractory, and discontented servants and apprentices withdraw them- selves from their masters' services, to improve their time to their own advantage ; for the prevent- ing thereof I " It is Ordered, that Whatsoever servant or apprentice shall hereafter offend in that kynd, before their covenant or term of service are expired, shall serve their said masters, as they shall be appre- hended or retained the treble term, or threefold time of their absence in such kynd." O- necticut Colonial Records. 32 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. which left a deep cut high on his forehead that he carried through life. "John, you rogue ! Is this you ?" she exclaimed, and rais- ing her hand she gave his ear a sound cuffing. Gladness and joy were in the village-home that night. The evening was given to quiet chat about the boy's life. Like other mothers, since the world began, she affectionately entered into the interesting plans and future career which were opening for her son. A satisfactory settlement was made with his former master, and after a short visit he returned to America. 1 In Windsor, Conn., the town of his adoption, he married Hannah Drake on the pth of November, 1671. 1 The main incidents concerning the courtship and marriage of John Higley and Hannah Drake are drawn from the best sources. It is an interesting fact that there have been venerable grand- parents, hale and hearty, whose years of early manhood were contemporary with some of John Hig- ley's sons and daughters, and whose lives extended to the middle of the present century, bridging the gap between that era and descendants now living, to whom it was their delight to recount the interesting story. These channels, with the traditions gathered from nearly every branch of the family now widely scattered in many different sections of our country, many groups of whom had no knowledge of each other until recent time, together with old scraps and papers written nearly a half a century ago, all agree upon these points that of the apprenticed runaway lad, the circumstances under which he came to America, and his romantic love story as related above. THE EDITOR. CHAPTER VIII. EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, 1671-78. "First Gent. All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing to a mutual delight. " Second Gent. Why, true, The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like, rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart." AFTER their marriage John Higley and his young wife took up their residence upon the eastern shore of " Y e Great River " the Connecticut. The attention of the grandfather, Deacon John Moore, Captain Benjamin Newberry, and others had been fixed upon the rich meadows on that side of the river, and they had already secured large grants of land which were considered "among their most important and valuable interests." Deacon Moore possessed an ownership in one tract of about four hundred acres. " Until a few years previous these lands were not occupied except as a pasturage for their cattle, and some small pieces for mowing. Tempting as were the advantages offered by its broad expanse of fertile meadow, there were obstacles and dangers in the way of its actual settlement which could be neither overlooked nor rashly encountered. The broad stream of the Great River, at all times an inconvenient highway, was in the winter season, when not frozen over, almost impassable with ice and drift. It was also a serious barrier to social intercourse and mutual aid or protection, while its annual freshets obliged them to build on the uplands at a considerable distance from its banks, and conse- quently a greater remove from the main settlement." ' "The Indians abounded in all that region, and though these river Indians were generally friendly and peaceful, yet there were warning signs and tokens which made families fearful about taking up their residence at points remote from the main body of 1 Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor," p. 221. 33 34 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. settlers." ' It is stated that there were ten distinct tribes within the boundaries of the township of Windsor, and, says Stiles, "the greater number resided on the east side of the Connecticut River." The repeated enactments by the General Assembly for many years about this time, as measures of protection against these savages, evidences the constant danger of the scalping- knife and tomahawk to which the inhabitants of the young settle- ment were subjected. However, "a number of middle-aged or young married men, urged by the adventurous spirit of the day, or by the necessity of larger accommodations for their growing families, crossed the river and built their humble dwellings along the uplands which overlooked the meadows." 2 Among these were John Higley and his wife Hannah. In the "List of Persons on the East side of Y e Great River," who were appointed to make some improvements on a road, in June, 1672, the name of our enterprising John is on record. The same year Major Pyncheon, in his account book, entered the following: "1672. The charge and cost of my saw-mill at Stony-River. Viewing and searching for a place, alsoe hiring John Higley to discover, &c. . . likewise myselfe and my expence with you, and feriage &c w ch come to, ^i : o8s : ood." ' Out of this amount the "discoverer " of the suitable location for the saw-mill was probably paid his share of the " charges and costs " for his time and labor. Young married people in those days set out upon their own responsibility, and the first proceeding after their wedding festivities was to found their own hearthstone. It was custom- ary for the young man to build a house before marriage. From the houses of the early settlers of the times we catch a glimpse of the first dwelling which furnished the rude home comforts of this youthful pair. They were made entirely of untrimmed logs. Scarcely an implement was used in their construction other than the ax and auger. The rough, wooden, eighteen-inch shingles called clapboards, which formed the roof, the floors, and doors, were hewn out of logs, and were undressed and unplaned, and fastened into their places by wooden pins. It is, however, barely possible that the occupants of this simple home in ques- 1 " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull, p. 107. * Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor," p. 233. * " Documentary History of Suffield," by M. S. Sheldon. EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 35 tion may have enjoyed the luxury of doors and floors of sawed plank procured at the saw-mill after it was established, though it was about eight miles distant through the dense woods. The door was hung upon wooden hinges and closed with a wooden latch. There were few nails used, for there were none to be had except those hammered one by one upon the anvil of the neigh- borhood blacksmith. The chimney, huge in dimensions when compared with the building itself, was built against the house upon the outside. It was built of sticks and thoroughly plastered with clay. Im- mense fires of logs, taken from the dense forests surrounding the house, were kept constantly going, and were a necessity to keep the occupants of the dwelling even in tolerable comfort in winter weather. The sweeping winds whistled between the logs which constituted the side walls of the apartment, it came in under- neath the door, and from the cracks in the floor, with chilling draughts. The windows were small, and there was no window glass. "Bring oiled paper for your windows," writes one of the Plymouth pilgrims to some who were about to come over. Oiled paper for a long time let a dusky light into the obscure rooms of many settlers' houses. About 1700 "window shasts with crystal " that is, with glass that one could see through are spoken of as a luxury. Carpets were hardly known at all in America until seventy-five years after this period. 1 The floor of the cottage log dwelling was therefore carpetless. On the i6th of August, 1673, the birth of John Higley's first child is recorded. He was given the name of his father, John, and on February 16, 1675, the birth of the second child is announced, called Jonathan, probably in honor of his grand- father Higley, who was laid in his moss-covered grave in Frimley churchyard, England, more than ten years before. Windsor now contained about one hundred families. On Sun- days the people residing on the east side of the Connecticut crossed the river in boats to attend church service. It was no small undertaking to get the family in readiness and over the distance between their home and the ferry, then await the ferry- man to bring them across the deep, swift, angry stream, which in some seasons of the year was filled with floating ice, causing the passage to be attended with danger. Strict laws, by decree of 1 " The Colonist at Home," by Edward Eggleston, The Century, 1884-85. 36 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Court, governed this ferry. But thirty-seven persons were per- mitted to cross at one time, the number exceeding this must stand upon the banks and await their turn. And yet the select- men were ever on the alert, and if each household did not appear at the place of worship it was liable to a fine. To announce the hour of service a drum was beaten. The towns- people were not in possession of a church-bell, and for more than one hundred years after these times, it was the practice for a man employed by the town "for the beating of the drume on y e Sabboth dayes " l to ascend to the roof of the church, where a footwalk was constructed, and sound a trumpet or a drum, " to give warning to y e inhabitants when to begin meting." We fancy that we see our John in the saddle upon the back of the family horse, with little John in front of him, and his wife Hannah, behind, clinging to him with one arm, while with the other she held baby Jonathan to her bosom, wending their way on a quiet Sabbath morning to the house of worship. The saddle horse, if taken across the river, was led swimming alongside the ferryboat, and tied to a tree close to the church with scores of others. The sermon was long, usually from an hour and a half to two hours, and was the principal event of the week for discussion. King Phillip's Indian war followed soon after the birth of John Higley's second child. The year 1675 was a stormy one for the Connecticut colonists. Both social and political surroundings were full of intense excitement and increased dangers. Rumors of Indian plots "for the distruction of the English" were con- stantly reaching the ears of the inhabitants, together with reports of the hostilities of the Dutch at New York, and the "un- warrantable practices " and uneasiness given by Major Andros. "The distressed condition of our neighbors and countrymen on Long Island" was also a source of solicitude. "It was a time of difficulty with us," 1 say they, on the loth of July, 1675. So threatening was the aspect of affairs, and so great was the need of men, that the General Assembly ordered that if any one de- serted the colony who was "above fourteen years of age, or under seventy, he should pay a fine of one hundred pounds, and be "liable to corporal punishment." ' "The young settlement [on the east side of the river] had but just fairly commenced," says Stiles, "when great fear fell upon 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records." EARL Y MARRIED LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLE Y. 37 the land. Danger lurked in every bush, and peered from behind every tree; their houses were scattered, their numbers few; the Indians numerous; and the broad stream of the Long River cut them off from any immediate help from their friends and neigh- bors on the west side. "In that hour of anxious fear and torturing suspense they felt that 'in union there was strength.' Many removed to the opposite side of the river, and those who remained carried their 4 lives in their hands." Finally the inhabitants on the eastern side of the Connecticut were ordered ' forthwith ' to remove themselves, with their cattle and grain, to the west side; and garrison houses were ordered to be kept for the protection of the few who were obliged to remain. In fact the settlement was temporarily broken up and dispersed." * We are assured that John Higley was found bearing his part in the defense and safety of the homes, though there is no record of conspicuous service. He was now a man twenty-eight years of age, strong and able-bodied, and it was evident that he was early put into military training. It had been required by law for many years that, "All persons above the age of sixteen years, except magistrates and church officials, shall beare arms." 2 They were required to have "in continual readiness a good musket or other gun fit for service," with "a sword rest and brandaleers," and ammunition kept in good order. 2 At this time, all the men were impressed into military service on sentinel duty. Regular watches, consisting of one-fourth of the men of the town, were appointed, the watch continuing from the "shut- ting in of the evening till sunrise." It was "Ordered, that no man walk about singly," and they might not work in fields except in groups of six together, with guns at hand, " well fixed and fitted for service."* Everyman was obliged to go constantly fully armed, and stand ready night and day to do battle. They slept upon their weapons, and as had been a custom, they carried them to church. Scouts were constantly kept in service, and were required to be on duty " by sun an hower high in each day." 1 Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor." 2 " Connecticut Colonial Records." 3 In October, 1675, " Ordered, to joyne together to gather the Indian corn and bring it on ye west sideof ye Great River, into places of best security." In November, "Ordered to kill and salt up what of their cattell were fitt to kill and secure it in the best places they could from the enemie " to thresh and bake up their wheat into bread, " for use of the soldiers on gaurdfor our defence." " Ordered, that 200 bushells of wheat be baked into biskit with all the speed that may be, and 200 bushalls of oats for the army," Connecticut Colonial Records. 4 38 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. As the year neared its close, troops from the different colonies were called together and a successful contest followed on the evening of December 19, 1675, at Pettyquamsquot, in the north- east part of Connecticut, where the Indians had taken refuge in a log-constructed barricade. The struggle was ended by a bloody fight; the soldiers set fire to the rude stockade, and burned with- out mercy warriors, squaws, helpless old red-skins, and children, in one mass of flame. It is stated that "three-hundred warriors were slain, and nearly the same number taken prisoners, including women and children. The entire number - of Indians thought to have been inside the fortress numbered into thousands. Those who were not consumed or taken prisoners, fled to the swamps, where they spent the cold winter night without food, fire, or covering." " It was cold and stormy," says one narrator, "the snow fell deep, and it was not until after midnight the army got in." The MS. of the Rev. Thomas Ruggles says: "The burning of the wigwams, the shrieks and cries of the women and children, and the yelling of the warriors, exhibited a most horrible and affecting scene, so that it greatly moved some of the soldiers. They were in doubt then, and afterwards often seriously inquired, whether burning their enemies alive could be consistent with humanity and the benevolent principles of the gospel." 1 At the following May session of the General Assembly (1676) our worthy Deacon Moore being a member for Windsor there was a reiteration of some of the laws bearing upon subjects of a social and moral nature" indicating that the recent trials through which they had passed were the cause of awakening the colony to a greater degree of devotion. The last day of the month was 1 " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull. 2 It was Ordered, " If any persons on Saturday night or the Lord's Day, though it be after sun-sett," were found "sporting in the fields, or drinking in houses of public entertainment or elsewhere," should be subject to fine or to "suffer corporall judgment." " Noe serville worke" was to be done on the Sabbath, " such as were not workes of piety, necessity, or charity." " Noe profane talke" was allowed, nor " irreverent behavior." Ministers were strongly recommended " to look into the state of families." " Noe person " was to " retayle any less quantity than an anchor of drink at a time without special lycence." " Dilli- gent search" was to be made by all constables and grand jurymen for all transgressions of this order. Special " care and notice was to be taken by all persons frequenting publique houses and spending their precious time there." " If he be fownd in such place and convicted," he was to be fined five shillings or " sit in the stocks one hower for every such offence." The " sin of uncleanness" was "on the increase," and ministers were recommended " to beare such due tes- timonie against such wickedness according to law (if it be God's holy will) that such sin may be prevented." " Excess of Apparell" also claimed the Court's attention, as " unbecoming a wilderness condi- EARL Y MARRIED LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLE K. 39 " apoynted to be kept as a day of Solemn Humiliation, of fasting and prayer." * It is reasonable to suppose that John Higley with his young family was of the number who removed, when the general order to that effect was given, to the main settlement upon the west side of the river, where he is found established soon after. Amid the scenes of terror in which they had for many months been living, it does not appear that his material prosperity had been seriously interrupted. His feet were continued on the ascent. In a 'Mist" of voluntary contributions "made to the poor in want in other colonies " in June of the following year, is found the name of "Hana Higley" as having donated is. 3d." Her grandfather, Deacon Moore, Sr., contributed 6s. 6d. to the same fund, and was one of a committee of three appointed by the General Council "to distribute according to good dis- cretion." 2 From an old "Book of Rates" it appears that John Higley's amount of list on January 25, 1676-77, was ^24, and his tax was i6s. The following year, on the 2ist of January, his "List" is recorded ,22 and the "Rate" 143. 8d. s From these modest amounts he came in after time to be one of the heaviest taxpayers in the colony. On " March y e i4th, 1677-78," the following was recorded: " A Town meeting was held to publish y e Town rate for y e year past, and y e ferry tax, alsoe John Higley is now granted liberty to take a parcell to bild on 25 foot in length against y e river, and 20 foot in breadth y e other way. But he must take after y e Widdow Marshall has git out her grant, next after George Griswold. " 4 It was upon this piece of land that he erected a warehouse. His remarkable business and public career was now taking per- manent shape. tion, and the profession of the gospel, whereby the rising generation is in danger of being cor- rupted." Persons wearing "gold or silver lace, gold or silver buttons, silk ribbons, or other super- fluous trimmings, or any bone lace above three shillings per yard, or silk scarfs," were required to be heavily assessed. Exception was made to " Magistrates, public Officers, their wives and chil- dren, who are left to their discression, or any settled Military Commissioned Officer," and if " any taylor shall fashion any garment for any child or servant contrary to the minde of the parent or master," a fine was to be imposed. Connecticut Colonial Records. 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records." 9 Old Church Records, Windsor, Conn. 1 " Book of Rates and Town Meeting Proceedings," Windsor, 167- to 1683. 4 " Windsor Records," book ii. 40 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. On the i3th of March, 1677, Elizabeth, his first daughter, was born, and the same year (September) is marked by the death of the grandfather, Deacon John Moore, who had for more than forty-two years, with true-hearted devotion, been one among the valuable lives of his times ; having shared the stress of sore trials incident to those who had cast their lot with the new colonies, and set going a stream of civilization and progress. He stamped his footprint upon the early annals of our colonial history, and left behind him a memory enriched by his example, his character, and his work. The old Puritan heroes who came from the motherland had most of them quitted this earth life. Few were left. His honored friend, Governor John Winthrop, with whom he was a co-laborer for many years, died the year preceding, and Henry Wolcott, Esq., the most prominent citizen and his associate in town and colonial affairs, had died long before. " They have left unstained what there they found, Freedom to worship God." CHAPTER IX. BUSINESS PROSPERITY. A GRANDMOTHER'S MEMORIES. To be born where great and good men have had their nativity, to live where they have lived, to be allied to them by kin, is, as it were, a patent of nobility. CHARLES CARLKTON COFFIN. IN vol. i. of the ancient Land Records at Windsor, Conn., is found the following entry, under date of November 4, 1679, the last part of which seems to be a confirmation of the former grant of 1677. " A parcell of woodland that John Drake makes over to his son-in-law John Higley; it is out of that land he formerly bought of Richard Lyman, it Lyes towards Hartford Bounds; he is to have out of it fifteen acres of the South end of said Lott. " [Here follow boundaries]. "Alsoe, he has a parcell of Land whereon he has bilt his Dweling house, the land was set out to him by his Grandfather, Deacon Moore, it is one acre and half of the Land Called Cow- feild." [Here follow boundaries]. "Alsoe, he hath a Small parcell of Land Granted him by The Town on the North side of the ferry by the Rivulet to bild a warehouse upon; it is set out below the widow Marshels's which Lyes between it and George Griswold's, and this of John Higley's is in length on the top of the bank against the River, thirty foot in length downward and in breadth twenty-four foot." ' He is now found in possession of other lands, a new dwell- ing, and a business house. After this period his life had to do with many diverse interests. His warehouse, which was the beginning of his commercial transactions, proved a channel for his genius in business and was an element of success and wealth. Windsor at this time was not merely a village on the foreline of western civilization, but was a chief center for trade, and a port of entry. Sailing vessels of sixty, and up to seventy tons, ascended the river to this point, and there was not only a thriv- 1 " Windsor Land Records," vol. i. p. 344. 42 THE HIGLEYS AND THEI'R ANCESTRY. ing coastline trade, but an extensive commerce carried on be- tween England and the West Indies. It was a day of bustle and excitement in the streets when a ship arrived from England. The townspeople turned out en masse to hear the news from the old home-country, and spectators lined the shores. The docks presented a lively scene, men hurried to and fro, and business at the warehouses was active. Two neighbors, with whom John Higley is found closely associ- ated in the following years (Benjamin Newberry and George Griswold), owned warehouses close by. In the record of items left on the pages of his account-book, in his own handwriting, it appears that he held the appointment of Officer of the Customs, and there is some evidence that he possessed an interest in vessels plying between this coast and Bermuda. The latter, however, is not quite clear. Much of the business of the warehouse had to do with the importation of rum. 1 The island of Barbadoes, with which there was much communication at that time, "was the first sugar colony which the English possessed, and was a place of consider- able importance. In 1684 the distillation of rum from the cane juice was extensively carried on, and there were not fewer than 358 sugar works in operation." 2 But there were obstructions to trade in the colony, as reported to the House of Lords by a committee appointed to make in- quiry into the state of the colony, " for want of men of estates to venture abroad, and of money at home for the management of trade, and labor being so dear." * John Higley turned his attention in this direction. According to old MS., he made two voyages to the West Indies and some coastwise trips. His name is also found in the return passenger list as follows: 1 The following entries are extracts from John Higley's Account-Book : " Aprill 25, 1683. Mr. Henry Wolcott made entry of one barroll of Rum for transportation and if he did not transport it he would pay the costom of it." "July 10, 1683. Nathaniel Bissell made entry of a cask of rum of about 52} gals., which he entered for transportation, marked NB." "August 5, '83. Mr. Thos. Cook made entry of one hhd. of rum for transportation : mark TC [ . . . some words not deciphered] ye was & mye same boats and barroll of Rum for Tho: Dewey of Rum." " 1683. _ Josias Wolcott made entry of 6 barrolls of Rum for transportation and if he did not transport it for costom." Says Eggleston : " There was no class in the colonies that could be called temperate, if judged by modern American standards. . . . Drinking was universal. The birth of a child, the taking of a piece of land, the induction of a new minister, an election of officers, weddings, funerals, auctions, and even religious meetings in private houses, were occasions for drinking." " The Colonist at Home" The Century, 1884-83. 2 " History of Barbadoes," by Sir R. Schoonbruck. * " Connecticut Colonial Records. BUSINESS PROSPERITY. 43 " Persons of Qualitie who went to the American Plantations," sailing from Bar- badoes in 1678 : viz. " Ticquetts granted out of the Secys Office of the Island of Barbadoes for the departure off the Island, March the 24th, John Higley on the ketch Mary for Boston. John Gardener, Commander." 1 The commodities shipped direct to Barbadoes and Jamaica were " there bartered for sugar, cottonwood, and rumme and some money." At this time in the history of the colony, " the chief staples for trade were wheat, peas, hemp, ' Ry,' barley, Indian corn, 'Porck' beefe, 'woole,'flax, cider, staves, and horses." The great forests supplied materials for shipbuilding. These were "good timber oak, pine, and spruce for masts, 'tarr' and pitch." The wearing apparel of the colonists was procured by shipping the provisions they raised to Boston, which were ex- changed for goods "to cloathe with." There were now "about thirty black slaves in the Connecticut Colony."* It was seldom that relief was needed for the poor. " Labor is deare and provisions cheap," continued the Report to the House of Lords. A day laborer was paid two shillings a day, and some- times two and sixpence. "Beggars and vagabond persons were not suffered," and when discovered were " bownd out to service." a On the 7th of August, 1679, his daughter Katherine was born, and in 1680 a son was born, to whom John Higley gave his mother's maiden name Brewster. This son became, in aftertime, the paternal ancestor of a long line of descendants bearing sterling qualities. At the town meeting held December 30, 1680, John Higley was chosen a constable for Windsor, the first public office to which he was elected. "The constable was an officer of superior dignity." He was to the inhabitants "the right arm of the king himself; a function- ary treated with reverent awe and obeyed with implicit deference. Whoever resisted the power resisted the ordinance of God. The first constable in Windsor was Mr. Henry Wolcott, appointed in 1636." 3 About this time John Higley began to scent in the air the 1 Hotton's " Original Lists of Persons of Qualitie, Emigrants, and Others," etc. 2 " Connecticut Colonial Records." ' Noah Porter, D. D., President of Yale University, in " History of Hartford County," vol. iL p. 306. 44 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. future fortunes in the growth and values of lands. In the years 1681 and 1682 he purchased additional tracts at Windsor. The year 1681 witnessed the death of the venerable grand- mother, Elizabeth Drake, who died on the yth of October, at the age of one hundred years. John and Hannah Drake Higley now had a family of five chil- dren. We indulge in the fancy of seeing the eldest, John, a boy of eight years, standing beside the old armchair of his great- grandmother, listening with gaping wonder to the stories of well- nigh a century. Her life had been co-extensive with the stirring events in the rise and progress of the Puritans' colonization. What " grandmother tales " she could tell ! not old wives' fables, but entertaining historic reminiscences. Is it any sur- prise that we have traditions ? And why not give them their due weight and credence ? It has recently been said that " obscure memories and vague traditions are powerful forces in our social fabric." ' The tendency of the day to original inquiry and his- toric facts obtained from actual record, has, perhaps, produced an inclination to underestimate the importance of this kind of material. These old lives spanned each other many years, repeating and linking together successive periods of history, and we cannot but maintain that they conveyed a vast amount of truth ; and, while we readily admit that there were many errors and inaccuracies, we recognize all the way along a stratum of well-grounded fact which deserves due regard. Books were very scarce in the days of Grandmother Drake, and newspapers there were none; consequently the range of conver- sation upon present events was naturally limited; however, there was little room in her mind for dwelling upon the ordinary matters of the neighborhood, or upon visionary things. Her eventful life had been made up of actual realities, which were no myth. As she sat, day after day, she must have readily recalled a thousand memories of the long, long past years her recollections went so far back that they were beyond the reach of everybody. We learn of no lament falling from her aged lips over past hardships. Her heroism had never failed. The sweet-winged angel, Faith, had buoyed her from first to last, and she walked through the vicissitudes of the Puritan's life gazing upward. 1 Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, Secretary of State, Speech at Holland Society Annual Meeting, New York, 1889. B U SIN ESS PROSPERIT Y, 45 She could tell of her girlhood days among the charming land- scapes of the Devonshire hills looking out upon the waters of the changing sea, of how they had, long years ago, heard strange tales from the "sea kings," and fishermen, and fur merchants, of the wild shore beyond the great ocean; then how they were marked for persecution, and of the dark years that preceded the dawn and epoch of their religious liberty, of severing the loved ties in their native land, of the remarkable sea voyage, when they were helplessly tossed in storm and wave, the fright and conjectures whenever a sail appeared upon the horizon, about supposed Spanish privateers, which were infesting the seas; of seventy-two days of continuous " feasts of devotion " which the floating, homeless church enjoyed with its voice uplifted in song above the roar of the billows the fire of powerful sermons preached twice each day; and, finally, when land was descried, with what joy they greeted "the smell of the shore, like the smell of a garden." ' She could speak of the sense of isolation which stole secretly into their hearts, and the high pitch of courage required, as they neared our unfamiliar coast where " the ocean eagle soared From his nest by the white wave's foam ; And the rocking pines of the forest roared This was their welcome home ! " Then, in our imagination, came her narratives of the dreadful pri- vations, makeshifts, adventures, and escapes through which they passed during their life among wild savages " the heathen," as they called them ; how these intruded themselves into their homes whenever they inclined to open the door and walk stealthily in without even knocking ; meddled with everything they fancied to lay their hands upon, and wrapping themselves in their bear- skins would lay themselves down to sleep upon the floor in front of the great fireplace. Mrs. Drake could well remember these savage rovers when they became fierce and treacherous, how they tortured to death and tomahawked the settlers on the river, and " wore headbands made of the fingers and toes of their victims," the thrilling excite- ments in the settlements when they kidnapped and carried off into the dark wilderness neighbors and little children, and the 1 Winthrop's Letter*. 46 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. dreadful horrors these endured, and how stout hearted women used the musket in defense when needful. Grandmother Drake had many a true story to relate of packs of hungry wolves and other wild beasts of the thickets close to her dwelling, howling and snarling at night, just outside the door. But her best stories must have been about real, live, so-called "witches," who haunted the neighborhood no mere phantoms, but women whom they believed were intimate with evil spirits, and saw and heard things supernatural, who did an endless string of things which upset the community. Her voice no doubt trembled as she sometimes talked with the older people of the gloomy news that often reached them from the motherland in that remarkable age in the history of Eng- land, the disorder and turmoil that prevailed at periods in the political world, the insecurity of government, and the grievous suspense they endured between the long intervals of the ships coming bearing news from home sweet home. But now the eventful journey of Elizabeth Drake's life was closed. A wild informal beauty surrounded the scene as they laid her to her slumbrous rest. It was early autumn. The corn- tassels were brown, and the stocks were golden. All nature was ripe and mellow. A glorious luxuriance in color clothed the boughs of the great forest trees, and the bushes which fringed the majestic river, upon whose banks, as "a pilgrim and a stranger," she had found a home. Its waters glistened between the brilliant foliage in sight of her resting place. The sun reddened the western sky, and covered the summits of the rich valley with a glow. The birds, in flocks, were passing high in the air, migrat- ing to a sunnier home. The wind-breezes blew a little wild among the giant pines, and furnished the music which wafted her away in holy triumph, as she took new wing and went onward to another world and another life. And so she parted our last old Puritan grandmother leaving behind her, from the blossoms her life had yielded, a rich fruitage of hope, courage, and devotion. " I am the last. Once more we are complete, To gather round the Paschal feast. My place Is near my Maker. My Lord ! How bright Thou art, and yet the very same I loved on earth ! "Tis worth the hundred years To feel this bliss ! So, lift me up, dear Lord, Unto Thy bosom. There shall I abide." St. John, the Aged. CHAPTER X. SIMSBURY, CONN. And from this ancient town, went forth men Whose deeds, recorded by the pen Became historic. Their unflinching faith, Endurance, and amazing hardihood, Set the great seal of deathless Industry Upon their labors ; carving for themselves, With cumbrous ploughshare. The Titles of a True Nobility. PL. E. JKNKS. IT was about the year 1683 that John Higley's attention was turned toward the settlement at Massacoe, 1 nine miles distant, for his future home. The rich meadows upon the banks of the noble stream the Tunxus, now the Farmington, which was swarming with myriads of fish, and the rich wooded upland slopes, gave to his far-seeing eye future promise of prosperity. As early as March n, 1663, the grandfather, Deacon John Moore, with Captain Benjamin Newberry and Edward Griswold, all residents of Windsor, were appointed by the General Assembly a committee "to lay out the undivided lands at Massacoe, to such inhabitants of Windsor as desire and need it,"" and "in 1667 the first grants given by this committee, of which any record exsists, were made." s Among those who secured estates thus granted, was John Drake, the father-in-law of John Higley. The following year, October 1668, the General Court ordered, " that Massacoe, which hitherto hath been an appendix to the towne of Windsor, may be improved for the making of a plantation ; and Capt. Benjamin Newberry, Deacon John Moore, and Mr. Simon Woolcott, the present Com- mittee for the grant of those lands, are desired and empowered by the Court to the further planting of the same, and to make such just orders as they shall judge requisite for the well ordering of the sayd Plantation, so they be not repugnant to the publique orders of this Colony."* The first acknowledged deed given formally by the Indians, and having the sanction of the General Assembly, was not executed 1 The Indian name for Simsbury. ' Phelps' " History of Simsbury." * " Connecticut Colonial Records," vol. i. p. 397. 4 " Connecticut Colonial Records." 48 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. until twelve years later 1680, though "the Inhabitants had held quiet possession without interruption for some years previous." The year before his removal to Simsbury, John Higley's name was "propownded" to the General Assembly, May 10, 1683,' for admission as freeman. There is no explanation given why he deferred his application until he was near thirty-four years of age. He was "accepted " at the following term of the Court in October. The act of the Assembly under which the Connecticut colonial residents were given this franchise at this time required, "that they present themselves with a certificate under the bands of y e maior, and of the Townsman where they live, that they are per- sons of civil, peaceable, and honest conversation, and that they attain the age of 21 years, and have ^20, estate beside their person, in the List of estate, and that such persons so qualified to the Court's approbation shall be presented at the October Court and admitted after y e election at the Assembly in May. And in case any freeman shall walk scandalously or commit any scandalous offence, and be legally convicted thereof, he shall be disfranchised by any Civill Courts."* On the 22d of August the same year (1683) occurred the happy birth of his daughter, Hannah, who was destined, years later, to become the mother of Connecticut's first governor, America's distinguished "Brother Jonathan" of Revolutionary fame, 3 and grandmother and great-grandmother to others of Connecticut's chiefest and most notable citizens, including two governors, and one signer of the Declaration of Independence. About this time John Higley became involved in a lawsuit, evi- dently in connection with his warehouse transactions. In Septem- ber, 1681, Joseph Trueman recovered judgment against him for twenty-six gallons of " Rume," and cost of court, amounting to ;i los. 6d. The execution was levied upon two hundred and seventy-one yards of "old statute lace." The General Assembly repealed this judgment at the May session, 1683, because Trueman thought the value of the lace was not equal to the amount of the judgment, and Trueman was given liberty to apply to the Court of Assistants. The litigation in this case continued through a period of several years. * The precise date in 1684 of John Higley's removal with his 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records." * " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1665-77. 8 See sketches of Hannah Higley Trumbull, p. 103, and Governor Jonathan Trumbull, chapter Iviii. SIMSBURY, CONN. 49 family to Simsbury cannot be ascertained. Legal documents upon record, concerning purchases of land with which he was con- nected, clearly state that he was a " resident of Windsor " on the 4th of March in that year (1684). His homestead farm at Simsbury was secured at two purchases, the first from Samuel Brooke in March, 1684, and the remainder on the ad of Sep- tember of the same year from George Griswold. Since the deed to that purchased from Griswold includes the dwelling, barns, and other buildings, and in the December following he is found to have become a permanent resident of Simsbury, it is conclusive that he removed from Windsor and took possession of his new abode early in the autumn of 1684. The property was known as the " Wolcott-farm." A very old record shows that this was a part of the original tract of land "laid out" to Simon Wolcott, January 28, 1675. It gives to Wolcott " land which lyeth adjacent to his house-lott (which house lott, by a previous grant contayned 5 acres and 64 rods) and Contayned by estimate Twenty Accres, one Roode, and two perchase." ' Mr. Simon Wolcott afterward added lands to this tract. He occupied the property until about the year 1680, and one of its chief glories has been that it is claimed to have been the birth- place of Governer Roger Wolcott. 8 The house also bears the distinction of having been the first licensed place at Simsbury for the sale of liquors. Wolcott, while he was its owner, having been " granted liberty to retayle spirits." John Higley finally became the purchaser of the entire farm, which contained ninety-four acres, and additional adjacent lands. For some reason Simon Wolcott had divided the property and sold a part to Christopher Saunders of Rehobeth, Mass., and the remainder to George Griswold of Windsor. The early Land Records of Simsbury were accidentally burned about the year 1684-85, and in many cases a second deed of property, which had been previously placed upon record, is found in the ancient Records as though given at a later date.* 1 From Book i. " Records of Simsbury." * The Rev. Increase Tarbox, in the " History of Hartford County " by J. Hammond Trumbull, states that Simon Wolcott removed to East Windsor in 1680, and that his son, Roger Wolcott, was then an infant, one year old. Family tradition has long had it that about three years intervened between Simon Wolcott's sale of the estate and John Higley's purchase of the same. * The following is taken from a statement in Book i. " Simsbury Land Records," p. 26, dated May i, 1688 : " On March 4th 1683-4 John Higley of Windsor bought of Samuel Brooke, son of John Brookes, 5 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The estate was situated in the extreme northern part of the present limits of Simsbury township, upon the direct road lead- ing from the town to the old Newgate prison and copper-mines, and half a mile above the spot where the road to the village of Salmon Brook branches off. The property, which included this farm, was purchased and presented to the town, in 1883, by Amos R. Eno, Esq., for a "home for the poor of the town," and is now known as the " Town Farm." ' When owned by John Higley, it comprised rich bottom lands of the Farmington River, including a sloping ridge, or uplands, that bound the valley, which are said to have been covered by stately pines. Pickeral Cove, which formed one of the boundaries, is to this day a beautiful and romantic spot, and the " little brook " mentioned in the deed is still a lively, dancing stream, whose waters flow by in forgetfulness of its owner of two centuries ago. The house and buildings were placed on the slope of the rising land, looking across the valley, and stood upon the east side of the road. Its quaint, old-fashioned exterior was distinctly remem- bered by Dr. Lucius I. Barber and Mr. Newall Goddard of Sims- bury, who were born and brought up near the site where it stood, both of whom described it to the writer. It was a good specimen of the better class of colonial home- steads, and was far above the primitive dwelling-houses of those late of Simsbury, Deed., land distributed to said Samuel Brookes from the estate of his father, as by the ' honored Court Records may appear," a certain portion of land, which was the one-half interest of the property known as the Wolcott farm, ' for and in Consideration of a Valuable summe to him payd and Secured.' " The Deed from Christopher Sanders of Rehobeth, Mass., to John Brookes of Windsor, of said farm reads thus ; ' Which sayd Farrne was bought by me, the said Christopher Sanders, of Simon Wolcott of Windsor, the Whole farm being by estimation Ninety-four Accres.' " From Book i. "Simsbury Records": " I, George Griswold ... of Windsor, in consideration of the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds, paid by John Higley of Windsor, have sold . . . the moiety of one half of a certain ffarmme which was formerly bought of Mr. Simon Wolcott of Windsor, the whole farm being by estimation ninety-four acres more or less, situated on the westerly side of the river above the falls, and begins at a little brook by the river side, which brook bounds it next to land I bought of John Griffen, 116 rods in breadth by the river, and runs from the river towards the upland 130 rods ; the land which was anyways granted or given to Simon Wolcott by the Inhabitants of the said town of Sims- bury, together with all buildings, edifices, fences, orchards, gardens, and all other parts and appur- tences, as also ; And moreover tbe moiety of one half of that parcel of land which Samuel Phelps and I, the aforesaid George Griswold bought of John Griffen, the whole being about twenty acres lying on the same side of ye river and abutting S. W. on the Aforementioned farm, easterly by the river, and north N. E. on Pickerall Cove. " Dated ; This Second day of September, one thousand six hundred and eighty-four. " [Signed] GEORGE GRISWOLD." An adjoining tract of land is recorded as follows : At a town meeting held " March ye 34 1690, given to Lieut. John Higley a certain parcel! of land lying without the line that was laid out to Mr. Samuel Wolcott, it is a kind of frog Pond ; alsoe there is thirty acres of land joins sd Lieut. John Higley's on his Brook between his land and Salmon Brook path," etc. NOTE. Many of the earliest papers concerning lands at Simsbury were burned in 1676. Dr. Lucius I. Barber is authority for stating that there were also a number burned in an accidental fire which occurred about 1684-85. 1 The present buildings on the " Town Farm " are upon the west side of the road, nearly opposite to the spot where John Higley's house stood. SIMSBURY, CONN. 51 early times. This one is described as a substantial frame struc- ture, commodious in size, two stories in front, the rafters of whose roof slanted downward in the rear to within eight or ten feet of the ground. This rear part of the building was called " the lean-to." There was one massive chimney, which it is stated was full twelve feet square, and stood like a great tower directly in the center of the roof. The fireplace was eight feet wide, and several feet deep, built of stone laid in clay. The chimney was topped with brick brought from England. The windows were small, after the style of the times, containing window-panes 6"X8", and were three panes wide. " These homes," says Eggleston, " had an air of domesticity of large and elegant domesticity, but still they looked like homes, the homes of people of sense, and taste, and character." ' A few venerable apple trees, which have leaved and budded at the springtime of years numbering almost a century, which were probably planted by John Higley's grandchildren, are all that is now left to mark the spot where stood the old homestead which has long since disappeared. It was torn down in the year 1827 by Alexander Holcombe, who was at that time the owner of the farm. It was here that Captain Higley's son Joseph was born, and this was also the birthplace of his son Samuel, who has become a char- acter of national interest, as the designer and manufacturer of the earliest American copper coin put into circulation. It was also within its walls that his daughter Mindwell was born. John Higley afterward purchased adjoining tracts and addi- tional lands, until his estates in the northern part of Simsbury township extended from the town of Simsbury to the village of Salmon Brook, and thence running east across the Farmington river, included some of the best meadow lands in the township, and the present site of Tariffville. This region of country, extending full four miles along the river north and south, and from the river to the West Mountain, a distance of at least 3^ miles in another direction, was after- ward called Higley-town, and was so known for more than 150 years. He was also the possessor of lands at a settlement a few miles away, called Scotland, and at Turkey Hills, and Windsor. An excellent map of Simsbury, made by order of the Connecticut General Assembly in 1730, the original of which 1 Edward Eggleston, in The Century, 1883. 52 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. is still in existence, shows Higley-town marked with beautiful clearness, and indicates the dwellings contained in the entire township, with the names of the land-owners, 'among whom are a large number of the Higleys of the second and third generations. Upon his removal to Simsbury, John Higley's usefulness in his new sphere of life is soon apparent. On the 24th of December, 1684, a committee was appointed by the town meeting to provide for and superintend " Y e finishing of y e Meeting House, with full power," 1 etc. This committee consisted of the townsmen, and John Higley. The following summer a committee was chosen "for y e procuring of a minister," the Rev. Mr. Stow declining " to stay no longer than to mak up his four Years which will terminate said he in the middle of October." The record reads as follows : "August 14, 1685. At a Town-Meeting of the Inhabitants of Simsbury there was a Committee chosen by the Inhabitants thereof who have full power by virtue of this vote to choose and look after and procure a Minister for the s d town of Simsbury and give him suitable Incouragement according to our capacity " a This committee consisted of nine persons, one of whom was John Higley. By a subsequent vote of the town the committee was con- tinued, and John Higley was delegated by this committee, as its messenger, " to treat with Rev. Mr. Emmerson or Other suitable person for the right discharge of the ministeriall function," and authorized unanimously by vote, "to tender fifty pounds annually," and if he could not be prevailed upon to come on these terms, "then sixty pounds " were to be offered. He was also invested with considerable latitude in the offer of certain lands to anyone whom he might consider a " suitable man for the place," in case Mr. Emmerson did not accept. In December, 1685, he was chosen "townsman," and was re-elected to the position after this almost every year until 1692. Upon the 3ist of the same month he was made one of a com- mittee to "lay out, state, and settle " matters concerning fenc- ing, "in some just and equitable way." There was no end to the vexations and annoyances incident to 1 " Simsbury Records of Town Meetings," book i. p. 34. " Simsbury Records of Town Meetings," book i. p. 42. SIMSBURY, CONN. 53 life in an unsettled wilderness. The lands were not defined at this time by settled boundaries, and there was little or no fencing, and great trespasses and contests were practiced. Later on, after fencing had been ordered, but had not been attended to by the inhabitants, John Higley, with his associate " Selek men of Simsbury,' 1 in behalf of the townspeople offered a petition to the "Generall Assembly," in which they portray in pitiful complaint the imposition of their neighbors' " horses, catell and swine," which were permitted to roam at large, saying : "Our Cornfields lye exceedingly hazzardous and .our labors be distroyed, as we are Yearly so Distroyed and devoured one of another that it is most grevious : which if there be not some speedy care taken of us that our meadows and cornfields be secured, and our crops preserved, we shall bee very much empoverished : neither shall we bee able to carry on any publique duties, either in eccleasticall matters or civill effayres, ... so that in sense thereof we do most earnestly begg, pray and Implore this honnered Court to take vs, and our most sadd estate, into your serious Considerason and find out some way for our reliefe and welfare. . . so that we pray and entreat your worships to afford us some reliefe. And in hopes shall crave leave to subscribe ourselves your humble petitioners." 1 Serious questions arose as to the validity of the Indian titles under which the lands of Simsbury were then held. To settle these questions the governor, Robert Treat, by authority and direction of the General Assembly, issued, March n, 1686, a Patent of the township of Simsbury to eight proprietors and their associates; and one of these eight proprietors named in the patent was "Mr John Higley."* The Patent was again con- firmed by Act of the General Assembly in 1703, while Captain John Higley was yet living. From this period (1686) to the close of his life, he was a leading spirit in the town, and prominent in the annals of public affairs in the colony. Except in those of the Church, his 1 Phelps' " History of Simsbury," p. 79. 8 The names appearing in this original Patent of Simsbury, are : " Major John Talcott, Capt. Benjamin Newberry, Ensign John Terry, Mr. John Higley, Mr John Case, Mr Joshua Hoi- combe, Mr Samuel Wilcox, and Mr Thomas Barber." A duplicate copy of this Patent, recorded on parchment, is in the hands of Miss Emma Higlev of Vermont, which has descended with other relics left by Captain John Higley. 5 54 THE HI G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. name appears upon the records in connection with nearly all of the important interests of his time. While his career was one marked by stanch integrity, justice, and truth, and the utmost fidelity to any cause that he espoused, his religious communion appears to have been in the invisible world, and not as a member of the Puritan church organization. His name, as thus connected, is not to be found upon any church records or in private papers, and even tradition is silent. 1 There is, however, no proof that there was infidelity in his mind. He lived in the Christian faith. But his religion was more a matter of life than of creed, of deeds than of outward profession. The town meeting in those days managed all ecclesiastical affairs, and through this channel he was active in means pertain- ing to public worship. He contributed faithfully to the support of the Church the law requiring the minister's rates to be col- lected by the same methods as the rates for the town. In the Windsor meetinghouse he was assigned a seat, by the " Seating- Committee," April 13, 1681, in the "first gallerie," for which he appears to have paid four shillings. Unhappily there was a bitter contention in the old Windsor Society, and a lack of unanimity, covering a period of several years during John Higley's residence there, and he was probably never attracted, in this state of things, to become personally iden- tified in membership with the church. The tranquillity and peace of the churches in the colonies were disturbed by controversies about the grounds for admission to church membership, baptism, and other doctrinal issues, and at Windsor there had been a long period of seething discontent and inharmony upon the question of repairs of the meetinghouse, which resulted in contention and bitterness. The participators in the contending parties upon one side were Jacob and Job Drake, and John Moore, Jr., the uncles of Hannah Drake Higley, who took their prominent part, as did other influential families with whom John Higley was in daily association among whom were the Wolcotts, Captain Newberry, the Loomises, Gris- wolds, Bissells, and Phelpses. At Simsbury there was a prolonged contention, lasting several years, concerning the location of a needed house for worship. The unhappy differences were finally settled "at a solemn meet- 1 " Church membership, as in Massachusetts, was not a requisite qualification in the Connecti- cut colony, for a freeman." Pitkin's History, p. 44. SIMSBURY, CONN. 55 ing on y e 24th of May 1683," by "too PaPers put into y e hatt," which were " Drawne by y e lott," 1 and at the time of John Higley's removal to the place the following year, the meeting- house, a building 28X24 feet, was erected, but stood unfinished. It was located upon the west side of the river just across the road, or street, which now runs by the ancient Hop-Meadow burying-ground. As has been before stated, his first appoint- ment by the town meeting, after coming to Simsbury, was to serve with "the Selek-men for the finishing of the house," which was accomplished in 1685. In due time "a floor was laid, seats or benches furnished, and a pulpit built." It was eleven years after this before the building was ceiled, and supplied, for the first time, with windows and a gallery. "It was never painted though the town once voted 'to daub it.' This house was used for public worship and town meetings nearly sixty years." 8 At the time that John and Hannah Drake Higley became residents in Simsbury, "Rev. Mr. Samuel Stow" was preaching in the place. His salary was fifty-six pounds a year. "The town agreed with Samuel Adams for to get Mr. Stow's firewood for a whole year compleat, and for his reward he is to have ^5, i2 8 ." Thomas Barber received ten shillings yearly "for the beating of the Drumme on the Sabboth Dayes. " 3 The Rev. Samuel Stow remained but a brief period, and in 1687 John Higley was again active in behalf of the town meeting in securing the services of the Rev. Edward Thompson. In June of that year Mr. Thompson "was employed to preach, though not as a Settled Pastor." * He came with his family, from Cape Ann, Mass. 1 Old Simsbury Records. a Phelps' " History of Simsbury," p. 47. 3 Simsbury Public Records. 4 Old Records of Congregational Church Society, Simsbury. CHAPTER XL PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. Man's true fame must strike from his own deeds. MIDDLETON. IN political affairs the colonies were in disturbed relations with the transatlantic power. In 1685 Charles II. died and James II. came to the throne of England. James followed in the wake of Charles as a tyrant. He soon began measures to have the Ameri- can colonies surrender their patents, and to unite them into prov- inces under a governor-general appointed by the Crown. In 1686 the Connecticut General Assembly sent a petition to the king by a special representative, praying for the privilege to continue its charter. The royal government turned a deaf ear to the request. Sir Edmund Andros arrived in Boston in December of the same year, to assume the position of governor-general over New Eng- land. On the 3ist of October, 1687, Andros, with a company of soldiers, came to Hartford while the General Assembly was in session, to which body he was courteously escorted by the train- bands. Ensign John Higley was present. Andros demanded the Connecticut charter, which, after a heated debate, prolonged until nightfall, was brought into the Assembly chamber and laid upon the table. 1 Suddenly the lights were extinguished, "leaving the chamber in complete darkness," during which the charter was spirited away. " The tradition is that Captain Joseph Wadsworth was the chief actor in this episode. The act has given his name a worthy place among those honored by Connecticut as patriots and heroes." 5 But that Captain Wadsworth had his helpers in the " irregular proceeding," who were at hand to assist in this shrewdly managed action, is plain to be seen. 1 The following entry in the Colonial Records doubtless has reference to this scene : " Sundry of the Court desiring the Patent or Charter might be brought into.the Court, the Secretary sent for it and informed the Governor and Court that he had the Charter, and showed it to the Court, and the Governor bid him put it in the box again, and lay it on the table, and leave the key in the box, which he did forthwith." Hollester's History of Connecticut. a " The Story of the Charter Oak," by W. I. Fletcher, Librarian, Connecticut Historical Society. 56 PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 57 Old private MS. in the hands of the Higley descendants state positively that the document was given to their honored ances- tor, John Higley, that he mounted his horse and galloped off with it to Higley-town, where he kept it secreted six weeks, before it finally found its hiding-place in the hollow of the since famous oak tree in Hartford. That there was a duplicate copy of the charter is well known, and whether this may have been the prize preserved by our worthy hero cannot be stated; indeed, it is not known how authentic is the story, which comes down to us direct, of his fast horseback ride through the forests bearing the valuable parchment to Higley- town; but since it is both possible and creditable, true to the old tradition we record it here, knowing that John Higley was a man equal to any great emergency, possessing bouyancy and great tact, full of clear grit and defiant courage. 1 The times were stirring, and the prominent men were on the keen alert during the critical situation, more especially that "it had been declared that the titles of the colonists to their lands were of no value, and Andros had said that Indian deeds were no better than ' the scratch of a bears flaw.'"* Indeed many proprietors of lands "were obliged in many instances to take out new patents for their estates, for which a heavy fee was de- manded." It would seem a matter of course that, as a public- spirited man, Ensign John Higley would be in Hartford watching with eager interest the proceedings. His fortune and his prop- erty were at stake. Besides, his military duties demanded his presence in Hartford with the train-band, of which he was a mem- ber, these having been ordered to the town on the day in question. He was also a member of the General Assembly. Whether or not we may receive it as a quiet reward, or recogni- tion of his gallant deed, we find John Higley soon after commis- sioned by Governor Robert Treat as an officer of the militia, 1 " The extinguishment of the lights," says Fletcher, " and the removal of the Charter h*ad been the act of a few private individuals, whose desire to save the precious document ex- ceeded their fear of the consequences to themselves of a rash and dangerous attempt. It was long before it was prudent to have the names of these men known, and the necessity goes far to ex- plain the haziness of the history which has come down to us." " To complete the chapter it only remains to add that government under the Charter was resumed in 1689, when, on the news of the revolution in England reaching Boston, Andros had been arrested and imprisoned." Fletcher's Story of the Charier Oak. " Connecticut obtained from the most able lawyers in England an opinion that the colony, not having surrendered the Charter under seal, and no judgment being entered on record, the Charter was not invalidated." Barber's Historical Collections, p. 23. 1 " Connecticut Historial Collections," by John Warner Barber. 5 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. and bearing the distinction of ensign. 1 This was, at that time, the highest military official in the town. If a man played a distinguishing part in administrative affairs in those old days, it was a guarantee that he was of good character and good habits, and possessed well-balanced abilities,' directed to ends valuable to the Commonwealth. Repeated and successive promotions signalized John Higley as having qualities of good fel- lowship which commanded the admiration and confidence of his townspeople and political associates. On May 21, 1688, he was chosen "commissioner for Sims- bury." 8 This invested him with the power of a public civil officer for his town, whose duty was " the dispensation of justice." In August, 1687, he was chosen deputy to the General Assembly, 3 and was elected to a seat in that body as a representative for thirty-seven terms, held during the twenty-two years following. During this long period of legislative service he received various appointments on committees of importance. In May, 1690, the number of Simsbury soldiers having been in- creased, he was promoted by the General Court to the grade of lieu- tenant, 4 and in 1691 he was again recorded by act of the General Assembly a "commissioner," which office he held by successive annual elections until the colonial legislature at the May term in 1693 "provided by law "a "Commission for Justices," 6 replacing the office formerly known as commissioner. To this office he received the first appointment for Hartford County, and filled it by annual election for twelve successive years. In 1710 he was appointed a " Justice of the Quorum," an office akin to the county court. "Thus," says Dr. L. I. Barber, "he was the first citizen of Simsbury to hold the several offices of ' Commissioner,' 'Justice of the County Court,' and ' Captain of the Malitia.' ' During these busy years in public affairs his comprehensive grasp and persistent industry caused his vocations to be diverse apd numerous. In addition to serving upon important com- \ 1 "Connecticut Colonial Records." a " May 21, 1688. At a General Town Meeting of the Inhabitants of Simsbury Mr. John Higley was chosen Commissioner for the Town of Simsbury, to attend to those Offices as by Law required of such Commissioners, and he is to serve in ye place till ye next May come Twelve Month." Simsbury Records, book i. p. 65. '"General Court held at Hartford, Conn., October 10, 1687 ; Ensign John Higley, Deputy for Simsbury." Connecticut Colonial Records, * " May term 1690. John Higley is allowed Lieutenant, and Thomas Barber Ensign of Sims- bury Train-band, and are to be Commissioned." Connecticut Colonial Records, vol. iv. * " Connecticut Colonial Records," vol. iv. PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 59 mittees of the General Assembly, he was constantly engaged in the detail of town government. The town records abound in the use of his name associated with its various interests. Among other appointments it may be noted that he was again made chairman of a committee early in August, 1691, " to be active in ye procur- ing of a minister," the Rev. Edward Thompson ' declining longer to serve as pastor of the church. Among other town improvements he was granted liberty at a town meeting held in February, 1697, "to set up a saw mill north on Bissell's Brook," and the following year, in partnership with Daniel Adams, " to set up a Dam and Grist Mill in any stream in town that they may choose." By papers recorded at the settlement of his estate it is shown that he had been engaged in obtaining tar and turpentine from his " Pine plains." Draft was made upon his time by frequent appointments to "lay out" lands. Among many appointments of like character, he "was empowered" by the General Assembly in 1698 to ^ lay out" a grant of two hundred acres to the Rev. Dudley Woodbridge, pas- tor of the church at Simsbury, and the next year he was chosen to "lay out to Mr. Henry Wolcott land formerly granted him." It must be remembered also, that he had a young and constantly increasing family to provide and care for, and the wilderness was in process of being turned into grain-bearing fields, while the scarity of laborers was severely felt. He was all the while doing conspicuous and honorable service in the military line. In 1698, " there now being nine files of soldiers," the number required to make up a full company, Lieutenant John Higley was advanced, by act of the General Assembly, to the rank of captain : "an office of great dignity in those days, and, with a single exception, the highest then known in the colony each county having, as chief military officer, a sergeant-major." 2 Training-day was usually a great public day. "It was in these days, when the people were assembled, that the town business was generally transacted. The train-bands contained sixty-four men, and some had more than one hundred. No distinctive uniform was required before the Revolution. The men were armed with fire- locks [later called flint-locks] and pikes, swords and cutlasses." 8 1 For further particulars concerning Rev. Edward Thompson, see chapter xxi. * Phelps' " History of Simsbury," p. 83. Also " Connecticut Colonial Records," vol. v. " Lieut. John Higley was confirmed Captn of the Train-band in the Town of Simsbury, and to be Commissioned Accordingly." * Extracts from "History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull. 60 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. As a matter of course, they carried the British flag. Our fore- fathers were born and reared under the mother government, and they at this time had not a thought of breaking away from her. There was as yet no sight of "star and stripe"; our honored spangled banner that to-day floats forty-four stars was not then dreamed of. "Those were the times when everything associated with the community revolved more or less around the Church," says Senator Hawley, in a recent speech. "There were four great men in these towns, the first selectman, the captain of the militia, the preacher, and the schoolteacher. It was a military, if not a warlike, people. They were up to every demand of the king." ' "To the military organizations the meetinghouse was in some sense the center. The minister was summoned yearly to offer prayer upon the Green amid the assembled companies, and invited to dine with the officers. Should it rain beyond endur- ance on training-day, the meetinghouse was opened to protect the soldiers from drenching. Its sacred walls have many a time reverberated to drum and fife, and the tramp of files along the aisles, while excited boys looked down from the gallery with won- der at so strange a spectacle." 2 The morning of the 4th of August, 1694, dawned with a cloud of heavy bereavement in the home of Captain John Higley ; for it was on this day that the death of his estimable wife, Hannah Drake Higley, the beloved mother of his nine children, took place. She became his wife at the age of eighteen, and during the twenty-three years of their married life they had together divided* many toilsome days. It is safe to say that few, if any, shadows had cast themselves over the domestic fireside. They had had much sunshine both outside and inside their home, and in material prosperity their feet had been on the continual ascent. Hannah Drake witnessed the early struggles of her husband while seeking to get a start in life, and shared in the great battle of civilization, the dangers of a frontier home, the hard work, and the cares and solicitude of a growing family; and had stood strong while the husband and father had been occupied for several years in public and political engagements. Every day of her 1 Hon. Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut, at annual dinner, in New York City, of the New Eng- land Society. a " History of Hartford County," by J. Hammond Trumbull. Training-day was a holiday observed so essentially the same in each town that had its military company, that the description given of one will belong to all. ED. PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY. 6 1 whole existence had been passed in the wilderness. She was born and bred within the nightly sounds of howling wolves, and was familiar with the prowling habits of the bear and the native wild animals of the forests. She had no practical knowledge of life away from the privations and inconveniences attendant upon the pioneer. She knew what it was to singe her hair, blister her hands, and scorch her clothing while cooking over an open fireplace, a method now growing to be known only in the hunter's camp and in history. The tread of her foot and the spinning- wheel performed accompanying parts in the round of her daily duties, and her busy hands managed the loom. The minister, the teacher, 1 and the meetinghouse had been almost her only instructors. Yet she had a long lineage back of her, gifted with superior intellectual abilities, and with such antecedents and home-training, it is not surprising that her mind was cultivated to a considerable degree. Her parents and grandparents knew on coming to the wilderness that no greater stigma could rest upon them than that of leaving their children without the opportunity of an ordinary education, but for the most part it was the boys of the Puritan households, and not the girls, who received these advantages. The schoolhouse was planted simultaneously with the church.* The course of education was limited to elementary groundwork. These were thoroughly taught; though it may be doubted whether Hannah Drake was ever a schoolgirl. 3 The original old Puritans with whom her girlhood was spent, and their sons and daughters who emigrated with them, brought to the new country habits of intelligent observation and discussion, and shared with their children around the table the results of their acquaintance with the world; these children were taught to listen intelligently. From these Hannah would naturally imbibe the knowledge that there was in the somewhere, a moving, restless, and busy world; but she had never seen it her only glimpse of it had been at the stately ships which came to and fro into the Windsor port. 1 An installed teacher was connected with many New England churches in the early times. " It was the general opinion that the pastor's work consisted principally in exhortation ; but the teacher's business was to teach, explain, and defend the doctrines of Christianity." Barber's Historical Collections, p. 128. a Schools were at once established. By an early statute it was ordered that " every town con- taining thirty families shall maintain a school to teach reading and writing, and that every county town should have a Latin school. The pupils were grounded in reading, writing, and the cate- chism." History of Hartford County, by J. Hammond Trumbull, p. 354. * Old business accounts and receipts evidence that Captain Higley's daughters were taught the elementary branches of education. 62 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. And yet, though she knew no people but a community " cradled in Christian faith," and swarms of dusky Indians, she was familiar with the sea and its wonders, through voyages made by her kindred and those made by her husband. She must have been intelligently acquainted with social and political affairs, both in Great Britain and the Colonies, which were much talked of themes in every home circle, and in her father's house she had always had the rare advantage of the constant association and instructive conversation of the Rev. Mr. Wareham, 1 a man of high culture and superior attainments. And she shared too in the friendship and everyday interests of life with the Griswolds, the Wolcotts, and other notable families who were originally from the cultivated homes of England. Such a life, trained in an industrial education, quickened the faculties, heightened the abilities, and gave that' firmness of character which adorned the women of those times. As her children came into her arms one by one, no doubt her aspirations for them reached above the tree tops that swung over the roof of her home in the forests, and beyond the thickets and briers and brush that belted their domain. And now that she had folded her arms and laid her down, and the grave closed over her while they were all yet young, she had done well her work. Every one of her children, as time brought them to mature years, took an honorable, and most of them a prominent position in interests connected with Church and com- munity, and were living evidences of the united care and training of their parents, as well as of the worthy example they set before them in right living. Her grave, if it ever had a memorial stone, cannot be found every vestige of it has been swept away by Time, that " Old ruin-maker, gnawer of tombstones, Father of buried centuries : Who dost not hesitate to lay thine Envious tooth upon the hardest monuments That man hath reared." The following entry is preserved in the ancient Records at Simsbury: 2 "Mrs. Hannah Higley, whose maiden name was Drake, departed this life in y e year of our Lord God 1694, August 4 day." 1 See chapter iii. a Book i. leaf 3. CHAPTER XII. CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY's SECOND MARRIAGE. LIFE'S ACTIVITIES. A good life writes its own memorial and tablet day by day. HENRY WARD BEECHER. CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY did not resume his seat in the General Assembly the year succeeding his wife's decease, 1695, nor again until the year 1698. It appears from the records that no representatives were sent from Simsbury to the May sessions of 1695-96. These, with the sessions of 1690 and 1703, are the only years in which he did not serve as a member of that legisla- tive body from 1689 to 1711. His second marriage took place about 1696. Sarah Strong Bissell, who became his second wife, was the daughter of Return Strong, of one of the good old families of Windsor, Conn. She was an old acquaintance, and there existed a family connection, her husband, Joseph Bissell, being a first cousin to John Higley's first wife, Hannah. Sarah Strong Bissell was born March 14, 1666, and married Joseph Bissell, July 7, 1686. Joseph Bissell was the grandson of Deacon John Moore, Sr. On both sides of Sarah Bissell's family she was of a lineage distinguished in Colonial annals for contain- ing some of the foremost characters of Puritan belief among the founders of New England. Elder John Strong, her paternal grandfather, is historically known as one of the first and most active founders of the towns of Taunton and Northampton, Mass., 1 and upon her mother's side she was the granddaughter 1 The Strong family^n England was originally located in Shropshire. One of the family married an heiress of Griffeth of the County of^Caernarvon, Wales, in 1561. In I596he removed to Taunton, Somersetshire, England, where he died in 1613, leaving a son, John, then eight years of age, and a daughter, Eleanor. John Strong was born_in Taunton, England, in 1605, whence he re- moved to London, and afterwards to Plymouth. Having decided Puritan principles, he sailed from Plymouth for the New World, March 20, 1630, in company with Revs. John Wareham, Maverick, Mason, John Moore, the Drakes, and Roger Clap, in the ship Mary and John. The grandfather of Elder John Strong was, as tradition informs us, a Roman Catholic, and lived to a great age. In 1635, after having assisted in founding and developing the town of Dorchester, Mass., John Strong removed to Hingham, Mass. Here his stay was short, as on December 4, 1638, he is found to be an inhabitant and proprietor of Taunton, Mass. He remained at Taunton until 1645, and was deputy to the General Court in Plymouth, Mass., 1641-44. From Taunton he removed to Windsor, Conn., where he was appointed, with four others, "to superintend and bring forward the settlement of that place." In 1659 he removed from Windsor to Northampton, Mass., of which town he was one of the founders. In Northampton he lived forty years, and was a leading man in the affairs of the Church and the town. He was a tanner, and very prosperous in business. He was ordained elder of the church, March 13, 1663. His first wife, whose name is not known, died on the pas- sage to America, leaving two children. In December, 1630, he married Abigail Ford of Dorcester, 63 64 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of the Rev. John Wareham, who was the most distinguished person who came to our shores in the.Winthrop fleet; if we except Winthrop himself. Return Strong, her father, "was the sixth child of Elder John Strong. 1 He was born in 1641 and on the nth of May, 1664, married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Mr. Wareham. He was a tanner by trade, and a man of large estates. His wife died, Dec. 26th 1678, at the age of thirty-six years. Return Strong removed in later years to Northampton, Mass., where he died April gth 1726." Sarah was the eldest child of his family. Joseph Bissell, her first husband, died August 3, 1689, leaving her a young widow with one child Joseph, Jr. On the 7th of December following, four months after his father's decease, another son was born, whom she called Benoni," " the son of my sorrow." Mrs. Sarah Bissell assumed many responsibilities when she entered the home of her husband, Captain Higley, with her two children and became the second mother to his family of nine children. They began life together with a household of eleven children. It seems, however, that her intuitive mind coped well with the great task before her. As the duties came to her one after another, both of a social and domestic nature, she faithfully fulfilled them. It is easy to detect the results of her excellent motherhood to her husband's children as well as her own, espe- cially the younger ones, by a decided religious influence growing out of her life in the household. And she seems to have given them the sympathy born of a true woman's love, since we find them, both elder and younger, using affectionate terms respect- ing her. It was always "Our dear mother," even in business entries and transactions years later, of which there were many after their father's decease. In 1697 Captain Higley's tenth child was born, to whom was given the name of her mother Sarah. " This was a year," says Governor Wolcott, " of great scarcity and mortality. The summer was cool and cloudy not a month 01 wnom naa lammes. n is son i nomasnaa sixteen cnuaren, jeaeaian naa lourieen, oamuci nai twelve. His grandson Jonathan had seventeen. His son Return Strong settled at Windsor, Conn. Condensed from History of the Strong Family , by B. \V. Dwight, 1 " History of Strong Family." 5 Joseph Bissell, Jr., born March 21, 1687, lived to have a grandson, Benjamin Bissell, born October i, 1720. Benoni Bissell lived to seventy-one years of age, and died August 26, 1761, an honored and respected citizen. There are many reasons for the conclusion that both of these sons were brought up with Captain John Higley's family. LIFE'S ACTIVITIES. 65 without frost in it; the winter was very long and severe. In February and March the snow was very high and hard. There was a great cry for bread; the cattle perishing in the yards for want; the sickness was very distressing and mortal." 1 On the loth of November the same year, Rev. Dudley Woodbridge was ordained pastor of the Simsbury church. In the year 1698, Captain John Higley is again found a member of the Colonial legislature. At the May session an act was passed that the October sessions should afterward be held in New Haven. This involved, for our legislator, a tedious journey on horseback, through forest-lined bridle paths, the underbrush grown in tangle mass, and across unbridged swollen streams, through which he must swim his horse. This was the only method of travel by land, in those times there being no wheeled vehicles. The next year, 1699, occurred the birth of his son Nathaniel, who is found upon record in after time as a man of fine abilities and uprightness of character. Captain Higley appears to have been pursuing his busy avoca- tions with the energy that marked his earlier years. Marriages are placed upon the records as having been performed by him, and his appointments in local matters continued many and various. The cause of higher education was a subject discussed with much earnestness by the learned minds in the colony, who, grasping the needs of the future, saw that provision for mental culture of their sons upon a more extended basis was essential to the future elevation and prosperity of the rising generations. It was also their desire that an educated ministry should be provided for within the limits of the Connecticut Colony. The standard at the schools had already deteriorated, and they, were no longer cheerfully sustained. The result was the birth of Yale College. In the year 1700, ten ministers, "nominated by general consent, formed themselves into a society," and proceeded to carry out their project, among whom were two of Captain John Higley's closest friends and associates the Revs. Samuel Mather of Windsor and Timothy Woodbridge of Hartford. In October, 1701, the Connecticut Assembly passed an act to establish the "Collegiate School," which has since become the famous seat of learning Yale University. The charter ordained that the cor- poration should consist of ministers only. The founding of the 1 Stiles' " History of Ancient Windsor." 66 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. institution becomes of interest in these pages from the fact that Captain John Higley was a member of this legislature which granted the charter; and less than five years later, being one of the proprietors of the valuable mines at Copper Hill, was a lead- ing member of the association which made the first appropriation of funds toward the support of the institution. We fancy his enthusiasm as very earnest in the subject of advanced educa- tional opportunities for young men, since the after history of his own large family shows that he was not negligent in pro- moting its education, as far as was practicable under the limited resources of that day. The eventful changes which time always brings to a large family came to the household of the Higleys. In 1701 twins were born, Joshua and Josiah, one of whom Joshua died an infant of seven months; and during the same year the first mar- riage took place, that of Jonathan, the second son, to Ann Barber. In 1703 their daughter Abigail was born, and the fol- lowing year two daughters were married, Katherine, a gifted girl, married James Noble of Westfield, Mass., and Hannah married Joseph Trumbull, and became the founder of a family distinguished in American history through several generations. A daughter who was named Susannah was born in 1705, and two years later, on July 20, 1707, the youngest son and last child, Isaac, was born. It was about this period that his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Nathaniel Bancroft. Captain John Higley was the father of sixteen children, fifteen of whom lived to over twenty-one years of age, and thirteen married and had fami- lies. The eldest and the youngest were thirty-four years apart. Early in the new century an agitation arose in the Simsbury community through the circulation of flying reports that the west- ern slope of the Talcott Mountain contained .valuable deposits of mineral, and was especially rich in copper ore. There are slight historical intimations that this fact had previously been surmised, but no definite discovery had yet been made. These elevated lands, which have since been known as Copper Hill, were yet undivided, and were still held by the original pro- prietors of the town. They were in a wild state, frequented by the Indians as a hunting-ground. The "Patent" of Simsbury, it will be remembered, which was confirmed by the General Court to the proprietors in 1685-86, had been reconfirmed by act of Court in 1703. LIFE'S ACTIVITIES. 67 Thomas Barber, John Higley, Samuel Wilcoxen, and John Case, of the original patentees, were still living. Near the close of 1705, at a town meeting, the following resolu- tion was passed, which was entered upon the Records : ' " There being a report made in the town-Meeting of eithor a silver or Copor min or minorall found within the Lymitts of the township of Simsbury, eastwardly, as the town being moot together December the i8th 1705, did mak chuse of Decon Holcomb and John Pettibone Junr. to mak sorch for the same, bring in an account of the same to the next meeting. " Voted in the affirmative." The report of the above committee was evidently favorable, though it is not found upon record. An association was formed, composed of the landed proprietors of the town, and at a town meeting held May 6, 1707,* the subject was taken up in a practical manner. Various resolutions were passed, and different commit- tees were appointed "in referance to the coppor affaires now in hand." It was "propownded to the people to give their freedom to chose a committee to treat with workman." A contract was drawn and presented at a "Subscribers'" meeting, held on the i7th of May, in which the association "agreed to pay the town io 8 on each ton of copper produced which should create a fund for educational purposes." Two-thirds was appropriated for the sup- port "of an able schoolmaster" in Simsbury, and the other one- third was voted to the "Collegiate School" Yale. A certain amount went to the Crown of England as revenue. " The residue of profits was to be divided among the partners pro-rata, accord- ing to the amount of their respective shares." Jonathan Higley, the second son of Captain John Higley, was one of the signers to the agreement. An acrimonious controversy followed, between the proprietors of the town and the townspeople. The pitch of excitement con- cerning the valuable lands ran high, and there was sharp diver- gence of opinion between the two factions claiming supreme rights. A great ado was made over the richness of the "find," and the people who laid claim believed themselves upon the verge of immense wealth. At this time Captain Higley owned the largest quantity of land in the township, and was the heaviest taxpayer. Lieutenant Thomas Barber the father-in-law of his son Jonathan, who had also increased his estates stood next on the list. Captain Higley had now three sons who were men of full age, John, Jonathan, 1 " Simsbury Records," book ii. p. 79. * " Simsbury Records," book ii. pp. 84, 85. 68 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. and Brewster, all landholders. The representation of the Higley family was therefore very considerable. And, always vigilant in business, it is a matter to be noted, how keenly alive they appear to have been through this contest to their own family interests. They were careful to be represented in all the meetings, and generally some one of them had a place in the committees which were appointed. On the 2Qth of July, 1707, a severe protest by the "aristocratic" landed proprietors is recorded on the books, claiming that "The Towne by vote having sequestored the coppor-mins that are commons in said towne of Simsbury for their own benefit . . . and their having been some persons pre- tending themselves to be the only proprietors of y e said copor mines, have in a very disorderly Sacactilgious [sacrilegious ?] manner given away the right and benefit of the said Coper mines, to some persons which are unconcerned in the towne, which is greatly to the disturbance of the peace of many principall persons in S d towne, Pantentees, proprietors and Inhabitants. [Here follows protest] against such unrighteous, and irregular, unjust dealings and actions, and We do hereby protest against the . . . [illegible] of all or any such unjust contracts, or votes of such pretenders, in our towne record books. 1 [Signed] "JOHN HIGLEY, Sen. THOS. BARBER, Sen. SAMUEL WILCOXEN, Sen. JOHN GRIFFEN, JOHN HIGLEY, Jnr. BREWSTER HIGLEY, "and others. The controversies over the copper-mining district were finally carried to the General Assembly in 1709, when a commission was appointed to settle them. For many years litigation was going on, during which the proprietors of the town worked the mines, or leased them to other parties who agreed to pay a per- centage upon the ore produced. In 1721 the mining lands were divided, and Captain John Higley's sons came into possession of a fine tract of the mineral section. " These mines have since become famous, not only from the rich 1 Book ii. " Simsbury Records," p. 85. * The reader is further referred to the sketch of Dr. Samuel Higley, p. 115. LIFE'S ACTIVITIES. 69 quality of the ore which they yielded, but as a prison fortress of historic interest associated with the American Revolution. The prison was called after the name of the "world-renowned" prison of London. Says Phelps : " There is an exciting fascination in the eventful history of this Newgate of Connecticut." 1 "An important branch of the trade on the coast of New England was furnishing the Royal navy with yards and bowsprits. White pine trees over two feet in diameter were reserved for the navy, to be used for masts, which were at that time made of one piece."' At the October session of the General Assembly, 1705, Captain John Higley was chosen as one of "Sundry principall gentleman in this and other governments to undertake the management of procuring masts, and other navall stores for the supply of her fleet (Lady Queen Ann) and other shipping of the nation."* Since the burning of Simsbury in March, 1676, the Indians had not slumbered. The inhabitants had never been free from fear and imminent danger of destruction, and were still obliged to maintain constant watchfulness. Simsbury was yet on the fore- line of civilization. The French were in possession of Canada, and in every possible way they were moving the savages to attack the English settlers. Roving bands were constantly skulking through the dense forests, and were likely at any hour to suddenly wreak vengeance upon those innocent of provocation for wrongs they conceived somebody had done them. The parsonage at Simsbury was fortified in 1690 ; and again in the year 1700 old time frontier forts, or block-houses, were built. "In 1707 there was an alarm spread that the Indians comtemplated an invasion of the town, when the Assembly granted seven pounds from the treasury to fortify it ; and the next year, a further grant of seven pounds and six shillings was made, to pay the soldiers belonging to Simsbury, who had been employed under Captain John Higley, in the public service" It was also ordered about this time, that "Two faithful and trusty men, as a scout, be out every day, to observe the motions of the enemy."' One strong fortification called Great Fort, the remains of which are still to be found, was built in 1708, by order of the General Assembly, with colonial 1 This picturesque, historic spot, though now but little known, continues to be a place of intense interest to the tourist. He will be well repaid to seek the attractive views from the Talcott Moun- tains and Copper Hill, with its rock-hewn caverns fifty feet below the surface which are ruins stored with remarkable relics of the past, and filled with tales of thrilling horror. ED. a " Connecticut Colonial Records," vol. iv. p. 535. * Phelps' " History of Simsbury," p. 33. 6 7 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. funds, and was "located in Higley-town, probably through the sagacity and legislation of our untiring hero, who would neglect no opportunity for the direct benefit of his own immediate domain. The garrison was within a half a mile of his house. In the autumn of 1707 the community was thrown into a high state of alarm and solicitude at the capture by the Indians of Daniel Hayes, who was a neighbor of Captain Higley, and no doubt on intimate friendly terms with his family. He was a young man, twenty-two years of age. He was carried to Canada and sold, and there kept in captivity nearly six years before he could succeed in getting released. During this time his experiences were thrilling, and were sometimes attended with barbarity. From the hour when he was kidnaped, near to his home, he heard nothing from his relatives or friends, and they, hearing no tidings of him, gave him up as dead. Every effort was made by the people of the neighborhood to find the captive, but their pursuit was without avail. The Indians finally sold him to a Frenchman in Montreal, who kindly opened the way for him to earn money to purchase his freedom, and sent an Indian guide to accompany him down the Connecticut valley far enough to "point to him the smokes of his friends, ' the pale faces.' " * The recent defense in the warlike threatening, with French and Indians, brought an increased burden of taxation, and caused even greater scarcity of specie than had heretofore existed. The colony had always been embarrassed for want of circulating cash. There was little actual money passing. "Provision pay "was therefore resorted to as the legitimate exchange in business trans- actions. On the town records it is seen, "that one Thomas Bacon mortgaged his farm to Capt. John Higley, for the full and just summ of 8, in current wheat, peas, and Indian Corn, at equal proportions at current market price." a 1 The following act was passed by the General Assembly, October, 1713 : " Upon consideration of the petition of Daniel Hayes of Simsbury, having been taken by the Indian enemie and carried captive to Canada praying for some releife : This Assembly do grant unto the petitioner the sum of seven pounds to be paid him out of the public treasury of this Colony." Connecticut Colonial Records. A fuller narrative of Daniel Hayes than is here given, may be found in "Newgate of Connecti- cut," p. 103. He lived in the village of Salmon-Brook, to the good age of seventy-one, " a thriving agriculturist, and a respected citizen." A monument, still standing, marks the spot of his last resting-place in the village cemetery. 5 Book i. " Simsbury Land Records." CHAPTER XIII. LAST SCENES IN CAPTAIN HIGLEY's LIFE. Have left a name behind them. Eccltsiasticus xliv. 8. NUMEROUS transactions in the purchase and sale of lands, aside from Captain John Higley's public career, were apparently the chief feature of his private business interests after his removal to Simsbury. By judicious investments in lands he found himself, in the prime of life, with large possessions from the standpoint of those times of ever-growing values. For several years he enjoyed the distinction of being the largest taxpayer in the township, and as the owner of these estates his assessments exceeded in amount those paid by any fellow-citizen. Before his decease he settled lands upon those of his children who had arrived at full age. From business transactions found on record, it would seem that he was yet in the midst of his engrossing interests as the twilight of his active life was approaching, when night suddenly fell he left mortality and passed peacefully into the silent-land. He lived three weeks beyond his sixty-fifth birthday. The entry upon the Simsbury records is as follows : " Cap*- John Higley departed this life August 25th 1714." Of the disease and illness which ended in his death, no mention is made in private memoranda yet discovered, further than that he was attended by his friend and physician, Dr. Samuel Mather of Hartford, and that toward the last, probably when there was grave apprehension that his life must be despaired of, Dr. Haston was called into consultation. He was laid to rest by the side of his brother-in-law, John Drake. His grave is yet to be seen in the old Hop-Meadow (Simsbury) burying-ground, directly in the rear of the site where the first meetinghouse of the town once stood, and near to the tablet monuments of the Revs. Dudley and Timothy Woodbridge. The tombstone is a neat red sandstone slab, standing two feet 7* 72 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. high, with a tasteful panel around the face of it, bearing the following inscription : Oaptt. DteO august 25*1714 66 From the ancient account book in which his executors kept their accounts in the settlement of Captain Higley's estate, we extract some of the expenses incurred upon the occasion of his death, mainly made up of the funeral costs, which contrast strangely with the heavy funeral expenses of the present day. The entries are in the clear-handed penmanship of his son, Dr. Samuel Higley. The fact of the first and most important item used on the day of his decease being rum, seems scarcely credible in our day. Yet this was the custom in "y e olden time." "A colonial funeral," says Eggleston, "deserved to rank as a festive occasion a time of much eating and a great deal of drinking." l The emblems of "mourning" supplied consisted of black ribbon for badges and trimmings. As the ten elder children were grown, and the most of them were married, it is likely they provided their own somber habiliments. By special provision of the town meeting, a citizen stood appointed ''to mak coffins for our Townspeople." "Unkel Holcom"set about making a coffin, while Mary Holcombe, who appears to have been a useful busybody who repeatedly rendered service in the household, invaded the kitchen to make ample prep- aration for the expected funeral guests. Rev. Timothy Woodbridge was at that time the settled pastor of the church at Simsbury, but we cannot say whether or not he officiated at the funeral services. Some of the towns were about this time deviating from the customs of the earliest New Englanders, who " followed the body in silence to the grave 'without funeral service of any sort, lest they, ' confirme the popish error that prayer is to bee used for the dead';" 1 and it may have been that the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge conducted prayers at the house, or at the grave. Captain John Higley's will, the original copy of which is still extant," bears the date, May 6, 1714 three months before his 1 Edward Eggleston, in " Social Life in the Colonies," The Century, 1884. a " Hartford Probate Records," vol. ix. p. 41. CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY' S WILL. 73 death. He constitutes his two sons, John, Jr., and Samuel, the executors of his estate. "The Last WILL and TESTAMENT of John Higley of Symsbury, in the County of Hartford, and Colony of Connecticut, in New England, which is as followeth Being under many weaknesses, age, and infirmities of body, but of Sound Judgement and understanding and not knowing how soon the time of my dissolution will be, I do therefore Committ my Soul into the hands of God who gave it, and my body to the earth for a decent and Christian burial), Expecting by faith a Glorious Resurrection. And as for those worldly goods, which God in his Providence hath bestowed on me, I thus dispose of them when my Just Debts and funeral! charges are paid. "Imprimis^ I give unto my loving Wife Sarah one third part of my moveable goods of Housing Stuf and Utencells thereto belonging to her disposall as She Sees cause to dispose of them to my children by her ; Alsoe, I give her that third part of moveables of her former Husbands [Joseph Bissell] Estate which is yet undivided. I Likewise give unto her the one third part of this my Reai Estate, here in Symsbury, with the Use of my now Dwelling house during the term of Nathaniall's life, or as long as She continueth my Widow, and if by the providence of God She be Married again. She Shall be allowed by my Executors Six pounds a year, for the third of my Real Estate during life, to be disposed of by her, among my Children by her. "Item. I give to my Eldest Son John Higley, a double portion out of my whole Estate, and to the rest of my Sons, Jonathan, Brewster, Joseph and Samuel, Nathanel, Josiah and Isaac, to each of them a Single portion out of my whole Estate, with what either of them has already Received. "Hem. 1 give unto my daughters Katherine, Hannah. Elizabeth, and Mindwell, Sarah, Susan- nah, and Abigail to each of them half so much as to each of my Sons, Excepting John, out of my Estate, with what Either of them have already received at Marriage, to be paid to them in Twelve months after my decease, or at Eighteen years of age, by my Executors hereafter mentioned. "Item. My Will further is that my Sons Shall have all my Lands, they paying to their Sisters what is wanting of the moveables to make up their portions. "Item. All the lands which I have at Windsor, which came by my first Wife, I give to my five Eldest Sons which I had by her, in equall Share, they paying to their four eldest Sisters twenty shillings each. "Item. I give my wearing apparell unto my Youngest Sons, viz., Nathaniel, Josiah and Isaac, and provided that Either of them, or their Sisters shall dye before they are of age their por- tion Shall be divided among their Survivors. "Item. AH my books, bonds, bills, and debts standing out I leave with my Executors, and hereby Impower them for to Recover and cause to be added to the Inventory of my whole Estate, they being Reasonably paid for their pains and Costs. "And I do hereby Appoint, Authorize, and Constitute my loving Sons John Higley, and Samuel Higley to be my Executors to this my last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have here- unto Sett my hand and fixed my Seal, this the Six day of May, in the year of our Lord, God, One thousand Seven Hundred and fourteen, and in the twelth Year of the Reign of Anne of Great Britain, Queen &c. Anno Dom. 1714. " Signed and Sealed , - * . in presence of Witness, JOHN HlGLEV." JOHN CASK, 1 SEAL> f THOMAS HOLCOMB, -v ' his ROBERT RH. HASKINS. mark. The inventory of the estate was taken the 3oth of December, and is full of curious details. It was the custom of the times to record minutely the smallest personal belongings, and from these inventories we learn something of the daily habits of the deceased individual. The following extracts show the quantity and value of lands Captain John Higley held at the time of his decease, after having settled portions upon his children who had reached a legal age : "94 acres, formerly Simon Wolcott's, .200; 20 acres adjacent to the west side, to ; 10 acres called 'the Strap,' .20; 40 acres marsh and upland adjoining, 10 ', 14 acres east side the river against the 94, 10 ', 42 acres upland with house and barn, 80; 32 acres up the brook called ' Simon's Brook.' 15 ; 100 acres at a place called N. E. corner, 25 ; 100 acres Pine-plain toward Salmon-Brook, .20 ; 20 acres bought of Jute Hayt, ,50 ; 38 acres at Salisbury, ,14." His lands at Windsor were given to his elder children, and are not described. 1 " The N. E. corner " was afterward called " Turkey Hills," and is now East Granby, Conn. 74 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Among his books mentioned are a "Physic Book," 45., Con- cordance, 45., Sermon Book 35., Psalm Book, 3 Sermon Books, and sundry "old books." His clothing, as is shown by the will, was bequeathed to his three youngest sons. Among the articles named was a "broad- cloth coat lined with shalloone," and a "heavy coat." In the list is his " sword, a sword belt, etc., 155., a gun, 125., small gun, 2os., caps and pistols, 245., a pair of brass scales and weights used for weighing coin, 8s., an hour glass." (There were no clocks in New England in those times. ) His equipments for traveling (as there were no carriages or wagons) were "a saddle and furniture, 1 8s., a bridle, 45., ' portmantle, ' mail pillion, straps, and spurs, 135." There are quantities of household articles, farming imple- ments, and live stock catalogued, and the essential "cydar press." The inventory of personal effects was appraised at ^605 35. id. In the executor's account are to be seen the original autographs of several of Captain Higley's heirs signed as receipts for moneys paid to them: "Nathaniel Bancroft for my wife Elizabeth." " Sary," " Kateron," "Abigail," "Susana,"and "Isaac." The book contains other signatures in connection with various mat- ters, among which are John, Jr., Jonathan, Brewster, Samuel, and "Josias." Mindwell Hutchason "alias Higley " of Lebanon, Conn., received "the sum of wun pound in money" from John Higley, executor, January 10, 1723. The receipt is signed- by "Abigail Thorp alias Higley." By the following entries taken from the same book, it would appear that the staple articles of living were rye, Indian corn, and pork. MEMORANDUM OF WHAT MOTHER RECEIVED. s. d. 1714 Oct. Nov. 22 i i i 6 6 4 3 4 3 9 12 3 4 2 3 2 3 3 3 i 2 8 6 6 9 3 bushels Indian corn , a bu % R y To one bushel % Ry LAST SCENES IN CAPTAIN HIGLEY'S LIFE. 75 i. d. Jan. 1720 1721 1722 1724 Jan. 1729 i73 1739 2 I 3 8 o 4 a 7 a 2 4 6 8 12 4 10 8 o 6 6 6 8 2 6 10 o o By fifteen pounds pork out of bbl. by Nathanel at 60 O bbl 8 " Flax by Nathaniel. The distribution of Captain Higley's estates was ordered by the Court in Hartford, May 10, 1720. This distribution seems to have been set aside and a new one took place April i, 1723. There appears to have been some disagreement between the guardians of the younger children and the executors previous to the final distribution. Of the ancient relics there are but few. His autograph and the old account-book containing entries by Captain Higley's own hand, the latter half of which was appropriated by his executors for items concerning his estate, has survived the accidents of more than two centuries, and is now held in high value by his descendants. It has reached this day well preserved through the care of his son Brewster's line of descent, and is now in possession of Miss Emma L. Higley of Vermont. A venerable walking-stick has come down to the present gen- eration through the line of another son, Dr. Samuel Higley, and is in the hands of Jonathan Higley, Esq., of Ashtabula County, Ohio. It is marked in clear lettering, "J. H. 1714." The carving was probably done by Samuel's hand near the time of his father's death. His compass, which was the essential accompaniment and guide in his journeys about the wilderness, has descended to the seventh generation, and is owned by Milo H. Higley, Esq., of Meigs County, Ohio. A pair of ancient balances, such as were used for weighing THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. money, etc., which belonged either to Captain John Higley, or his son, Brewster, or perhaps to both, is in the possession of Alfred Higley, Esq., of Middlebury, Vt. It is supposed that these are the same which are mentioned in the inventory. Captain Higley's second wife, Sarah, survived him twenty-five years. In February, 1716, she was appointed the guardian of her daughter, Abigail. She appears to have removed from the home farm at Simsbury in the spring of 1725, and returned with the younger children of the family to Windsor, where she resided the remainder of her life. She died at the age of seventy-three years. The record of her decease is found upon the Windsor records as follows : " Mrs. Sarah Higley Dyed may the 27th Anno Dom. 1739." The inventory of her estate was taken December 4, 1739, and was "presented to the Court by her son-in-law Jonathan Loomis and Sarah his wife." Jacob and Job Drake and Timothy Loomis were the appraisers. Her property was bequeathed to her own children. The final distribution of her estate was not made until March 26, 1750.' One year previous to this date, the Probate Court ordered money distributed to her children, Benoni Bissell, Nathaniel, Josiah, and Isaac Higley, Sarah Loomis, Susannah Black- man, and " to the heirs of Abigail Thorp their mother's part." The children of Captain John Higley were as follows : John, born March 16, 1673. Jonathan, " February 16, 1675. Elizabeth, " March 13, 1677. Katherine, " August 7, 1679. Brewster, " 1680." Hannah, " April 22, 1683. Joseph, " about 1685. Samuel, " " 1687. Mindwell, " " 1689. 'Sarah, " " 1697. Nathaniel, " November 12, 1699. Joshua, ) tw . born September 8 I70I Josiah, ) Abigail, " November 4, 1703. Susannah, " 1705. ^Isaac, " July 20, 1707. 1 " Hartford Probate Records," vol. xv. a Tradition says in the month of March. rt v- Q J2 C C rt ffi to c o C/3 -C < rt C/2 CHARACTER OF CAPTAIN JOHN HIGLEY, 77 Captain John Higley's career was a part of the history of Sims- bury. He was a marvel of uniform courage, energy, and industry, and must have possessed almost inexhaustible vitality. From the first knowledge that has been discovered concerning him, he did nothing in a half-hearted way, and his earnestness of charac- ter and vigorous push were dominant at every step. He left no opportunity for rust or mold to gather upon any part of his busy years. And these splendid qualities, coupled with a wise intelli- gence, caused him to strike good blows for civilization and progress. He came to America with little to indicate the signally success- ful course he was to run. His education could not have given promise of achievement, since he left England a lad of not yet seventeen years. It is, however, very probable that he attended a regularly established school, or was under private instruction, and gathered a fair English education before the time of his father's death, when he was fourteen, as he belonged to a class which considered educational interests a paramount necessity. He added, no doubt, much to his knowledge after his arrival in this country while he was a member of John Drake's household, and some- where he obtained advantages for the study of English common law. The fragments left of his penmanship show that it was excellent, and there is nothing whatever to intimate that he was illiterate. While no pretense to social eminence on his part can be discovered, he was well-born and well-bred. On Katherine Brewster's his mother's side, his parentage was of the clergy- man's stock, who were of the learned and refined professional class of society. When but a boy he lived with, and finally married into, a family whose claim to family Arms was perfectly legitimate and confirmed, a family which represented the English gentry. That these primitive settlers held with natural adherence to the English characteristics apd customs, wherever there could be adaptation to the new surroundings in a new country, is a matter of fact. Though amid primitive surroundings, their tastes were not primitive. As they grew richer, and their facilities increased, the lines of influence that had belonged to their old lives were forces that gathered strongly about their present circumstances. It is well known that class supremacy and social lines of distinc- tion were much considered in those days. Our hero and his 78 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. family moved among those on the upper rounds of the social ladder. That the early generations of Captain Higley's descendants put on the full coat of American armor, entered wholly into the spirit of the Federal Government when it was established, and have always maintained the rank of solid, well-to-do, substantial yeomanry, and that many have risen to proud heights in different exalted stations, is upon full record in the historical annals of New England and other sections of our country. We shall never know how Captain John Higley gained his first knowledge of military tactics, but conclude that he was initiated into training ranks soon after he came to America, as all persons "above the age of sixteen except magistrates and Church Offi- cials" were required " to beare Arms." ' The military spirit of this honored grandsire emphatically descended to his posterity. The honorable position which he himself occupied has been already shown. It is impossible to recapitulate the remarkable war history, or even give the names of the long succession of brave soldiers among his descendants who have gone out to fight our country's battles and give her aid when aid was needed. There are those in every generation who deserve an eminent record of praise for their self-devotion. In the history of all the wars they answered to the call, from the very first Indian troubles down to the latest struggle the Civil War. They did not shrink from the hardships of the camp or the dangers of the field. They were of the noble men who were there before the victory as well as after, and who stood with unflinching firmness shoulder to shoulder with their comrades, maintaining the ground. Indeed none are known to have turned back in the hottest of the fight. Few such parallels in one family line can be found, where so many men served in the rank and file of the common soldier in so many different generations. It may be said that the greater number did excellent and noble service in the downright hard life of the private in the ranks, and it was the few who rose to great distinction ; though among them were some who gained the prominence of generalship and stand in conspicuous places in the nation's annals. These mingled voices of Captain John Higley's war descend- ants speak, from scores of battle-fields and military prisons from which many never returned, of lofty heroism and patriotic devo- 1 " Connecticut Colonial Records," 1665-1667. CHARACTER OF CAPTAIN JOHN HI G LEY. 79 tion. With inexpressible gratitude we place in spirit, upon their unmarked and long-lost graves, as well as on those marked, the laureled wreath of sacred remembrance IN MEMORIAM. " On Fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread : And glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead." The brave fellows whose lives were not a sacrifice upon the field of contest, when mustered out of service went back to their working-clothes, became true citizens in the nation's peace, and have joined those who march on, among private citizens, living quiet, unostentatious lives. There is not a glimmer of fact to confirm the tradition afloat, that Captain John Higley ever returned to his native land more than once after he quitted the scenes of his youth. No letters or papers are extant to warrant the belief. Nor is there left upon record anything concerning his stature or personal appear- ance. If we measure his proportions by his progeny, we may conclude that he was a broad-shouldered, hearty specimen of manhood, of commanding physique, full six feet high, and possess- ing strength in proportion. Old family letters still preserved, which were written during the lifetime of those who lived con- temporary with his youngest son, Isaac, speak of Isaac's unusually fine proportions, and especially his height, that he was so nobly tall six feet and five inches that he was obliged to stoop to enter a door of ordinary height. There have been hundreds of Captain John Higley's lineal descendants living in the different generations, down to this day, who are noticeable anywhere for their fine figures and avoirdupois. At this late period we cannot analyze the life of Captain John Higley, but from the few helps to our inferences, the essence of it was a sympathetic temperament and highly amiable qualities. That he was magnetic and possessed an open and full nature there is no question. And we may again attest this fact by his posterity, who are inheritors of his blood. If he were sensitive and sometimes fiery under great provocation, his anger was short- lived. His wholesome life, which was both popular and peace- able, brought genial good fellowship, and consequently many friends. 8o THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. That he was keen-sighted, shrewd, and equal to good bargain- ing has been elsewhere alluded to, yet there is not a shadow to lead us to suppose that he was not at all times strictly correct and just in his dealings. We are warranted in believing that his method of action in public affairs was in accordance with the wise principle, ''In essentials, unity ; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity." Though it is conclusive that he never subscribed to formal religious creeds, he evidently practiced the better require- ments of the Puritan's rigid administration, or he could not have been so popular with that church-governed people ; but he did not participate in the austere and rigorous measures of the times. The records are utterly silent, nor can there be found proof that he took part in the prosecution or trial of any case in which severity in judgment and public punishment was likely to be the final decree, unless such may have come under the jurisdiction of the court over which he presided. Though he was a member of the General Assembly in 1692, and was present at the discussion and appointment of a committee to take in hand a number of alleged witches, he is not heard from. Indeed, except in connec- tion with two prominent lawsuits, one of which was concerning his landed rights to the valuable copper mining-lands, he cannot be traced in the general animosities of his times. In a case of arbitration which claimed his judgment by appoint- ment of the General Court, the parties were brought together, the appeal was withdrawn, and the papers were ordered to be delivered to the parties, "they having determined to burn them, both plaintiff and defendant." We take note of this for the reason that it brings out a native trait of character that Captain Higley left as an inheritance to his posterity, many of whom, to this day, possess a great natural aptitude or capacity for peace- making. If the "sins of the fathers" are visited "upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation," we may well conclude that their virtues also course through the channels of transmission, and are as well a legacy of truly noble and God-blessed gifts, received by the heirs in generations following. Thirteen of Captain John Higley's children lived to be married and to have families. One son lived and died a bachelor, another, an unmarried man, died nine months after his father's decease, and one was buried an infant. His daughters all married into LAST SCENES IN CAPTAIN HIGLEY'S LIFE. 8 1 prominent families time-honored to this day. Not a child dis- appears from view, and as has already been stated, all filled posi- tions of more than ordinary and prominent usefulness to the world about them. There are found in the long line of numerous descendants, as there are in all families, some degenerate offspring ; "but still the fact remains," as someone has remarked, "that even degen- erate descendants are not the worse for having had illustrious sires." In no case, all through the long period of two hundred and forty years, is there a renegade, or those criminated, to be discovered. 1 The strong, active, and vigorous life we have been tracing, full of manly independence and earnestness of purpose, which was "a life well worth living," is an inspiration to those young men among his descendants, who, like Captain John Higley, have no other capital with which to begin their future than a good stock of common sense. His name, as the founder of the family in America which bears it, will be held in honor and sacred posses- sion in their many gathered households to their latest day. 1 If some of our readers shall say there should be an exception made in the case pf John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, we may call attention to the fact that public sentiment has so changed during the period of time elapsed since his wild struggle to liberate the slaves, that a large pro- portion of the people now believe him to have been a hero of human freedom, led on by a fanaticism not born of wisdom. ED. SKETCHES OF THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY OF HIGLEYS. SKETCHES OF THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY OF HIGLEYS. CHAPTER XIV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOHN HIGLEY, JR. By ascending to an association with our ancestors ; by contemplating their example and study- ing their character ; by partaking of their sentiments and imbibing their spirit ; by accompanying them in their toils ; by sympathizing in their sufferings and rejoicing in their successes, we seem to belong to their age, and to mingle our existence with theirs. DANIEL WEBSTER, ON PLYMOUTH ROCK. JOHN HIGLEY, JR., was the first child born of Captain John Higley's marriage with Hannah Drake. His birthplace was at Windsor, Conn., March 16, 1673. He was eleven years of age at the time of the removal of his parents to Simsbury. When but a boy of twelve years, his father secured for him a special grant of land containing twenty acres, "lying upon y e west side of y e mountains on y e little brook that runs under y e mountains into y e falls," given by the town meeting held December 31, 1685, in his own name John Higley, Jr. This was the cheerful beginning of his be- coming in after time a large landed proprietor. Other grants of land to him are recorded as early as 1698 and 1699. He was qualified according to law and took the freeman's oath, April 30, 1717. Of his earlier years little is known, and how he received his education cannot be stated. He appears to have had some insight into Latin. Latin was a chief study in the schools of his day. In the year 1717 we find him the schoolmaster of the town. " June the tenth 1717; then Received of the Select Men of Simsbury two pounds in bills of Credit pro nos John Higley for Keeping of School." To a great extent, after reaching maturer years, he followed in the footsteps of his father, though his life does not betray an energy of character equal to that which was so prominent a char- 7 8 5 86 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. acteristic of Captain John Higley. The records show that he was a citizen of distinction. 1 He held posts of honor; and family papers convey the statement that his reputation for integrity in his intercourse with his fellow-men was good. His appointment as one of the selectmen of the town, and his association with different public enterprises, his holding various local offices, with nominations and elections as Representative to the Connecticut General Assembly from 1728 to 1730, repeat the verdict of approval of his public services. By his father's will, John, with his brother Samuel, was intrusted with the settlement of Captain Higley's estate, which claimed his attention for a period covering more than eight years. In the contest with the inhabitants of the town concerning the valuable Copper-Hill lands and mines, he took decided grounds sustaining his father. Besides receiving, by special bequest, "a double portion out of the whole estate " of Captain Higley, in conjunction with his brother Brewster he finally, in 1725, secured the original family homestead. He also received by inheritance one-fifth share in lands at Windsor, which came by legacy from his mother; and deeds are extant showing that he secured by purchase from his brothers and sisters several of the shares belonging to their father's estate. At a town meeting held January 2, 1723, when a general distribution of the common lands was made, John and Brewster are named together as having shares apportioned to them, and at the death of their brother Joseph, who died unmarried, they became possessed by legacy of his property. In 1716 he was appointed "sole executor" to the estate of his brother Jonathan, and is named in Jonathan's will as a legatee; also receiving lands through this channel. John Higley, Jr., never married. Between his brother Brewster and himself there existed the closest brotherly relation. Their landed interests were largely in partnership, and until his decease they occupied the old homestead together after their stepmother, Mrs. Sarah Higley, had returned with the younger children to Windsor. To his brother Brewster Higley he bequeathed his entire property, both real and personal, and "constituted him his sole and lawful executor." There is no record bearing evidence that he ever was a member of the Simsbury Church. His health was in a failing condition for some time previous to 1 The prefix " Mr." is generally found placed before his name. " Mr." was an aristocratic class title in those days. JOHN HIGLEY, JR. 87 his decease, but of what disease he died no facts are given. His will is brief, and was executed October 24, 1741, but six weeks before his death. It begins with the usual form of expression in those times, declaring that he was "of sound mind Blessed be God therefor," etc. He died December i, 1741, aged sixty- eight years, and was interred in the ancient cemetery in the village of Simsbury. CHAPTER XV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JONATHAN HIGLEY, 1ST. A life spent worthily should be measured by a nobler line by deeds, not years. RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. IT appears from the records that Jonathan, the second son of Captain John and Hannah Drake 'Higley, lived and died in Sims- bury. There is less in his life of a conspicuous nature to record than of his brothers who lived to the same age, his walk having been in quieter and more unobtrusive channels. He was born at Windsor, February 16, 1675, and died in May, 1716, at the age of forty-one years, less than two years after his father's decease. Of his earlier childhood there are found no memoranda. Captain Higley had imbedded an ambition in this boy before he was thirteen, as he did in all of his older sons, for the possession of lands, by securing for him by grant of the town in his own name two lots of land, the whole containing twenty- five acres, situated on the east side of the river. He was honored by the town meeting with sundry local appointments in the town and neighborhood while yet a young man, and served in matters concerning the Church. The following documents are upon record, to which his name, with that of his brother John, Jr., and other citizens, is appended, showing an agreement entered into by the town upon a call to Rev. Dudley Woodbridge as minister, and the method by which his salary should be paid. Jonathan was now twenty-two years old. "Whereas here propounded at a Town Meeting held June 2gth 1697 that the Inhabitants of Simsbury to se what y e gud simsbury people would give in labour to Mr. D. Woodbridge Annually for the space of four years : it was agreed by subscrib- ing to give him three days work in a year, and all heads of families ym-selves and all under their command, children or servants, also those young men that are free hand engaged : three days work once a year a piece for four years, the persons en- gaged are Male persons fit for labour from sixteen years and upward, to help to bring his land in tillage in case Mr. Woodbridge settles in office amongst us in Simsbury." 88 JONATHAN HIGLEY, iST. 89 Three years later the following receipt is recorded : " Rec* 1 - of Jonathan Higley of Simsbury the full proportion of Three days labor that he engaged to me, which was three days work a year for four years, as is intimated in Simsbury records. I say received by me. "DUDLEY WOODBRIDGE, Jan. i4th, 1700." ' On the 4th of December, 1701, Jonathan Higley married Ann Barber, the daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Barber. Lieutenant Barber was at that time in command under Captain John Higley of the Simsbury militia. The family of Barbers were, if not the lead- ers, among the most prominent citizens, and founders of the town. Jonathan and Ann settled upon their home farm at the "N. E. Corner," afterwards called Turkey Hills. An unusual fatality appears to have overtaken their children. The successive births and deaths of four infants occurred. Except one, a daughter, none lived beyond babyhood. This daughter, who was named Mercy a family name among the Barbers was born November 12, 1712, and baptized on the i3th of the following June. At the age of twenty the town meeting ordered lands "laid out" to her. She afterward married John Coult and resided at Harwinton, Conn., and became the mother of a family ; her eldest son, born October 13, 1735, bearing his grandfather's name Jonathan Higley Coult. Jonathan Higley's name frequently appears upon the Land Records, in the purchase and sale of lands, and in this connection it may be remarked that repeated transactions in business, as well as social relations between his brothers and himself, indicate a beautiful harmony and kindly family feeling existing between them, which commands hearty admiration. In the sharp diver- gence and bitter contest between the proprietors of the town and the townspeople over the Copper-Hill lands, he represented the family in the people's meetings. As has been previously stated the Higleys were careful that some one of their number should be present at all public discussions where measures concerning these lands were likely to be taken. He died in May, 1716. Jonathan Higley's will was dated April 9, 1716, one month before his death. The main bequests were to his "beloved wife Ann," and to his "only daughter Mercy." He gave legacies in land to his " six brothers," and divides his Windsor property between his "three eMest brothers, John, 1 Book ii. " Simsbury Records." 90 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Brewster, and Samuel," and remembered in his bequests David, the second son of Brewster, who was then but a lad. He named his brother John Higley, Jr., as his "Sole Executor." The will was presented in court the following July. But a partial inven- tory appears to have been taken, the greater portion of the per- sonal effects having been left in the hands of his wife, without being appraised. She being a person possessed of considerable property, their united estates represented an unusual amount of wealth for those times. Ann Higley survived her husband but six years, and died No- vember 15, 1722, leaving their only child an orphan ten years of age. The child became heir to all of the property that belonged to both of her parents. An additional and very long inventory was taken within a week following her mother's decease, which includes quantities of land and farms, with every sort of belong- ing contained in a Colonial home of the well-to-do class. In this list are found the articles of clothing which had belonged to both Jonathan and his wife. Among the garments named, showing that they were among the better dressed people of that day, are the following from Ann Higley's wardrobe: " Silk hoods, gloves, Ribbons, Damask petticoats, a black damask petticoat, black crape coat and mantle, linen ' changes,' linen night west-coat, silk and lace handkerchiefs, woolen gloves, a green gown, one silk damask mantle, a Riding gown and Riding hood, etc." All such materials and garments were brought across the Atlantic Ocean. The last mentioned was probably a "French hood," which were much in vogue and were worn in all colors. Such an one provoked the following advertisement from a parish vestry about this period : " All ladies who come to church in the new fas honed hoods are desired to be theft before divine service begins, lest they divert the attention of the congregation" 1 In addition, the inventory contains, "a white worked blanket, tablecloths and napkins, laced pillow cases, sheets, a pair of fine sheets," etc., etc. It is not known where Jonathan and Ann Barber Higley were interred. Time has obliterated every record. The only child they left was barely old enough to remember her parents. The brief obituary of Joseph, ruler of Egypt, is fitting to these : " And he died, and all his brethren, and all that generation." " Y e fashon of this wurld passeth awaie /" 1 " Book of Costumes," p. 145. CHAPTER XVI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ELIZABETH HIGLEY BANCROFT. 1 " All that tread The globe are hut a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom." ON March 13, 1677, there was born in Windsor, Conn., to Cap- tain John and Hannah Drake Higley their first daughter, who was baptized Elizabeth. There is no record of her early years. It is to be regretted that woman's estate was inconspicuous and limited in those bygone times, and it was not the custom to chronicle much concerning her daily round of existence. It appears that Elizabeth Higley remained at home with her father until she was about thirty-three years of age; probably having general supervision of the household after her mother's decease, or until her father's second marriage. She married Nathaniel Bancroft of Westfield, Mass., between the years 1706 and 1710, the exact date not being known. Her husband, Nathaniel Bancroft, was born in Windsor, Conn., September 25, 1680. While he was yet a young man his parents removed to Westfield, where he married in 1705, but lost his wife by death in less than one month. Elizabeth Higley became his second wife. He was, by profession, a surveyor. The Bancrofts of Westfield held large possessions, and the descendants of some members of the family became historically quite famous. From the date of the birth of Elizabeth Higley, which took place amid perilous times, when the yells of the Indian's wild war-whoop had scarce died from the surrounding forests, and the village of Simsbury was yet lying in ashes and deserted, her life seemed destined to be spent amid fightings and torturing appre- hensions of danger from the hostile savages. During her young womanhood, and through the period of the French and Indian war, it was never known what day or night the 1 Many valuable facts for this sketch were kindly furnished by J. M. Bancroft, Esq., historian of the Bancroft family. ED. 9 92 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, enemy might burst like a cyclone on the settlement. It was needful ever to be on the alert. These grave and alarming threatenings were often the cause of her father, Captain Higley, holding himself and his soldiers in readiness for active service " at an hour's warning." The men of the settlement went constantly armed and the families were often forced "to haste to th' Garri- son house for saftie." A church which was erected in an adjacent settlement, about the time of her marriage, "was provided with ' gaurd seats,' as they were called, when some ten or twenty men could be on the lookout near the doors against a sudden assault." ' " ' We could scarce abide in oure house,' said some aged dames one day, according to a story of ' ye olden time,' who were over- heard talking over those days of strange and woeful experiences when ' th' dreadful folk ' were on the war-path. " 'We could scare abide in oure house,' said they, 'so fear- some were we of redskins. For alle th' wurld doth know y* in those years th' red men harried alle New England. We grew soe passionatelie afeared, y* if a hen did but cackle on a stone steppe th' cloud would grow upon our faces and wee, ready cloathed for flight, would glance fearfullie about and goe t' th' casement, alle peering out together upon y 6 deepe woods. " ' Upo' a Lord's day morn, do y e mind, how as y e men sat combing their locks, with we maids going up and down the still room brushing th' rushes up o' th' floor into the pattern o' stars, there would come a thwack athwart the house, and th' cry, ' The Redskins ! I' the East Part ! ' wi' y 6 far clattering o' hoofs down oure lane. " 'Then was th' brand covered hastilie wi' ashes, and we alle did rush into th' long path atween high nodding weeds to th' Garrison House to th' west. What a long, trembling day it was; gossip, eating off another's dishes, wi' naught natural but the spring sun westerning slowly ups th' strange slopes ! " 'But oh ! th' saftie o' th' night, when wee women alle slept i' th' loft together for companie, cuddling th' children atween us, wi' th' certaintie that every man o' Simsbury sat below wi' his Queen's arms upo' his knee ! '"And here be I, goode wife, who was ever listening so painfully for th' singing arrows that folk smiled. Yet, would I exchange this fire dropping apart soe peacefully upo' this hearth for one o' 1 " History of Hartford County " by J. Hammond Trumbull. ELIZABETH HIGLEY BANCROFT. 93 th' days ? They do hold my round cheek and the dark color o" my hairs with them. Alack ! Thou and I do belong to yesterday ! ' ' Nor did Elizabeth Higley escape these troubles after her mar- riage and removal to Westfield. Her husband's brother, Edward Bancroft, died on the $th of September, 1707, from the effect of mortal wounds received from the Indians. Early in the year 1724 the family were again brought into distress by these fierce, relent- less foes, who fatally wounded her father-in-law, Nathaniel Ban- croft, Sr., which resulted in his death on the 2oth of February. Elizabeth, in common with the other heirs, received her portion in lands, etc., at the distribution of her father's estate. The following account, which it is evident was made out by her brother, Dr. Samuel Higley, is found among the executor's papers, and is receipted in a clear hand by her husband : "BROTHER BANCROFT CREDIT. by keeping me when sik by agreement. December the 26 1716. paid to Nathaniel Bancroft in money. . A mar and colt. September 14, 1715, by money you had. payd. for you to Joseph Adams detor by a claim of Brewster by tobacco you had "Jan. 24, 1719. " This above account I have upon the account of my wife Elizabeth's portion . . . this is to be understood part of her portion. [Signed] " NATHANIEL BANCROFT." Both Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bancroft were members of the Westfield church, though Mrs. Bancroft did not unite in its mem- bership till 1738, about the time that a very remarkable revival of religion took place there, when she had passed her sixtieth year. Her husband had ''owned y e covenant" many years previous as early at 1712. Of their family of nine children but two lived to maturity. We find the mother often plunged into the "boundless sea" of sorrow ever the graves of her family. The two first of whose births record is made, died in infancy one born October 7, 1711, and another, December 26, 1712. Their next, a daughter named 1 This living picture, so graphically given, of twenty-four hours of the terror in which many of our ancestors of New England were accustomed in those times to live, is kindly contributed by Adeline A. Knight of Exeter, N. H. 94 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Desire, was born November 14, 1713. Their fourth child, Susannah, was born January 30, 1716, and was the only child who lived to be married. She was united in marriage to Benjamin Ashley, May 17, 1739." Their only son, Nathaniel, was born July 23, 1720, and lived but fifteen months. He died October 23, 1721. Mercy and Experience, twins, were born May 17, 1723. Experience died on the i7th of the June following her birth. A daughter named Terza came next, and a daughter named Elizabeth was born March 17, 1729, of whom there is no further account, and who probably died in infancy. The year 1736 closed to Elizabeth Higley in grief. Three more graves in the parish burial-ground told the story of their family sorrows. Mercy, one of her twins, who had now lived to be a girl of thirteen, died on the zyth of November. The next daughter, Terza, died on the 2d of December, five days after her sister. Their mournful footsteps had scarcely turned from the graves where they laid these, than they were called to stand upon the same spot and place beside them Desire, a young woman of twenty-three, who died on the 7th of the same month. These loving daughters were laid in the green resting place for the dead within ten days. " Insatiate archer ! could not one suffice ? Thy shaft flew thrice ; and thrice my peace was slain." Elizabeth Higley's cup of bitterness was not yet drained; it remained for her to follow, in four brief years after, one more to the grave, the last child of their affection left to them Susannah, who died in childbirth on the first anniversary of her marriage day, May 17, 1740. She left a young infant, who survived its mother but a few days. Scarce six weeks had elapsed after the decease of Susannah and her child, when on the i3th of June (1740), her husband Nathaniel Bancroft died, leaving Elizabeth Higley a bereft and childless widow. His age was sixty. Her journey after them was not long only three years and six months. She died December 7, 1743, aged sixty-six years. " They all passed To where beyond these voices there is peace," Nathaniel Bancroft named his wife Elizabeth in his will as executrix of his property, and among other bequests left a ELIZABETH HIGLEY BANCROFT. 95 legacy "to Joseph Higley of Simsbury, Conn., the son of Brewster Higley, Sen., my wife's brother." The will of Elizabeth, which is still extant, was admitted in Court January 7, 1744. She appointed her brother, Brewster Higley, Sr., the administrator of her estate, and he appointed his son Brewster the attorney. The members of the family were all interred in the ancient burial ground at Westfield, Mass. CHAPTER XVII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE. Life is but a repetition For the man who lives to-day Loves and hopes, like countless millions Who have lived and passed away. A. G. CHESTER. KATHERINE, the second daughter of Captain John and Hannah Drake Higley began her life in the old town of Windsor, August 7, 1679. She appears to have been a very clever girl, and was fif- teen at the time of her mother's death. At twenty-five she married James Noble of Westfield, Mass., a young widower two years her senior, who had two children. He was born October i, 1677. The Noble family was one of great antiquity in Great Britain, and is old and time-honored in this country. James was one of the younger of the eleven children of Thomas Noble, the first ancestor bearing the name who came to America. He settled at Westfield. 1 James Noble and Katherine Higley were married February 24, 1704. Katherine's married life covered but a few brief years, her husband dying in the vigor of manhood only thirty- four leaving her with three children. His decease took place January 18, 1712. " Lietts " of administration on his estate were granted to " Katheron, Wid w & Relict, and Thomas Noble, on y e 28th Day of March. Anno Dom 1712." The inventory of his estate shows that they were among the well-to-do yeomanry, and the prefix "Mr.," placed before his name upon all the records, indicates them to have been ranked socially among the "upper class." It was but a few years later on when Katherine, to her rights in property which she received from her husband, had added from her father's estate legacies which made her the possessor of a considerable property, for those times. 1 In this sketch much valuable information was obtained and extracts taken from the " Noble Genealogies," by L. M. Boltwood. 96 KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE. 97 The inventory of James Noble's estate contained "a house and homestead in the town ; " "a house and homestead at the farm ; " " one Acre of land lying in the homelot that was John Noble's; " "16 acres of land behind Thomas Noble's barn;" "the brush pasture;" and several other small lots of land, in addition to which was an ample quantity of "live stock, grains [Rye, Peas, and Indian corn], farm and house utensils, and furniture," etc., etc. Katherine received "all of the moveable goods to beat her own absolute dispose for Ever," and "one 3rd part of the Real Estate to be for her Use and Improvement for the term of her life only." In addition to the bequests in lands and money from Captain Higley to which she was heir, she was, through the executors of his estate, the recipient of specialties which are noted in their settlement with her, viz. : " A yock of cattoll, a mare, 'a copor cup' and a 'copor kittoll,' a ' mortor and pesoll,' and a sermon boock. " Some years after her husband's death Katherine is found teach- ing the village school. She is said to have been the first woman school teacher in Westfield. On the 3d of May, 1725, the town meeting voted : "To give the Widow Katherine Noble twenty-five shillings a month for keeping school so long as the Town sees cause to improve her in that service, and she sees cause to attend it." Her children were as follows : Lydia, born December 7, 1704, who married, April 30, 1734, Stephen Kelsey of Killingworth, Conn. James, born January 12, 1707, who died in Westfield, unmarried, January 4, 1739. He was a farmer and "dish-turner." David, born March 3, 1709, who married Abigail Loomis, daughter of Philip and Hannah Loomis of Simsbury. ' (See chapter xxix.) In 1732 Katherine Higley Noble removed with her son David and his family to Hebron, Conn., where "they settled in that part now called Gilead. The homestead was about three and a half miles northwest of the Hebron church, and one mile west of the Gilead meeting-house, on the highway leading to Marl- borough." ' Here Katherine united with the church, no doubt under the preaching of Whitefield, after she had reached her sixty-first birthday. The Rev. Benjamin Pomeroy was pastor of 1 "Noble Genealogies," by L. M. Bolt wood. 98 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. the church at that time. He is said to have been "an ardent, zealous, and thundering preacher of the Newlight order." He was a great admirer and supporter of Whitefield, and Whitefield, "who counted the world his parish," came about this time to Hebron while he was on an evangelistic tour through Connecticut, setting the towns ablaze with his fiery sermons. However, he seems to have found it hard to kindle the place into flame. "Hebron," he writes, "is the stronghold of Satan, for its people mightily oppose the work of the Lord, being more fond of earth than heaven." It was but shortly after, in the early spring, that Katherine Noble closed the peaceful evening of her days. Her moss- covered tombstone, which has now stood for one hundred and fifty years in the ancient place for burial at Hebron, bears this inscription : 1Tn memory of flfcrs. ikatbarn TRoble of THaestfielo, mbo 2>feo /Ifcarcb 7 1740/1 in ye 62o Uear of ber age. 1T Gbess. 4: 14. "Gbem also TKHbfcb Sleep in Sesus will <3oo bring witb bim." Katherine Noble's descendants continued, chapter xxix. CHAPTER XVIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ENSIGN BREWSTER HIGLEY, SR. Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers. JOB viii. 8. A LITTLE more than thirty years ago the Hon. Jeffery O. Phelps of Simsbury, Conn., brother to Noah Phelps the historian, writing to Judge Erastus Higley of Vermont, made the following remark : "It appears by our Town Records for many years that Brewster Higley was a very prominent man in the Town. I will send you what information I possess regarding this large, ancient, and respectable family." The above testimony, given by one well qualified to speak, being himself a descendant from some of the earliest inhabitants of Hartford County and the ancient town, and having heard the older people talk who lived contemporary with the Higleys, is fully sustained by recent research. Brewster Higley, the third son of Captain John and Hannah Drake Higley, was born in 1680' in Windsor, Conn., while his parents occupied a dwelling in the main settlement of that town upon the west side of the Connecticut river. He was their fifth child. As has been already stated, he was given the family name of his English grandmother Brewster, and proved the founder of a successive line of Brewster Higleys, extending through seven generations to the present day. When Brewster was about four years old his parents removed to Sims- bury, which was his home the remainder of his life. That he received a fair rudimentary education in the school at Simsbury is reasonable to believe, as Captain John Higley gave his children the best available opportunities for learning that the times afforded. That he was trained in the school of practical 1 The date and month in the year have not been preserved. Brewster Higley, 4th, who was born before the death of Brewster Higley, Sr., and lived contemporary with many of that generation, used to say, the correctness of which cannot be doubted, that each Brewster who headed the line, in the successive generations was born in March. 100 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. effort was demonstrated by his vigorous life and the versatility of his occupations in after years. Two points in their history were early drilled by precept and example into the sons of Captain Higley the accumulation of lands and military aspiration. When Brewster was but seven- teen his father obtained for him a grant from the town of thirty acres of land, which the youth must have held with some degree of allowable pride, and just before he came of age he received additional grants through the same channel. From the yet scattered state of the inhabitants, and the neces- sity of as strong a military force as could be gathered in the young colony, it was still necessary that every available male inhabitant should join the rank and file of the soldiery. Brewster, no doubt, from the time he was sixteen, the age required to enter service, was a member of the military company of which his father was then lieutenant and afterward the captain. His name appears in appointments by the town society as early as 1707, while he was yet a young man; and his useful career in the affairs of the town continued throughout his long and valuable life. On the i7th of February, 1709, he married Hester Holcombe, 1 the daughter of Deacon Nathaniel and Mary (Bliss) Holcombe of Simsbury, an old family of excellent standing. In December of the same year their first child was born, and named Brewster, who when he reached manhood was known as Brewster Higley, 2d. They had been married five years when their " honored father " Captain Higley died. After this event, upon the removal of Captain Higley's widow to Windsor, in the spring of 1725, Brewster and his young family, with his eldest brother John, took up their residence in the old homestead at Higley-Town, which lost none of its former prestige through its new occupants. It was here the younger members of their circle of eight children, who gradually filled the family home, were born. There were four sons and four daughters, viz. : Brewster, 2d; David, Joseph, Hannah, Hester, John, Elizabeth, and Naomi. Their daughters Hannah and Elizabeth became the great- grandmothers to John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame, and Naomi was grandmother to Rev. Heman Humphrey, late President of Amherst College. 1 The entry of this marriage upon the "Simsbury Records, "book ii , gives the name as " Hester." In the latter part of her life she was known as " Esther." ENSIGN BREWSTER HIGLEY, SR. IOI It is plainly evident that, by nature and habit, Brewster Higley, Sr., was a man full of push and constant occupation, and that he inherited largely the strength of character of his father. Those old land-owners mingled the professions with all sorts of employments and trades in a way that seems most curious to the present generation. With right good heart and will they used their own hands to meet the needs arising out of life in a newly settled country, and did not despise honest industry of any kind. There is reason to conclude from the quantity of cooper's tools catalogued in the inventory of his estate that Brewster was a cooper by trade. He was engaged with his brother John in making tar, and besides attending to his extensive farming estates, and pursuing his military duties, he studied and practiced medicine, though it does not appear that he ever applied for a license. He possessed a human skeleton, a rare acquisition for those times, and grew to be somewhat of an adept at surgery, which was his specialty. The medical practice in those early times was such as progressive medical science and the profession of to-day would scarcely tolerate; but by dint of perseverance and close study of the few medical works of which he could lay hold, Brewster Higley was fairly successful and enjoyed a considerable neighbor- hood patronage. His excellent natural ability as a nurse greatly aided him in his practice as a physician. Judge Erastus Higley states in his Journal that "the aged people of Simsbury speak of his practice with approbation and respect." In the proceedings of the General Assembly of the Colony, under date of October, 1726, the following Act was passed, which gave him honorable distinction : "This Assembly do establish and confirm Mr. Brewster Higley of Symsbury to be Ensign of the north Company or Train band in the town of Symsbury aforesaid, and order him to be Com- missioned accordingly." 1 He was thus commissioned an officer and was afterward known as " Ensign Brewster Higley Sen." The good terms and strong brotherly affection which existed be- tween him and his eldest brother John are again worthy of remark. Their lives appear to have been thoroughly in accord. They bought, sold, and received grants of land together, held large 8 * '' Colonial Records of Connecticut," vol. vii. 102 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. estates in partnership, and lived under the same roof until John's decease. We may well imagine the afflictive bereavement it was to Brewster when his brother's death took place, whom he outlived nineteen years. Brewster received by legacy all of his brother's property. Having also come into possession of his younger brother Joseph's entire estate, and having received bequests from his brother Jonathan, in addition to his own full share in his father's estate, he was estimated as a man of large wealth. The inventory of his personal belongings reveals the fact that Brewster, Sr., enjoyed the luxury of fine clothes. His attire was that of a gentleman of that period. 1 The list of articles belonging to his wardrobe evidences that his garments were suited to his position and his various callings. To his family he left, among various articles, at his decease, his handsome belongings as follows: "A gold ring, Pocket case, and the money it contained 2,25, two chains, silver buttons, three silver buckles, gun and pistols, 'a fine hat,' strait-bodied coat, a waistcoat, a striped waistcoat, 'fine' stockings, 'fine' shirt, two linen shirts and two woollen shirts, and one pair of leather breeches." Truth and uprightness were the guides of the life of Brewster Higley, Sr. His citizenship was a good one. He became the founder of a line of descendants who have mirrored his good qualities, and are substantial citizens in the different communities which they represent far and wide in our land. Upon the battle- field and in various professions, as well as in the citizen's ordinary life, they do honor to the ancestral name they bear. While his life stood upon an elevated platform, it is not known that he ever became a member of the Church, though his faith and unity drew him into its Christian fellowship. He was deeply im- bued with the spirit of "love and reverence toward the Power 1 " Gentlemen of the i8th century did not then, as at present, appear in black, dark blue, and brown coats ; on the contrary they seemed to delight in every brilliant shade, from the brightest scarlet to the most dazzling cerulean blue, rendered still more splendid by bindings of gold and silver lace. Cloth was the material most generally worn. The body of the coat fit tightly, but the skirts were very wide and long and reached to the calf of the leg. The vest, or waistcoat, was very long and had large, deep pockets. They were generally made of materials in brilliant colors, and usually covered with embroidery and buttons. These latter ornaments attained an enormous size. Short trousers reaching only to the knee were worn altogether, and with these were well-fitting long stockings, usually in bright colors, which were drawn up to the knees, and garters fastened by enormous buckles. Silver buckles for the purpose were in vogue for those who could afford them. Broad toed shoes were in style which had immense buckles of silver and wide strings. Cocked hats were worn, and the shirt fronts were frilled. For the neck, after the lace tie, came in the stock. "The costumes of the ordinary people were generally of homespun material and the tailoring was done by the women of the household." From " Book of Costumes and Annals of Fashion from the Earliest Periods" also " Fairholfs Costumes." EN SICK BREWSTER HIGLEY, SR. 103 which created the universe," and his daily living rose higher than his profession. He lived to a green old age eighty years, and saw his children's grandchildren. Brewster Higley, 4th, a babe of twenty months, sat upon his knee. Toward the close of his life he felt, as he expressed it, "the many weaknesses of age, and infirmities of the body." He saw that his work was done and knew that he was nearing " The land that is brighter than day." He had long occupied a high place in the community, and when he passed "into the realm of the realities," we have the reverent assurance that he became all that the highest human aspirant can wish to become an inhabitant of heaven. He died November 5, 1760. Beside his open grave stood the "angel of sorrow." His children and his children's children laid him to rest in the ancient Simsbury burying ground and gave their testimony that in his life he held converse with the Eternal. His had been a life of faithfulness that had engraved itself upon their hearts, and they in turn chiseled its beautiful, brief story upon the stone which now marks the spot where he slept. The epitaph is as follows: fjear Xgetb tlbe JBo&g of out f)on&. ffatber JBreweter 1)f0leB, Mbo fcieo Hoveim B 5tb 1760 TKHblcb "CCle bis Cbiloren XaiD bere. interred tbe 7tb of Sato montb in tbe SOtb l^ear of bis &se. a fttno busbanfc, tTenoer ffatber, unfatneo friend, XiveD to olo age & made a Cbristian enD. Brewster Higley, Sr., had settled homesteads upon his sons previous to his decease, in their own right and title. By his will, 1 written October 27, 1760, he left about nine hundred acres of land to be yet divided. He further gave a special bequest of land to his eldest son Brewster, 2d. To each of his sons he gave 200 in money, and to his daughters he gave ^100 each. He provided for his aged wife as follows: " I bequeathe unto my loving wife Esther, for the love I bear unto her, one-third part of my moveable estate, the use of one-third of the lands, one-half of my dwelling and barn and cellar the east half." His "loving brother Isaac," was appointed "Sole Executor," and the witnesses to the will were John Owen, John Veits, and Alexander Cassett. 1 Book xviii. p. 232, " Hartford Probate Records." 104 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The inventory, which was not taken until the next spring, April 13, 1761, contains the following: Several hundred acres of land, a large quantity of tools, household goods and effects, three Bibles and sundry other books, two cupping glasses, brass mortar, hand-glass, glass bottles and vials, money scales, a quantity of cooper's tools and full sets of carpenter's tools enumerated implements for dressing leather, sun-dial, beer casks, cider barrels, button molds, full set of pewter table ware, tankard, cups, etc., eight chairs, tables, powder horns, full supply of bed linen, and one-half of the house and barn, which are but a part of the articles the list includes. At the distribution of the estate in 1762 the widow received "moveable property" to the value of ^40 i2s., together with her lands, etc., and the sons had ^214 145. each, with landed estates. To each daughter was given ;ic>7 73., in addition to their lands. Mrs. Esther Higley lived fifteen years beyond the limit which closed her husband's life. She was born in 1683, and died at the advanced age of ninety-two years. She married Brewster Higley when she was twenty -six. From the slight glimpse of her which can be obtained, it may be concluded that she was, one of those grandes-dames of the earlier period, who were "the heart and soul of their domestic life," and that her social eminence, mental force, and refined bear- ing, with her notable costumes, gave her a title of supremacy in the community. . In the years 1768-69 (and probably during many other years) she occupied Pew i to the right of the pulpit, the chief seat in the church. Just behind her, in the next pew, sat her son Brewster, 2d, and his family. The pews were assigned by a com- mittee of the church society appointed for " Y e seating of y e meetin," which produced to a future meeting a diagram showing the exact location of each pew, with the names of each proposed occupant. Upon the presentation of this report the seating was voted upon, and the report of the committee "Ordered, to be kept on file in the Society Clerk's Office." " These committees," says Eggleston, "marked with religious care the nicer distinc- tions of social importance in assigning the seats to the villagers." ' Despite her years, the aged Hester Higley surely must have been a noticeable figure in the assemblage as she took her seat in this most prominent pew. 1 Edward Eggleston in " The Colonist at Home," The Century, 1884-85. ENSIGN BREWSTER HI G LEY, SR. 105 The family sat underneath the preaching of the Rev. Gideon Mills, a son-in-law to Brewster Higley, Sr., by marriage to his daughter Elizabeth, who occupied the Simsbury pulpit from 1744 to 1755. After that time the Rev. Benajah Roots officiated as minister until 1772. There were constant bickering and an un- happy state of affairs in the church for many years during this period. Mrs. Esther Higley died December 17, 1775. Her will, which is in the hands of the descendants residing in Middlebury, Vt., devises her property to her children including some grandchildren, the heirs of Hannah Higley Mills, who was de- ceased. Her eldest son, Brewster Higley, 2d, was her executor. A complete list of the property contained in the inventory, which consists of ten long columns, is too extended for these pages. The following extracts are taken: " Two silk crape gowns, Black cloak with silver, a homespun cambittee gown, a loose gown, a Calamanco gown [these were generally imported in bright colors], Bonnet and scarf. Fan, white streaked petticoat, blue and red ditto, Red streaked ditto, blue cloak, black cloak with sleeves, white mitts, checked linen apron, best checked handkerchief, next best do, shoes and slippers, a looking-glass [an article seldom found in the inventories of those times], Curtain rings, pewter dishes, ' bassons,' cups, small pewter porringer, another ditto, three salt 'sellars,' spoons and teaspoons, two barrels of ' sider,' two best barrels ditto, two more ditto, beer barrel," etc., etc. The expenses incurred in her last sickness and burial, which the reader will naturally compare with the elaborate furnishings and bills from the undertakers of nowadays, were as follows : s. d. " To Cash paid for Coffin, 7 6 Digging the grave, ...30 For Doctor Topping, . . . . . . . 3 10 To Daniel Halliday, 30 o For tending and washing, . . . . . . . 5 o " The venerable widow was laid in the Simsbury cemetery beside her affectionate husband, to whom she was a faithful and devoted wife for sixty-nine years. A slab of gray stone which stands two feet high, and still marks the spot as a memorial of her, bears this inscription : In flBemorg of dfcrs. Estber, tbe wioow of Ensn. JBrewster 1>i0les> wbo ofeO fcecemb. tbe I7tb 1775, in tbe 92nD Bear of bet age. The descendants of Brewster Higley, ist, continued, chapter xxx. CHAPTER XIX. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. The sire and mother whom we hold to-day In loving honor watched her budding youth. And they bequeathed to her, we cannot doubt, Their honest frankness and their love of truth. REV. PHEBE HANAFORD. IT has been declared that "the great rank and file of women are remembered for their deeds, not their personalities, and no records are to be found of their lives." This is true of Hannah, the third daughter and sixth child of Captain John Higley and his wife Hannah Drake, to whose life is probably attached more of interest than to any of the daughters of the household, since lustrous characteristics of her blood and family are developed in her offspring in consecutive line. She was born in the fair old town of Windsor, Conn., rich in associations with many venerable Connecticut families who were rooted there. Her birth took place April 22, 1683. On the removal of her parents to Simsbury she was carried, then an infant one year old, in the arms of her mother to the beautiful frontier valley of the Farmington, whose wooded hills and meadow lands had scarcely awakened to civilization. Here her child and girlhood days were spent on the Woolcott estate, which her father had purchased. She grew up amid the silence and solitudes of tangled forests into which the high noon rays of the sun scarcely penetrated or reached the rich fern beds at the roots of the great trees, and she lived through her earlier years amidst the frequent alarms and the hostile menacing of the Indians. Her life was, as her mother's had been, one of unceasing and unselfish family duties. She arose with the sunrise, bloomed in healthy wholesome housework, and was full of industrious habits. Her merry times were at homely feasts, spinning-wheel parties and other country gatherings, and horseback expeditions; for, says Eggleston, " Joyous, excursion-loving, simple-minded, were the men and women of that time, fond above all things of society, of the fresh air, and of excitement." 106 HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 107 We have little knowledge of whether Hannah received some educational advantages or not. However, since Captain Higley gave his children opportunities which were fully up to the average, she must have had such as her station and the times permitted; but it must be remembered that the standard for the education of women of that day was exceedingly limited. We take Hannah Higley to have been strong-souled and decisive in character, possessing a good deal of that excellent quality called common-sense. She was yet but a mere child of ten years when the home was desolated by the death of her mother. Neither her mother nor her grandmother Moore had closed their lives until they had had time and opportunity to tell to the girl Hannah that which one can easily fancy sank into her heart the story of the elevated sphere of public and religious service in which her Puritan grandparents had spent the most of their lives. From the time of her early childhood, the most impressionable age, her father Captain John Higley had been a man of promi- nence, in well-to-do circumstances, and a leading spirit in the town and colony. She saw him unusually engrossed in public activities, and was familiar with his everyday steps in official and judicial relations; and as she arrived at the years of womanhood she could comprehend something of his great executive grasp and conspicuous force of character. Captain Higley was, of course, surrounded by colleagues who were intelligent, earnest men of that day, with whom his family were brought more or less into intercourse. This would have a natural effect upon them; and Hannah, no doubt by her sympathy and interest with her father's life, became qualified to instill into her own offspring in after years the laudable ambition and principles which led them into distinguished careers of usefulness. In the twentieth year of her age she accepted the hand of Captain Joseph' Trumbull, to whom she was married August 31, 1704. Captain Trumbull was the second son of John Trumbull, Jr., of Suffield, Conn. He went from his native town to Simsbury about the year 1703, and the following year the young couple began life together. He was a young man possessing energy, but " without any considerable means." * His grandson, John Trum- bull, says of him, "he was a respectable, strong-minded, but uneducated farmer." " In less than a month after their marriage, Joseph and Han- 1 " History of Lebanon." * " History of My Own Times," by John Trumbull. 108 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. nah Trumbull purchased a home at Lebanon, Conn., to which they removed and settled. The town had now been organized but four years. Their home was a half allotment containing twenty-one acres (forty-two acres was a "home lot") which was bought of Josiah Phelps of Colchester, Conn., for the considera- tion of sixty pounds.. The deed 1 was executed September 21, 1704, and was acknowledged before Captain John Higley. Joseph Trumbull here began business as a farmer and trader, and proved a successful, enterprising merchant. "He became the owner of a ship which carried his own cargoes, and was a man active in the local affairs of the church and the town, and for many years was captain of the train band. He died at the age of seventy-seven years." Captain Joseph Trumbull and Hannah Higley " founded the Lebanon branch of the Trumbull family." They were the parents of eight children, viz. : Joseph, Jonathan, Mary, Hannah, Hannah again, Abigail, John, and David."* Their fireside appears to have been an attractive center. With the family affection which habitually marks them, the Higleys of Simsbury and the Trumbull household appear to have enjoyed a partiality for each other's companionship. While he was yet a minor, Mrs. Trumbull's brother Samuel became a member of her family and was probably attending school. It is recorded that, at a later period, her niece Elizabeth Higley, 3 the daughter of her brother Brewster, " spent the most of her youth and girl- hood in her family "; and in a few years her sister Mindwell, and her two half sisters, Abigail and Susannah, married and settled at Lebanon near her. The married life of Hannah Higley Trumbull was sown with many high joys, mingled with touching griefs. Few American women whose names may be placed upon record have given motherhood to so illustrious a progeny, and few certainly have lived to nurture to conspicuous positions two of its generations. But a series of heavy and peculiar domestic afflictions visited her. In the year 1715 they buried their little Hannah beneath the sod. On the 23d of December, 1731, their eldest son Joseph left home, and sailed from New London, Conn., on the 28th of the same month, bound for London in a ship which, with the 1 " Lebanon Land Record," vol. ii. p. 52. * See chapter Iviii., " Descendants of Hannah Higley Trumbull." * Afterward the grandmother of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 109 entire cargo, was owned by the Trumbull family. Two years later, June, 1733, the vessel, with all on board, was lost at sea. The family hoped until hope died upon the possibility that their son might have been rescued, but no tidings of comfort ever reached them the sea never gave up its dead. But three years later on, her second daughter Hannah, who had married Joseph Sherman on the 2-jth of February, 1735, died suddenly November 7, 1736, at the early age of nineteen years, leaving an infant son only five days old; and the following year her tender affection was put again to severe trial by the loss at sea of her younger brother Samuel, who, from about the time of her own marriage, was a member of her family for several years. In July, 1740, she was destined to encounter another pathetic grief by a stroke of death. Her youngest child David, a lad of seventeen years, while pursuing his senior year in Yale College with most promising success, came home on a vacation, and met his death by accidental drowning in a mill-pond. Her sister Katherine had died but four months previous. The bereavement of Ipsing their first-born son, Joseph Trum- bull, Jr., in 1733, who was his father's business partner, was accom- panied by other trials of no ordinary moment. The financial loss of both ship and cargo proved a most serious matter in the family fortunes, and the severity of the double blow the loss of his son under such sad circumstances, with the long strain of watching and waiting which followed, and the loss of his property quite unfitted Captain Trumbull for further business activities. The mental strain proved too great for the power of his mind to endure. At this juncture it became necessary to call Jonathan, now her only son, home from a projected interesting field of labor in the ministry, upon which he had set his heart, to the aid and rescue of the embarrassed business house. It would seem that the singular tide of afflictive circumstances, which brought the mother and son into close relations in the management of their affairs, tended to strengthen the bond yet firmer which existed between them, and finally permitted Mrs. Trumbull to see the fruit she had planted in his early years, which now fast ripened into his distinguished career as a public official and a noted patriot. The failure of his father, in both heart and fortune, gave him a respon- sible place in the domestic and business circles. Mrs. Trumbull was now in the full years of energy and experience, at middle life. HO THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It is easy to conclude that Mrs. Trumbull's life interests from this time were bound up in the expanding events and successes of her son Jonathan, the future Governor of Connecticut, and his family. He had married on the gih of December, 1736, Faith Robinson of Duxbury, Mass., a girl of but seventeen years, and settled in a home on the next "lot '^adjoining his parents. Soon the interesting position of grandmother to his growing family became Hannah's sphere. All of his children were brought up under her immediate wing, and it is hardly a far-fetched fancy to suppose that she had some share in controlling their destiny. There is no question but she had carefully implanted in the youthful mind of her son many of the valuable lessons of his life, by recounting and holding up for imitation incidents in the ardent life of incessant occupation in public and judicial affairs of her clear-gritted father, Captain John Higley, which were a part and parcel of her own life interests as she grew to womanhood. Her grandfather, Deacon John Moore, had held a deservedly honorable position in Colonial affairs for forty-seven years, and had much experience in legal business. His repeated terms of service in the General Assembly of Connecticut closed only with his death, which took place but six years before Hannah Higley Trumbull was born. She was no doubt made acquainted with traditionary events which had happened in the public lives of both; and with the heredity of the distinguished blood of the Drakes in her veins coming down through many generations, she was fitted to train a noble man to stand in the front in the time of the Colo- nies' greatest need. The principles instilled by a mother's care are held by men of the highest order of intellect, and, in cases not a few, result in honorable and distinguished usefulness in after life. That there was an unquestioned inheritance of rare abilities, bequeathed by heredity through Jonathan Trumbull's maternal line of descent, and which is notable in more than one generation, is clearly traceable. His fine constitution, his great energy, and a vivid perception, were strongly marked qualities of his mother's family line. To aid in this training, her husband Captain Joseph Trumbull, feeling keenly himself the lack of an education, was bent upon bestowing opportunities upon his children for the best advan- tages for instruction which the country then afforded. HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. Ill It was no commonplace day in which Hannah Higley in amiable patience rocked the cradle of her child. The infant nation was sorely feeling its wounds. The keel of our Govern- ment was in slow but sure process of construction. The founders of the republic were in course of training for after greatness, not so much by expansion and personal contact with the great world, as by well-grounded, industrious habits and practical living. They were drilled in many of the higher branches of education, many of them were well read in law, and they were endowed with high principles which emanated from mothers who were the animating geniuses of their homes, together with the family altars of these old-time households. When Emir Abd-el Kader, the famous Arab chieftain, on visit- ing England, made the inquiry of her Queen: "What is the source of England's greatness?" she simply and silently pointed to an open Bible. When we ask, "From whence came the exalted principles laid down in the formation of our Govern- ment?" we may in all sincerity point to the mothers of our Revolutionary sires with this open Bible upon their knees, which they themselves had been trained to read and profoundly respect. "As a son," says Stuart, "her son Jonathan was ever dutiful. Thoughtful at all times of the tender cares his parents had lavished upon his own infancy of the watchfulness with which they had protected the careless vigor of his boyhood and of the warm ambition and free expenditure with which they had conferred upon him the rich boon of education he re- turned their affectionate offices with kindest ministrations of his own and, like a gentle spirit, hovered over their waning age." It is supposed that Hannah Trumbull passed her declining years in the family of her son Jonathan after the decease of her hus- band Joseph Trumbull, which took place June 16, 1755; leaving her a widow seventy-two years of age. And it may be said that the " even-time" of her life was lighter and brighter than other years had been. Mrs. Trumbull was now surrounded by an interesting group of intelligent, quick-minded grandchildren, in whose development she could not have failed to take eminent satisfaction. The older children of the household were attending the celebrated Teasdale Academy located in Lebanon, a school of the highest H2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. repute in New England and one which Jonathan Trumbull was a prime mover in founding. The eldest grandson, Joseph, was eighteen at the time of his grandfather's death, and Jonathan, Jr. (afterward the second Governor Trumbull of Connecticut), was a lad of fifteen. David, too, the third son, was a lively, bound- ing boy, and without doubt on many an occasion excited his grandmother's pride, though at that date in the history of the household the issues of the future illustrious characters it con- tained were yet out of sight, and she could little dream that young David was to be the father of a third Governor Trumbull, or that not only her son, but a grandson and a great-grandson were to bear the distinguished honors of filling the chief execu- tive chair of the State of Connecticut. While the venerable grandmother was still a central figure in the home, the two granddaughters, Faith and Mary, were sent for finishing touches to their education to an excellent school in Boston, ''where they were taught embroidery," and, says John, the younger son of the family, in his autobiography, 1 "Faith had acquired some knowledge of drawing, and had even painted in oil two heads and a landscape. These wonders were hung in my mother's parlor, and were among the first objects that caught my infant eye. I endeavored to imitate them, and for several years the nicely sanded floors [for carpets were then unknown in Lebanon] were constantly scrawled with my rude attempts at drawing." That Hannah Trumbull was a mother deserving the reverence and affection which her distinguished son gave her is pleasingly shown by the filial love and marked consideration he evidenced in declining in May, 1756, and again in 1758, the honor of an appoint- ment by the Colonial legislature, to go upon a mission to the Government of Great Britain, giving as his chief reason for so doing, in his communication to the General Assembly : " I con- sider the duties I owe my aged mother, whose dependence is greatly upon me, and my family." It is a point of interest to pause for a moment and reflect upon what an interesting incident might have occurred, and how utterly unforeseen are the events of life, had the grandson of Captain John Higley the runaway lad from England's shores of long years before appeared at the Court of Great Britain as a representative from the land of his grandfather's adoption. 1 " Life of John Trumbull," p. 5. HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 113 Hannah Higley Trumbull lived to a good old age. It was in autumn, as the leaves were falling, that the "blissful union which Lies beyond the parting vale " took place between her and her husband, whom she outlived thirteen years, and by whose side she was laid in the ancient Lebanon cemetery. That Governor Trumbull inscribed his grandfather's record upon his mother's tomb is a testimony of his marked respect and devotion to the memory of his maternal progenitor. The inscription is as follows : f>ere are Deposited g remains of tors. Tbannab Grumbull, late wife of Capt. $osepb Grumbull, 2>au0bter of Jobn fcigles of Simsburs, Bsq c ., wbo came from jfrimteg in B C Counts of Surrey, bg flfcrs. fjannab Drake bis first wife. Sbe was born at mtnosor 220 Sprit 1683. 2>ieo at Xebanon 8tb Hov. 1768, ageo 85 gears, 6 mo. & 15 Dags. For the descendants of Hannah Higley Trumbull, see chapter Iviii. CHAPTER XX. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOSEPH HIGLEY. " This world will never know in how many hearts he has written his name." A SHADE of obscurity covers the life of Joseph Higley, the seventh child in the family of Captain John Higley. Indeed, since no exact date of his birth can be discovered, it is only through the wills and other legal documents that his place is found in the family group beside his sister Hannah Trumbull, and that his life covered a period of about thirty years. He was born about the year 1685, and died May 3, 1715. He never married. His life was apparently entirely uneventful. There is reason for believing that from his early youth his constitution was never robust, and his "weak state of body" is further con- firmed by a declaration to that effect in his will. Boys from the age of sixteen and upward were expected to con- form to the law and hold in possession a gun, which they were to have in continual readiness for bearing their part in the military defense. 1 Joseph Higley's chief and almost only possessions appear to have been his firearms and riding equipments, together with his portion of valuable lands lying in Turkey-Hills in close proximity to his brother Samuel's, which he received from his father's estate ; also, property from his mother's estate at Windsor. His will, which is brief, bequeathes all of his property to his "well-beloved brothers, John and Brewster Higley," whom he named his executors. The inventory of his personal effects, taken August 31, 1715, consisted of his wearing apparel, "pistols and holster, and gun, bridle reins, etc., and a book"; ail of which were appraised at 175. It is supposed that he was laid in the ancient burial ground at Simsbury. 1 " If a youth did not have sufficient means for the purchase of firearms for himself, the law required him to ' bring to the Town Clerk so much corn or other merchantable goods,' and a gun with the necessary belongings was furnished him at the expense of the town." Colonial Records of Connec- ticut, 1665-77. CHAPTER XXI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. Who are the nobly great ? . They who have toiled and studied for mankind, Aroused the slumbering virtues of the mind, Taught us a thousand blessings to create These are the nobly great. PRINCB. THERE centers about the life of Samuel Higley, the fourth son and eighth child of Captain John and Hannah Drake Higley, much that is of provincial importance, the success of his achievements having given him a name worthy of national note. He was born in the paternal homestead at Simsbury, Conn., about the year 1687; the precise date cannot be discovered. Like his brothers and sisters he was brought up in an atmosphere of diligence and perseverance. From the first knowledge that is gained of him he betrays unusual talents and genius, possessing a shrewd, sagacious, and original mind, which leaned to investigation, with no torpor in his constitution. He became a man of science. No sooner does he appear in one direction in an effort to accomplish a project, than his power of origination immediately leads him into another cur- rent of a different type. His opportunity for learning was much in advance of his older brothers; he having been sent to the best educational institutions in the colony, where he received a classical education, and his development of capacity gives evidence that he made the best use of these advantages. There is a credible tradition that he was for two years a student of Yale College very soon after the " Collegiate School" was founded, where he was distinguished for studiousness " with credit to himself." From this time ever afterward Samuel was " the scribe " of the family, and was so designated by the household. His style of pen- manship was a neat, clear, and bold hand, that is very frequently found upon the books embellished with fanciful strokes and dashes which do not fail to mark the reader's curious attention. "5 Il6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It appears that soon after the marriage of his sister Hannah to Joseph Trumbull, while he was yet in his teens, he resided in her family at Lebanon, Conn. An expense account, entered into an account book in his father's hand, is as follows : " Joseph Trumbull of Lebanon Dr. Per Contra C. s. d. by boarding and cloatheing of Sam 1 Higley in his nonage by his father's Desire by agreement, 500" How long he remained at Lebanon cannot be ascertained ; how- ever, we are warranted in the conclusion that it was during the period when he was from seventeen to twenty-one years of age, and it is supposed that he was pursuing his studies. As he was but seven years of age when his mother died, the care of his young boyhood may have fallen largely upon this sister, Hannah, resulting in a warm attachment between the two; there being evidences that he was much at Lebanon after she was settled in her home there, and that the future Governor of Con- necticut the first Governor Trumbull, in his early years was the daily companion of this uncle. The year 1714 found him a schoolmaster. He continued teach- ing for three years, and at the same time devoted himself to the study of " Physic and chyrurgary." In the same year his father died; and Samuel, though yet a young man, was chosen to act with his eldest brother John Higley, as executor of the estate; his scholarly, acute mental abilities no doubt fitting him in the mind of his father to be his most suitable child in whom to repose, together with his brother, this trust. The care of the estate claimed the attention of the two brothers for several years. At a later date, on the executors offering a piece of land at public sale which had been owned by Captain Higley, certain charges among Samuel's accounts are significant of the fact that he was not unaccustomed to turning his natural sagacity to profitable ends; and that he well understood the exhilarating effects and jovial good feeling, tending toward a good bargain, which might be produced by offering a social bait to his neighbors and friends. " 1723 Sept, 18. To my Travail from Lebanon to Simsbury (to sell s. d. Said Land) and my ferriage, IO JO To 2 Quarts of Rumm and a pownd of Shugar for to Invite bidders at Said Vendue, . 49" SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 117 " Then whisky made by honest men Was drank by men upright." Another entry shows that, during the year 1716, he suffered with an illness which must have been of considerable duration. To his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Bancroft, he paid ^3 los. for " keeping me when sik by agreement. " He made purchase the same year of a " mar and colt" at a cost of ^6 ios., probably for use in his medical practice. From 1714 to 1717 he was preparing himself, under the tutorage of Drs. Thomas Hooker and Samuel Mather of Hartford, Conn., to enter the medical profession. The standard of medical education during the times of Dr. Samuel Higley, and the method and opportunities for gaining medical and surgical knowledge, were practically another matter from the system of to-day. From a scientific standpoint the ignorance of the profession, as compared with its present high attainment, was lamentable. The progressive days of antagonistic ''schools" of medicine and organized medical societies had not yet come. Professional training was obtained privately ; the student entering the office of a prominent practicing physician, under whose direction and instruction he " read," or studied. The young would-be doctor was, however, required to give himself to diligent application in study and to the studious inves- tigation of disease such as he could gain from the limited medical works which were put into his hands. 1 When sufficiently ad- vanced, he accompanied his medical tutor upon his "rounds" in his professional visits for one or two years. He was then con- sidered ready to enter the ranks of recognized practitioners ; and now might apply for a license. 8 The medical tutors of Samuel Higley were residents of Hartford, and were experienced men, standing foremost in their profes- sion. Dr. Thomas Hooker was a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, Conn., and of eminent New Eng- land fame, and son of the Rev. Samuel Hooker of Farmington. He was "approved and allowed to goe on in the practice of phis- 1 A practical knowledge of anatomy was exceedingly difficult to obtain. It was not until sixty- seven years after this period that " the State of Massachusetts passed an Act regarding anatomy, which was the first legislative Act in this country that is known, providing that human bodies which had been executed or killed in duel might be given up to surgeons for dissection." a " The average fee for a country physician was one shilling for a less distance than two miles, i. e. thirteen and one half cents, and an additional shilling for every additional mile." The physician compounded and prepared his medicines with his own hands. 9 Il8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. sick by the Court held, Oct 1684," and had now been in the practice of his profession thirty-three years. Dr. Samuel Mather was scarcely less noted, being the son of the Rev. Samuel Mather of Windsor, Conn., a minister of distin- guished prominence, and one of the founders of Yale University. He had had a high medical reputation for a number of years. He is found visiting patients at Windsor in 1705, his professional cir- cuit extending over many miles of country in Hartford County. The Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, then of Hartford, who was another of the brood of noted ministers of the times, and also one of the founders of Yale, was a faithful friend of the Hig- leys, of long standing, and interested himself in Samuel's studies. 1 Enjoying as Samuel Higley did the close friendship and com- panionship of these leading theologians and scientific men of the colony, they brought, no doubt, a very perceptible influence upon his social tastes as well as his professional life. That he was a student whose individual merit was valued is shown by the excel- lent recommendations given him by these men of first consequence in the colony. The winter of 1716-17 was spent at Woodbridge, N. J., in the practice of his profession. In the spring of the latter year he made application to the General Assembly of Connecticut for a license. "HARTFORD CONN., May 20, 1717. "To the Honourable y e Generall Assembly ; &c. " Samuel Higley of Simsbury Humbly sheweth, That by good Providence I have had more than common Education ; and being employed Three years in Keeping school, did Improve all Opor- tunities in the Study of Physick and Chyrurgary, since which for Two Years past have studyed and practiced said Arts under the care and Instruction of Doctor Thomas Hooker and Doctor Samuel Mather who have pleased to Recommend me, as one qualified for that service, and advise that I apply my Self to this Hon d Cort for a Lycence. " I do therefore Humbly Pray Youl'd Please to give your Apro- bation and Allowance by Granting a Lycence that I may Practis S'd Arts Orderly ; which may be to the Comfort and Welfare of 1 " To the ministers in these days were submitted all matters that required legal and learned ability." SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 119 y e Generation which I am Obliged to Serve, as well as to my own profit and advantage, and your Petitioner shall ever Pray, &c. "SAM U HlGLEY." "The above Petition allowed in the Upper House. " Test, HEZ. WYLLYS Secretary. " In the lower House past. " I WADSWORTH Clerk." * From the original papers to which are appended the original Autographs : "Considering y e great want of learned and faithful physicians amongst us, and knowing Mr. Sam 11 Higley's abilities and y e prog- ress he hath made in y e Theory and practice in y e Art of physic and Chyrurgary, we y e Subscribers do hereby recommend him to y e Generall Assembly now sitting as one qualified for a Licen- tiate. "THOMAS HOOKER) Med a "May nth, 1717. "SAM 1 MATHER ) Practitioners " "This may certify that upon good information I have been asured that Mr. Samuel Higley practiced physic y e last winter at Woodbridge in y e Jerseys with good success and acceptance. "May 2Qth, 1717. "T. WOODBRIDGE." From " Colonial Records of Connecticut," 1725 : a " Samuel Higley of Simsbury having produced to this Assembly authentick testimonials of the progress he hath made in the theory and practice of chyrurgary and physic : Whereupon this Assembly do grant licence to said Samuel Higley to practice both." Although, like many other men of his day, Dr. Samuel Higley had engaged in educational interests and pursued scientific inves- tigation with eager energy ; although he held considerable wealth as a landowner and was now engaged in medical practice, never- theless he had meanwhile found time to learn a trade, and be- came a practical blacksmith. As has been already stated the trades and professions were curiously mingled in those times. It has been remarked that "assorted vocations were then as common as assorted wares." 1 From the original copy of "Appointments by the General Assembly Courts, 1669-1724," in the Connecticut State Library ; kindly furnished by C. J. Hoadly. State Librarian. Page 15. 120 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, At this early period the fees received by surgeons and medical men being very meager, it was frequently the case that they sought additional vocations for increasing their annual income. It was at the forge that Dr. Higley afterward developed his genius and attained his widest celebrity. His lamp now began to shine with a good deal of brilliancy in the Colony. The following is the record of his marriage, which took place at Westfield, Mass. : "Sept 19 1719 Mr. Samuel Higley and Abigail Beman had their names with their intentions of marriage were given to me and entered in order to publication on the day above stated." He appears soon after this date to have established a home of his own at Simsbury. In his home, as well as in other colonial homes of that day, quantities of pork and rye were consumed. The following is a specimen of charges in account with his father's estate : s. d. " Samuel Higley Dr. to Estate. g 7 to 8 10 o M His house, which is marked with perfect clearness on a map made about 1728-29, is found situated at the "vineyard notch," on the rocky ridge of the Talcott range, a chain of fine mountain- ous hills rising from five hundred to one thousand feet above the sea level. It overlooked for many miles, toward different points of the compass, a grand stretch of the green-robed valleys of the beautiful Connecticut and Farmington rivers, and stood con- spicuous from almost every outlook in the valley. The beauty of its location could scarcely be surpassed. Nature gave, in exquisite touches of landscape, a charming scene from his door- way, from whence he could proudly view all of the neighboring localities. In one direction a fine picture is presented to the eye in the SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 1 21 ragged ledges rising, height above height, thinly clad in pines and cedars; while, by taking a few steps from his house, he could com- mand a view of his copper-mining lands, between which and his home lay a marsh and meadow, now covered with brambles and the home of frogs. Whittier wrote, after visiting the scene in 1830, just one hun- dred years afterward : " Beautiful Mount ! with thy waving wood And thy old, gray rocks, like ruins rude And hoary and mossy in masses piled, Where the heart had thrilled and the dark eye smiled. I love to gaze from thy towered brow On the gloom and grandeur and beauty below, When the wind is rocking thy dwarfish pines, And thy ruffled lake in the sunlight shines W'here the beautiful valleys look glad afar, Like the fairy land of some holy star By Fancy seen where the soul goes forth, With an unchanged wing from the cold, dull earth ; And the mists from its vision pass away Like the shade of night from the glance of day ! 'Tis gladness all like a dream of love, With a smiling forehead beaming above, And a beautiful hand on the temples pressing As softly and sweet as an angel's blessing; And a tone breathed low in the dreaming ear, Like the chastened music which spirits hear. " Beautiful Mount ! I may look no more On thy ancient rocks, and thy lake's green shore Yet the spirit's pencil has traced thy chart Of wildness and joy on the human heart And though my step may be far from where Thy pine-tops shake in the stirring air, Yet oft will that chart before me pass Like a shadowed dream in a mystic glass ; And thy form and features, as now thou art, Live on in the secret depths of the heart." J. G. W. A few stones which mark the foundation, a family group of venerable apple trees, and a spring choked with fallen leaves and rubbish from the native forest trees which surround it, still mark the spot which Dr. Samuel Higley called home. The road to the summit of the mountain, by which the dwell- ing was reached, long since became almost untraceable. 122 THE HI G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It is easy to trace in Samuel Higley's nature a certain amount of enthusiasm; he was undoubtedly possessed of an ardent tempera- ment. The birth of his first child, Jonathan, occurred in the sum- mer of 1721. The date and time of entry upon the public records of Simsbury would indicate that he sped his way with great alacrity to announce and record * the happy event, the record hav- ing been made in his own clear, bold handwriting in the brief space of one hour after the birth, though his home was more than five miles distant. Annie, his first daughter, was .born September 4, 1726, "at break of day." His third and last daughter is simply recorded thus : "Abigail, daughter of Samuel Higley and Abigail his wife was born June 22d 1733." a In town affairs Dr. Samuel Higley appears to have entered with readiness, though his activities in this connection are not found to equal those of his brothers John and Brewster. His name, however, appears in honorable appointments upon town committees for various services. But it is found written in no church-roll ; there is not a scrap in his history upon this point. 3 In one instance, recorded December 21, 1728, he and Timothy Phelps served from Turkey-Hills to " lay the circumstances of the Town before a committee appointed by the General Assembly concerning the location of a meeting house." * The scientific bent of his mind turned him to experimenting, and finally to discovering a process for the manufacture of steel, which he claimed, in his petition to the General Assembly for a license, was the first effort in America, and which made him some fame. Meeting with encouraging success he enlisted the interest of a partner, Joseph Dewey of Hebron, Conn., and in 1727 applied for a patent. Proof was produced that he had made steel from the iron found in Turkey-Hills, which, by experienced judges, was pronounced a good article. His scheme and labor proved successful. The petition was granted May, 1728, and a patent secured according the privilege of manufacturing steel for a term of ten years. 1 Book iii. " Simsbury Records," p. 261. a Book iii. " Simsbury Records," p. 327. 8 There are slight evidences that he was in sympathy with the Church of England. * Book iii. Town Acts, p. 44. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 123 How long he continued in the enterprise is uncertain. There is no indication that the undertaking failed, but Dr. Samuel Hig- ley's death occurred before the lease expired. The patent ap- pears to have been held until the expiration of the lease, no other application being granted for twelve years, when the General Court then granted a license for the same object to Thomas Fitch, George Wyllys, and Robert Walker, for a term of fifteen years. The colonists were at this time greatly hampered in their efforts at manufacturing. There was little incentive beyond their actual needs to push the industries. As the country en- larged, and lucrative trade and manufacturing interests increased, the English Government was casting jealous eyes at every move- ment that men of affairs on American soil were making to supply the colonists' necessities. From merchants and manufacturers in England who consulted their selfish interests came constant com- plaints to the Crown, and Parliament had passed oppressive and stringent laws of trade. England was already declaring "that the erecting of manufactories in the colonies, tended to lessen their dependence upon Great Britain," * and was laying a heavy hand upon the western colonies through these restraining laws. It finally came to pass, a few years later, that the manufacture of iron and steel was entirely prohibited, and "slitting mills, forges and furnaces in the colonies were declared by the home Govern- ment common nuisances." ' Thus she unwittingly was maturing the sprouting seed which, in after years, developed open rupture and revolution. As has been stated, Dr. Samuel Higley was a considerable land- holder, for those times. From his father's estate he received his full share. This laid toward Turkey-Hills. That which he received by inheritance from his mother he sold to his sister Sarah. His acres were further added to by legacy from his brother Jonathan at his death; and at the general distribution of common and undivided lands made at a town meeting held January 2, 1723, he was one among other Higleys, together with a large number of individuals who received grants. "These grants were apportioned, it is believed, by the respective amounts of the grantees' lists of estates, and contained quantities varying from one hundred and fifty to forty acres each." * 1 Pitkin's " Political and Civil History of the United States," p. 101. 3 Phelps, " History of Simsbury." 124 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. But his most valuable ownership was a tract of one hundred and forty-three acres, which he purchased July 29, 1728. The deed was given by William Dement of Enfield, Mass. This tract lay adjoining lands which Dr. Higley already owned. For three different adjoining tracts located "on and neat unto y e east mountain toward that part of y e town called Turkey Hills," he paid " y e sum of five hundred pounds currant New England money." * The first "parcell" described in the deed was marsh or meadow land with "ten acres of upland originally granted to Mr. Simon Wolcott by the town meeting, Aug. 2ist 1671, and laid out Jan. ist 1674, which contains by estimate forty acres." 2 Upon this tract was situated the Higley copper-mine. The second piece of land was at "the westwardly end of a lot granted to Capt. John Higley, containing thirteen acres." Upon this was located his dwelling upon the mountain. The next tract lying between the above-named "parcells" extended for "a mile in length and forty-five rods in width, bounded northerly by y e road that crosses y e mountain." Here he built, a few years later between 1730-34 another dwelling house, to which he appears to have removed. The ruin of this house is still standing [1892], though it is on the verge of falling to the ground and is uninhabitable. It stands in close proximity to the well-known Higley copper-mine ; a mine that has associated the family name with a good degree of distinction during the last one hundred and sixty-four years. It seems quite clear that Dr. Samuel Higley was occupying this new dwelling at the time of his decease. That he was its builder is plainly to be seen. The massive iron door-latches and hinges hammered out by hand, the nails with which the building is constructed, every one of which were patiently wrought out on the blacksmith's forge, and the wrought-iron crane in the huge chimney fireplace all give unmistakable signs that they were the handicraft of its old-time builder and owner. It is a fair colonial relic of the houses of its day. It is entered by the traditional south door, a flowing spring is close by, and the old well, with the remains of the old-time well-sweep, is still here, and from the brim of "The old oaken, iron-bound, moss-covered bucket," the ancient miner used to drink no doubt many a refreshing quaff. 1 Book v. " Simsbury Record," p. 3-55. The original boundaries are described upon Record. s Book i. " Simsbury Records," p. 128. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 125 THE HIGLEY COPPER-MINE. The location of the Higley copper-mine at the time when it was owned by Dr. Samuel Higley, and during the fifty succeed- ing years, was in the township of Simsbury, Conn. A subdivision of the township in 1786 included the mine in that part called Granby till the year 1858, when a subsequent subdivision was made which places it at the present date in East Granby. It was property held quite separate from the famous New- gate prison and copper-mines, from which it was separated a distance of one and a half mile to the south. Whether this mine had been worked before Dr. Higley became the owner of the lands cannot be ascertained. It was success- fully worked about forty-seven years during that century, from the time that Dr. Higley operated it. Large heaps of ore and bits of copper can now be found on the spot ; probably the remains of operations which were begun and abandoned after a brief period about 1831. There are two shafts which go down through trap rocks, with which this and the adjacent mountainous hills abound, and one of these, though choked with the debris and rubbish which have been collecting for the last sixty years, is still twenty feet deep. The mine contains valuable deposits of mineral, 1 "-some masses," it is said, "producing as much as thirty to forty per cent, of copper. The average product was from ten to twelve per cent. Professor Silliman of Yale University, who made the latest survey of these mines on Copper-Hill [about 1870], says : ' the ore is of the most valuable description.' ' There is a traditional story afloat, which was told to the writer by an elderly gentleman living in the vicinity, who used to hear his aged father and the old men of the neighborhood say that in some spots the deposit of copper in the mine was so rich and of such fineness that Higley was in the habit of entering his mine with a pick, obtaining a lump of almost pure metal, and making a coin, with which he would, in his liking for convivial enjoyment, make himself doubly welcome over the social mug at the nearest tavern. In the early history of the mining interests the ore was sent to England and smelted there, no furnaces being permitted in '"History of Newgate of Connecticut." 126 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. the colonies. 1 To ship the ore to England they were forced to transport it in wagons over the steep, mountainous hills, and rough roads newly made through the wilds of the forests, to a shipping point on the Connecticut River, where it became the cargo of sailing vessels, which were many weeks in crossing the ocean. The energy and courage of Dr. Samuel Higley did not fail be- cause of the difficulties in the way. He owned and continued to operate the mine until his death. The property has always been known and described in the deeds until about 1870, as "the Higley-mine" and "mining-lands." THE HIGLEY COPPER. Meanwhile the remarkable genius and inventive faculties of our physician-blacksmith were in practical play upon another enter- prise, which stamps his name in the very early history of the numismatic annals of our country. He had no "learned black- smith " preceding him, whose life might have been an incentive to learning and genius; his new enterprise was due solely to his natural originality and excellent ability. "Elihu Burrett and Robert Collyer," said Beecher, " of whom blacksmiths love to speak, had not yet been born nor lived to hammer out their learn- ing at night by the forge." Like Franklin, whose scientific ideas were always practical, Dr. Samuel Higley applied his "wit and wisdom " to practical account. He suggested a way to meet a deficient circulation of currency by turning pure copper into a money metal, and was the designer and manufacturer, so far as is known, of the first copper coinage of the country. 2 Just when he began the manufacture of the " Higley Coppers " 3 1 "At one period the restrictions of the English Government were disregarded, and a mill for crushing the ore which the different mines on Copper-hill yielded and for smelting it were clandes- tinely worked some miles away. Remains of these old furnaces were to be seen for nearly a century afterwards. Necessity, however, forced the abandonment of the effort." Phelps 1 History. The Higley-mine was worked in 1831 under the superintendency of Richard Bacon. "Owing to difficulties," says Phelps, " in the process of smelting and refining the ore, and the pecuniary embarrassment of the times, the works were discontinued." For the last half century copper can be procured at cheaper rates from Lake Superior and other points. a During the proprietary government of North Carolina a medal was in existence which may have had a moneyed value as a coin. " In the year 1694 a copper piece was struck, it is said by Rollers, a celebrated medalist of that day, for circulation in Carolina. It bears the figure of an elephant on one side, and on the other the inscription, ' God preserve Carolina and the Lords Proprietors, 1694.' " It is noticed in English publications and in Frank Leslie's Family Magazine. 8 To designate this coin as the Granby Copper is entirely erroneous ; the name " Granby " not then being known in that section of Simsbury. The town Granby was not established till 1786, fifty years after the Higley coppers were manufactured. THE HIGLEY COPPER. SAMUEL HIGLEY, \ST. 127 which were made from the ore in his own mine, is impossible to ascertain. It was undoubtedly between the year 1729 and the first half of the year 1737. The oldest specimens preserved, which bear date, were coined in 1737. There were five different issues of three similar devices, three of which bear no date and were probably made prior to that year. They are described in the "Visitor's Guide and History of the U. S. Mint," 1 at Phila- delphia, as follows: " Their Obverses are similar: A deer standing: below him a hand, a star, and III; around him is the legend inclosed in two circles Value me as you please. "The Reverse of one variety has three hammers crowned, and the legend / am Good Copper, a hand, some dots fancifully arranged, and 1737. " The third variety has a broad-axe and the legend / cut my way through. A very few also bear date 1739." This limited coinage was precisely like the coin that Dr. Samuel Higley produced in 1737. Phelps, in his " History of Simsbury," states that "the coin is said to have passed for two and sixpence [42 cents], in paper cur- rency it is presumed." It is more than probable that Dr. Higley's brother, John Higley, together with the Rev. Timothy Woodbridge and William Cradock, 8 made the issue of 1739, after his death. "The trade of blacksmith, "says Dickeson, " ever since Vulcan was engaged in forging thunderbolts, has given the world some very remarkable men, and it affords great pleasure at this time to be able to contribute toward immortalizing one of the craft, who not only devised, but manufactured a currency. Dr. Higley the author of these coppers has certainly left evidence of having been an artist as well as a financier; for the creatures of his genius and 1 P. 65, published by A. M. Smith, 1885. a Cradock was probably a son or near relative of William Cradock of County Durham, England, who issued a farthing token bearing date 1666. On the face of his coin is a device, shield of arms, and inscription, " William Cradock " : reverse, " 1666 W. C. E." Robert Cradock of New Fish Street, London, issued a farthing token in the seventeenth century. The writer is inclined to the conclusion that there was an ancestral connection between an Edward Highley of Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, and Captain John Higley who came to America, the spelling of the name having become perverted. As the Higleys of England have not been traced beyond Jonathan of Frimley, Surrey, the question remains unsettled. Edward Highley issued a little " token " in the seventeenth century : Obverse side in center, " E. S. H." Reverse, "In Boldeck 1652." 128 THE H1GLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. skill were, for the times, well executed, and they also became a currency." ' During Dr. Samuel Higley's day "no public laws had been made by Connecticut to authorize coinage of money, or to specify its value. Specie was very scarce in the country, and the coinage, at this embryo mint was regarded with great favor by residents in the vicinity. The foreign trade of the country, which was chiefly confined to England, was principally controlled by her; the balance of trade was continually against us, which prevented the importation of specie. The war in France in 1745 turned the tide somewhat in our favor, and considerable quantities of the Higley Copper were circulated in England in payment of war expenses." a Though the coinage of the Higley copper does not appear to have been authorized by the colony, it passed as a medium of exchange into a considerable circulation, and we are led to infer that it was finally recognized by the colonial authorities, since they certainly took no action toward its suppression, though " the coinage was without sanction of law." Without question this financial venture proved an undertaking profitable to our ancient coiner, and useful to the community, since soon after his death there were leading and noted citizens of the colony who made effort to continue a copper coinage, and to whom, in all probability, the monetary problem was suggested by the success of the Higley copper. In October, 1739, the last year in which a limited issue of the Higley coin was manufactured, John Read, an eminent lawyer of Hartford, and brother-in-law of Governor Joseph Talcott, made application to the General Assembly for aid to secure the right of coinage from the Royal Government; and also addressed a personal letter to the Governor on coinage and currency, in which he urges what he judges to be of great importance to Connecti- cut, namely: "to procure the King's patent for the coinage of copper money from the metal produced from the native ores of the State." 3 He offers to proceed with the manufacture of the same at his own personal expense and "such as I shall join with me, if any 1 " American Numismatical Manual," by M. W. Dickeson, M. D., p. 80. 8 Phelps' " History of Newgate of Connecticut," p. 21. * This petition, dating October 15, 1739, and the original letter written by Read referring thereto, is preserved in the Connecticut Archives at Hartford. Through the kindness of C. J. Hoadly, Slate Librarian, the writer has examined the documents. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 129 body do join with me," and to bear the entire losses as well as to receive the entire profits accruing from the enterprise. Crosby says, "There is no doubt but John Higley 1 was con- nected with Read in this attempt to secure the right of coinage, and was one of those to whom Read referred as ' Such as I shall associate with me.' " a In Mr. Read's effort to induce the General Assembly to con- sider his petition, he intimates that Timothy Woodbridge of Simsbury, the early and close friend of Dr. Samuel Higley, as well as " Cradock," was associated in some way in the inter- ests of the proposed undertaking. It is, nevertheless, evident that Governor Talcott and the Assembly deemed it unwise to apply to the Crown for a patent, expecting that no favors would be granted. Specimens of the Higley copper coin have become very rare. There are some to be found in the United States Mint at Phila- delphia, from which the engraving presented was photographed; and in the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford, together with a few in private cabinets in the country. Among the owners of one of these valuable relics is Albert C. Bates, Esq., of East Granby, Conn., one of Captain John Higley's descendants. For more than threescore years Dr. Samuel Higley's only grandson, Jonathan Higley, 3d, preserved with strictest care specimens which finally descended to his great-grandson Thomp- son Higley, Sr., of Windsor, O., who held them among his choice treasures to a period later than the year 1860. Two of these coins were associated with singular but sacred memories as having been placed upon the eyes of Dr. Samuel's great-grand- daughter, Rachel Higley of Granby, after her death, for the pur- pose of keeping them closed. It was a custom in those times to use coins thus. Crosby states in his " Early Coins of America" 9 that "these coppers, owing to the fine quality of the metal of which they were composed, were much in favor as an alloy for gold, and it is prob- ably due in part to this cause that they are now so extremely rare. We are informed by an old goldsmith, aged about seventy- five years, that, during his apprenticeship, his master excused 1 Dr. Samuel Higley's eldest brother. ' " The Early Coins of America," by Sylvester S. Crosby. 13 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. himself for not having finished a string of gold beads at the time appointed, as he was unable to find a Higley copper with which to alloy the gold; thus indicating that they were not easily obtained seventy years ago. " We have heard it related of Higley that, being a frequent visit- ant to the tavern, where at that time liquors were a common and unprohibited article of traffic, he was accustomed to pay his ' scot ' in his own coin, and the coffers of the dram-seller soon became overburdened with this kind of cash, of the type which proclaims its own value to be equal to what was then the price of a 'potation' three pence. "When complaint was made to Higley, upon his next application for entertainment, which was after a somewhat longer absence than was usual with him, he presented coppers bearing the words, 'Value me as you please,' ' I am good copper.' "Whether the change of base facilitated the financial designs of the ancient coiner, or not, we have never been informed : Sure we are, however, that should he be aware of the immense appreciation in the value of his coppers since that day, it would amply reward him for the insulting conduct of the innkeeper. " We cannot vouch for the truth of this ' legend,' but we believe those first issued bore the words, ' The value of three-pence,' ' and, whatever the cause, subsequent issues more modestly re- quested the public to value them according to their own ideas of propriety, although they did not refrain from afterwards pro- claiming their own merit." Of the. rare specimens now extant few are found perfect, having been stamped upon unalloyed copper. They are valued at present (1894) by numismatists at forty-five to seventy-five dol- lars each. During the years 1859-60 a spicy lawsuit took place between two citizens of Suffield, Conn., Chauncy Eno Viets, and George Williston, concerning one of these coins, the suit being entered "for the recovery of a Higley copper." In tearing down an old house in the village a Higley copper was discovered, which came into the possession of George Willis- ton, as he claimed, by purchase from Mr. Viets. Viets, however, claimed that it was only a neighborly loan to Williston, that he 1 The writer does not agree with Mr. Crosby we find no evidence that the copper was ever marked with a moneyed value. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 131 might enjoy the pleasure of showing the rare specimen to some friends. In course of time Mr. Viets sought legal action to get posses- sion of his treasure. The case came before Esquire Thomas Cushman, justice of the peace. " Squire " Cushman decided that Williston should retain the copper, paying Mr. Viets the value at which the coins were then held fifty dollars and costs of court. The money was forthcoming, and Williston gloried in the triumph of an ownership of the valuable memento of the past. The energies of Dr. Samuel Higley's life to its close were in the pursuit of his special calling, that of the practice of med- icine, in which it is shown by the record that he continued, together with his interests in connection with his copper-mine, and the manufacture of the Higley copper. The circumstances of his death are not made clear in the dim mist of the long past except through tradition, which, however, is fully sustained by a few lines penned in rhyme by his grandson Jonathan Higley, 3d. His son Jonathan at the time of his father's decease was sixteen years of age. His grandson Jonathan, 3d, would, therefore, have ample opportunity to gather correct and reliable knowledge of his grandfather's death. Through this source, and through different channels in the family, this tradition comes that Dr. Higley sailed for England in a ship laden with his own copper ore, which was lost at sea, that he reached a "silent haven" not expected when he bade adieu to these shores, the voyage ending where it was not expected to end " Through the evening gate That shuts the golden west." The sad event took place about May, 1737. There is a pathetic interest in the remarkable coincidence that his only son also met his death by drowning at precisely the same age that his father met his fifty years. Dr. Samuel Higley's will, which was executed on the 30th of January, 1734, names his "loving wife Abigail Higley" the executrix of his estate. The record of the Court l concerning it is as follows: " June 7th 1737 The LAST WILL & TRSTAMKNT OF SAMUKL HIGLEY late of Symsbury Deed, was now Exhibited in Court by Abigail Higley Widow & Rellict of Sd. Deed. (Executrix Named in Sd. Will) who accepted the Trust thereof in Court, Sd. Will being proved is by this 1 " Hartford County Probate Records," vol. xiii. 132 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Court approved Likewise the Sd. Executrix Exhibited nn Inventory of the Estate of the Sd. Deed upon oath in Manner accostomed which Inventory & will is accepted in Court & ordered to be Recorded and kept upon file. " I Samuel Higley of Symsbury in the County of Hartford & State of Connecticut in New Eng- land being of perfect health mind & memory yet knowing it is appointed for all men once to Die, I do therefore make & ordain this my last Will and Testament Recommending my Soul at Death to God that Gave it, and my Body to a Decent buriall hoping to See a Glorious Resurrection by Gods power and the Worldly Goods & Estate which I am blest with in this Life, I thus Do give Bequeath and Dispose of it, after my just Debts & Dues are paid " Imprimis I give & Bequeath to my Loving Wife Abigail Higley all my moveable Estate to her Dispose forever (Excepting my Books my Chymical Tools & white faced heifer which I Shall give to my Children) I also give her the Improvement of all my lands and mines if she Continueth my Widow until my Son Jonathan Comes to the age of Twenty-one, and to have the Improvement of one half until my Daughter Ann Comes to the age of Sixteen and from that time to have the Im- Erovement of one Third of three quarters, and that quarter that Abigail may Challange, until aid Abigail comes to the age of Sixteen, from thence to have the Improvement of the one third part of my whole Estate During her Natural Life, but in Case she marrieth, I also give her full power So long as She remaineth my Widow to Sell any of my Lands or rights or Titles To lands Excepting my marsh and Ten acres adjoining to support herself & family of my Children and to pay Debts Item I give unto my Son Jonathan Higley half my Books, and all my Chymicall Tools, I also give him the one half of my marsh and the one half of the Ten Acres adjoining on the Westward Side, with the one half of all the mines thereon Contained, to him & his heirs & assigns forever And provided he will pay to his two Sisters Ann Higley & Abigail Higley two hundred & fifty pounds to Each ; That Is To Say fifty pound's money to Each of them When they or either of them arrive to the age of Sixteen & one hundred pounds to each, at the age of Eighteen, and one hundred pounds money to Each at the age of Twenty one. that then the whole Shall be his or if he fulfill this order To one then her part of Said premises Shall be his own But in Case he doth not pay them at the time above-said, that then my Said Daughters, Ann Higley < Abigail Higley may Enter in at the age of Sixteen yet Notwithstanding if the Said Jonathan Will at the age of Twenty one years of my Daughters pay the whole Sum of Two hundred & fifty pounds with Lawfull Interest besides theire Improvements that then the primises Shall be his. I also give my Sd. Son Jonathan Higley one half part of all my other Lands Rights titles and Interest that I now have or may have to him his heirs & assigns forever Item I give and Bequeath to my Daughter Ann Higley the one quarter part of my marsh & Ten acres of upland adjoining, and one Quarter of all the mines therein Contained Excepting her Brother pay her two hundred & fifty pounds in Money at the Times Above Men- tioned Viz fifty pounds at or when She Comes to the age of Sixteen Years, and one hundred pounds money when She is of the age of Eighteen and one hundred pounds in money when she is of the age of twenty one years, or the whole two hundred & fifty pounds being paid by Sd. Jonathan with Lawfull Interest, when & So Soon as the Sd. Ann Comes to the age of Twenty one, she having free Liberty to Enter & Improve at 16 years of age, until he Doth pay but in Case he Doth not pay at the Time or times & manner above Sd. then the Sd. Ann Shall have& hold Said fourth part to her & her heirs for Ever, but when ever she Inclineth to sell, to Give her Sd. Brother the Refusall thereof, I also Give her one fourth part of my Books, & one fourth part of my other Lands Rights & Interests and also a cow or heifer being brown with a white face Item I also give & bequeath to my Daughter Abigail Higley in Like manner as to her Sister Ann, Two hundred and fifty pounds in money to be paid by her brother Jonathan in the Like manner as above said Viz fifty pounds money when She is Sixteen years alike, one hundred pounds money at or when She is Eighteen years of age, and one hundred pounds when She is twenty one years of age and on neglect of payment as above or with Lawfull Interest at the last time mentioned, then She Shall & may Enter into the Marsh & ten acres of upland & mines therein and use & Improve the fourth part thereof and after she hath arrived unto the years of Twenty one, and the payment Last men- tioned not made then she Shall hold the Said premises to her & her heirs for Ever ; but if She Sell to Give her Brother the Refusall I also give her the fourth part of all my other Lands Rights & Titles, with the fourth part of my Books and a Chest of Drawers worth five pounds And I do hereby make ordain Constitute and appoint my loving Wife Abigail Higley to be my Executrix to this my last Will & Testament fully Impowenng her to Sell any of my lands Except the marsh & Ten acres of upland adjoining, for to pay Debts or Support herself and my Children so long as she Doth Continue my Widow, but not after In Witness where of I have hereunto Set my hand and fixed my seal this Thirtieth Day of January one Thousand Seven hundred & thirty three four, signed sealed published pronounced & Declared by Said Samuel Higley to be his last will and Testament, " In presence of us " SAMUEL GRISWOLD / ~~ > , "ELIZABETH GRISWOLD, her mark X "SAMUEL HIGLEY " -j SEAL. > " ELIZABETH GRISWOLD, junr. ' < - " Jan. soth 1733/4." An Inventory of the Estate of Doctor Samuel Higley Deceased Taken by us Subscribers being under oath as follows One Gun Sword & powder horn, . . . . . . 3 10 o Spoon mould, 155 ;. Smoothing Iron, 35 ; Gauge, 2S ; fine plain Irons, 6s; Ginter Stock & Iron, 3, . . . . . . . . .190 handsaw, 55 ; Gimblets, 8d ; ads, IDS ; 3 Chisels, 45 ; 2 Creasing Irons, is. . .108 Cart-band, 2-6 ; betle rings, is ; a pair of nipers, j^d ; i Trowel, IDS ; Chimney Chain, 35, . . . . . . . . . o 17 9 a pair Tongs, 45 ; frying pan, 35 ; Sythe & Tackling, IDS ; old pot, 6s ; broken pot, 35, . . . . . . . . . . .160 quart cups, 45 ; bulg quart pot, 6s ; pint bason, 8d ; quart bason, 35 ; old puter is-3d, o 15 9 SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 133 puter platter, 75 ; brass kittle, 125 ; Earthern pot, 2S-6d ; Earthern platter, as ; hour glass, i8d . . . . . . . .. .140 3 Small bottles, i8d ; Cups, as ; Stone Jug, i8d ; 2 white viols, 25 ; 12 viols, 45 ; 2 chairs, 55, . . . . . . . . . .0160 8 Square Glasses & Case ilb, jos ; Testament, 2S ; psalm book & psalter, 35 ; three glass Stils ilb ; i bible ilb, IDS . . . . .456 quart glass, 10 ; Boneridg Book 35 ; Eaten Book, 25 : prayer book, is ; 2 small book, is, . . . . _ _ . . . . . .080 vise book, 2S ; prayer book, is ; Great Dictionary, 3~o-6d ; Sermon book, i8d ; Pharmocopia batema, i7S-6d ; family Dictionary, IDS ; Waldon's Book, is ; Polegraffy book, 55 ; i Letter Book, ips ; morphews Book, 35 ; Anonmies Book, 35 ; Sacuties Book, 6s ; Book of principles, zs, . . . . .626 English Dictionary, 8s ; Billery precepts, 33 ; Concordance, ilb ; accidents, 33 ; Peter Loo Book, 55 ; Great Lain Book, los ; two Sermon book, is ; 2 German Book, i8d ; 8 Small books, i6s, . . . . . . -376 Great wheel 45 ; Little, 2S ; meat barrel, 45 ; one barrel, 33 ; 3 bowls, 4s-6d ; i small bowl, is, . . . . . . . . . o 16 6 6 Trenchers, is ; wooden mortar, 35 ; wooden Bottle, 25 ; i bell, 75 ; Gallon bottle, 35 : paile, is ; bellows, 61b ; Quadren, 25 ; Scales and weights, 155, . . 7 14 o 2 Rasars, 25 ; two ounces borax, 135 ; Chest box & key, los ; one box, 55 ; Little box, is, . . . . . . . . . i ii o Portemantle, IDS ; great beadstead, 6s ; blankets, ilb, 8s ; three other blankets, 2lb 155, . . . . . . . . . . . 4 19 o feather bed boalster & pillows, 4lb ; small bed, ilb; three sheets, ilb 135 ; Mat, IDS; Corned Cestuk, i8d ; old Iron, 45 ; Small Saw, i8d ; Saw frame, 2S-6d ; bit of Steel, 6d ; compass, 75 ; piece of brass, is, . . . . . .806 meal sieve, 2S ; two Cows, islb ; i Calf, one Sow, a horse, 4lb ; one Swine, ilb 55 ; 4 Swine. 2lb 55 ; 3 Spoons, 2S ; 4 knives & forks, 2S ; Saddle & furniture, 2lb ; . q 14 o house and Ten acres upland & 30 acres marsh all ..... 105 o o 14 acres Land Turkey hills, 42 Ib ; 20 acres Land at the old house, 30 Ib, . 72 o o a piece of land on the mountain by mitchels land, . . . . . 15 o o 40 acres pine plain, 2olb ; 10 acres Swamp land, 15 Ib, . . . 35 o o Dated at Symsbury June 4th 1737 " JAIRUS CASE, " SAMUEL GRISWOLD, " JOSHUA HOLCOMB." Dr. Samuel Higley's widow, Abigail Higley, proceeded to settle his estate, in connection with which frequent transactions are upon record after the date when her son came of age. On the Qth of April, 1743, conveyance was made to Captain Joseph Higley of thirty-nine acres of land which Samuel had re- ceived at the distribution of his father, Captain John Higley's, estate. This land is described as lying " to the westward of Brewster Higley ad's dwelling-house, upon a brook called Simon's." The final distribution of the estate was entered as follows 1 : "June 22, 1745 : The Distribution of the Estate of Dr. Samuel Higley, late of Simsbury, deed, was brought into Court and ap- proved." Abigail Higley outlived her husband nine years. Her death is thus announced : "Abigail Higley, widow of Samuel Higley, Departed this life, August 5, 1746." The children of Samuel and Abigail Higley all survived their parents, and lived in Simsbury. 1 " Hartford County Probate Records," book xiv. p. 60. 10 134 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Jonathan, the eldest and only son, married Mary Thompson, a daughter of the Rev. Edward Thompson, who was the minister of old Simsbury parish. Annie, the second child, married, but the name of her husband is not known. Abigail, Jr., the youngest child, while yet in her teens married Samuel Smith of Simsbury. Her name becoming merged into the great "Smith family" of this country, all trace of her de- scendants is lost. Samuel and Abigail Higley Smith sold to Cap- tain Joseph Higley, October 24, 1752, lands "received from our honored father, Samuel Higley." The descendants of Dr. Samuel Higley continued, chapter Ix. CHAPTER XXII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. MINDWELL HIGLEY TISDALE FITCH. Oh, Time Works miracles. In one short hour many thousands Of grains of sand run out. SCHILLER. MINDWELL, the ninth child of Captain John and Hannah Drake Higley, first drew her breath in the home of her father the " Wolcott mansion," at Simsbury. The exact year of her birth is doubtful, the record having been lost. It was, however, about 1689. She was given the name of her aunt Mindwell Drake, who was born the day after the wedding of her sister Mindwell's mother to Captain John Higley. She married, September 2, 1714, Jonathan Hutchinson, the week following her father's decease and burial. His father was of a numerous and prominent family of Lebanon, Conn., the members of which were among the original founders of the town. Mind- well's married life was cut short by the early death of her hus- band three years after their union, September 10, 1717. They had two daughters : Hannah, born May 23, 1715, who died at the age of ten years, May 26, 1725 ; and a babe born September 13, 1717, three days after Mr. Hutchinson's decease who bore her own name. The infant lived but one month. It was during the widowhood of Mindwell Higley Hutchinson that the final settlement of her father's estate took place. Re- ceipts and papers in reference to her share are still extant, bear- ing her signature. She remained a widow until the ad of February, 1727, when she married James Tisdale of Lebanon, who, it is supposed, was a widower. There are no children of this marriage recorded. In three brief months she buried her second husband, whose death took place May 2, 1727. >35 I3 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The quaint inscription upon his tombstone in the old Lebanon cemetery reads thus : 1bere Iges tbe JBoog of /for Sanies Gisoale of Lebanon be busbano of /fora /fotnowell Gis&ale. f)e ogeO /Bbag 3 1727 aaeD 48 gears, fjere Iges our faitbful Xovetng ff rienfc B fjusbano & a ffatber fdno "CClbo batb restno himself to <3oo Bno left bis wife & babes bebino. On theiyth of September, 1729, she became the wife of Captain Nathaniel Fitch, a gentleman of prominent position, and the fifth of the seven sons of the eminent Rev. James Fitch, the first minister of Norwich, Conn., by his second wife, Priscilla Mason, daughter of Major John Mason. The Fitches were leaders in founding the commonwealth, and were a highly influential family. Captain Nathaniel Fitch received a commission as captain of the military in 1719, and was deputy to the General Assembly for Lebanon, May, 1720. He was commissioned captain of the "South Company," May, 1726. Captain Fitch was born 1680, and was a widower, with several children, at the time of his mar- riage to Mindwell Higley. Their home was on a farm near the town of Lebanon. They had three children, viz. : Jabez, born October 4, 1730, and died November 14, 1736. Ezekiel, born March n, 1732; Isaac, born May 20, 1734. The date of Mindwell's decease has not been found. Her husband, Captain Fitch, died May 4, 1759, at the age of seventy-nine years. He was interred in the Lebanon cemetery, near the grave of his father, the Rev. James Fitch. A tombstone marks his resting place. Mindwell Higley Tisdale Fitch's descendants have not been traced for these pages. CHAPTER XXIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SARAH HIGLEY LOOMIS. There was only one thing dearer to the New Englander than his township his home. E. G. SCOTT. THE tenth child of Captain John Higley, a daughter Sarah, was born at Simsbury during the time when the family fortune was at its height, and her father had attained much celebrity in public life. Her mother was his second wife Sarah Strong, the granddaughter of the Rev. John Wareham. Sarah was the first child by her father's second marriage. The date of her birth may be fixed almost to a certainty in 1697, although the precise time is unknown. On the 24th of December, 1723, she married Jonathan Loomis of Windsor, Conn., to which town her mother returned with her family in a few years after the father's death. Jonathan Loomis was born February i, 1694. His father, Jonathan Loomis, Sr., was a grandson of Joseph Loomis, who settled in Windsor in 1639, coming to America from Braintree, Essex, England, in the ship Susan and Ellen, 1638. He was the ancestor of most of the numerous family bearing the name in this country. Jonathan and Sarah Higley Loomis resided at Windsor. They had seven children, viz. : Sarah, born July 23, 1724, and died December n, 1733. Jonathan, born November 14, 1725, who died when near five years of age. George, born November 22, 1727. Keziah, born June 18, 1729. Margaret, born March 15, 1730. Wait, born August 14, 1732. Jonathan, born June 16, 1734. Their son George, a promising young man, was graduated from Yale College in 1750; but death claimed him the following year, 1751, leaving his parents bereft of sons, and, as far as is known, with but two living children, both daughters. Keziah, the elder of the two, married her cousin Joseph Loomis of Windsor, and 138 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. became the mother of six children. One of her sons, Jonathan, was a Revolutionary soldier. Margaret, the second daughter, married John Warner, Decem- ber 25, 1754.* It is supposed that the two youngest children, Wait and Jonathan, died in childhood. Previous to her marriage Sarah Higley purchased of her brothers, John, Brewster, and Samuel, and her sister-in-law Ann Higley, the wife of her late brother Jonathan, lands in Windsor, "lying at a place called Clay Bridge," which was a part of the estate that they received by inheritance from their mother, Hannah Drake; the consideration being "the sum of ^30 in money." The deed was given August 31, 1722. And later on, about the time of her marriage, she, with her sisters Katherine, Mindwell, and Abigail, sold to John Higley, Jr., her eldest brother, her share in the lands at Simsbury inherited from her father's estate. Jonathan Loomis and " Sary " repeatedly had their income in- creased by "bills of credit" from the personal estate of Captain Higley, which were charged by the executors to their account, and moneys were paid to them in different amounts from time to time, for which their receipts are shown. It would appear that each of Captain Higley's daughters received special articles, as mementoes of the old home, set apart from the household goods. " Sary " received an "iron kittoll," which may have been made from the bog ore found a few miles away in Turkey-Hills, and "two porringers and saucers," one of them being " pewtar." The most valuable table-ware in the New England homes of that day was of this metal, and was imported. The inventory of her mother's estate Mrs. Sarah Higley's was presented in Court jointly by "Jonathan and Sarah Loomis, December 1739." The dates of their deaths are unknown, and their graves cannot be discovered ; " For the grassy hillocks are leveled again, And the keenest eye might search in vain 'Mong briars and ferns, and paths of sheep, For the spot where the loving couple sleep." The reader is referred to the " Loomis Genealogies " for descendants. 1 " Loomis Genealogies." CHAPTER XXIV. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. NATHANIEL HIGLEY. Faith in God, faith in man, faith in work ; this is the short formula in which we may sum up the teaching of the founders of New England ; a creed ample enough for this life and the next. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. THE life of Nathaniel Higley is a quiet one for the chronicler. He was the eleventh child in the large family of Captain John Higley, whose second wife, Sarah Strong, was his mother. He was a well-to-do farmer, possessed of considerable ability and a comfortable property. Nathaniel's birth took place at Simsbury close on to the departure of the century, November 12, 1699. He was a boy of fifteen at the time of his father's death. On the eighth of the following February (1715) he went into the Probate Court and made choice of his uncle Samuel Strong to be his guardian. At the age of twenty-one his marriage was placed upon record as follows : "Nathaniel Higley of Simsbury and Abigail filler of Windsor were maried the twenty-ninth day of march, 1720." The young pair were second cousins, both of them being the great-grandchildren of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass. Nathaniel's grandfather on the maternal side was Return Strong, and Abigail's maternal grandmother was Experience Strong, 1 his sister. Nathaniel and Abigail Higley settled upon lands which Nathaniel owned in the northern part of Simsbury, now North Granby, 1 Lieutenant Walter Fyler (sometimes spelled " Filer ") the paternal great-grandfather of Abigail Filer Higley, came to Windsor, Conn., with the Rev. John Wareham, 1636, from Dorchester, Mass. His house was within the Palisadoes. He was Deputy to the General Assembly in 1647. He died 1683. In his will he gave the use of his estate to his widow Jane during her natural life, " Also one hundred pounds in cash to bestow upon another husband, or reserve it to herself to bestow upon whom she may please." His son Zerubbabel married Experience Strong, May 27, 1669, and lived for a time at Stone River (Suffield), but afterward returned to Windsor. While he was a resident of Suffield his son Samuel, the father of Abigail Filer Higley, was born. Samuel was a fanner at Hebron, Conn., where he died September 13, 1710. His wife, Abigail, died 1709. Their daughter, Abigail Filer Higley, the wife of Nathaniel Higley, was born February 6, 1703. There are a number of the Higleys now living whose ancestry is traced in direct line to their maternal ancestress Abigail Filer. 140 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. where they lived long and useful lives, and where they brought up a family. He purchased in 1726 from his younger brother Josiah a parcel of land adjoining his own "house lot," which lay to the west of that owned by his brothers John and Brewster. His home estate comprised ninety acres with "ten acres on y e plain "; and together with the other inhabitants of the settlement he received, January 2, 1723, a share at the distribution of common lands made by the town. He is named among the heirs who received from the executors an inheritance from Captain Higley's estate, together with small household articles " set out to him," among which was " a pair of stilyards." Nathaniel Higley was by profession a surveyor. The office of town surveyor was one of considerable importance, the principal duties being " the measuring of land and getting out of town lots to men." In town affairs he was intrusted with prominent ap- pointments, and appears among the solid men of his generation, of well-balanced mind, displaying sound judgment. His name is found upon various committees of the Northwest Ecclesiastical Society; and the indications are that he was more actively asso- ciated with religious matters than were the elder children of Captain Higley. For the year 1742 his church rates, "for de- fraying the charges of the society," amounted to 4 i6s. 4d. His children of whom we have trace were nearly all religious professors. During the years of his greatest church activities the practice of the admission of members to the church on the " Half-way Covenant," so-called, was customary, which was frequently fol- lowed after lapse of time " by y e owning of y e covenant." These half-way covenanters "were not permitted to come to the table of holy communion. " It was in June, 1753, that the following action was taken by the church of which Nathaniel by this time appears to have been one of the chief props : " Voted that Dr. Watts version of the Psalms shall be sung in our public assem- blies once a day upon y e Sabboth." This was an advanced step toward liberality in church affairs. Heretofore the singing, for the period of a century, had been from a quaint "little metrical volume," known as "The New England version of the Psalms," or the "Bay Psalm-Book," NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 141 the first edition of which was printed about 1640. A later version appeared in 1650. " The necessity of the heavenly Ordinance of singing Scripture Psalms in the churches of God," was fully recognized. The singing was accomplished by " lining" these psalms, which was alternately reading one or two lines by the minister, then the congregation singing them, followed by two more lines, etc. Few possessed hymn-books. Someone stood appointed to "set the tunes," which were invariably long-drawn and heavy. The psalm sung was usually very long, and the people stood while singing, as well as during prayer. 1 Among other town officers appointed each year was an "In- spector of Leather." To this service Nathaniel Higley was repeatedly elected; he served as grand juror, was appointed appraiser, surveyor of highways, fence viewer, rate collector, and often served as tything-man. Of the latter office, which long ago ceased in the churches of New England, a few words here will be of interest. The tything-man was a town officer, who was annually elected and officially sworn into office to enforce the observance of the Sabbath. He required to be filled with zeal and vigilance, and was a man who inspired a degree of fear and awe. He was to see to it that "no person should be recreating or unnecessarily walking or loitering on the Lord's day." His duties required him to look after the absentees from church service, and to col- lect the fine of ten shillings imposed upon those who, "being able-bodied and not otherwise necessarily prevented, should for the space of one month " fail to appear in the Sunday congrega- tion. 2 But his most conspicuous duty lay in preserving the sanctity of divine service. Provided with a long pole, and a whip-stock and lash in hand, he stationed himself every Sunday in the rear of the audience near the door, and with vigilant eye and dignified 1 "At family prayers it was the costom to rise to theirfeet and stand instead of kneeling." The reason given for taking this posture was, " their exceeding fear of any costom that might be con- strued as tainting of Popery." *"As the President [George Washington], on his return to New York from his late tour through Connecticut, having missed his way on Saturday, was obliged to ride a few miles on Sunday morning in order to gain the town at which he had previously proposed to have attended divine service. Before he arrived, however, he was met by a Tything-man, who commanding him to stop, demanded the occasion of his riding ; and it was not until the President had informed him of every circumstance, and promised to go no further than the town intended, that the Tything- man would permit him to proceed on his journey." From an old newspaper of the times: " Olden Time Series." 142 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. gravity he performed his calling with no partisan favor. The giddy youth who happened to whisper to his chum, or who un- fortunately was unable to repress his overflowing spirits, com- mitting the grave, sin of a smothered snicker, was approached from behind and sharply rapped upon the head with the pole, which was aimed with great precision and directness. Mrs. Stowe pictures this official as " a man who on week days, though he might be a rather jolly, secular individual, on Sunday was a man whose eyes were supposed to be as a flame of fire to search out boys that played in meeting, and bring them to awful retribution." * In an old law book which once belonged to Nathaniel's nephew, Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., was found in manu- script at the end of the volume, " Reports of Brother Jonathan's adjudications of small cases which he tried as Justice of the peace." Among these was one where His Majesty's ty thing-man entered a complaint against Jona and Susan Smith for a "prof- anation of the Sabbath "; namely, "that on the day of dur- ing Divine Service on the Lord's Day, they did smile." The cul- prits were adjudged to be guilty of the offence, and severally fined "five shillings and cost."" Eight children are found upon record as having been born to Nathaniel and Abigail Filer Higley; yet it is probable there were others. They were as follows: Abigail, born November i, 1723, married Josiah Holcombe, November 8, 1742. Mary, born 1724, and died at the age of one hundred and four years. She never married. Theopolis, born March 29, 1726; married Rhoda Solomon, born Januarys, 1728; married Lydia Holcombe. Dudley, born 1730; married Eunice . Samuel, born about 1734; not known whether he married. Daniel, the exact date of whose birth is not known, married Ruth ; and Mindwell, born about 1738, who married, March 3, 1768, Seth Higley, the son of her first cousin Brewster Higley, 2d.* Their children all settled in the vicinity of their home (the part of Simsbury now known as North Granby), and, except Solomon, here remained until after their father's decease, and till about the close of the war of the Revolution, when most of those who were then living emigrated to Vermont. 1 " Old Town Folks," by Harriet Beecher Stowe, p. 43. a " Olden Time Series," Henry M. Brooks. 3 It is confidently supposed that Noah and Nehemiah Higley were also sons of Nathaniel. See chapter Ixvi. NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 143 Nathaniel Higley died of cancer in September, 1773. His son Daniel Higley was named as executor of his estate. His will, 1 which was signed on the i3th of February, 1773, devises that after his just debts are paid his wife Abigail shall have one third part of all his lands, plowing, mowing, woods, and pasturing, with all the household goods, during her natural life. To his daughter Mary and son Daniel he gives all* of his 'Mean and freehold estate," to be divided equally between them. To his son Solomon he gives five pounds of lawful money, and to his daughters, Abigail the wife of Josiah Holcombe, and Mind- well the wife of Seth Higley, the sum of three pounds each. To the heirs of Dudley Higley, his son, he gave the sum of ten shil- lings, to be paid eighteen months after death. One of his sons Samuel to whom moneys were paid at the distribution of the estate, is not named in his will. The inventory of his personal estate, taken September 23, 1773, contains articles of clothing; among which were a "Great Coat," valued at 75., a " Strait Bodied coat," i8s., "A Green Jaccoat," 45., "2 pair of Linen Breeches, is. 6d." It comprises also numerous household effects, sheep, cattle, and other belongings of a well-managed farm, amounting in all to ^"198 175. od.* It cannot be clearly understood why he gave the most of his property to his son Daniel and daughter Mary, almost disinheriting his surviving children and other heirs. His burial place is not known. Although Nathaniel Higley's name is not found associated with any conspicuous measure in the colony, when he passed away from life's day of ceaseless industry, which he had devoted to use- ful purposes, the event marked the close of a well-rounded career. He had walked in a straight road, rendering acceptable service to the community in which he lived. He was respected by all who knew how to respect integrity, trustworthiness, and a sound character. Such an existence does not fail to excite a glow oi admiration. " He fought the good fight, he kept the faith." The descendants of Nathaniel Higley -will be found in chapter Ixvi. 1 "Simsbury Probate Records," p. 141. 4 Book i. p. no, "Simsbury Records." CHAPTER XXV. / THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. JOSIAH AND JOSHUA HIGLEY. We honor and we love them our ancestry of old, Whose virtues rare the brighter wear, like the face of virgin gold. GEORGE CANNING HILL. THE twelfth interesting advent of babyhood in the household of the Higleys at Simsbury was on a summer morning late in the season, when twins were announced. They were thus recorded : "JosiAH HIGLEY, the son of Captain John Higley, was borne the eighth day of September, and Baptized the fourteenth day of September, seventeen hundred and one. Borne to him by his wife Sarah." "JOSHUA HIGLEY, the son of Captain John Higley, was borne the eighth day of September, one Thousand seven hundred and one, which his wife Sarah, the Daughter of Return Strong, bare to him." The last named child " dyed " an infant of seven months, April 2, 1702, and was interred in the churchyard at the settle- ment at " Scotland" now Bloomfield, Conn. Josiah lived to the meridian of life. It has been declared that " men of great integrity who have no thought of pushing into any ambitious sphere, but only of doing with all their might the work which their hands find to do, are the salt of society, the strength of a nation, and it is not well that such should be forgot." The sentiment is fitting to Josiah Higley, as far as we can dis- cover the tenor and bearings of his life. The sphere in which he was known extended little beyond the region of Windsor and Simsbury. He appears to have held an honorable position, and served upon important town committees, though there is no indication that he was a leader in public affairs. The narrative of his life is virtually that of a good citizen, a worthy son of a worthy father. The decease of Captain John Higley having taken place when this son was but thirteen years of age, he was deprived of JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 145 paternal care. At fourteen he was taken into court, where he chose Thomas Moore of Windsor for his guardian. On the day before New Year's, December 31, 1724, when he was twenty-three, he married Dinah Gillett, of a family of excellent standing and among the first grantees of land in that part of Sims- bury. The young couple settled in the parish of Turkey-Hills, then a part of the town of Simsbury now East Granby, Conn. where " Josias " owned lands. There were not at this time sixty families living in that vicinity. Here their children, and many of their grandchildren, were born and brought up. In town appointments Josiah Higley repeatedly served the local interests in a variety of matters, among which was the "Sur- veying of Highways." An ecclesiastical parish was granted by the General Assembly in October, 1736, which was organized and petitioned for " by the inhabitants of Turkey-Hills, Salmon Brook, The Falls, and the Higleys." l For two years, however, the petitioners could not agree upon a spot for the location of the meeting house. In 1738 a committee from the General Assembly was appointed to take the matter in hand and " Affix a place in the Society to set the meeting house upon." Upon the parish records Josiah Higley's name is frequently found in relation to the performance of various duties in this connection, which shows him to have been one of the founders of this parish. 8 In 1745 he was made a member of an important committee set apart to manage and lay out the common and undivided lands which had been granted by the town some years previous, and to attend, in behalf of the inhabitants, to the leasing of lands on Copper-Hill. Josiah, among other sons and some of the sons-in-law of Cap- tain John Higley who were commissioned officers, was possessed of a military spirit and was familiar with military tactics, holding the rank of sergeant in the Connecticut militia. Sergeant Josiah Higley and Dinah Gillett were the parents of six children who are found upon record viz. : Josiah, 2d, born "Nov. y e 6, 1725"; Rebecca, born May 22, 1727; Susannah, born May 6, 1730; Dinah, born January i, 1731; Nathan, born August i, 1736; and Elijah, born about 1738. These became the ancestors of many descendants who are now 1 Supposed to refer to the residents of Higley-Town. 9 This parish is now known as the North Society. 146 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. living and who are much respected citizens in different parts of this country. His death occurred within a few months of entering his fiftieth year. His wife survived him, but it is not known how many years. She was yet living in the year 1754. In his will he bequeathed to her " my wife Dinah the use of one third of my lands, during her life." After setting apart, according to the old English custom, a special portion for his eldest son, "all of the remainder of the estate, both personal and movable," was divided in equal shares between his six children. He appointed his "beloved wife Dinah" and his son Josiah, Jr., his executors. The inventory of the estate indicates that he was living in moderate surroundings at the time of his decease. When his death took place he resided upon a plot of ten acres of land located about two miles south of Turkey-Hills Centre, which is described as " lying north of the highway that goes from Hatchet- hill to Windsor, together with six acres lying on the west side of the mountain." He was interred in the ancient burial ground at Turkey-Hills, (now East Granby). The inscription upon his tombstone, which is still standing, is as follows : Sergeant mag 31 1751 ageD 50. For descendants of Josiah Higley see chapter Ixix. CHAPTER XXVI. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ABIGAIL HIGLEY THORP. The wold an' young do slowly come, An' teake in stillness each his pleace. FROM " TREASURY OF SACRKD SONG." BUT a short sketch of Abigail, the fourteenth child of the large family of Captain John Higley, can be given; there being yet dis- covered but the briefest record of her life. Her story must there- fore remain in the unwritten annals of the family. She was born at Simsbury, Conn., November 4, 1703. When she was twelve years of age, her mother Sarah (Strong) Higley was appointed her guardian. The influences which surrounded her were the same as those of the other children of the household, and of other women of that day. The sameness of their unobtrusive, quiet, and limited spheres, as they pass in procession before us, furnishes little mate- rial for the biographer; they were, however, among the mothers and grandmothers of the "thought, conscience, and moral influ- ence " which went out of the simple, rural, colonial homes of New England, and which gave life and being to the future nation. They were solicitous and careful to lay the elements of true character in their children, and taught deep-rooted principles, instilling into their minds a reverence for truth and honor. Their lives, though inconspicuous, told upon the depth of the character of their sons and their sons' sons. Abigail Higley was married previous to her twentieth year to Peter Thorp, and lived at Lebanon, Conn., in the parish known as Goshen. Her husband appears to have been many years her senior, and to have been a widower with children scarcely younger in years than his wife. On the organization of the Goshen Con- gregational Church by thirty-two persons, in 1729, his name appears as one of the number. Abigail Thorp was admitted to its membership in 1730. Peter Thorp died September i, 1734. In his will he provided for his wife Abigail and their children; viz., James, Ruth. Sarah, Peter, Aaron, Abigail, and Hannah. 148 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It is quite probable that some of these children were by his first marriage. Abigail, Jr., married Joseph Gay; and Hannah, whose death occurred before her father's, married John Foster. Abigail Higley Thorp is mentioned in the settlement of her father's estate. Her autograph is preserved among the receipts in the executor's accounts given January 10, 1724, at which date it appears that she had gone from Lebanon to Simsbury to trans- act business for herself and her two sisters, Mindwell and Susannah, who also resided there. This autograph is the only relic of her which has fallen into the hands of the present genera- tion. At the final distribution of her mother's estate, money was ordered to be paid to Abigail's heirs, " their Mother's part." Her death took place at Goshen, July, 1742, in the fortieth year of her age. The descendants of Abigail Higley Thorp have not been traced. CHAPTER XXVII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. SUSANNAH HIGLEY BLACKMAN. " There is not a human life that is now potent for good, which is not shaped and swayed in large measure by the influence of lives which have passed from earth." SUSANNAH HIGLEY'S life, like that of her next older sister, has lain for nearly two centuries under almost total eclipse. Few records of her are extant. Even the stage and scenes of her married life are somewhat obscure. Her birth took place in 1705, at Simsbury, and she was the fifteenth child of her father, Captain John Higley. On the zd of January, 1724, she married Elisha Blackman of Lebanon, Conn., to which town she removed, and here they reared a family. The daily duties of these old-time women consisted in machine- like service of the household, and might be summarized as the bearing of children, nursing and guiding their large families, attending to the plain cookery, hetchilling the flax and tow, card- ing the wool from the fleeces of their own sheep, and spinning and dyeing with their own hands the cloth which they fashioned into garments for the family. The indispensable spinning wheel was a household article which is named in almost every inventory of the times. The wife and mother was cook, housekeeper, and nurse. She attended to everything herself, and was unaccustomed to frittering away her time, or running after petty vanities. She cooked in iron pots, which were hung from the crane in the huge fireplace, and her baking was done in the "big oven "built either adjoining the fireplace, or a little way from the house out of doors. The hot ashes and burning coals formed a bed for roasting potatoes and green corn, and the Indian corn and rye were made into meal for Johnny cake and the rye loaf. An endless variety of duties of necessity were laid upon the matrons of these households in way of drying fruits and vege- tables, which were hung from the ceiling, for it was before the days of canned goods; gathering and drying herbs for domestic IT * 150 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. remedies in case of illness and emergencies; extracting lye from the wood-ashes and making all the soap; preparing the hominy for the table by a slow process, and manufacturing the starch. They made sausages, tried lard, made butter and cheese. The children were early put to work. All were trained to lives of industry. The older ones soon came to the help of the mother and lightened her burdens. The boys built fires, did chores, worked in the "truck patch," and were made to busy themselves in useful occupations. The few methods they had for getting fun consisted in going swimming, trapping small game, "coon " hunt- ing, fishing, gathering nuts from the forests, and out-of-doors sports. The daughters took their turn at the spinning wheel, the loom, the churn, and the wash-tub, and in all the domestic labor of the household. There were no servant-girls employed. There were no toys for the young children, no juvenile books, and no Christmas pastimes were observed. 1 It was before the days of Sunday-schools. The open fire, with its blazing back-log, and the candlewood, chiefly furnished the evening light. This candlewood was split from the pitch pine that grew on the hills. The timepieces were the sundial in the dooryard, and the "noon mark " in the window. They had no clocks. " Early candlelight " noted the time for neighborhood gatherings, which were frequent and hearty. The hospitality of the homes was cordial and freely offered ; the latch- string on the door was out to the passer-by. The mother was the inspiration of her home, making it the abode of peace, filling it with the home-spirit which makes the hearthstone the center of sweet recollections in after-life, and she was beloved and remembered for her own sake. Her aspiration was not to gain prominence for herself, but her ambitions were fixed upon her husband, whom she reverenced. Progress, as related to woman's development, had moved slowly for the last half century, if, indeed, it had moved at all. They lived under the English conception of woman's position, and her relations to her husband and her home. The inferior education given to daughters, as compared with the sons, is in this day of advantages for the superior education of women, and the higher cultivation of her faculties, a surprise, and unhappily reflects great discredit upon our forefathers. 1 The Puritan Pailiament ordered, December 24, 1652, " That no observation shall be had of the five-and-twentieth day of December, commonly called Christmas day ; nor any solemnity used or exercised in churches upon that day in respect thereof." SUSANNAH HIGLEY BLACKMAN. 151 It was not customary in those days even to give the women a special individuality by recognition of their own given names. They were known in the neighborhood, and recorded on the church-rolls, as "Deacon Smith's wife," the "Widder Brown," "Goodwife Jones"; and at death the widow was carefully placed upon record as "The Relique" of Mr. So-and-So or, in plain literal terms, the remains, or all that was left of " Zerubbabel Grace." "Woman's sphere," and the "advancement of women," were questions not yet discussed, nor had these subjects even dawned upon the minds of these faithful and unchronicled daughters of toil. But, withal, they were heroic and thoughtful, and there was much of intellectual acuteness and strength in their characters. They visited from neighbor to neighbor during the week, discuss- ing the Sunday sermon and high theological points, forming their own opinions and speaking their own minds, with an intelligence that would eclipse many a dame of these latter days. While they were not assertive women, and valued and leaned upon the protection of man, they had a certain independence in the transaction of business matters which seems to singularly ill accord with the constant signs of the meek spirit of subjection that they maintained in other usages of their lives. This is specially manifested in the numerous land transactions in which a great many women engaged, and which is one of the notable features of the records concerning the Higley women of the first generation. Susannah Higley received, at the final division of her father's estate, her share of the lands. The ancient and historical account books show her to have received in different small payments an additional ten pounds in money, the last of which appears to have been conveyed to her by her sister Abigail, who gave a receipt for the same. Her souvenirs from the old homestead were "a pewter tankard and a glass bottol." Four children, three sons and one daughter, are upon record as having been born to Elisha Blackman and Susannah Higley. Joseph, the eldest, whose birth took place November 26, 1724, married in 1758. He was the father of three children, viz. : Mary, born February 19, 1759 ; Susannah, born January 3, 1761 ; and Lurany, born June 21, 1763. Elisha, the second son, was born September 19, 1727, and 15 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. married Lucy Smith, a widow, March 22, 1753. They had chil- dren as follows : Lucy, born September 7, 1755 ; Levina, born September 7, 1757 ; Elisha, born April 4, 1760 ; Ichabod, born March 24, 1762 ; Eleazar, born May 31, 1765. Jonathan, the third son of Elisha and Susannah Higley Black- man, born May 12, 1729, married Sarah Comstock November 7, One daughter, Susannah, was the issue of this marriage. She was born July 25, 1752. Susannah, their fourth and last child, was named for her mother, and was born August 12, 1733. We find no allusion to her afterwards. Susannah Higley Blackman was yet living March, 1748, when the final settlement of her mother's estate (Mrs. Sarah Strong Higley) took place. It is not known when her days ended. The descendants of Susannah Higley Blackman have not been further traced. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY. ENSIGN ISAAC HIGLEY. Slow from the plow the woods withdrew, Slowly each year the corn-lands grew ; Nor fire, nor frost, nor foe could kill The Saxon energy of will. And never in the hamlet's bound Was lack of sturdy manhood found ; And never failed the kindred good Of brave and helpful womanhood. WHITTIER. THE child that was born to Captain John Higley and his wife, Sarah, on the 2oth of July, 1707, was baptized on the i4th of the September following, and given the name Isaac. He was the sixteenth and youngest child of the numerous household. Isaac Higley began life in the midst of great emotions in the community. Just preceding his birth it became known that the lurking Indians were planning an attack upon the settlement, and the Council of War at Hartford had ordered that fortifications should be provided by the inhabitants, "with all possible speed a sufficient number of well fortified houses for the saftie of them- selves and families." There was for a time something like a reign of terror. It is an old saying that " Desperite game need an able gamester," so his father, Captain John Higley, was brought into vigilant action in these measures for defense, and was standing equipped with his military forces ready for the " wager of battle." From the capacious memories of the older members of the family, Isaac, no doubt, had his head filled, in the subsequent years of his childhood and youth, with household stories of Indian encounters and scenes of tragedy which occurred about the time that he was born. ' His father dying when he was but seven years of age, the responsibility of his training fell chiefly upon the mother. The court appointed Thomas Moore of Windsor his guardian. The boy grew to manhood amid the charming scenes and 1 See story of the capture of Daniel Hayes, page 70. 154 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. beautiful range of Connecticut hills and rivers of Simsbury and Windsor. As long as he lived he bore the respect of the com- munities in which he resided, and was held in an especially affec- tionate regard by those brothers who were the sons of another mother. While yet in his teens his widowed mother removed to Windsor, and Isaac appears to have removed with her. Like several members of his family he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and bore worthy repute as a husbandman. The wild and uncultivated country, after the Indians had ceased their hostilities (about 1724), began in his day to show signs of advance and improvement, and fruitful fields were now to be seen. A bridge was built across the Farmington River in 1734, the inhabitants having for more than a century depended upon ferries of the simplest construction, which were licensed and regularly established at different points; two-wheeled vehicles began to appear : and carpets were sometimes seen upon the floors. The people lived plainly, and, compared with these days, their comforts were few. Wolves and wild animals were still so numerous that they had great difficulty in protecting their sheep. Deer, wild turkeys, and rattlesnakes abounded in the thick sur- rounding forests. Planting apple orchards was an enterprise which was entered into by most of the landowners, and plenty of cider was kept on hand, and using it to excess was a common indulgence. Their tables were supplied by products from their tilled fields; the sheep and swine which they raised furnishing their meats, together with the wild game, which was everywhere plentiful. Until the streams were damaged by mill-dams the beautiful rivers and brooks abounded in shad and salmon, and the fisherman's interests were a means of employment and profit. In the social status of the community, the range of human level was still divided into families which held class-eminency and those of the humbler landowners. The recognition of an " upper class " held almost as strong a grip upon the communities as it had fifty years before. Among the younger set there was much jollification and demoral- izing merry-making, which would in these times be scarcely admis- sible in polite society; and which, in many cases, led into great familiarity between the sexes, with perplexing consequences. Whitefield, when preaching in the different towns through this section of the country, found occasion to speak forcibly against ISAAC HIGLEY. 155 " Mixed dancing, and the frolicking of males and females together," which practice, he afterward declared, "was very common." Saturday evening was in those good old times spent, as has been the custom in so many New England homes for more than two centuries to this day, in preparation for the Sabbath. 1 Every- thing like levity was solemnly hushed. All work of the house- hold and ordinary occupations were stopped, as far as practicable, until Monday morning. The minister continued to occupy a very dignified position. Although these spiritual heroes, with their worthy church officials, still frowned upon the doings of any individual who deviated from serious thought and grave, funeral-like demeanor on the Sabbath' day, and subjected the members of their flocks to the strictest letter of the laws which had been framed by the first Puritan emigrants, yet it is a simple historical fact that they failed in imbuing their followers with the practice of the spirit of peace, and that "charity which suffereth long and is kind" was often wanting in the different settlements. Bitter controversies and neighborhood broils kindled into high flame over points at issue which were constantly arising, and in which a grievous lack of the oil. of brotherly kindness and the Christian law of love and forbearance was manifested. The lion and the lamb utterly refused to lie down together; antagonistic spirits holding stub- bornly to their individual preferences." If the Higleys, whose names, including that of Isaac, by the middle of the last century are found in much activity upon the church records, joined to a great extent in these broils and were at swords' points on puri- tanical or other issues, time and their graves have concealed it well it is that the silence is perfect. From Isaac, the youngest son in the first American Higley family, a clew is obtained, and the only one, except a strongly marked heredity which runs throughout all the lines of descend- 1 " Under the Colonial government it was for some time made a question of -when the Sabbath should be considered as commencing ; but in 1645 it became the custom to regard the evening of the last day of the week as the beginning of the Sabbath. Several clergyman, however, con- sidered Saturday afternoon as the commencement of holy time." " Olden Time Series," H. M- Brooks. a " But they were glorious men men whose arms were iron and whose nerves were steel They were men who fought and struggled not for glory, nor for ambition, but for conscience and for principle. They did not always bow courteously before they used their sword, they did not say ' by your leave ' before they ran their bayonet through the heart. They were brave and true men, and the world is immeasurably better and nobler for t'.ieir having lived in it." Lyman Abbott, D.D. 156 THE HI G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ants, of the stature of the early Higleys. Between Isaac and his brother Nathaniel, and descendants who are now living, there is a link with the long past, binding the present generation to their day. Naomi Higley, the granddaughter of Brewster Higley, ist, who married her cousin Brewster Higley, 4th, lived to the year 1850, residing with her grandchildren in Meigs Co., Ohio. They often heard her talk of these two grand-uncles of hers. She retained a clear recollection of them, having been a girl of fourteen when Nathaniel died in 1773. Isaac was a fre- quent visitor at her father's house Captain Joseph Higley's. He was of princely physique, finely proportioned and commanding in appearance, walked erect, and was active. He stood six feet and five inches in height, and his hands and feet were of notice- able size and proportions. Naomi Higley described him as "so tall that he was forced to stoop to enter her father's door." The low-ceiled houses seemed to cage him. She related that one day, when at her father's house, he arose to leave the room. "Where are you going, Uncle Isaac?" his nephew inquired. "Oh, just out of doors to stretch myself that's all," was his reply. He is said to have been somewhat eccentric and original in expression, and was always found to be fully conversant upon all topics of his times. He was very fond of children. Isaac Higley's wife, who was Sarah Porter of Windsor, whom he married February 13, 1735, bore him two daughters, the only children he ever had Sarah, born November 23, 1735, who never married, and Susannah, born December 8, 1742. The minister, Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, entered this record: "Jan. y e 3, 1741/2, 1 baptized a child for Isaac Higley and her name is Susannah." There is no allusion anywhere made to this child afterward. Early in 1732 Isaac Higley began trading and securing lands in Torrington, Conn. The first settlers of this town were almost altogether from Windsor. His name is mentioned in this con- nection with other citizens of Windsor as early as September 10, 1733. In January of that year he purchased an additional lot of land from Jonathan Barber, and again in August, 1738, from Aaron Barber. In 1739 purchases of more land were made from his brother-in-law Jonathan Trumbull of Lebanon, who appears to have been the owner of lands at Torrington. It was about this date (1739) that he removed with his family to Torrington, being among the first settlers of the town, and ISAAC HIGLEY. 157 where he became a man of considerable note. There were but nine families within the limits of the town at its beginning. He was at once associated with those who took early measures to establish church privileges, memorializing the General Assembly in October of the same year, asking to be "organized into an Ecclesiastical Society, and that taxes might be imposed for the support of the gospel ministry." A church was founded of which, in 1741, the Rev. Nathaniel Roberts was ordained the first minis- ter. In October, 1747, Isaac Higley served on a committee of three appointed by the General Assembly to build a meeting house. They erected the first church building in the town, which was ordered to be "a frame structure of the dimensions of thirty foot square and eighteen foot between joints." The meeting houses of Colonial times were not warmed; there were no stoves in those days. " It was considered that a comfortable degree of heat while at public worship did not contribute to the profitable hearing of the gospel. The first stove known to have been introduced into a house of worship was in Massachusetts in 1773," thirty years later than this period, and " was considered an indication of extravagance and degeneracy." ' In 1745 a small school was opened in the midst of the forest at Torrington. These early schools on the outskirts were generally kept by school-dames. There was, by this time, a growing degeneracy in the standard of the schools in the colony, many betraying an unwillingness to support them; yet some effort was still made to store the minds of the young with useful knowledge. The old-time New England schoolmaster governed his pupils "by the persuasive eloquence of the rod!" He was a practical advocate of corporal punishment. "School opened," states a writer of those times, " when the birch rod was laid across the master's desk." A sharp thrashing scene Was no uncommon event in the daily school exercises. It has been stated that "shingles and old slippers had much to do with the proud civilization of the past." During the year 1748 a division was made between the east and the west side of the town Torrington and Torringford. Isaac Higley appears on the west side in Tor- rington, where his estate lay "on the hill adjoining Joseph Allyn's place." The population had now increased, by 1756, to two hundred and fifty. His wife, Sarah Porter, died on the ipth of July, 1753, and on the 24th of February, 1757, he married Sarah Loomis. 1 " Old Time Series," by H. M. Brooks. 158 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Isaac was the third son of Captain John Higley who bore the honor of being commissioned by the General Assembly ensign of the military company of the town to which he belonged. The Act was passed October, 1757. It is a matter worthy of especial notice that his brother Brew- ster Higley, ist, who had sons the same age as Isaac, and was the largest property holder in the family, selected him to settle his estate. "I make," says Brewster in the document, "my loving brother Isaac my sole executor," etc. ; evincing the worthy trust which might be reposed in him, as well as the affectionate regard in which he was held by Captain Higley's older children. It is not known just how long Isaac survived his brother. The tradition from the venerable grandparents is that he met his death by accidental drowning while crossing the river on the ice in the winter of 177-, with a wagon loaded with wood ; the wagon breaking through. In his effort to save his horses, he him- self went under the ice. His body was never recovered. With the early spring thaw the following season came a great freshet, which swept it away in the flood. The date of the decease of his second wife and that of his unmarried daughter is not known. His widow held the farm until the soth of January, 1800, on which date she gave a deed of conveyance to Oliver Allyn. This closed the family history. There were no descendants. CHAPTER XXIX. DESCENDANTS OF KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE. Continued from chapter xvii. p. 96. David Noble, Katherine, Captain John Higley. Consider the years of many generations. DEUTERONOMY, xxxii. 7. OF Katherine Higley Noble's children, a son and daughter sur- vived her, Lydia and David. LYDIA NOBLE, the eldest child of James Noble and Katherine Higley, born December 7, 1704, married April 30, 1734, Stephen Kelsey of Killingwarth, Conn. They took up their residence at Westfidd, Mass. He died December n, 1753. She died April 18, 1768. They had seven children, viz.: Stephen, Gershom, James, Mindwell, Stephen (zd), Lydia, Stephen (3^). DAVID NOBLE, Sr., the third child of James and Katherine Hig- ley Noble, was born March 3, 1709, and married Abigail Loomis, daughter of Philip and Hannah Loomis of Simsbury. He was a man of prominent usefulness. In the year 1732 he removed with his family to Hebron, Conn. Here he had much to do with founding the ecclesiastical society called Gilead, which was organized in 1748, his name being frequently noted in its first meeting, which was held in June of that year. It was then, "Voted, that Mr. Thomas Post and Mr. David Noble shall tune the Psalms for us on the dayes of divine worship." This appointment betrays David Noble's share in the heredi- tary musical turn which runs through the Higley family from its very early history to this day. He was also appointed on a committee to obtain land " to set our meeting-house on." He was subsequently chosen moderator of the society's meetings, and again in 1750 he served upon a com- mittee to " treat with a minister." He died at the age of fifty- two, February 18, 1761. A monument stands to his memory in the Gilead cemetery. The wife of David Noble, Sr., Abigail Loomis, lived to the ripe old age of ninety-two. They had twelve children. 1 1 See names, dates, etc., of this family and its descendants, " Noble Genealogies." 160 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. DAVID NOBLE, JR., their eldest son, was born at Westfield, Mass., and removed to Hebron, Conn., with his parents. From his early boyhood the light and presence of his grandmother, Katherine Higley Noble, shone in his father's household, of which she was counted one. Without doubt she often enriched it with bright stories drawn from her own recollections of her father's, Captain John Higley, achievements and military experiences in the border days during the hostile warfare with the Indians. The influence she cast upon young David's after-conduct in life could not have been inconsiderable. The patriotic zeal and self- sacrifice which has proved a strong characteristic in many of Captain John Higley's descendants was nobly manifested in him. David Noble, Jr., was one of the true heroes of the Revolu- tion; his name and deeds are deserving of perpetual recognition in the annals of our country. His career ranks next to that of his cousin, Jonathan Trumbull, as among the most interesting in the record of the Higley family. It is to be regretted that the limit of these pages forbids more than a modest memorial of his devotion to the cause of liberty. When the "first mutterings of the war of the Revolution" began, he volunteered his services without wavering, leaving at home a wife and a family of children. The time of his enlistment and duration of his absence is not i recorded. He left home the second time, April 22, 1775, march- ing with his comrades to Cambridge in the rank of captain, under the watchword " LIBERTY OR DEATH." The exact time of his return to his home is not known, but he appears to have participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, in which he bore a part in the defense of Fort No. 3, a work of his own regiment. Neither the battles of Concord and Bunker Hill nor the priva- tions and hardships of the service diminished Captain Noble's zeal. Realizing that recruiting was proceeding but slowly, that there was need of disciplined men, and that the supply of arms was scanty, by his earnest individual effort he raised a company of volunteers in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, was commis- sioned its captain, and marched as far as Springfield, drilling his soldiers with thoroughness through the winter. " For the supply of his Company he purchased, with his (nun funds, one hundred and thirty-six stands of Arms, new; clothed them with regimentals their breeches being made of buckskin, and their coats of blue, DESCENDANTS OF KATHERINE HIGLEY NOBLE. 161 turned up with white. To meet these costs, Captain Noble sold two farms in Stephenson, N. Y., and one or two farms at Pitts- field, Mass. On being paid in gold for the land at Stephenson, he went to Philadelphia and purchased the deer skins, or leather, and at the same time hired a breeches-maker, and ' the breeches ' says his son, 'were all manufactured at our house.' " On the 3ist of December, 1775, he marched his soldiers from Pittsfield to Boston. While at Cambridge he sent for all the goods that would answer for soldiers' clothing, both linen and woolens, that remained in his dry goods store at home. These were promptly forwarded to him. " We had harvested at home that summer," writes his son, "thirty acres of wheat, which was made into flour and sent to my father at Cambridge, all except what our family really needed." After the evacuation of Boston by the British in March, 1776, Captain Noble and his company proceeded to Canada for the pur- pose of joining Arnold. The defeat of the latter at Quebec com- pelled him to join in a hasty retreat, retiring to Crown Point, N. Y. Owing to the scarcity of provisions and the almost insur- mountable difficulties in obtaining them, the sufferings and pri- vations were extreme. While worn down by fatigue, and suffering from the effects of unwholesome food, Captain Noble was attacked, while at Isle Aux Noix, with the smallpox, which was then ravaging the soldiers. He was removed to Crown Point, and there, in less than two months, this self-sacrificing patriot, " noble by nature as well as by name," passed to his reward. Captain Noble sacrificed his entire property, as well as his life, to the cause of American Independence." " Our joyful hosts to-day Their grateful tribute pay Happy and free, After our toils and fears, After our blood and tears, Strong with our hundred years Oh, Lord, to thee ! " l 1 This stanza was added to the hymn " America," and sung at the Centennial of Washington's inauguration in New York City. ED. CHAPTER XXX. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 2D. Continued front chapter xviii. p. 100. Brewster Higley, ad, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. By Professor Edwin Hall Higley The strength of a country will be found in the personal character and individual conscience that exist within its borders. THOMAS F. BAYARD. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 2d, was the eldest son of Brewster Higley, ist, and the grandson of Captain John Higley. He was born December 12, 1709, in the old homestead at Simsbury, Conn. When twenty-five years old he married Esther Holcombe, daughter of John Holcombe, and his wife Anne (daughter of John Petti- bone). The date of this marriage, as recorded in the Simsbury Record Book, was March 13, 1734. His father bought for him some land from his (Brewster, ist's,) half-brother Nathaniel, and on this land the old colonial house here illustrated was built, where he took his bride. In this house all his children were born, and the family dwelt here until after the death of his father, Brewster, ist, in 1760. Their children, whose births are entered in the Simsbury Record Book, were as follows : Brewster (3d), born March 3, 1734/5 ; Hannah, born March n, x 736/7 ; Joel, born January i, 1739 ; Esther, born September 19, 1743; Seth, born October 29, 1746; Huldah, born February i, 1749, Enoch, born August 25, 1754. Owing to the distribution and division of property among the increasing kindred, Brewster, 2d, seems to have begun life with a more limited worldly estate than his father possessed. He was a man of ardent temperament, great industry, and fidelity. He in- herited much of his father's skill in medical and surgical practice, and was often called upon as an expert in extracting teeth and setting fractured bones; and he gained so much reputation in such matters that "he was recognized by the best surgeons in Hart- ford County to be a safe and prudent operator in such cases." Thus wrote his grandson, Erastus Higley. An event of great importance in his personal life was his re- 163 w o M K w > <-> Wen H Pi Q O Q Q ^ DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY^D. 163 ligious conversion, which occurred in 1740, during the visit to this country of the famous preacher and revivalist, George Whitefield. Whitefield preached in New England during September and Octo- ber, 1740. About the middle of October he came to Northhamp- ton, where the great influence of Jonathan Edwards was still felt. From thence he proceeded toward New York, preaching to great throngs wherever he stopped. He preached at all the principal towns on his route, including Windsor, Hartford, and New Haven, Conn. At this time Brewster Higley heard him, and became ardent and zealous in his religious faith and practice. According to one account, "he accompanied Whitefield from Simsbury to Boston." But as Whitefield came to Boston, via Rhode Island, by ship from Charleston, S. C., and visited Connecticut on the way to New York, as above stated, it is probable that Brewster Higley either first heard him in Boston, and accompanied him from Boston to Simsbury, or made the visit to Boston in connection with some later religious gathering. The religious interest continued to be felt very deeply throughout New England for several years after Whitefield 's visit, and great revivals of religion prevailed, especially in Connecticut, in the years 1740, 1741, and 1742. Among the ministers who are mentioned as " most zealous and laborious in the cause, who took most pains and spent the most property in the service," were Rev. Jedediah Mills, brother-in-law to Elizabeth Higley Mills. Mr. Whitefield arrived in Boston again in the autumn of 1744, and again advanced through Connecticut to New York, "preaching twice a day, generally to thousands." It may have been then that Brewster Higley accompanied him. From this time he was always active and prominent in religious matters. He became a deacon in the church, an office which has been held continuously by some one of his descendants down to the fifth generation. The distinct devotion to the cause of religion which he manifested at this time marks a new epoch in the history of the family. The records of the Simsbury religious society show his con- nection with the work and welfare of the church throughout all his remaining years. In 1753 and 1754 a disagreement arose between a majority of the society and their pastor, Rev. Gideon Mills, who had married Brewster Higley's sister Elizabeth. The list of names of those who voted against the continuance of Mr. Mills as pastor contains that of "Brewster Higley Jun.," who thus took sides against his sister's husband. The precise grounds of 164 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. his action in this matter are not known, but the incident may be taken as evidence that he subordinated his personal feelings and interests to his convictions of right and duty. At the ordination of the Rev. Benajah Roots, June 27, 1757 (successor to Rev. Gideon Mills), among those nominated to "keep houses of entertainment" was " Sergt. Brewster Higley Junr." In 1768, in a report upon the "Seating of y e Meeting," when Mrs. Esther Higley, widow of Brewster, ist, was assigned to pew i., the place of chief distinction, her son " En sn - Brewster Higley" was seated directly behind her. From 1760 to 1764 Ensign Brewster Higley was chosen one of the prudential com- mittee of the society. He was moderator of the society's meeting in 1763. In 1777 he was one of a committee to "treat with Mr. Samuel Stebbins and invite him in the name and behalf of said society to preach the gospel with us for the future as a probationer, in order to settle with us in the Gospel Ministry." In 1778, at a meeting in November, Ensign Brewster Higley with others (named) were appointed a committee to confer with the minister, "Mr. Samuel Stebbins, how to compute the present currency of the country, or Continental Bills, with the agree- ment made with him at the time of his settlement in the ministry of this Society." Among the questions which greatly agitated the churches of New England at this time was the condition of psalmody, or church music. For more than a century after the coming of the Mayflower, the only music known in public worship consisted of the few psalm tunes brought over by the first settlers. These tunes were sung by rote, that is, without musical notation, and from memory. Consequently in the lapse of years great varia- tions in the method of singing developed themselves in different places, and often the singing had degenerated into a formless droning which was distressing and intolerable to those of intelli- gence and musical feeling. Efforts at reform were made by some of the ministers and others who recognized the extent of this evil. But, in combating the evil, the reformers were often led to the other extreme, and introduced music of a flippant and artificial character, which contrasted too strongly with the solemn, though untuneful, strains of the older tradition. Thus two parties were formed who became bitter antagonists, the one sticking for rote, the other for note, and the irrepressible conflict between the new and the old, the conservative and the radical, DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,1D. 165 raged in every town over this issue. Probably the solemn religious earnestness of Brewster Higley moved him to take the conservative side. Very likely the opposing -party was often filled with a zeal without knowledge. The society Records report the following interesting incident, showing Brewster Higley's position on this question: "1773. April. Voted to sing on the Lord's days in the afternoon according to the rules taught in the Singing Schools in this and the neighboring counties." Soon after this a teacher of music was employed. After practising some time he appeared with his scholars in church on a Sunday, and the minister having announced the psalm, the choir, under the instructor's lead, started with a tune much more lively than the congregation were accustomed to hear. Upon which one of the Deacons, Brewster Higley, took his hat and left the house, exclaiming as he passed down the aisle, "Popery! Popery!" His interest was not entirely taken up, however, by church matters. Shortly after 1760 (when his father died) he returned to the old homestead of Captain John Higley, where he took care of his widowed mother until her death, December 7, 1775. Here he lived for the rest of his life. He carried on a saw-mill, and a cider-mill and distillery, which stood near the original site of the barn on Captain John's farm. Judged by more recent stan- dards, this latter industry seems inconsistent with the religious convictions which he professed. But at that time the drinking habits of the New England settlers were strongly developed, and the religious propriety of the traffic in stimulating beverages was unquestioned. "Drinking," says Edward Eggleston, "was universal. The birth of a child, the taking of a piece of land, the induction of a new minister, an election of officers, the assembling of a court, weddings, funerals, auctions, arrivals and departures, and even religious meetings in private houses, were occasions for drinking." Deacon Brewster's liquor was evidently popular in the community, and that it was largely con- sumed among his own kin is shown by the entries in his old account book. Under date of September 20th, 1775, is the following "true account Concerning Creditors bringing Cider to the Still": 12 i66 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. G. Qt. Pts. Brewster Higley Wid Esther Higley Wid Esther Higley Seth H igley 6 These entries occur among the names of other neighbors, and show not only the bibulous tastes, but the numerical growth of the kindred. It was at this time that the section of Simsbury where Brewster and others resided was regularly known as Higlty-town, and so recorded on the map. On the 28th of June, 1774, Brewster's wife, Esther, died, aged fifty-nine years. She was married when nineteen years old, and had been his wife for forty years. In the following year, Brewster Higley married the widow Mindwell Bull of Hartford, the date of the marriage being January 5, 1775. She was the mother of Amos Bull, a noted singing-master and composer of tunes. A minute marriage- settlement, signed and sealed by Brewster Higley and Mindwell Bull, is contained in the Simsbury Town Records. In it is the agreement that in consideration of property to the value of five pounds which the widow was to bring into Brewster's family "for the benefit of said family," she should receive back the the value of the same, in case she survived her husband, and that "all the Dower she shall have right or claim to out of the s d Brewster's estate shall be the use of the lower North Room in the house he now lives in and four ' pound ' in money annually, so long as the said Mindwell remains the widow of the aforesaid Brewster and for no longer a term of time." Brewster Higley, 2d, like his father and his grandfather, was in the military service of the State. An entry in the Connecticut Colonial Records reads: "March 1758. This Assembly do establish Mr. Brewster Higley to be Ensign of the First Com- pany of the Train Band in the Town of Simsbury." The designa- tion "Mr." in this appointment is evidence that he was then esteemed a person of social importance, which is further wit- nessed by the address, "Brewster Higley, Gentleman" contained in his commission during the Revolutionary period, signed by his DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY^D. 167 cousin Governor Trumbull, September 25, 1777.' His son Brew- ster, 3d, was also commissioned in the army, and served at Sara- toga and elsewhere during a large part of the same year. On December 21, 1761, he was chosen leather sealer of the town, and was re-elected every year until 1772. In 1777 " Brewster Higley 2d" was chosen one of a "Com- mittee to take care of schooling and 'sit' up schools in the several Districts for the year ensuing." Brewster, 2d, often expressed regret that he had not received a better education in his youth. This regret was uttered in connection with his desire to engage more fully in public religious effort. His handwriting is less fine and clear than that of his son, but there is no reason to suppose that he was especially lacking in culture for that time. His expressed regret is rather a proof of his appreciation of learning than an evidence of his lack of it. Under the will of his mother, the Widow Esther Higley, "her son Ensign Brewster Higley " was appointed the executor of her estate. Brewster Higley, 2d, died March 21, 1794, aged eighty-four years, three months, and nine days. His will was received and accepted by the court, March 31, 1794. The will was written June 21, 1793, and disposed of property inventoried at ^946 145. 2d. In the list are the following articles, which show him to have taken pains to attire himself as became a person of consequence: Best great coat, valued at \ 145. : coats, black and brown ; vest and breeches, black, brown, and gray ; worsted stockings, blue and gray ; best linen shirts ; "three checked shirts ; wool shirts ; another linen shirt ; shoes and old boots ; black 1 Jonathan Trumbull, Esquire, Captain-General and Commander in Chief, of the State of Connecticut in A merica : To BRKWSTER HIGLEY, 2ND, Gentleman. estab- or other your superior Officers, according to the Rules and Discipline of War, ordained and estab lished by the Laws of the State aforesaid, pursuant to the Trust reposed in you. Given under my Hand and Seal, At Arms, at Lebanon the 25 Day of September, Ann Domini 1777. 1777. By his Excellency's Command JONTH. TRUMBULL. JAMES WADSWORTH Clerk 1 68 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. handkerchief ; silver shoe buckles, silver knee buckles, valued at 8s. each ; 5^ yards of mixed colored cloth ; 7^ yards of wool shirting, valued at 155. ; one Bible ; Watt's Hymns ; spelling book, etc., etc. Lieutenant Joel Higley and Enoch Higley are recorded by the Court of Probate as executors of the estate.. The will begins with a sort of declaration of his faith as follows : " Being advanced in years and in the 84th year of my age, and calling to mind the mortality of my body and that it is appointed for all men to die and after death to come to judgement. . . " First of all I recommend my soul into the hands of God who gave it, and my body to the Earth to be buried in a decent and Christian manner, nothing doubting but I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God. . ." He then bequeaths to " My loving wife Mindwell, a garden plot of half an acre of plow lands in the most convenient place near my dwelling, also, a third part of my cellar with liberty to pass to and from the same, and the well, for her use and benefit, with liberty of cutting fire-wood enough to support a fire for her own benefit, and liberty to pas- ture one cow on the farme, and liberty to cut two loads of hay in my meadow an- nually during her natural life, with what I gave her by a marriage settlement as by a written agreement may appear is to be in full of her Dowery in my estate. Also liberty to put her hay in my North barn and stable for a cow in winter." He then makes bequests of lands to his sons, giving location and boundaries, and also gives bequests to his daughters. For the descendants of Breiaster Higley, 2d, see the following pages . CHAPTER XXXI. ENSIGN BREWSTER HIGLEY, 30. Brewster Higley, 3d, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. By Emma L. Higley of Middlebury, Vt. To belong to a family which has earned well-deserved respect : to be able to look back upon forefathers who have lived well and bravely : this is indeed a birthright worth having. An inheri- tance of money may or may not be a desirable thing, an inheritance of character, an ancestry of generous, true-hearted men who did justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly with their God, this is a thing that kings might covet. EDNA LYALL. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 3d, the first Higley of Castleton, Vt, was born at Simsbury, Conn., on the i4th of March, 1735. He was the eldest child of Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d (page 162). Little of -his boyhood and youth is known. The composition and well-formed handwriting give evidence of an early educa- tional training. His good father so lamented his own limited education that he was doubtless prompted by his own deficiencies to give his sons better advantages. In the days when young men were modest and kept in the background unless possessed of unusual ability, we find Brewster, 3d, appointed to the offices of constable and collector of rates at the age of twenty-four. I have in my possession the rate book of Simsbury first Society, Salmon-Brook, Turkey-Hills, and Wintonbury, besides cider-mill, saw-mill, and farm account books, which give evidence of Brewster, 3d's, early aptitude in business affairs. These are duly registered with the minutest accuracy, and some racy observations and aspirations are sand- wiched among the dry figures. He married at the age of twenty-two, the fact of which is set forth in the Town Records of Simsbury, thus: " Aprill 7, A. D. 1757. Brewster Higley the 3d, son of Brewster Higley the 2d, and Esther Owen, Daughter of John Owen and Esther his wife, were Joined in marriage by John Humphery Esqr. Their grandfather's name is Brewster Higley and Grandmother's name is Esther. Their father's name is Brewster Higley and mother's name is Esther, so that there are three generations from Grand- father and Grandmother down to Grandson and grand-daughter, all of one name i6q 1 7 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. for male, and one name for female Three generations are now living. May the Divine blessing rest on them and theirs to the latest posterity." ' The father of the bride, Deacon John Owen, was at that time the town clerk, and made the record. They settled at Simsbury, where they resided for twenty-two years, then removed to Castleton, Vt. Is it in answer to the above benediction that the Castleton branch of Higleys counts fifty members on the Castleton church roll, a dozen of whom entered the ministry, three were mis- sionaries, and eight were among its twenty-three deacons ? I must call special attention to these deacons, four generations in unbroken succession having served the church from Brewster Higley, 3d, elected in 1793, down to this present year (1890), when its senior and junior deacons now serving are his great-grandsons, grandsons of the grandson of Deacon John Owen and Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d, of the Simsbury church. Captain John Higley's account book finally fell in succession to his great-grandson Brewster, 3d, and it was in blank leaves left unused in this book that he kept his muster roll under various dates. He served as clerk of the town military or train-band, and carefully preserved in another book is his commission as ensign, dated September 25, 1777, bearing the signature of his kinsman, Governor Jonathan Trumbull. 8 Among his papers is also found a record of service in the campaign that compelled Burgoyne's surrender in 1777. He may have been one of the fifty Connecticut men who joined the military company of his town under Captain Noah Phelps of Simsbury, and came with the expedition led by Colonel Benedict Arnold to Castleton, where soon after a council of war was held on the village green, which resulted in the successful attack upon Ticonderoga -the following day under command of the indomni- table Colonel Ethan Allen. Was it during this campaign, when associated with the Vermont troops, that he decided to emigrate to Vermont? His son, Brewster Higley, 4th, had served under Colonel Ethan Allen in the Vermont militia the winter of 1778. It is altogether probable that these circumstances introduced Brewster, 3d, and his son to the fine tracts of tillable lands in the western part of 1 " Simsbury Records," book iii. p. 269. ' Whether there were two commissions given bearing this date, one to the father and one to the son, seems somewhat obscure. The commission to Brewster Higley, ad, page 167, is an exact copy of the original document. ED. DESCENDANTS OF BREIVSTER HIGLEY, ^D. I?* the Green Mountain State, and suggested the advisability of now removing thither. The deed of conveyance to Ensign Brewster Higley of a farm of 323 acres in Castleton, bears date October, 1778. Twelve hundred pounds was the price paid for this home in the wilderness, the next year after Burgoyne's invasion. The land was purchased from Ephraim Buel, and was "bounded on the north by Whitlock Hill, and on the south by Gershom Lake's farm." There was standing on it a rude log cabin. In May, 1779, Brewster, 3d, and his family took possession of this new home. The father, forty-four years of age, in the prime of his strong manhood, six feet tall, broad-shouldered, high fore- head, high cheek bones, keen gray eyes, stern and grave face, but with a tender heart of which he was a bit ashamed. The mother was forty, a noble woman, and just such a character as might be expected of the daughter of Deacon John Owen; the eldest son, Brewster ; 4th, was now twenty; then came four daughters: Louisa, a brave, bright-witted and intelligent girl of seventeen; Annie, the timid one of the band, aged fifteen; Zilpah, who was thirteen; Delight, aged ten years; Erastus, the second son, a boy of seven; Esther, a child of four years; and lola, a yearling baby. Two other daughters, Harley and Zeruah, were born in Castleton after the removal of the family from Simsbury. On setting out for Vermont the family goods and chattels were packed in ox-carts, Mrs. Higley and Louisa riding on horseback, carrying the babe and younger children in arms, and on pillions behind. The elder children walked with their father and two nephews who accompanied them, Amasa Alford and John Case. At one stage of the long journey, when the roads became almost impassable for the loaded carts, Brewster, 3d, sent his son on ahead with the mother and children to the end planned for that day's journey, and to bring back the horses to help with the loads. But after they had gone his imagination suggested so many possible perils, that he walked the entire night and overtook the party just as they were mounting their horses for the next day's journey. Louisa was the first to descry her father through the thick forest, and was fond of relating in after years how her heart was lightened as she saw him leaping from one fallen log to another, and answered her cheery "Hallo!" In June, after their arrival, the account book opens with the following entries : 172 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. June, 1779 To two Bushel of Wheat, 1 To two pounds of hog fat, old way,. . . to Nine pounds and half of flower to four pounds flower, To one week Spinning, old way to Spinning Six Runs and half of yarn, Under another date we find this significant entry : " To four shillings cash for wolves." Our most vivid imagination can scarcely realize the deep wilderness to which they had come. The old well and a spice-apple tree are all that now (1893) remain on the spot of this first home which they occupied. Judge John Owen's diary contains the following record : " June 3, 1780 : Heard by Mr. Mason from Castleton that my son-in-law Higley and his wife, my daughter, and family, are all well and not much concerned about y e Enemie." But all the while they were in danger from foraging parties of British tories and Indians, whose coming was of frequent occur- rence from the military posts on Lake Champlain. Castleton Fort was on the frontier, near the thoroughfare for military expeditions during the War of the Revolution. This fort was ten miles south of the old road from No. 4, the old French war highway to Fort Ticonderoga, and twelve miles east of Skeenesboro (now Whitehall, N. H. ), at the south end of Lake Champlain. One foraging party slept one night on the kitchen floor, while Mrs. Higley and her daughters worked all the night through baking bread for them, finding it difficult to pass from the mold- ing board to the brick oven without stepping on one of the men. One day word came from the fort that a skirmishing party was approaching. The family packed in hot haste. The horses were loaded with the children, feather beds, blankets, silver spoons, and other valuables, and led off toward the settlement at Poultney for safety; and colts, calves, pigs, and chickens were coaxed to a hiding-place. My grandfather, the little boy of the family, hid his half bushel of nuts where he was sure "the British" could not 1 The entry of " fifteen pounds " as the price of the wheat is in very clear figures in the old account book, and though the country was at that time a wilderness the Editor thinks there must be a mistake in the figures. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ZD. 173 find them ; and when the danger was past, and the scattered family was at home again, he was much grieved to find them missing. The father looked at the hiding-place and said : "Squirrels, not British, this time, my son." Another such rumor one dark night caused timid Annie to spring from her bed and rush with her little sister Esther (after- ward Mrs. Sylvanus Guernsey) to the woods. They crouched low behind a big log and shivered with cold and fear till daylight, when their brother's cheery whistle, as he hunted for them, assured them the danger was over for that time. In the spring of 1782 the rumors of a fresh invasion from Canada assumed such definite shape that it was decided to send Mrs. Higley and Mrs. Lake, a neighbor, with the young children in ox-carts to Connecticut, to stay till the trouble was over. Brewster, 4th, was now a member of the garrison at the fort. Annie went to Poultney, spinning, to pay for her board. Louisa volunteered to remain and keep house for her father. She was regardless of fear. She earned a barrel of flour that summer by baking bread for the garrison. Hiland Hall, in his lectures on the "Forts of Vermont," tells how "the commandant spent his evenings at Mr. Brewster Higley's quite often, and one night remained so late that he was locked out." This story fits with a family tradition, that "a commandant at the fort stole away the heart of the fair Louise, and then marched away and forgot her." This explains her bravery in . being left behind when the family took flight. The coming of a man to the .little new settlement of so much intelligence, property, and executive ability as Brewster Higley, 3d, was duly appreciated by his townsmen. We find him at once appointed to various offices : serving as moderator, justice of the peace, town clerk, on a committee to secure a minister, on another to arrange for a singing-school, and attending to duties in drawing up petitions to the General Assembly, resolutions, etc., etc. The original drafts of some of these papers are still in our possession. In the year 1784 the church was organized, and two years later the parish was in a state of contention over the location of the meeting-house. Brewster Higley, 3d, exercised a controlling influence in the church, as he did in all town matters, for more than twenty-five years. In the matter now to be settled, he put an end to the contention by donating the land for a church, with 174 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. a churchyard attached. He also gave the village green in front of it. A few years later he donated another lot of land lying opposite the church for a military parade ground. As justice of the peace it became his duty to solemnize mar- riages. Between the years 1781 and 1792, thirty-four at which he officiated are upon his record book; also copies of the prayers which he offered before and after the ceremony. As Brewster Higley advanced in years, and his strength failed, he gave up the care of the mills and the farm to his son Erastus. But he continued to take special pride and pleasure in his garden, with its apple, cherry, and plum trees, Connecticut grapes, asparagus, artichokes, etc., some of which were still growing within my memory. He enjoyed the church, which was near at hand, and its means of grace, the rapidly improving State, town, and country roundabout ; his increasing family of grandchildren, and the visits of his children, their letters and the letters from his relatives and friends at the old Connecticut home of his younger years. And so he grew mellow and ripened for his heavenly home, which he peacefully entered one early spring day at the age of seventy years. He was interred in the burial ground in Castleton, near the church he loved. His tombstone is thus inscribed : Beacon JSrewgter THHas born in Slmeburg (Conn.) flfcarcb 14tb a. 5). 1735. 2>feo Bpril lltb 1805. " We mount the stage of life, Prove actors in the scene, Soon close the short account Of three score years and ten ; But when the trumpet's sound Awakes the sleeping dust, Eternal youth will crown, The triumph of the just." Esther Owen Higley, the wife of Brewster Higley, 3d, who was born October 27, 1739, lived to the age of seventy-three. Her death took place September 28, 1812. Her oldest living grandchild remembers her as much enfeebled and bowed with age during the last years of her life. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,ZD: 175 She was of a kindly, gentle temperament, and held the warm affections of her family and neighbors. Long after she was gone from earth, her daughters talked of her memory in much loving respect and affection. For the descendants of Brewster Higley, $d, and their families see chapters xxxvi, xxxvii, and xxxviii. CHAPTER XXXII. HANNAH HIGLEY ALFORD PORTER. Continued from page 162. Hannah, Brewster 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. All long-known objects, even a mere window-fastening or a particular door-latch, have sounds which are a sort of recognized voice to us a voice that will thrill and awaken, when it has been used to touch deep-lying fibers. The Mill on the Floss. HANNAH HIGLEY, the eldest daughter and second child of Brewster Higley, 2d, and Esther Holcombe, his wife, was born March n, 1737. Her first marriage, which took place about 1756, was with Elijah Alford, who was one of the first settlers of Becket, Mass. They resided at Becket till the death of Mr. Alford, which occurred January 16, 1771, leaving her a widow with a family of young children. The inventory of his property amounted to ^"493 35. lod. The following is upon the records of the ancient Becket church : " August ye 4th 1771. Then was admitted to full communion with this church ye widow Hannah Alford." On the 5th of the month, the day following, the Rev. Zadoc Hunn records : " I baptized Elijah, 'Asel,' Abner, Amasa, and Hannah, ye children of ye widow Hannah Alford." On the 7th of May, 1775, tne " Intentions of Mairiage of James Gaines of Boston with the Widow Hannah Alford" were pub- lished and placed upon record. It was customary in those days to make public proclamation of a matrimonial contract. No record of this marriage is discoverable. But by this union Mrs. Alford had one child who was named James Gaines. She afterward removed with her family to Castleton, Vt, proba- bly with a desire to live near her brother, Deacon Brewster Higley, 3d. Here she married, September 23, 1784, Seth Porter; her brother performing the marriage ceremony. Seth Porter, 176 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ZD. 177 an excellent and upright citizen, was living in 1799. The date of his death has not been ascertained. Mrs. Porter spent the remainder of her life at Castleton. She was administered to, during her old age, by her son, James Gaines, to whom she left by her will all of her property. She died January 27, 1823, in the eighty-seventh year of her age. The children of Elijah and Hannah (Higley) Alford were as follows: Elijah, born April 13, 1757; Asahel, born November 22, 1760; Amasa, born September 17, 1762, died, 1764; Abner, born, June 29, 1767; Amasa, born September n, 1764; Amos, born January 25, 1769, died, September n, 1769, and Hannah, born May 14, 1771. ELIJAH ALFORD, JR., the oldest son, born April 13, 1757; married, October n, 1779, Olive Higley, the widow of his cousin, Micah Higley, who met his death by accidental shooting the preceding December. They united with the Becket church, March 12, 1786. He was a man of sound, substantial character, and about the beginning of the present century was useful in church matters and prominent in public affairs. He served the town of Becket, Mass., as surveyor, 1805, as juror, 1806, and was of the committee for visiting and inspecting the schools. September 3, 1807, he was chosen deacon of the Becket church. On the 2d of May, 1811, he and his wife, Olive, were promi- nent among the eleven individuals who, with Colonel Benjamin Higley, the son of Olive Higley by her first husband, formed a church organization in Becket, which was afterward established permanently at Windham, Portage County, O. ; on their removal there, later in the season, he was made its first deacon. The subsequent history of this church, in its general growth and pros- perity, proves conclusively that the Divine protection and care marked the self-denying zeal of these earnest founders. It is now known as the First Congregationalist Church of Windham, O. Four months afterward, Mr. Alford says, in a letter addressed to Judge Erastus Higley of Castleton, Vt., bearing date "August 30, 1811": " I have now begun my journey with my family for the wilderness of New Con- necticut, having exchanged my land for land in Township No. 4, in the 6th range of the Connecticut Western Reserve. I have 1167 acres of land in the aforesaid township." 1 78 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The emigrants arrived at Windham after a long and perilous journey in carts, on the i2th of October, 1811. Mr. Alford with his family settled on lot No. 57. Here he and his wife brought up a family; many of their descendants still reside in the same locality, well-to-do and highly respected citizens. Deacon Elijah Alford died at Windham, O. , April n, 1832. His wife, Olive (Higley) Alford, died September 16, 1827, aged seventy-three years. They were interred in the Windham cemetery. They had children, all born in Becket, Mass., viz. : Elijah, 3d, born August 12, 1780; Ruth, born November 20, 1784; Olive, born October 12, 1786; Levi and Oliver (twins), born April 14, 1789; Anna, born November 25, 1792; Sarah, born June 3, 1795. No data of Olive, Anna, and Sarah has been furnished. ELIJAH, 3d, the eldest, served in the War of 1812, and resided at Windham, O., till his decease. RUTH was admitted to the Becket church, October 4, 1801, and was one of the eleven founders of the First Congregationalist Church at Windham, O. LEVI and OLIVER were the first of the Becket family to go on a prospecting tour to the Western Reserve, Ohio, making their journey to Windham in March, 1811. They erected a rough log house for shelter on half of lot No. 84 ; but returned to Massachusetts that spring. They, however, subsequently returned and became residents of Portage County. ELIJAH ALFORD, son of the above Elijah, 3d, now resides on the old Alford farm at Windham. He served in the late Civil War, Company I, I7ist Regi- ment, O. N. G. He married, first, Silence M. Brewster, August 14, 1856. She died November 6, 1861. Married, second, September 12, 1865, Harriet C. Snow, a lady of fine abilities. Their children : Silence E., born September 28, 1866 ; Herbert J., born April 19, 1869 ; Arthur M., born April 5, 1871. ASAHEL ALFORD, the second son of Elijah and Hannah (Hig- ley) Alford, served in the War of the Revolution. From Sep- tember 22, 1819, till his death, his name was included in the list of Revolutionary pensioners receiving eight dollars per month. He was a man fond of adventure. Early in the history of the settlement at Windham, O., he lived there, but finally removed to Herkimer, N. Y., where he died. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,ZD. 179 LIEUTENANT JOEL HIGLEY. Continued from page 162. Joel, Brewster Higley, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. LIEUTENANT JOEL HIGLEY, the second son of Ensign Brewster Higley, 2d, was born in Higley-town, Simsbury, January i, 1739'. The precise date when he was united in marriage with Eunice Haskins is not known. It was, however, when he was about twenty-one years of age. The young couple settled in Granby (now North Granby), Conn., probably on land belonging to Joel's father, to which he received a " Deed of Gift" given by Brewster Higley, 2d, June 17, 1765, described as "a part of the land which I inherited from my hon- ored father," Brewster Higley, ist. In addition to this parcel of land, Joel purchased in the following October land adjoining. By his father's will, executed June 21, 1793, ne receives the fol- lowing bequest : "A lot of land lying in Granby, where he [Joel] now lives, containing about sixty acres, also a quarter of the lot of land lying in Pine-Plains, lying on the east side of the road that leads to Salmon-Brook near the old Fort so called." He is named in the will in the disposal of movable estate, and is the first named son, whom his father appoints in connection with his brother Enoch, as executor of his estate. The manual of the First Congregational Church in North Granby shows that Joel Higley became a member of church when fifteen years of age, 1754, but he appears afterward to have joined the Simsbury parish for a time. The bent of character of Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d's, sons was decidedly of a religious nature, wrought into them, no doubt, by the precept and example of their father, to whose faith and teachings they strictly adhered. They were all prominent laymen in the church. Joel and his wife together were admitted by letter to the First Ecclesiastical Society of Granby, and " signed y e covenant " January 22, 1769. There is much evidence from this time till his removal from Connecticut of his devotion to and activity in church matters. He served as member of the " Prudential Com- mittee," and on many other important appointments for a period of twenty years. The documents to which his signature is appended show that he wrote a fine, clear hand. 1 " Simsbury Records," book iii. i8o THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. His father's cider-still had a share of his patronage, though the quantities of cider brandy charged to his account are far more moderate than those charged to other residents of Higley- town. That the use of pure and honest apple brandy, flip, and punch, in which these venerated members of the church indulged under the old church customs, did not fall into decay for many years after this period, is often apparent, though in other respects they were "screwed up to the pitch of Calvinistic stiffness." It is an extremely interesting subject to follow. Later on the following church record is found under the heading of " Deaths of Church Members," the church to which Joel Higley belonged : " October 22. Ephraim Saunders ; found dead in a tub in a distillery, aged ." The military instinct developed in Joel Higley is in line with his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather. He was com- missioned to the rank of lieutenant in the North Train Band in 1778, and served in this rank during the remaining part of the War of the Revolution. He appears to have followed agricul- tural pursuits during his entire life, living peacefully and quietly in the society of his kindred and neighbors. He was clever and genial, given to rough humor and exceedingly fond of practical jokes. Of his wit and jokes many stories are told. He one day met his match in a woman whom he overtook riding on horse- back on a country road in an adjoining neighborhood. He too was traveling on horseback. Approaching her he made inquiries about a road leaving the main highway, on which he wished to turn off in a different direction. He found her well acquainted with all the roads thereabout, and quite capable of giving him satisfactory information, upon which he intimated that he would remain in her company, remarking that "poor company was better than none." This remark he so frequently repeated during their conversation as they rode along that his guide, though she appeared not to notice it, became irritated. They traveled on and on, until Joel began to think the distance very long. Finally he made inquiry how far it was to the point where he must turn off. "Oh, "she replied, "we passed it two miles back." " Why, you said you would tell me when we reached it," said Joel. "I thought 'poor company better than none,'' retorted his fellow- traveler; and Joel turned and galloped away, DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ID. l8l saying afterward that he "never was so taken aback in all of his life." In 1803, when sixty-four years of age, he removed in company with his married son, Joel Higley, ad, and other of his children, to Gallia County, Ohio (now Mergs County), and settled near the present location of the town of Rutland. Here he resided the remainder of his life. He was interred in the old burial ground at Rutland, the use of which is now abandoned. His grave is not known. His wife, Eunice (Haskins) Higley died at Rutland in 1823, at the age of seventy-eight. Lieutenant Joel and Eunice (Haskins) Higley were the parents of eight children, all of whom were born in Granby, Conn., and all removed to Ohio in 1803 with their parents. They were as follows : Rachel, Joel, Jr., Luanda, Abiah, Eunice, Electa, Sophia, and Elim, Of the daughters, Rachel married first Whitlock, and second H. Williams. Lucinda married Earl P. Archer ; Abiah married Benjamin Whitlock ; Eunice married Silas Knight ; Electa married Benjamin Williams, of Rutland, O., in 1807, and had two children, Benjamin S., and Sophia, Sophia Higley mar- ried the Rev. Asa Stearns. MAJOR JOEL HIGLEY, Jr., the eldest son of Lieutenant Joel, ist, and Eunice (Haskins) Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn, (that division which is now Granby), July 31, 1764. He married Cynthia Phelps, May 25, 1785, and settled adjacent to the place of his birth. Here they lived eighteen years. The second Sab- bath in March, 1785, just before his marriage, he united with the church at North Granby on profession of his faith. The records show that he filled his place in life to good purpose. Among other town appointments, he was surveyor of highways in 1795. In military matters he held a commission as major, belonging to the Connecticut State troops. It is not known that he was in any of the wars of his time. In the year 1803 he emigrated with his family of seven children, accompanied by his parents and their family, to Gallia County (now Meigs County), Ohio, and settled near the present site of the town of Rutland. He was no doubt incited to take this im- portant step through letters written by his cousin, Judge Brew- ster Higley, 4th, 1 who had removed from Vermont, and here founded a home in the spring of 1799. The country at that time 1 See sketch of Brewster Higley, 4th, for the early settlement of Rutland, O. 13 1 82 THE II IG LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. was one deep, dark, tangled wilderness, where mother nature lay almost undisturbed. Ohio had only just then become a State. Major Joel Higley's family of growing children grew with the growth and progress of the new State they had entered, and be- came real specimens of the strong, honest men and women whose sinew and brow-sweat developed this large area of farm lands with the industrial and commercial resources of this noble section of our country. He died April 26, 1823. Major Joel Higley, Jr., and his wife, Cynthia Phelps, had seven children, all of whom were born in Granby, Conn., viz. : Polly, born November 26, 1786 ; married Philip Jones ; she died May 30, 1866. Elihu, born December 26, 1788 (see following sketch). Lucy, born August 20, 1793 ; married Daniel Rathburn, May, 1812 ; no further account given. Sally, born March 8, 1795. Cynthia, born February 7, 1797 ; died unmarried. Maria, born July 30, 1799 I married Willis Knight ; and_/iv/ Phelps, Jr., born June 9, 1802. ELIHU HIGLEY, the eldest son of Joel, Jr., and Cynthia (Phelps) Higley, was born December 26, 1788, and married Nancy Cook, December 20, 1815. He was of a jovial temperament and somewhat eccentric. When the call for soldiers came in the War of 1812, he and his uncle, Elim Higley, were among the first who responded, and were at one time stationed near Sandusky. He used to relate to his boys an incident of his war experience: Sometimes enjoying a bit of daring adventure, he one day de- termined to slip out of camp. Hostile Indians were swarming all around. " They'll get your scalp if you go," said his comrades. But Elihu, knowing no fear and trusting to his knowledge of Indian wood-craft, said that if he could get entirely away from camp and into the woods before they saw him, he would be equal to them. He had but barely reached the deep woods, creeping stealthily from bush to bush, when he espied at some distance a big Indian dodging from tree to tree. Elihu played the same maneuver, taking care to keep behind trees and logs for protection. They both continued these tactics for some time. Finally they came within close shooting distance. Elihu, wishing the Indian to fire first and empty his rifle, slyly pushed a part of his coat from be- hind the tree which concealed him, making believe he was peep- DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ^D. 183 ing. The redskin was deceived. Bang ! went his rifle. The ball whizzed across Elihu's shoulder. He gave no time for the Indian to reload, but bounded toward him before he knew it, be- ing a remarkably good shot. "Did you kill the Indian, Uncle Elihu ? " asked the boys. " Oh, don't ask questions ! " was always the reply. But the truth was, Elihu returned unconcernedly to camp and his comrades knew there was a dead Indian left in the woods. Elihu Higley died April 23, 1877. Elihu and Nancy (Cook) Higley had one child, viz. : Clarissa Fidelia, who was born June 12, 1817. She married Martin Fox, August 15, 1835, and resides on the old home farm, which originally belonged to her father. SALLY HIGLEY, the third child of Major Joel Higley, Jr., and Cynthia Phelps, born March 8, 1795, married Daniel McNaughton, December 16, 1816. She was baptized in the church at North Granby, Conn., October 4, 1795. They have one son, Harlow Phelps McNaughton, who was born July 5, 1830. He served in the late Civil War, entering February 23, 1862, the 7th Ohio Battery. Besides other notable fights, he did brave service in the battles of Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, Miss. For gallant and meritorious conduct he was promoted to the rank of cap- tain of the 7th Ohio Battery. He resides in Rutland, O. CAPTAIN JOEL PHELPS HIGLEY, the third by the name of Joel, and youngest child of Major Joel Higley (2d) and Cynthia Phelps, was born June 9, 1802, in Granby, Conn ; and was yet an infant when taken by his parents to Meigs County, Ohio, 1803. He married Catherine Wise, December, 1823. They resided near Rut- land, O. He died October 23, 1836. Their children were : Joel Phelps (4th), George A., Samuel W., and Adeline, who married Samuel Martin. CAPTAIN JOEL PHELPS HIGLEY (the fourth in line by the name of Joel), was born at Rutland, O., January 20, 1825. He married Mary, the daughter of Lucius and Nancy (Shepherd) Higley, September 14, 1848. His patriotic impulses led him to volunteer in the Civil War, in which he sacrificed his life. He enlisted July, 1863, and was commissioned captain, Company D, 7th Ohio Cavalry. He served three months, during which time his bravery and high soldierly qualities were frequently manifested. He was killed by sharp- shooters, while in command at Blue Springs, London County, Tenn., October 10, 1863. His widow resides at Middleport, Meigs County, O. They had four children, viz.: Mollie E., born January I, 1850 ; married March 14, 1870, Joseph S. Bradbury. Ransom Ludlow, born October 20, 1852. Samuel Gary, born August II, 1855; died January 14, 1870, unmarried. Lucius G., born April 18, 1857; died Septem- ber 15, 1859. Ransom L. Higley, of the above family, married January, 1879, Amelia Gard- ner, and has four children, viz.: Nola Fee, Lillie Fay, Robert Ray, and Joseph B. 184 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. GEORGE A. HIGLEY, the second son of Captain Joel Philips Higley (3d) and his wife Mary, was born at Rutland, O., October 2, 1830. He married January 20, 1853, Mary Ann Parker. They reside at Platteville, Wis. They have three children, viz.: y Addie Irene, born September 20, 1867 ; married H. P. Moffatt ; live at Emmetts- burg, Iowa. Frank Norton, born April 15, 1860, who resides at Dubuque, Iowa ; and George A., Jr., born April 7, 1864, who resides at Platteville, Wis. SAMUEL W. HIGLEY, the third son of Captain Joel Phelps (3d) and Mary his wife, was born in Rutland, O. , July 12, 1834, and married Adeline R. Simpson. Samuel possessed a cheerful, jolly disposition, which made friends for him. His tastes were for music, in which he happily spent much of his time, becoming profi- cient in the use of several different musical instruments. Samuel W. and Adeline R. (Simpson) Higley had five children, viz.: Otto K. Higley, born in Rutland, O., August 20, 1857 ; married Nellie C. Gross, June 5, 1882. Othello G., born October 27, 1859, at Rutland, O. ; married Josie A. Sanderson, March 17, 1882 ; they reside at Union-Mills, Ind., and have two children, viz. : essie C., born April 19, 1883, and Mabel, born August 13, 1885. Adelia M,, born June 12, 1862 ; unmarried, and is a practicing physician residing in Minnesota. Linnie S., born February 10, 1864, and Kate M., born May 26, 1871, both of whom reside with their parents at Rutland, O. ESTHER HIGLEY DE WOLF. Continued from page 162. Esther Higley De Wolf, Brewster Higley, ad, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. ESTHER HIGLEY, the fourth child of Brewster Higley, 2d, and Esther, his wife, was born at Simsbury, Conn., September 19, 1743. She married Peter De Wolf, of a well-known family of North Simsbury. The young couple resided at Salmon Brook. In the Salmon Brook rate book for 1774 her husband's name is entered upon the list for 96. Peter De Wolf served in the Army of the Revolution, i8th Connecticut Militia Regiment, Captain Jonathan Bittolph's company. The regiment arrived in New York, August 18, 1776. Esther Higley De Wolf is mentioned in her father's will in the year 1794, and again in family letters bearing date 1806, which show that she was living at that time. The date of her decease is not known. CHAPTER XXXIII. i SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. Seth ist, Brewster 2d, Brewster ist, Captain John Higley. Our Lord God doth like a printer, who setteth the letters backwards ; we see and feel well his setting, but we shall see the print yonder in the life to come. Luther's Table Talk. SETH HIGLEY, the son of Brewster Higley, 2d, and Esther Hoi- combe, was born in Higley-town, October 29, 1746, in the house built for his father near the northern line of the present town of Simsbury. A fine illustration of this old colonial homestead, which stood for full 150 years, is given, page 161. This was the home of Seth Higley during the greater part of his life. The property came into the possession of Brewster Higley, 3d, his eldest brother, soon after Brewster, 2d, went to reside with his aged mother in the old Captain John Higley homestead. Finally it fell into the hands of Seth Higley, who held it as long as he lived, and then it was held by his descend- ants for two generations. Seth Higley was the fifth child and third son of his parents. His marriage to the daughter of Nathaniel Higley, who was his grandfather's half-brother, 1 is thus placed upon record :* "Seth Higley and Mindwell Higley, both of Simsbury, were joined in Marriage the 3d day of March A. D. 1 768." * Mindwell Higley appears to have been a few years her hus- band's senior. We find the newly married pair, in December of the same year of their marriage, seated in the church, pew 12, in close proximity to others of their numerous kindred. But the following year they appear to have removed for a brief period to North Granby, probably in the close vicinity of Mind- well's father, Nathaniel Higley. Here in the North Granby church they " owned y e covenant" on the gth of July, 1769. 1 There was but ten years difference between the ages of Nathaniel, the father of Mindwell Higley, and Brewster, ad, the father of Seth Higley. * " Simsbury Records," book iv. p. 180. 185 1 86 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Tradition tells us that Seth Higley was intensely puritanic in his religious belief and practices, clinging rigidly throughout his life to the law of his father's faith and the old influences of Brewster, 2d's, hearthstone. Early in 1776 he is again found established in the old Simsbury church, where he was "chosen collector to collect y e said Society's Rates for the year." A few months later he enlisted for the War of the Revolution, entering the i8th Regiment Militia, Lieutenant Job Case's com- pany, and arrived in New York August 24, 1776. It is not known how long he served. When he left the army he had reached the office of corporal.' After his return to his home the records show that he filled appointments in matters concerning the society. He evidently lived in comfortable circumstances. Besides the farm which he managed, he owned a joint interest, with his brother-in-law, Elijah Higley, in a saw-mill, and about this time he opened his house as a tavern. In the latter business he was no doubt faithfully aided by his ready-handed wife. The old cupboard from which was served out the liquors at the bar is still preserved, now a relic of just one hundred years, and the cider-mill account-book reveals the fact that Seth was a faithful patron of its yield. The cellar in which was stored barrels of choice rum, apple- jack, and "bull's-blood," a is in perfect condition, while not far from the door the ancient well, with its oldtime wellsweep and pure water, also a lively bubbling spring close by, still speak with exhilarating freshness of the "good old times "when the ancient host of the inn, as was the custom in his day, received his traveling guests and their tired horses with the same social attentions that he would have bestowed had they been his per- sonal friends. From what is known of Seth Higley we may draw the conclu- sion that his life was a silent example of a steady, honest, and unobtrusive daily walk, and while he did not fail in his task in life, there is no indication that he possessed a masterful quality of mind, or that he made a strong mark upon the community. He was afflicted, the latter part of his life, with a scrofulous dis- ease known in those days as "king's evil," his health failing him, from this cause, some time before the disease terminated his life. 1 "Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution." * Boiled cider. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ^D. 187 Seth Higley died in the full tide of middle life, the latter part of February, 1794, at the age of forty-eight. His death occurred only two weeks previous to the decease of his father, Brewster Higley, 2d. It is supposed that he was interred in the ancient burial-ground at Simsbury. There is no trace of his grave. His will, which was written February 8, 1794, just before'his death, and received at the Court of Probate March 15, 1794, declares as follows : " Being sick and in a weak and infirm state of body, but of sound and disposing mind ... I give to my well-beloved wife, Miudwell, the use of one-third part of my real estate during her natural life, and one-third part of my personal estate to be her own property. " I give to my sons and daughters, Philer, Levi, Warren, Oliver, Roxanna, Amelia, Polly, Rhoda, and Sally, all my Estate, both real and personal, in the proportion following : " That the said sons have two shares or portions to the said daughters, and to them and their heirs forever : and it is my will that my said wife have the care and direction of what part of my Estate that shall descend to my said sons and daugh- ters that are under age until they arrive, the sons to twenty-one years of age, and the daughters to eighteen years old. "I do hereby constitute and appoint my said wife, Mindwell, to be my Executrix on this my last Will and Testament, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 8th day of February 1 794. [Signed], "SETH HIGLEY." [Witnesses.] The inventory of the personal effects amounted to .87 75. 2d. Among the articles mentioned in the inventory are a " Brown coat ; a Great light colored coat, pair of black Breeches, one vest, one white one, one old one, linen shirts, three woolen ones, silver stock buckle, and silver shoe buckles, one half of a saw- mill, and a saw-mill saw," together with a full list of the usual household articles and farm belongings, hogs, cattle, sheep, etc. By his father's will, which was executed June 21, 1793, and not presented at court till sixteen days after his son Seth's, it is shown that he gave Seth a full title to the farm on which he had lived, including the house (see illustration), together with other small lots of land, besides " moveable estate." The location of his home farm is thus described : "To my son Seth Higley my meadow land called Ram Dover which is surrounded by a Ditch and contains about ten acres, and also one quarter part of said plains lot by the old fort ; And also the lot of land he now lives on which I bought of Widow Miller lying in the long lots so called." 1 88 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Some time after the death of her husband, his widow, Mindwell Higley, married Latimer, and resided in Bloomfield until she was in advanced years. The date of her death is not known. The children of Seth and Mindwell Higley were : Seth Filer (sometimes found on record incorrectly spelled "Philer"); Levi ; a son who died in childhood, May 2, 1778 ; Warren, Roxanna, Amelia, Polly, Rhoda, Sallie, Oliver. SETH FILER HIGLEY. Seth, ist, Brewster, ad, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. " To us, my friend, the times that are gone by Arc a mysterious book." SETH FILER HIGLEY was the eldest born child of Seth ] ist, and Mindwell Higley. The middle name which he bore, and by which he was generally called, was Filer, the family name of his maternal grandmother, Abigail Filer, the wife of Nathaniel Higley. His parents had already taken possession of the old homestead of Brewster Higley, 2d, near the north line of the present town of Simsbury, when his birth occurred in 1769. He seems to have received but a meager common school education, spending his early youth in vigorous work upon the farm. Later on he assisted at the saw-mill, of which his father was the owner of a one-half interest. The notable "dark day," May 19, 1780, which was ever after during the lives of those who experienced it the memorable date of a scene of solemnity and significance, took place when he was a boy of eleven years. He was at work hoeing in the field when it grew dark, and leaving his work he fled to the house. The family lighted the candles and sat down in funeral-like gravity, superstitiously regarding the strange and unusual phenomena as of serious foreboding. This occurrence left a deep impression upon the boy's mind, and was often a theme of his conversation during his later years. On the igth of October, 1790, he married Naomi, the daughter of Peter Holcomb* of Granby. She was born 1772. The year following their marriage they removed to Steventown, N. Y. Three years later, after his father's death, they returned to Simsbury to the old homestead where he was born. Here he lived the remainder of his life. Seth Filer Higley was endowed with a solid, well-balanced mind, which was of somewhat an austere type. He was an ex- DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 189 ceedingly strict religionist, and rigidly kept the Sabbath accord- ing to the Puritanic idea, not even softening his restrictions enough to permit the floor of the family room to be swept on a Sunday morning, which in this case might have been considered an excusable innovation upon the sanctity of the day, since it was the living room of a family of thirteen. In his religious pro- fession he was an Episcopalian, a member of St. Andrew's Church, the parish of Scotland. Here the most of their children were baptized, and all of them attended the parish school. Not long before his death he withdrew from the Episcopal Church, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church of West Granby. His wife, Naomi Holcombe Higley, died on the 2oth of Janu- ary, 1817, aged forty-five years and eight months. He afterward married Mabel , to whom, in the distribution of his estate, a dower was " set off." He died August 19, 1821, aged sixty-two years and six months. Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley had a numerous fam- ily, viz. : Navmi, Lohama, Nancy, Seth, Jr., Lyman, Lohama (zd), Har- low, Or sen, Peter, Homer, Homer (ad), Eratus, and Diana. NAOMI, the eldest child, was born September 3, 1791. She had a jovial and social disposition, which made her a happy companion. She married Allen Dean, and lived for a number of years in Southwick, Mass. They then removed to East Granby, and afterward to Westfield, Mass., where she died, and where her descen- dants now reside. She died July 12, 1853. LOHAMA, the second child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, born April 13, 1793, died an infant, November I, 1793. NANCY, the third child and third daughter, was born November 2, 1794, in Steventown, N. Y. She was an infant in her mother's arms when her parents re- turned to Simbury, Conn., and took up their residence in the old homestead. From this home she attended the parish school which was under the auspices of the ecclesiastical society, the^ family at this time being Episcopalians. On the 1 3th of February, 1806, she married Asa Wyman of Union, Conn., a millwright by trade. In the year 1825 Mr. Wyman built a house on land which he purchased adjoining the Seth Higley farm at Simsbury, which was her home during the remainder of her long life. They had two children, Manerva Ann and Caroline Nancy. Her husband, Asa Wyman, died December 13, 1850. Mrs. Wyman lived a widow thirty-five years. She was a woman of decided character and strong principles. It was an offense in her view, almost worse than crime, for a person to be guilty of not strictly keeping his word. Her life was one of unceasing industry. The interests of her household were well looked after, and with per- fect discipline, which was one of her chief characteristics, she ruled with strength and honor, fully meriting the "praise and properties " of a good wife. Her 19 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. decease took place at Siitisbury, September 14, 1885, at the advanced age of ninety-one. " Her children and children's children rise up and call her blessed." MANERVA ANN, the eldest of the two daughters of Asa and Nancy Higley Wyman, was born November 10, 1816. She married Samuel Hinman, August 19, 1841, and became the mother of four children, viz.: John S., born September 23, 1842. Nancy M., born December 25, 1844, who married Lucius Terry and resides in Guilford, Conn. Charles Z.,born May 3, 1847, and Daniel Silas, born July 16, 1850, who died on the 7th of the following November. Samuel Hinman died November 7, 1850. His wife, Manerva Hinman, died March 3, 1856. JOHN S. HINMAN, their eldest son, enlisted for the Civil War October 9, 1861, for three years, in Company C, 8th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, Colonel Charles \V. Nash. His first service was under General A. E. Burnside at the capture of Roanoke Island, N. C. Subsequently he was at the capture of Newbern, N. C., Fort Macon, at the siege of Suffolk, Frederick City, and in the battles of Cedar Mountain, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor, Drury Bluffs, Chopin Farms, Bermuda Hundred, and the siege of Petersburg. He serve dunder Generals McClelland, Burnside, Grant, Meade, Butler, Ord, Han- cock, and Reno. He was wounded in four different engagements, but not seri- ously, and each time soon again joined the ranks. He received an honorable discharge when his term of enlistment expired, October 21, 1864, having made a record most worthy of high praise. On the gth of May, 1867, he married Clara C. Gifford of Meriden, Conn., where they resided for some time, Mr. Hinman being engaged in the Britannia works in that city. They have three children, one son and two daughters, They now reside in New Haven, Conn. CHARLES L. HINMAN, the youngest son of Samuel and Manerva Hinman, and grandson of Nancy Higley Wyman, enlisted at New York in the U. S. Navy, June 4, 1864, the last year of the Civil War. He first served on board the U. S. S. Monongahela. He was in the engagement at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, August, 1864, with the immortal Admiral Farragut, when his monitors forced their way, under heavy fire from the Confederate forts, Morgan and Gaines, with their brave commander lashed to the mast of his flag-ship, and captured the forts ; and in the fierce conflict when the formidable ram Tennessee was destroyed. He participated in the taking of Spanish Fort, and was with the Federal forces at the occupancy of Mobile, Ala., the spring of 1865. The following June he was sent to Philadelphia, where he received a ten clays' furlough. Immediately after his return to service, being seized with hard chills and fever, he was transferred to the naval hospital at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and on his return to health was placed on board the U. S. S. Pensacola, which was ordered to the South Pacific Squadron. After visiting a number of South American ports, the vessel was finally ordered to the navy yard, Mare Island, Cal., where he was honorably registered out of service, June 4, 1867, w^th transportation to New York by the way of Panama. Soon afterward he went to Liverpool, where, in 1868, he shipped on the Fair Wind, a vessel chartered by the British Government to carry supplies to Aden for the Abyssinian War. He was more than a year voyaging in this ship. Later he made voyages from London to Cape Town, the West Indies, and other foreign ports, and twice suffered shipwreck. He returned to his home, August, 1870, after a vast amount of interesting and oftentimes thrilling experiences, having followed the sea six years and three months. In January, 1 871, he married Harriet Augusta Golden. His wife died December II, 1872. He now resides in Meriden, Conn. CAROLINE NANCY, the second child of Asa and Nancy Higley Wyman, was born October 20, 1823, and at the age of eighteen married Newel Goddard of Granby, Conn., October 19, 1841. During the first four years of their married life they resided in Simsbury, and the following five years in Granby. In 1851 they DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 191 again removed to Simsbury, taking charge of their aged mother, Mrs. Nancy Higley Wyman, during the remainder of her life. Newell Goddard died December, 1891. The family reside in close vicinity to the spot where the ancient Seth Higley homestead stood. Mr. and Mrs. Goddard were the parents of three children, viz.: Henry N., Lucius A., and Albert ., all of whom reside at Simsbury, Conn., except Lucius, whose home is in Granby. HENRY N. GODDARD, the eldest son of Newell and Caroline Nancy Goddard, was born February I, 1843. Owing to his parents having assumed the care of some orphaned children, his education was interrupted at an early age, it becoming a necessity that he should work on the farm. His school life was confined to the short winter months, and his advantages for learning were limited. When twenty years old he entered a manufacturing establishment in Unionville, Conn. In the spring of 1863 he was employed by the firm of Collins & Co., of Collinsville, Conn., making bayonets. After the hostilities of war ceased in 1865, and there was less demand for firearms, he engaged with the same company in making cast-steel. In 1868 he returned to farming, which he followed three years, and in 1873 he became engaged in milling at Simsbury, Conn., in which business he has con- tinued. On November 24, 1864, Mr. Goddard married Lavina S. Cobb. She died October 7, 1883. His second marriage was to Charlotte E. Noble of Simsbury, December 2, 1885. By his first marriage he had one child, a son, Charles H. God- dard, born September 20, 1867, who is married and resides in Rutland, Vt. He is a machinist. Lucius A. GODDARD, the second son of Newell and Caroline Nancy Goddard, was born August 23, 1844. He married, July 17, 1870, Salina Fletcher. They became the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, two of whom are deceased. They reside in Granby, Conn. ALBERT E. GODDARD, the youngest child of Newell and Caroline Nancy Goddard, was born August 3, 1846. He married Anna L. Reylford November I, 1882. They have two children, a son and daughter. They reside with the parents of Mr. Goddard on a farm at Simsbury, Conn. Continued from page 189, SETH HIGLEY, Jr. (or 3d), the eldest son and fourth child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., August 25, 1796, and married Lura Goddard of West Granby, Conn. He was administrator to his father's estate. They emigrated to Ohio, settling at Mantua, Portage County, where they had a family. Seth Higley, 3d, died at Mantua, July 21, 1856. Their children were as follows: Alvin, who died in 1868. Nelson, who resides in St. Louis, Mich., and has children, viz.: Susan, Julia, Nancy, Milton, and Henry N., who is married and resides in Mesopotamia, Trumbull County, O. Henry N. Higley's only child v Jay J. Higley, was born January 2, 1872. LYMAN HIGLEY, the fifth child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born at Simsbury, October 28, 1798. He married first Orrilla Northway, Janu- ary 7, 1825. She was born June 13, 1795. His second ivife was Mrs. Rose, the widow of Josephus Rose of Granville, Mass. The year following his first marriage they left Simsbury and settled at Attica, N. Y., where they resided till 1844. They then removed to the city of Nauvoo, 111., where his wife and daughter embraced the religious faith of the Mormons. Lyman Higley, however, was not satisfied with the beliefs and practices of that sect, and when the Mormon Church emigrated to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah, in 1846, he with his wife, who I9 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. still clung to that religious faith, left Nauvoo, and after stopping a few months in Iowa, where he purchased and owned the entire site of Council Bluffs, they finally settled in Wisconsin. Their daughter, Harriet, then a young woman of twenty- one, chose to accompany the Latter Day Saints to Salt Lake. Lyman Higley purchased a farm in Columbia County, Wisconsin, and established a home at Dekorra, about the time that the Territory became a State. For some years his was the only dwelling between the two county seats, Madison and Portage. Wisconsin then contained but forty thousand inhabitants. He was a resident of the State the remainder of his life forty-one years, and witnessed its remarkable development like a moving panorama continuously before him. His second wife died June 30, 1884. In October of that year he removed to Eau Clare County to reside with his youngest son. His faculties remained bright, and he was interesting to the last days of his long and eventful life. He died of apoplexy, May 13, 1888, aged eighty-nine years and six months. The interment was at Hadleyville, near Eau Claire. Lyman Higley and his first wife were the parents of five children, viz.: Harriet R., Oliver, Virgil, Ezra Marvin, and Addison. HARRIET R. HIGLEY, their eldest child, born October 28, 1825, resided in Utah. She married John Hodge, July 4, 1855. He died September. 1868, and in 1876 she married Lafayette Williams. She died at Ogden, Utah, July 13, 1881. OLIVER HIGLEY, the second child, born January 28, 1828, died at the age of 2j years. VIRGIL HIGLEY, the third child, born January 8, 1832, married Hannah L. Powers, August I, 1855. They resided at Loveland, Iowa, afterward removing to Pleasant Valley, Wis., and are the parents of three children, viz.: Marian Orilla, born November 30, 1859 ; Mary Eugene, born December 7, 1863 ; and Charles, born March 8, 1868 ; all born in Columbia County, Wisconsin. EZRA MARVIN HIGLEY, the fourth child of Lyman and Orilla Higley, was born July 26, 1834, and married Sarah A. McNash, March 18, 1851. They reside at Eleva, Trempealeau County, Wis., and have two sons living. Two daughters died in childhood. The sons are Lyman O., born October 2, 1889, and A din M., born December 19, 1875. Both are married and have families. ADDISON, the fifth child of Lyman and Orilla Higley, was born January 19, 1837. He married first Eliza J. McNash, September 3, 1861, who died May 17, 1882. His second wife was Jennie A. Lampman, whom he married Decem- ber 31, 1884. His children by his first wife are, Elmer A., born August 10, 1862 ; Harriet O., born November 9, 1865, who married in 1885 Samuel J. Woodward ; and Samuel, born December 31, 1866. By the second wife, John V., born Sep- tember 21, 1885 ; and William L., born November 26, 1886. Addison Higley resided in Columbia County, Wisconsin, till 1866. He settled with his family, October, 1868, at Pleasant Valley, Eau Clare County, where they now live. LOHAMA HIGLEY, the sixth child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born September 8, 1800. She married Israel Messenger, of one of the old Windsor, Conn., families who, early settled in Granby. They resided in West Granby for many years, and brought up a family of three sons and five daughters. After the decease of her husband Luhama- Messenger removed to Kingston, N. Y., and resided with her daughter, Mrs. Lucy Bray, until her decease, March 3, 1888. Her remains were brought to West Granby, Conn., and interred by the side of her husband. Mrs. Messenger was a faithful and much respected member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She had children, viz. : Miranda, born March 18, 1821 ; Manila, born February 21, 1822 ; Philura, born October 6, 1824 ; Harlow, born October 2, 1826 ; Harriet L., born January REV. WALTER O. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, \ST. 193 7, 1829 ; Francis /., born May 15, 1833 ; Lorenzo, born November 23, 1836 ; Lucy, born May 13, 1839. HARLOW HIGLEY, the seventh child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born July 18, 1802. On the I3th of November, 1822, when a young man about twenty, he sailed for the Island of Cuba, where he became a permanent citizen. He married a Cuban lady who died two years after, leaving no child. He so fully adopted the Spanish language and customs, that, on his first visit to his native land and kindred, after an absence of thirty-three years, he seemed of another race and people. It was with some difficulty that he could speak his native tongue. But he did not, to the end of his life, lose his affection for his childhood's home and his family, and made subsequent visits to the United States. He was f stout physique, robust, and of a social nature. He died in Cuba in 1882. ORSEN HIGLEY, the eighth child of Seth Filer and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born February II, 1806, at Simsbury, Conn. He married first Susan Parsons Griswold 1 of Granville, Mass. , by whom he had three children. His second wife, to whom he was married September 30, 1841, was Lucy Keep Holcombe of Southwick, Mass. She was born in Elizabeth, N. J., August n, 1822. By this marriage there were five children. Orsen Higley was a man of good abilities and in comfortable circumstances. At one time, besides his farming occupations, he conducted a fair business in fresh meats, and later on about 1835 he built and managed a well kept hotel in East Granby. He possessed a gentle nature, and was of a temperament that lived much within himself. He was a citizen much respected. His death took place July 10, 1851. He lies buried in the ancient cemetery at Simsbury. Mrs. Lucy K. Higley, his widow, who is now living, afterward married Alonzo Holcombe of Southwick, Mass., who died many years ago. She resides with her married daughters. HOMER E. HIGLEY, the eldest child of Orsen Higley, was born November 14, 1832. He removed to Illinois when a young man, and in October, 1858, married Mary Denman in Elpaso, Woodford County, of that State. A daughter was born to them in January, 1860, who was called Fannie, JOHN, the second child of Orsen Higley, was born in East Granby, April II, 1835. On the 8th of January, 1866, he married, in St. Louis, Mo., Florence De Latourette, who was born in that city, April 22, 1849. He afterward removed to Kansas. They are the parents of four children, viz.: Jennie Florence Higley, born March 27, 1869 ; Henry Blossom, born October 27, 1871 ; Robert D., born December 31, 1875 ; William Joseph, born November 21, 1883. The family reside in Collinsville, 111., John Higley being engaged in busi- ness in the Valley Flour Mills. The daughter, Jennie Florence, is an efficient teacher of music in St. Louis. SUSAN J., the third child of Orsen Higley, was born August 26, 1840. She married Henry Prentice. They resided in Bloomfield, Conn, She died August 23, 1871, and was laid beside her father in the Simsbury cemetery. She left no children. REV. WALTER ORSEN HIGI.EY, the son of Orsen and his second wife, Lucy Keep Holcombe, was born in East Granby, Conn., June 12, 1842. He received a common school education and worked on a farm until he was seventeen years of age. He was then employed in a hook and eye manufactory in Unionville, Conn., and the year preceding the Civil War he worked in Thompsonville, Conn. On the I cth of September, 1861, when nineteen years of age, he enlisted in Company B, 8th Connecticut Infantry, the regiment being assigned to the gth Army 1 The date of her decease has not been given. 194 THE III G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Corps under command of General A. E. Burnside. He was at the capture of Roanoke Island, Newbern, Fort Macon, and Beaufort, on the coast of North Carolina, and in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In the fight at Antietam, September 17, 1862, he was wounded in the right forearm, which forced him to retire from the service, after having spent six months in an army hospital. He received an honorable discharge March 13, 1863. He has for a number of years received a Government pension. In course of time he recovered of his wound sufficiently to resume business. He then entered the manufacturing establishment of Charles Cooper & Co., at Thompsonville, Conn., in which he was engaged three years. He was afterward employed as a builder, but again entered the spring knitting-needle manufactory of Charles Cooper & Co. , on the removal of the concern to Bennington, Vt. , in which connection he remained fifteen years. During thirteen years of this period, and while still engaged in business avocations, he preached the gospel at Wood ford, Vt. On the loth of May, 1866, he married Martha Ellen Davidson, at Thompson- ville, Conn. She was born November I, 1841. The Rev. Mr. Higley was or- dained to the ministry at Woodford, Vt., on the I2th of July, 1872, where he continued to fill the pulpit acceptably till April, 1884. He then accepted the charge of the Advent Christian Church at Sandy Hill, N. Y., to which town he removed, and devoted, with much success, his entire time for seven years to his pastoral work. Early in 1891 he was called to the Advent Christian Church (Gerard Place), Hartford, Conn., to which city he removed with his family, assuming his charge April I, where he has since occupied an important sphere. Mr. Higley is possessed of a pleasing address and an attractive style and cultivated manner. He is earnest and sincere, and is much beloved by his parishioners and all who know him. The Rev. Walter Orsen and Martha Ellen Higley have five children, viz.: Herbert Samuel, born October n, 1867, in Enfield, Conn., who is in the employ of a large merchantile firm of Boston. Clifford Walter, born October 9, 1869, in Bennington, Vt., and resides in Sandy Hill, N. Y. He is bookkeeper in the firm of Drake & Stratton, Limited. Carrie May, born May 7, 1871, in Bennington, Vt., who resides with her parents. Freddie Andrew, born April 15, 1873, in Bennington, Vt., died September 13, 1873. William Clark, born February 3, 1876, in Bennington, Vt., who resides with his parents. FLUVIA AMELIA HiGLEY,daughter of Orsen and Lucy Holcombe Higley, was born June 5, 1844, in Simsbury, Conn. On the 5th of November, 1863, she married Dwight H. Cady, who was born in Aganam, Mass., March 31, 1841. They reside in Thomp- sonville, Conn., where their daughter, Emma Louisa, was born January I, 1872. SARAH EI.IZA, the third child of Orsen and Lucy Holcombe Higley, was born March 22, 1846, at Simsbury, Conn. She married at Unionville, Conn., February 2, 1871, Abram Alphonzo Johnson of Brooklyn, N. Y., in which city they resided for several years. Mr. Johnson was born in New York City, January 28, 1846. He is of the firm of S. M. Johnson & Bro., cigar and tobacco dealers in Wall Street, New York City. Their children, who were all born in Brooklyn, N. Y., are : Edwin Hamilton, born June 25, 1872 ; Frauds Marilla, December 21, 1873 ; Samuel Walter, November 13, 1876 ; and Raymond Elaine, December 22, 1881. The family reside at Springfield, N. J. LUCY MARILLA, the fourth child of Orsen and Lucy Holcombe Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., January 13, 1849. She married at Thompsonville, Conn., July 14, 1870, John Elliot Eaton, who was born in Worcester, Mass., February 18, 1848. They reside at South Headley Falls, Mass. Their children are : Charles Davenport, born July 9, 1872, and William Higley, born January 16, 1875. JULIETTA ELIZABETH, the fifth and youngest child of Orsen and Lucy Holcombe Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., March 12, 1851. She married George Cornelius Curtis of Harwinton, Conn., November 22, 1873. Mr. Curtis was born July 5, 1845. They reside at Bristol, Conn. Their children are : Sadie E., born January 20, 1878, and died the 22d of the following June ; Ina, born September 10, 1879 ; and George Walter, born March 2, 1882. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, \ST. 195 Continued from page 189. PETER HIGLEY, the ninth child of Seth and Naomi Holcombe Higley, was born at Simsbury, March 9, 1807. His manner of life during his boyhood years was in common with the children of the rural households of his time. He left home when quite young not yet twenty. He was bright and active and soon found a means for livelihood. For more than two years he conveyed merchandise about the country, selling it at retail, which proved a profitable business. He learned the trade of harness-making, which he followed in Union Village, N. Y., till his eyesight became impaired, when he removed to Cory, Pa., before the town was scarcely founded, and while the surrounding country was yet a wilder- ness. Here he purchased and opened a farm, which was his home during the remainder of his life. In March, 1835, he married Elvira Colby, daughter of Joseph Colby, with whom he lived in happy union for forty-eight years. She died May n, 1883, after a lingering illness, her decease removing one who was greatly beloved and missed by her family and neighbors. The law of her life was kindness. In the chamber of the sick she was a ministering angel. Peter Higley lived to a good old age eighty-three years. From an attack of pneumonia in the early winter of 1889 he became prostrated, and never recovered his strength, lingering in much patient suffering from day to day till his departure, March 4, 1890. His gentle and affectionate disposition caused him to be greatly beloved by his children and grandchildren, who sincerely mourned his loss. He was interred on the 6th of March in the Steward cemetery at Cory, Pa., beside his wife and daughters. Their children were as follows : Nancy Jane, born December 23, 1835, who married Jared Blakslee in 1853, and died March 7, 1859 ; Betsey Maria; Count Sobeiski; Joseph Eugene, born 1843, and died 1845 ; Pember Edson; Ellajenelte, born 1849, an d died 1850, and Emma Isadore. BETSEY MARIA HIGLEY, the daughter of Peter and Elvira (Colby) Higley, was born February 14, 1837, and married John D. Palmer, December 15, 1853. Their children were : Melvin L., born December 16, 1855 ; Peter D., born June 12, 1858 ; Viola J., born January 6, 1862, who died January 7, 1872 ; Flora K., born August 13, 1864 ; Lillian K., born May 5, 1867 ; Nellie M., born August 8, 1870 ; Frank D., born July 3, 1872 ; and Nellie Jenetta, born July 28, 1880. The family reside at Corry, Erie County, Pa, FLORA R., daughter of John ,D. and Betsey M. (Higley) Palmer, married Isaac McCray, Sep- tember 27, 1883. She resides with her father. They had one child, Grace, born February 3, 1886. COUNT SOBEISKI HIGLEY, the eldest son of Peter and Elvira (Colby) Higley, was born October 5, 1839, and married Lizzie Samis, 1869. Their children are: Albert P. and Allen H., twins, born January 10, 1870 ; Edward J., born January, 1875, and Emma, born 1878. They reside at Obi, Allegheny County, N. Y. PEMRER EDSON HIGLEY, the second son of Peter and Elvira (Colby) Higley, was born September 12, 1845, and married Julia E. Green, February 9, 1868. He served his country three years in the late Civil War, enlisting January 5, 1864, in the I4$th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company A, and was after- ward transferred to the 53d Pennsylvania Regiment. Besides participating in a number of lively skirmishes, he fought in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsyl- vania Court House, Cold Harbor, Deep Bottom, Natchez Run, and was in the siege of Petersburg. During his time of service he lay ill of fever two months in I9 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Campbell Hospital. He faithfully served till the close of the war. Pember and Julia (Green) Higley have three children : Carrie B. born April 19, 1869 ; Frank, born April 25, 1872, and May, born June 3, 1876. They reside at Corry, Erie County, Pa. EMMA ISADORE HIGLEY, the youngest child of Peter and Eliza (Colby) Higley, was born January 22, 1857, and married John A. Lemon, July 3, 1870. They have one child, George Eugene, born September 9, 1872. They reside in Waverly, Spokane County, Wash. HOMER HIGLEY, 2d, the eleventh child ' of Seth Filer and Naomi (Holcombe) Higley [page 189] was born at Simsbury, Conn., July 10, 1810. He went South when quite a young man, acting as a traveling agent for a New England clock firm. He finally settled in Texas while that country was yet an independent repub- lic, and resided at Wharton, where he married and lived many years. He accumu- lated property, and owned slaves. He died at Wharton, June 6, 1856. He left no children. ERATUS HIGLEY, the twelfth child of Seth Filer and Naomi (Holcombe) Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., September 8, 1812. He was a traveling salesman for a Bristol, R. I., manufacturing firm. He owned a considerable property in Illinois, in the early history of that State. He never married. His death took place suddenly, August 14, 1847. DIANA, the thirteenth and youngest child of Seth Filer and Naomi (Holcombe) Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., March 19, 1815. At the age of sixteen years, March 12, 1831, she married Luke Mason of Simsbury and became the mother of four children. Her husband, Luke Mason, died, March 21, 1840. Her second marriage took place April, 1843, to Clinton Mather, a well-known citizen of Canton, Conn. Mrs. Diana Mather was a communicant in the Episcopal Church, a faithful church member. She possessed a loving nature. On the 22d of February, 1879, Mr. Mather was accidentally thrown from his sleigh, his head striking upon a rock, and died from the effects of the injury two days afterward. His death caused great sorrow throughout the entire community. He was a person of pleasant and affable manner, of strict integrity, living truly a noble life. His wife, Diana Higley, resided during her last widowhood with her daughter, Mrs. J. E. Hamilton, in Unionville, Conn. She died, June 6, 1888, and was interred in Canton, Conn. No account of her descendants has been furnished. LEVI HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Continued from page 188. Levi, Seth, ist, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John. LEVI HIGLEY the second child of Seth and Mindwell Higley, was born in the town of Simsbury, Conn., in the year 1771. He married Hepsibah Holcombe, of the same place, and settled on a farm near his father's home. Our information concerning his life and his descendants is too meager and uncertain for an extended sketch. 1 The tenth child of Seth Filer and Naomi (Holcombe) Higley was also named Homer. He died in infancy. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 197 It appears, however, that he was a man of sterling worth and excellent character. That he was enterprising is evidenced by the fact that in 1802, he, with others, made a prospecting tour through the wilderness of Central New York, with a view to join- ing the tide of emigration that had then set in from New England. Two years later he emigrated with his family, in company with others, including his younger brothers Oliver and Warren and his family, to Central New York, and settled at Pompey Hill, Onondago County, where he cleared the forests, became a pros- perous farmer, and reared a family of eleven children. He died in the town of Spafford, N. Y., April 29, 1853, aged eighty-two years. The names and order of birth of these children, as fur- nished by Mrs. PhideliaHigley Doubleday, since deceased, of Cort- land, N. Y., who was the youngest of the eleven, are as follows : Levi Jason, Hepsibah, Lyman, Melissa, Philura, Isaac Anson, William, Harvey, John, Chauncey, and Phidelia. LEVI JASON was born in Simsbury, Conn., September 29, 1795. Died at Fayetteville, N. Y., in 1856. He was twice married; first to Sally Cornish, born May 28, 1794, died September 16, 1829. They had four children. JANE, born July 29, 1817 ; married H. Cornish, January 29, 1846, and after his death married twice Mr. Thomas, April 5, 1853, and Mr. Hammond, May 8, 1861. She died July 4, 1870. DANIEL, son of Levi Jason Higley, born February 23, 1819 ; married Lenah Shaw, March 25, 1849. They have two sons, and by last accounts are living in Napanee, Canada, West. The older son, Daniel Levi, born in Picton, Prince Edwards County, Canada, West, June 20, 1852. Second son, Samuel Richard, born at same place, April 12, 1855, lives in California. DENISON, born October 27, 1821 ; married Jane H. Rownling, August 18, 1858. They are now living at Fayetteville, N. Y., and have one daughter, Florence C. LEVI, born December 26, 1824. Died April 2, 1889, in Grand View, la. He married Anna Elizabeth Brown, October 7, 1852. They had three sons, as follows : DenisonJ., born at Fayetteville, N. Y., October 23, 1853 ; married Sarah T. Warner, October 17, 1883. They have two children : Ruth, born June 16, 1885, and Bessie, born May 10, 1888. He is a prominent physician in Grand View, la. William JCerr, born in Fayetteville, N. Y., July 31, 1858 ; married Harriet E. Warner, June 29, 1882. He is a successful professor in the Illinois College of Pharmacy in Chicago. Charles Denton, born at Hudson, N. Y., October 13, 1865 ; married Mertie E. Allen, March 13, 1890. They have one child, Helen, born December 23, 1891. He is a druggist in Syracuse, N. Y. The children of Levi Jason Higley by his second wife, Sally Clemont, whom he married December 31, 1829, and who died March 19, 1884, are eight in number, and are as follows: 14 198 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Henry, born November 14, 1830 ; married Helen Anderson, May 8, 1860, and Anna Gilson, October 8, 1873. He lives at Fairmount, 111., where he carries on a large and successful business as one of the proprietors of the "Fairmount Mills and Elevator." Sarah M., born August 26, 1832, married twice: Still- man Clark, August 25, 1864 ; and John Russell, June 10, 1871. They live near Berlin, Wis. Albert, born September 25, 1834. Died November 8, 1862. Lynian, born October 10, 1835. Lives in Missouri. Mary F., born February 3, 1837 ; married Francis Malolin, June 23, 1855. They have six sons and one daughter living. Louisa P., born April n, 1838 ; married A. B. Morrison, December 20, 1855. They have three sons and one daughter. Isaac, born July 13, 1840 ; married Amelia Burton, May 12, 1868. Lives at De Ruyter, N. Y. He was sergeant in Company D, New York Volunteer Engineers. Lucinda M., born February 12, 1845. Died October 31, 1848. HEPSIBAH, daughter of Levi and Hepsibah Higley. No data of her received. LYMAN, the third child, married Minerva Chapin ; died in Brooklyn, N. Y. , MELISSA, the fourth child, married a Mr. Carter. PHILURA, the fifth child . No data of her received. ISAAC ANSON, the sixth child, was born at the old homestead in Pompey, Onondago County, N. Y., in 1807. While a young man he went to Pottsville, Pa., and settled there. His daughter, Emily B. Higley, in a letter dated Minersvilla, Pa., May 27, 1895, writes of her family as follows : "My father married Mary B. Falls in December, 1832 I think in Pottsville, Pa. They had nine children, all born in Pottsville, Pa.: Jas. H., in 1836; Sarah Jane, 1838; Emily B., 1840; John Harvey, 1843 ; Mary, 1845 ; Helen M., 1847 ; Camilla, 1850 ; Isaac Anson, 1852, and Chai. A., 1855. Jas. H. and John Harvey were in Company A, g6th Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, in the late war. The former died of camp fever, in May, 1862 ; the latter was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and died in August of the same year. Helen married Seth Winslow Geer, attorney at law, in Sep- tember, 1865. She died March 15, 1881. Mr. Geer died in March, 1888. They left four boys: Benjamin, Seth W., Har-vey, and Joseph. Mary married Joseph C. Ramsey in April, 1869. She died in March, 1870. The two surviving children of my father are my sister Camilla and myself. My father died in October, 1856, aged forty-nine. My mother, Mary B. died April 19, 1894, aged eighty." In a letter written in 1889, she says: " My mother has been postmistress of this place Minersville continuously since 1872, and has filled the office acceptably to the Department at Washington and to the people here. My father was an educated gentleman, a worthy descendant of my Higley ancestors." WILLIAM, seventh child of Levi and Hepsibah Higley. We have no further record. HARVEY, the eighth child, lived recently at Hillsdale, Mich. JOHN, the ninth child. No data. CHAUNCEY, the tenth child, is living near Angolia, N. Y. PHIDELIA, the eleventh and youngest child of Levi and Hepsibah Higley, married Henry Doubleday. They settled in Cortland, N. Y., where she died, December 15, 1891. They had four children, all living. CHAPTER XXXIV. WARREN HIGLEY, SR., AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Continued from page 188. " Upon the great dial-plate of ages The light advanced no more recedes." By Hon. Warren Higley of New York City. WARREN HIGLEY, the fourth son of Seth and Mindwell Higley, and grandson of Brewster, 2d, was born on the old homestead in Simsbury, Conn., November 10, 1775, the year before his father, as a corporal in Captain Case's company, joined the Continental Army, and marched to the defense of New York. He grew to sturdy manhood amid the hardships that prevailed during the revolutionary period and that just following. On reaching his majority he married Lucy Sawyer, a beautiful young woman of Pomfret, Conn., and settled near his father's home, following the occupation of his ancestors a tiller of the soil. In the following year, June 14, 1797, the first child was born to them, Warren Alson. Then followed Chauncey, May 13, 1799, Jacob Sawyer, January 3, 1802, Lucy Rosetta, February i, 1804, mak- ing, no doubt, a busy hive in the Simsbury home. The father and mother were still young, not thirty, and were naturally looking for larger opportunities. The great West with its virgin soil in- vited settlers, and the towns of New England were sending their sons and daughters out into this new world, so lately redeemed from the sway of English rule and the savagery of native tribes. Alluring inducements were offered in cheap lands, fertile beyond comparison, and within easy access of the natural highways of commerce, in Western New York, in Pennsylvania, and in Ohio. There were three principal routes through which the tide of emigration was pouring its flood westward ; up the Mohawk Valley into Central New York, and thence onward via Buffalo and Lake Erie to Northern Ohio; across Southern Pennsylvania and over the mountains to the headwaters of the Ohio; and down the Appalachion Valley and thence over into Kentucky and 99 200 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Tennessee. Land companies and syndicates were active in secur- ing large tracts of land and promoting their settlement. For example, Oliver Phelps of Simsbury and Windsor, Conn., and Nathaniel Gorham, purchased in 1787 a tract of land containing two and a quarter millions of acres lying west of Seneca Lake in New York State. This tract is known as the "Phelps and Gor- ham Purchase," and constitutes one of the most fertile and beautiful sections of the State. In 1789 Oliver Phelps opened, at Canandaigua, N. Y., the first land office in America for the sale of lands to settlers. It appears from the data we have, that Levi Higley, an older brother of Warren, went with others to Central New York in 1802 or 1803, and visited that part of the wilderness which was within easy reach of the wonderful salt springs near Syracuse. Whether he located and purchased lands at that time does not appear. But Levi returned to Simsbury for his family. In the spring of 1804 Warren Higley, with his wife and young family, his brothers Levi and Oliver, and others of the neighbor- hood with their families, left the home and surroundings of their forefathers for the new West, of which they had heard so much. They loaded their household goods and necessary provisions on carts and wagons; and with ox-teams to haul them, and cows to furnish milk, they made the toilsome journey to Central New York, and settled in the wilderness at Onondaga Hill, about six miles from Syracuse. The log house was quickly built, the clear- ing made for the corn field and the garden, and the pioneer life begun. The following year, October 25, 1805, Emily was born; Decem- ber 9, 1807, Chester ; July 21, 1813, Rachel ; October 5, 1815, Harriet Rachel j making a family of eight children, all of whom, excepting Lucy Rosetta, who died in early womanhood, lived to mature ge, married, and had families of children. Lucy Sawyer Higley, the mother, was a woman of great energy and executive ability, and of remarkable devotion and sweetness of temper. Up to the time of her death she strictly observed the tenets of her church, and kept her Sabbath from sundown on Saturday night to the setting of the sun on Sunday, during which time all the work in the household and on the farm was sus- pended, excepting that of necessity. Like the noble, self-sacrificing women of our pioneer times, she not only performed the household duties, but spun and wove DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 20 1 the flax and the wool, and cut and made the garments for the family; and a most excellent cook and housekeeper and manager she was. There were no " hired girls " in those early days, but the spirit of helpfulness pervaded the family and the neighborhood, and thereby the burdens were lightened, and peace and content- ment reigned. Thus was the large family reared, and sturdy character formed for the responsibilities of mature years. There are few, if any, striking events in the life of the farmer; and none in the subject of this sketch worthy of note, unless it be the fact that he, imbibing the military spirit like his ancestors, was chosen captain of the local artillery company, and near the close of the War of 1812 went with his company to Niagara Falls, to serve his country. But peace came before his battery" was called into active service. He died at the home of his daughter, Emily, near the site of the old homestead, on Onondaga Hill, of a virulent attack of smallpox, May 16, 1848. His faith- ful wife survived him but a few months, and died in the same place, August 27, 1848. Seven sons and daughters survived them. In height they were above the medium, the husband standing six feet, broad-shouldered and well proportioned, and more than usually good-looking. They both had fine physical constitutions, wholly free from taints; and, consequently, health and vigor characterized the children, an inheritance that cannot be too highly valued. The Onondaga salt springs had for a number of years made this section well-known throughout the State. These were about seven miles distant, and furnished the early settlers an oppor- tunity to get a little ready money, for these springs were in the State Reservation, and freely utilized by the settlers in that vicinity for securing what they wanted for use; and the more enterprising manufactured considerable quantities of salt for the market. All Western New York depended on these springs for its supply of salt. It used to sell for about fifty cents per bushel, and a fair-sized family would make about fifty bushels per week in favorable weather, and so reap a good income for those times. The forests yielded an abundance of sugar for the family. The " men-folks" in the early spring were accustomed to make about two tons of maple sugar for the year's supply. The expense was slight; iron kettles, pot- rack, iron ladles, augers for boring, and buckets for carrying the sap, were everything needed beyond what the workmen themselves could supply with 202 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. the ax. During this season the neighborhood was kept very gay by the frequent parties given at " sugaring-off" times, when they ate the delicious wax from the snow, or sipped the rich aro- matic syrup, dipped hot from the kettle; the newly-made sugar was added to the feast according to taste. The pioneer life had its charms and pleasures as well as its hardships and sorrows. Their tastes were simple; their family wants were few beyond what the farm supplied. They were neighborly, helpful, x one to another; they were honest and trusty. The doors of their houses were without bolts, and "the latch- string was always out." A sort of Arcadian life was led by these early settlers at Onondaga, so far as can be gleaned from the records, and peace and happiness and prosperity prevailed among them. WARREN ALSON, the first child of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., on Wednesday, June 14, 1797. He died at the home of his son, Hulbert, in Trempeleau County, Wisconsin, October 14, 1871. He lived on the farm with his parents until his marriage with Permelia Duell, daughter of a prominent farmer of that section, on March 4, 1824. He settled on a farm at Onondaga Hill, where his children were born and brought up, viz. : Juliette, Hulbert, and Marian. JULIETTE, born October 9, 1825. October 14, 1846, she married Charles R. Borradaile of Sodus, Wayne County, N. Y., a gentleman of excellent family and high standing. They settled in Sodus, N. Y., and enjoyed many years of happiness and prosperity. They had three children : EMMA J., the eldest, was born July 25, 1848 ; was married to Dr. C. H. Eggleston of Marshall, Mich., April 22, 1869. They settled in Marshall, Mich., where he became prominent and prosperous in his profession, and she an angel of mercy to the distressed. She died June 18, 1889. They had three children : Nina Juliett, born January 22, 1870; Kittle Adah, born April I, 1874, an< J Edwy Borradaile Reid, born at Allegan, Mich., December 2, 1886. MARY ADAH BORRADAILE, the second child, was born at Sodus, March 9, 1850 ; married Edwy C. Reid of Allegan, Mich., August 28, 1876, where they still live. CHARLES HIGLEY BORRADAILE, their third child, was born at Sodus, March 3, 1856. Not married. Has long been a resident of Marshall, Mich., prosperous in business, and very highly respected by all who know him. HULBERT HIGLEY, only son of Warren Alson and Permelia Duell Higley, was born at Onondaga Hill, January 10, 1828. He grew up on the farm and lived according to the custom of those days. He married Mary A. Victs of Orangeville, Pa., March 25, 1856. He soon after went with his bride to the State of Wisconsin and settled on a farm in Neshonac, La Crosse County. They have seven children, as follows : CHAUNCEY AND MARGARET HEAD HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY,\ST. 203 Leonora Emma, born April 26, 1857, at Neshonac, La Crosse County, Wis. Was married at Centerville, Trempeleau County, Wis., December 22, 1875, to Zalmon S. Martin of the same place. They have had four children : Edith Lyle, who was born November 24, 1876, at Centerville, Trempeleau County, Wis. ; Harold Arthur, who was born October 16, 1878, at same place ; Mabel Emma, born December 4, 1880, at Jamestown, Stutsman County, North Dak. ; Florence Cordelia, born November 8, 1886, at the same place. Warren A., son of Hulbert and Mary A. Higley, was born September 6, 185-, at Neshonac, and at last advices was still a bachelor. Emma Jane was born at the same place, June n, 1863. She was married at Hale, Trempeleau County, Wis., March 30, 1881, to William J. Gordon, of the same place, and had a son, fohn Emory, born May 9, 1884. Florence Permelia was born October n, 1866, at Trempeleau, W T is. Nellie May, was born January 27, 1870, at the same place. Marian Juliette, was born December 7, 1879, at Hale, Wis. Samantha Mabel, was born May 14, 1882, at Jamestown, Stutsman County, North Dak., to which place her parents had removed and settled. MARIAN HIGLEY, third and youngest child of Warren Alson and Permelia Duell Higley, was born at Onondaga Hill, April 27, 1830. She was married at Onondaga Hill, May 12, 1854, to William J. Hillabrant of Syracuse, N. Y. Died at her home in Marshall, Mich., 1895. She was a beautiful woman, and most devoted mother, respected and loved by all who knew her. They had three children, viz., Willis Duell, George M., Charles H. WILLIS DUELL was born at Salina, N. Y., February 21, 1855. He married in Chicago, June 5, 1884, Miss Kate Kenny, daughter of the late Judge Kenny of Ashland, O. They reside in Chicago, and have a daughter, born May 29, 1885, christened Susan Marian. GEORGE M. HILLABRANT was born at Marshall, Mich , July 5, 1858 ; died August u, 1859. CHARLES H., was born at Marshall, Mich., September 14, 1860, where he still resides. CHAUNCEY HIGLEY, the second child of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., May 13, 1799. He grew to be a healthy, strong, energetic young man under the care and influence of the pioneer home. At the age of fifteen he enlisted for the war (1812-14) in the local company under Captain Forbes, and marched to the defense of Sackett's Harbor, at that time threatened by the British. Colonel Ellis was his regimental commander. He remained in the service until the close of the war. In after life he was a pensioner, and so continued up to the time of his death. He became a skilled distiller, and was early appointed to the charge of large establishments. The business in those days was not clouded by any influence of temperance agitation. It was held in equal honor with that of other call- 204 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ings and he prospered in it. He was a very temperate man all his life, of the strictest integrity, a consistent Christian, a member and officer of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and always a good, patriotic citizen. At the age of twenty-one, May 2, 1820, in the town of Owasco, adjoining the then village of Auburn, N. Y., he married Margaret Head, who was born at Springfield, Otsego County, N. Y., May 25, 1804. For twenty years he lived in different places in New York State, Owasco, Auburn, Port Byron, Sennett, and in the spring of 1840 went to Ohio, via the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, the usual route of travel then, with all his family and household goods, and settled on a farm in Westfield, Delaware County, O. He afterward devoted three years to the business of distilling in West Cleveland, and four years in Newark, O.,and then returned to his farm, and continued a farmer for the remainder of his life. His daughter, Adeline, in a letter dated Cardington, O., May 31, 1887, wrote: "I can say for my father, that in character he is second to none. He has lived a long life of usefulness, always showing his Christianity in his liberality to the poor and to the Church. He always took sunshine with him wherever he went. He often says that he has lived out his time and is only waiting." He died at the home of his youngest daughter, Emily, in the town of Ashley, Delaware County, O., July 29, 1887, in the eighty- ninth year of his age. LUCY ROSETTA, the eldest child, was born in the town of Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y., March 14, 1822. In 1840 she accompanied her parents to Ohio, and was there married to Edward Terry of New York, June 30, 1842, at their home in Westfield. They settled near Cardington, O., and brought up a family of seven children, all of whom were married and living in 1887. She was left a widow in 1867. Their children : Emaline was born April I, 1843 ; married January I, 1860, to John W. Mere- dith. Adeline was born January 13, 1845 ; married November 12, 1865, to Leroy P. Slack. Henrietta was born April 8, 1848 ; married November 14, 1869, to James Potter. Bradford was born August 13, 1852 ; married October 23, 1873, to Mary Sands. James and Jane, twins, were born June 21, 1856. Jane was mar- ried July 26, 1879, to Simeon Glaze. James was married November 2, 1884, to Mary Aldrich. Florence was born October 9, 1860 ; married June 6, 1881, to Cyrus E. Weatherby. The mother writes from Cardington, O., June 5, 1887 : "By these I have twenty- one grandchildren. Now comes the old adage, ' Large streams from little fountains flow.' A pretty good list for one Higley, don't you think ? " ARETAS, second child of Chauncey and Margaret Higley, was born in Auburn, N. Y., March 29, 1824, and died October 24, following. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, \ST. 205 ADELINE E. was born in Auburn, N. Y., September 24, 1825. She was married at her father's home in Westfield, O., September 7, 1842, to George B. Terry, brother of her sister's husband. He died April 3, 1855, leaving her a widow with four children, viz. : Evaline, born July 2, 1844 ; married Reuben P. Smith. She died February IO, 1870, leaving two children. Margaret Ann, born August n, 1846; married William H. H. Smith. They have seven children. Chauncey G., born March II, 1849 ; married . They have seven children. George B., Jr., bom July 27, 1851 ; married . They have four children. After living a widow for seventeen years, she married Taylor Barge of Carding- ton, O., where they now live. WARREN HIGLEY, fourth child of Chauncey and Margaret A. Higley, was born at Auburn, N. Y., December 10, 1827, and died December 9, 1828. EDWIN R. was born at Auburn, N. Y , November 25, 1829. Married in Ohio, April 17, 1850, to Catherine Devar of Newark, O. They settled on a farm near his father's, and had nine children : Frank G., born August 15, 1851 ; Jane J., born July 10, 1853 ; Delphine, Clara Estclla, Ella Jane, Jessie, William, Howard C., and George. His wife died not long after the birth of George, and after about two years he took to himself a second wife, by whom he had seven children up to August, 1887 : John Sherman, Emily Rosetta, Charles, Chauncey, Lewis, Curtis Jay, and Joseph Gran-ville. All were living at last advices sixteen. DESIRE R., daughter of Chauncey and Margaret Higley, was born in Butler, Wayne County, N. Y., September 13, 1832. Married December 24, 1850, in Newark, O , to James F. Peyton. She died May 3, 1852. EMILY S , daughter of Chauncey and Margaret Higley, was born in Westfield, O., April 6, 1841. Married at her fathers house in Ashley, O., December 24, 1859, Peter Z. Hopper, of Hackensack, N. J. They reside at Ashley, O. Six children were born to them : Herbert, October 29, 1860 ; died February 27, 1861. Charles, April 14, 1862. Margaret, July 27, 1864. Levi J. t August 6, 1866. Chauncey, September 19, 1871, and Lizzie, July 4, 1876. JACOB SAWYER, third child of Warren and Lucy Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., January 3, 1802, and was over two years old when his parents moved into the wilderness of Onondaga. He developed a splendid physique, and a strong, manly character under the influence of farm life and the busy cultured home. On November 10, 1822, not yet twenty-one, he married Nancy Delina Spencer, the daughter of a neighboring farmer. He was powerful in strength, of a kind and generous nature, noble character, and a most exemplary husband and father. He died May 15, 1873. His devoted wife had died October 28, 1866. His grandson, Rev. Elmer Higley, writes: "In 1827, my grandfather moved to Wayne County, N. Y., in company with his brother Chauncey. In 1831 he moved to Cattaraugus County, 206 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. N. Y. From there he moved to Conneaut Township, Crawford County, Pa., in 1835, settling each time in the wilderness. In 1845 he moved to Millcreek Township, Williams County, O. Here he cleared the land and followed farming. He lived there until his decease in 1874 his death occurring, however, in Munroe County, Mich., while visiting at the home of his eldest son Sheldon." They had ten children, six boys and four girls, whose names and dates of birth are as follows, as taken from the family record : Sheldon, born August 4, 1823; Emulus, November 13, 1825; Ben- jamin, March 10, 1827, no further data; Lucy M., December 7, 1828 ; Austin, April 5, 1830 ; Harriet, April i, 1832; Emily J., July 4, 1835; Miles Warren, April 22, 1842; Elba, July 17, 1844; Janette, February i, 1851, no data. The following deaths are recorded: Emily J., August, 1847, aged twelve years;- Austin was killed in the late war near Atlanta, Ga., July 24, 1864; Harriet G. died April 18, 1888. SHELDON HIGLEY, eldest son of Jacob Sawyer and Nancy Delina Spencer, farmer, resides at Bancroft, Kossuth County, la. EMULUS HIGLEY, resides at Coopersville, Ottaway County, Mich. LUCY MARILLA, married Amos Sullivan in 1843; he died in 1853. They had two children, Emma Rossetta and Cornelius Eugene. February 24, 1859, she married Solomon Rogers, who died September 10, 1887. She now lives in Stryker, Williams County, O. AUSTIN HIGLEY, the fifth child of Jacob Sawyer and Nancy D. Higley, served in the Mexican War, and until the beginning of the late war lived on the frontier, where he served as an Indian scout and encountered many dangers. He was three years in the gold regions of California. In 1861 he enlisted in the 68th Ohio Volunteers, Company I, and went to the Civil War. He was wounded in an engage- ment near Atlanta, Ga., July 21, 1864, and died three days after. HARRIET C. HIGLEY, the sixth child, married William Moore, a fanner, living in Bridgewater Township, Williams County, O. They had three children, only one of whom is living Samuel. MILES WARREN HIGLEY, the seventh child, was born in Conneaut Township, Crawford County, Pa. His father moved to Williams County, O., three years after. In 1861 he enlisted in the 6ist Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, and served in the war to its close. He was wounded at Champion Hills, near Vicksburg, May 16, 1863. He married Amanda Ann Snow, September 18, 1863. Three children were born to them : Elmer, July 6, 1867 ; Fred, October i, 1868 ; and Orin, July 23, 1872. In 1881 they moved to Conneautville, Pa., where they still reside. The Rev. ELMER HIGLEY, eldest son of Miles W. and Amanda A. Higley, was born near Pioneer, Williams County, O., July 6, 1867. When fourteen years old his parents moved to Conneautville, Pa., where he enjoyed the advantages of the com- mon school, and three years after entered the high school, from which he was gradu- ated in 1887. After teaching one year, and spending one year in travel, he entered CHESTER AND PRUDENCE MILLER-HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY,\ST. 207 Alleghany College, Meadville, Pa., where he pursued the classical course to the senior year, when, in 1891, he entered the ministry, and since then has filled pastorates in the Methodist Episcopal Church. While serving in the ministry he has completed the college course of studies, and will graduate in '96. He married Alice C. Dowler, August 16, 1892, and is now the settled pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Milesgrove, Pa. ELBA HIGLEY, daughter of Jacob Sawyer aud Nancy Delina Spencer, married Jerry Zolomon, and now resides near Pioneer, Williams County, O. EMILY J. HIGLEY, their seventh child, married Leander Zolomon. They reside near West Unity, Williams County, O. LUCY ROSETTA HIGLEY, fourth child of Warren and Lucy_ Sawyer Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., February i, 1804, and was therefore a babe in arms when her parents removed to Central New York. Family tradition says that she was an unusually beautiful and lovely child, and that her early death, March 25, 1816, was the cause of deep and widespread sorrow. EMILY HIGLEY, fifth child of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., October 25, 1805, soon after the first crop of corn was gathered from the new lot. She developed a strong, beautiful character, and lived respected and loved by all who knew her. In 1822, at the age of seventeen, she married Newel Wiard, the son of a neighboring farmer. They remained childless for nearly ten years when their first child, FLORA E., was born, May 7, 1832. She grew to be a very attractive and highly accomplished young lady. While spending the winter of 1858 with friends in the far South, she became ill and died in Handsboro, Miss., at the age of twenty-six. CHARLES WIARD, the second child of Newel and Emily Higley Wiard, was born March 2, 1834 ; married June 27, 1860, at Onondaga Hill, an accomplished and highly educated lady, Mary C. Annable, and settled on the homestead with his parents. He was a farmer, and continued to live where they first settled until his death, which occurred January 9, 1890. Three children were born to them: Flora E., August n, 1861. She married March 4, 1886, Henry H. Hamilton. On February 20, 1887, a daughter was born, whom they named Bertha. Frank C. was born May 20, 1865, and at last advices was a bachelor. Lyman A. was born July 2, 1874. CHESTER HIGLEY, the sixth child and fourth son of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born December 9, 1807. He grew to a lusty manhood in the old home, and was noted for his genial nature, generous spirit, and industrious habits. When about eighteen he joined his brother Chauncey, who was then in charge of " Garrow's Distillery " at Auburn, N. Y. After serv- 208 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ing his apprenticeship, he had charge of large distilleries in different parts of the State, until 1845. The remainder of his life was spent on a farm in the town of Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y. He died at his home near Auburn after a brief illness, May 3, 1875. He was of a strong and vigorous constitution, and until his last illness had seldom experienced a sick day. In 1828, July 6, he married Prudence Miller, then residing with her grandparents on West Genesee Street, Auburn, N. Y. She was born at Pine Hill, N. Y., September, 30, 1809. Her father, George Miller, emigrated from Southeastern New York in the early part of the century and settled with his family near Albion, N. Y., and brought up a large family. She died January 5, 1882, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Eliza Nickason, in Auburn, N. Y. Chester and Prudence Miller Higley had a family of five chil- dren, viz.: COLLINS JACOB, born at Auburn, N. Y., May 5, 1829. He grew to young man- hood, strong, healthy, genial, of fair skin, black hair, and large brown eyes. He was well educated, served an apprenticeship, according to the custom of that time, at the joiner's trade in Auburn, N. Y., and during this period joined the local brass band and began the study of music, Afterward he became quite distin- guished as a musician. At the age of twenty-one he abandoned his trade and devoted himself to music. He traveled for many years as a leading musician, and was very skilled and unusually popular with his craft. As opportunity offered, he composed and arranged music for local bands. About the year 1858 or 1859 he went with a party from Chicago overland to Pike's Peak, Col., to mine gold. They went with a full outfit of teams, cattle, provisions, and tools, and were many weeks in making the journey across the plains. He sent favorable reports for the following two years, and in the early summer of 1861 he wrote, inquiring anxiously for news of the war, and saying that he would soon be able to return East with a good competence. The letter in reply was returned through the dead letter office at Washington. He has not been heard from since. It is thought that he must have lost his life in some one of the border conflicts that prevailed between the Union and Confederate forces about tliat time. He never married. GEORGE MILLER, second son of Chester and Prudence Higley, was born in Auburn, N. Y., April I, 1831. He died from the effects of a railroad accident in Nashville, Tenn., in the fall of 1879. He was twice married, but left no children surviving. He was in the railroad business a large part of his life, as master of freight, engineer, conductor, etc. He was conductor of a war train, under General McPherson, in the late war, and did daring and effective service for the Union cause. DESCENDANTS OF SETH H 1C LEY, 1ST 209 By the Editor, Warren, Chester, Warren, Seth, ist, Brewster, zd, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. WARREN HIGLEY (of New York City), the youngest son of Chester and Prudence Miller Higley, was born in Genoa, near Auburn, N. Y., July i, 1833. He is a lineal descendant in direct line from both of his honored maternal ancestors, Captain John Higley's two wives, his great-grandfather, Seth Higley, having contracted a marriage of near kin. His childhood was spent upon the farm in the midst of the simplicity of an agricultural life. Like the youth of those days, his early education was gained at the common district school, which he attended faithfully, winter and summer, until ten years of age, after which he attended only during the winter months, his labor being required on the farm in the summer. The molding of his earlier years fell largely upon his mother, who was a gifted and superior woman. Her maternal heart was wrapped up in this son, and it is to her energy, perseverance, and wise direction that he says he owes his successful efforts in after life more than to anything else. He was noted for his perseverance, industry, and frugality during his youth. In the country school he early rose to the first class in scholarship, and, by having free access to the dis- trict library, he supplemented the education of the schoolroom by that education which comes from the eager reading of a great variety of excellent books, in history, biography, travels, science, and art. It embraced such works as Headley's "Napoleon and his Marshals," "Washington and his Generals," Dr. Dix's works, Dr. Lardner's works on science and art, Freemont's exploring ex- peditions to the Pacific coast, "Life of Benjamin Franklin," etc. Through good home training, the education of the school and the library, and the industrious habits of farm life, he developed into an energetic, long-headed boy of great application a fair type of an American country youth, who afterward rose to an influential and successful manhood through his own individual energy and unfailing perseverance. He was early ambitious to earn his own living and to accumu- late from his earnings. At the age of sixteen he purchased five acres of land near the city of Auburn, upon which, with the aid of his parents, he built a comfortable cottage, which home they thereafter enjoyed until their decease. 210 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The fond dream of his early youth was to obtain an education sufficient to enable him to teach a country school, and thus insure an income from the winter as well as from the summer months. He easily surpassed his fellows in the country school, and, at the age of seventeen, entered the Auburn Academy, where he received the advantages of advanced instruction. He became a member of one of the first teachers' classes in the State, organ- ized under the auspices of the Regents of the University. This was about the year 1850-51. The following winter he taught his first district school at Aurelius, three miles west of Auburn, and "boarded round," according to the custom of those days. This school consisted of forty-five pupils, ranging from six to twenty-five years of age. His salary was sixteen dollars per month. The branches taught ranged from the A B C's to higher algebra. Before the end of his term, the trustees engaged him for the following year at largely increased wages. His broadened experience and observation, as a student at the Auburn Academy and teacher in the country school, fired him with an ambition to obtain a collegiate education. He took up the study of Latin and Greek, and pursued it with great zeal, inspired by the bright hopes which the attainment of his purposes seemed to hold out; and in the summer of 1858 he entered the freshman class of Hamilton College at Clinton, N. Y., with forty dollars surplus funds to start on. By virtue of a trusting faith, of determined energy, industry, and careful economy, he worked his way through college without the aid of others. To secure the necessary means he worked for wages in vacations, and taught portions of the time. In his freshman year, as he was far in advance of his class in all the English branches, he accepted the position of head teacher in the Auburn Academy, where he had just finished his preparation for college. During the greater part of this year, he also taught the prisoners in the Auburn State Prison for five days in the week, between the hours of 6 to 8 o'clock, p. M., having received the appointment for this position from the Governor of the State, and received for such service $12.50 per month. The following year he joined his class in college with sufficient means to meet all necessary expenses. In the fall of 1861, while a senior in college, he was appointed by the Governor of the State to fill the vacancy of school commissioner for the second district of Cayuga County. He was able to discharge the duties of this office by DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 211 devoting all of his vacations and a part of the winter term to them, and at the same time to keep up his studies with his college class; he was graduated with honor in the summer of 1862. After graduation he continued in the office of school commis- sioner, discharging his duties with great efficiency and acceptance to the public, until the following year, when he was elected to what he deemed the more important position of principal of Cayuga Lake Academy, located at Aurora, N. Y., one of the oldest academies in the State. Under his energetic direction the school rapidly increased in patronage, and rose to high rank among the educational insti- tutions of New York. After three years of flattering success, he yielded to the solicita- tions of the Board of Education of Auburn, N. Y., to remove to his native town and take charge of the reorganization of the public schools of that city, and the establishment of a high school in place of the old academy, and to this end he was elected secretary of the Board of Education and Superintendent of the Publ : c Schools in the summer of 1866. This position he filled with eminent satisfaction to all concerned. The high school flourished beyond the expectations of its most zealous supporters, and the public schools generally, under his personal direction, rose to a high degree of excellence. His friends at Aurora were determined to secure his return, if possible, and under various strong inducements, financial as well as in the direction of promised means for the building and endow- ment of a college of high rank, he returned, after two years' work at Auburn, and again took charge of the old academy, with the understanding that a new building would soon be erected by one of the wealthiest citizens of that place, and duly equipped to take its place among the leading colleges of the State. He was ambitious to be at the head of such an institution, and to be instrumental in its development. It was for this purpose and with this understanding that he returned to Aurora. But difficulties arose to prevent the founding and building up of the proposed institution. Financial conditions were changed, and after waiting for two years and continuing at the head of the academy, he felt justified in accepting an offer of the principal- ship of the West High School at Cleveland, O., and in the summer of 1870 he removed to Cleveland. His success there was so marked, and he became so well known to the distin- 212 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. guished educators of Ohio, that the Board of Education of the city of Dayton, O., invited him to the superintendency of their schools. The offer of a largely increased salary, and the attrac- tions of the work to be done in this new field, induced him to accept the position offered, which he did in the summer of 1871. For some time, his logical qualities of mind, and a fair acquaint- ance with law already acquired during intervals of his regular duties, had been bending him toward the legal profession, and in 1873 he resigned from school work and became a resident of Cin- cinnati, O., where he was admitted the following year, 1874, to the practice of the law by the Supreme Court of the State. Thorough and painstaking in all that he did, he was not long in gaining a professional foothold and winning a name in legal circles. In 1881 he was chosen- Judge of the City Court of Cincinnati, a Court of Record having original jurisdiction of all crimes and misdemeanors within the city, with the right of trial by jury. His career on the bench, until the expiration of his term, was characterized by sound judgment and common sense. His decisions upon several questions of general public interest were copied widely by the press of the country. His adminis- tration was noted for its efficiency in the punishment of crime and the sustaining of law and order. He probably achieved his greatest fame in his decisions under the law forbidding the opening of saloons and theaters on Sunday. Public feeling pro and con became very intense. The law was openly defied by the saloon keepers. Six hundred arrests were made by the police. The most prominent and influental among them were tried before Judge Higley and a jury, and convicted after a long and exciting trial. The full penalty of the law was promptly inflicted, and the most orderly Sabbath followed that had ever been known in Cincinnati; the greatest excitement prevailed, and riots were threatened in some portions of the city, but law and order triumphed. Judge Higley served on the bench the two years for which he was elected, and positively declined to be a candidate for re-election. He closed his term with the good wishes and high respect of the members of the bar. It was a just recognition of his faithful services that prompted a number of prominent citizens to mark the occasion by entertaining him at a elaborate dinner, at the DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 213 close of which he was presented with a beautiful silver tankard, suitably inscribed. The following is taken from a leading morning paper : "Judge Warren Higley, whose term on the bench of the City Criminal Court will end on the 25th inst, gave a delightful semi-official entertainment at his home on Mount Auburn last evening. The only ladies present were Mrs. Higley and ladies who assisted her in receiving the judge's guests. Among those present were : William Means, Mayor of Cincinnati, Judge M. L. Buchwalter, Judge M. F. Wilson, Judge Fitzgerald, Judge John P. Murphy, Hon. John A. Caldwell, Hon. Howard Douglass, Assistant Postmaster Muller, Colonel Luther Parker, Mr. Benjamin Harrison, and a number of press representatives, including the gentlemen whose duties call them frequently to Judge Higley's court. With such a company and so admirable a host and hostess, the evening was a delightful one. The intellectual commission was helped out by beautiful accidentals : the tasteful decoration of the rooms ; the punch that was a study, a delight and a delusion; the cards and the supper that included the substantials, as well as the delicacies of the season. Judge Higley leaves a fine record as the magistrate of the court whose duties from their nearness to the daily welfare of the people are most difficult and important, but even more has he endeared himself, during his two years of public life, to all who have come in contact with him, as a man and gentleman." In the month of January, 1882, the American Forestry Con- gress had its birth in Judge Higley's law office. A few gentlemen, including Judge Higley, who had had the pleasure of getting up a public reception for Baron Richard Von Steuben, Royal Chief Forester of the German Empire, and his associates, soon after the centennial celebration of the battle of Yorktown, in November, 1881, met in Judge Higley's office in the early part of the January following, and discussed the subject of forestry. "Before they separated they resolved to bring the subject to the earnest consideration of the people. A committee was organized, and for the next three months the press of the country laid before the people the subject of forestry in its vari- ous important aspects." This movement culminated in a three days' meeting at Music 214 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Hall, Cincinnati, held April 25, 26, and 27, 1882, at which most of the distinguished foresters of the United States and Canada were present and read papers before the scientific departments. The Governor of the State made the address of welcome. The 2yth of the month was appointed by the chief executive of the State as Arbor Day, the first Arbor Day celebration in Ohio, and the first except two in the United States. The city was in holi- day attire. A great procession of soldiery and citizens, and pupils of the public schools, marched to Eden Park, where various groves were planted, with appropriate ceremonies. Thus closed the first session of the American Forestry Con- gress, which embraces in its scope the United States and Canada. This organization has done more than all other instrumentalities for the promotion of forestry in America. In 1884 Judge Higley was elected President of the American Forestry Congress, and was re-elected the following year. His opening address before the congress assembled in Boston in September, 1885, was clear and convincing, and commanded the thoughtful attention of the citizens of New England especially. He is still an active officer in this organization. One year after the first meeting of the American Congress, January, 1883, the Ohio State Forestry Association was organized, of which Judge Higley was an active mover, and of which he was elected its first president. The summer of 1884 Judge Higley removed to New York City, where he has since transacted a profitable law business, maintain- ing his previous reputation as a lawyer. Here he early began taking an active interest in matters appertaining to both social and public affairs. Of the Ohio Society of New York, organized January, 1886, he was one of the leading founders, and an indefatigable worker in its early history. He served as its secretary for some years, and has always been active in the interests of the society. He was one of the principle organizers of the New York State Forestry Association, of which he was made first vice president, and has occupied a well achieved place in the front ranks of its membership, working with zealous and praiseworthy effort to arouse public attention to the imperative importance of preserv- ing our State forests. He spoke upon invitation, in different parts of the State, without moneyed compensation, making timely addresses upon the urgent necessity of preventing the destruction DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 215 of the Adirondack forests; urging that laws should be enacted giving the State power to purchase and hold absolute control over millions of additional acres of forest, deemed necessary to the Adirondack Preserve, and that all waste places should be devoted to forest growth. It is due in great measure to the influence of such earnest men as Judge Warren Higley and his coadjutors, men capable of dealing with the great questions of the day, that the State of New York stands far in advance of any other State in the Union in her forestry legislation, and the management of her State forests. Judge Higley became one of the incorporators and a trustee of the Adirondack League Club, founded in 1890, for the purpose of a game and forest preserve. The club now (1895) owns 115,000 acres of forest lands lying in Hamilton and Herkimer Counties, N. Y., upon which are three fine club-houses. Forest Lodge on Honnedago Lake, Bisby Club-house on Bisby Lake, and Mountain Lodge Club-house, on Little Moose Lake, several cottages, and numerous camps adorn this wilderness tract, the most beautiful and attractive of which is Judge Higley's "Cedar Lodge," lately erected on Little Moose Lake. The club owns the finest stretch of native forest in the Adiron- dacks, and is trying to apply, for the first time in this country, advanced principles of forestry management, whereby forest preservation and forest utilization will not be inconsistent the one with the other. Judge Higley, as vice president of the club, takes an active interest in its management. In politics he is a Republican. Apart, however, from some active service as an officer in the Business Men's Republican Organization during the campaigns for Republican success in 1888-90, he has not devoted much attention to the general politics of New York. About that time, the New York Financial Gazette had the following most complimentary words for Judge Higley : " The Business Men's Republican Organization of the Twelfth Assembly District held a large meeting recently for the purpose of transacting important business. Several speeches were made by members, notably that of Ex-Judge Warren Higley, which was declared by all who had the pleasure of listening to it to be the best of the evening. He expounded the plan of the business men's organizations, showing the wisdom and the foresight em- 2l6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. braced in the scheme of work concentrated under it. He recom- mended meeting-places where young men could assemble and dis- cuss the questions of the day, and acquire information, which would certainly prove of advantage to them. Judge Higley's speech was full of good advice and encouraging facts. He has always done much to advance the interests of his party in this city, and during the last presidental campaign worked hard and earnestly for the success of the national ticket. As a lawyer he stands high in his profession, and his career at the bar has been a most successful one; he is considered one of the ablest and best read of our local practitioners." The Patria Club, of which Judge Higley is the presiding officer, held its initial meeting at Sherry's, April 23, 1891. Shortly before that date, at a dinner of the New York coun- cilors of the American Institute of Civics, over which Judge Higley presided, it was proposed to effect an organization includ- ing the members resident in New York City and vicinity, the object of which should be to promote the patriotic aims of the Institute, and be known as the "Patria Club," the membership to be open to ladies as well as gentlemen. Its first meeting was addressed by the Right Rev. A. C. Coxe, bishop of the Western Diocese of New York, who made an able address upon "Standards of Citizenship and Government." This club, over which Judge Higley has presided for two years, now (1895) numbers about two hundred ladies and gentlemen in its membership, and is accomplishing a quiet but effective work in "the maintenance of high ideals in affairs of government, by influence and channels largely educational in character." It ranks among the foremost literary social clubs of the metropolis. Among its active members are Daniel Greenleaf Thompson, Ex- United States Treasurer Ellis H. Roberts, Hon. and Mrs. William H. Arnoux, Hon. Warner Miller, Editor La Salle A. Maynard, Mr. and Mrs. William Ives Washburn, Mrs. J. C. Croly (Jennie June), Colonel and Mrs. Abraham G. Mills, Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson, Hon. and Mrs. William Brookfield, Ex-Judge Noah Davis, Rev. Dr. and Mrs. John R. McArthur, Professor and Mrs. S. S. Packard, Hon. Stewart L. Woodford. Judge Higley is a charter member of the Alpha Delta Phi Club of the City of New York, a member of the -American Geographical Society, the President of the Hamilton College Alumni Associa- CHRISTINA J. HALEY HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 217 tion of the City of New York, and a member of the Republican Club. He is a 32 Mason, and a prominent officer in the Scottish Rite bodies. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He delivered the historic addresses at the reunions of the Higley family at Windsor, O., in 1887, at Windham, O., in 1889, and at Simsbury, Conn., in the summer of 1890. From the first inception of this genealogical work he has taken an active interest in its progress, rendering valuable contributions of time and service, for which he will be honorably remembered. As has been already stated, he finally assumed the entire financial respon- sibility of its publication. From the time that his college course was closed and his mind and character matured, his exceptional gifted powers for public speaking have brought him into request to deliver addresses at conventions, public meetings, and before Associations having different objects. Tall and well-formed, standing full six feet, with a mind well stored with a general knowledge of men and things, a scholarly manner, and a strong and most agreeable voice, speaking with directness, and with perfect ease in the art of ex- pression, his audiences rarely fail to become enthusiastic in their appreciation. His temperament, which is confident and hopeful, fits him to rank with men described in the following words of Henry Ward Beecher: " Men who carry good nature in society are as much perceived as spicewood is, that carries sweet odors." It follows then that his social life is a busy one, that his quality and fine humor, with his catholic spirit, make him many friends, and a welcome guest. Like all other popular men who serve the public in responsible places, he has sometimes been placed in circumstances of unusual difficulty, and "escaped not calumnious strokes." Who is the public man that has not had maligners ? The course which he took, and which is a marked characteristic, of maintaining perfect silence, speaking ill of no one, has always won for him the highest respect, leaving his detractors contending in vain. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, and a member of the West Presbyterian Church, New York City. He has been three times married; first, to Frances W. Tyler, daughter of B. B. Tyler, Esq., a prosperous farmer, near Auburn, N. Y., January i, 1863, by whom he had two children : Edward 2l8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. North, born May, 1864, died in infancy; Arthur W., born November 23, 1866, educated in the public schools of Auburn, and now engaged in business in Wisconsin. At Cincinnati, O., June 30, 1873, he married his second wife, Emma W. Clark, a lady of rare culture and learning. She became a devoted student of art, and an art critic of high rank. She twice visited Europe in the interest of her chosen studies, and made an extensive collec- tion of art works. Soon after settling in New York she became a member of Sorosis, where her brilliancy and learning and apti- tude in debate gave her special prominence. She died in the City of New York, from a surgical operation, April 19, 1890, leaving no children. On the zist day of July, 1891, he united in marriage with Christina J. Haley of New York City, a most estimable lady. She had been a prominent member of Sorosis for many years, and filled several of its important offices. She was the publisher and business manager of the Woman's Cycle. She is a life member of the Woman's Press Club, an active member of the Woman's Health Protective Association of New York City, a member of the Patria Club, of which her husband is president, and the first woman to join the Adirondack League Club, of which her hus- band is the vice president. Mrs. Higley is a woman of rare execu- tive ability, an excellent and devoted wife, and her home is the center of her greatest activity. Her kind and generous nature, helpful spirit, and keen sense of duty command the esteem and admiration of those who know her. ELIZA ZADAH, fourth child of Chester and Prudence Miller Higley, was born in Auburn, N. Y., March 15, 1836. She received a good education, and married William H. Nickason, then a neighboring farmer, March 8, 1854. They soon after settled in Auburn, where he has since been engaged in the carpenter and building business. A goodly measure of prosperity and happiness has been theirs. They have two children living (one died in infancy), viz. : Fred Nickason, was born June 27, 1861, and lived with his parents until his marriage with Carrie Ashton, April 30, 1890 ; one child, Winifred A., was born to them June 14, 1891. Mary Nickason, was born May 23, 1876, and is still in school. MARIA RACHAEL, the youngest child of Chester and Prudence Higley, was born in the town of Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y., August 13, 1845. She was educated at the Auburn Academy, where she made special preparations for teaching. She first taught a country district school, and afterward for several years with marked success taught in the public schools of Auburn. On the igth day of April, 1870, she married Alexander Walker, of the town of Owasco. They settled on a farm in the town of Fleming, five miles from Auburn, and prospered as thrifty farmers. ELIZA Z. HIGLEY NICKASON. DESCENDANTS OF SETH H1GLEY, \ST. 219 After a few years they sold out, and purchased a large farm in the town of Scipio, about seven miles from Auburn, and near the shores of Owasco Lake, beautiful in situation, and among the finest farms in Cayuga County. They have a family of seven children a family remarkable for harmony, industry, thrift, helpfulness one toward another, intelligence, and strong characters. Hugh, born February 15, 1871 ; married January 3, i8g4, Nina Denniston, and settled on a farm in Steuben County, N. Y.; Warren Higley, born March 31, 1873 ; Maud C., born December 25, 1874 ; Alexander, Jr., born November 15, 1878 ; Harry, November 15, 1881 ; Fred. ., August 15, 1878, and Floyd, the youngest, November 21, 1887. This completes the family of Chester and Prudence Higley, with a word concern- ing this devoted mother. She was a woman of rare excellence and worth. She inspired her children with the virtues that lead to success through industry, integ- rity, prudence, and laudable ambition. Ever watchful, in her motherly tenderness, wise in her counsels, helpful in her example, making home cheerful and happy and pure, a noble type of a beautiful, devoted, and loving wife and mother. Continued from page 200. RACHAEL HIGLEY, seventh child of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born July 21, 1813. She married Royal Philkins of Wayne County, N. Y. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Illinois where she died quite young. They had three children : Margaret, F.lmira, and Nathaniel. Nathaniel went out in the late war as captain of Company C, loth Ohio Cavalry, and afterward rose to the rank of major. HARRIET R. HIGLEY, the youngest child of Warren and Lucy Sawyer Higley, was born in Onondago County, N. Y., October 5, 1815. In 1835 sne went with her brother, J. Sawyer, to Craw- ford County, Pa., and thence to Williams County, O., where she married H. Barbour, a farmer. They had five children. She now lives, a widow, in Millcreek, Williams County, O. Her hus- band died in 1890. Continued from chapter xxxiii. page 188. ROXANNA HIGLEY, the fifth child of Seth and Mindwell Higley was born at Simsbury, Conn. She married Abel Holcombe. They removed to Volusia, Chatauqua County, N. Y., where she died at an advanced age. They brought up a family. No material has been furnished from which to write a sketch of the Holcombes or their descendants. CHAPTER XXXV. AMELIA HIGLEY BATES. Continued from page 188. Amelia, Seth, ist, Brewster, zd, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. The spindle and the loom of her grandmother gather and consecrate the dust of the garret, while the woman of to-day watches the spindle and the loom of the factory. PHILPOTT. AMELIA HIGLEY BATES, the sixth child of Seth, ist, and Mind- well Higley, was born at the old homestead of her father and of her grandfather, Brewster Higley, ad, March 10, 1779. When about the age of nineteen (1798), she married Lieutenant Erastus Bates, whose birth took place October 22, 1764. They lived in East Granby, Conn. Lieutenant Bates was the son of Captain Lemuel Bates,* a Revolutionary officer who purchased his farm in East Granby in 1774. Erastus, too, was a military man, receiving his commission in the Connecticut militia, October 12, 1799, joining the i8th Regiment, Company 4. The home farm upon which Lieutenant Erastus Bates and his young wife settled, containing forty-seven acres, was purchased by Captain Lemuel Bates adjoining his own estate. On the death of Captain Bates this share of the estate came into the full owner- ship of his son, Erastus, to which, in the year 1794, he added fourteen acres by purchase. The tract in later years had further additions, and now contains eighty-six acres. These lands, which have been owned and occupied by the Bateses for 120 years, lie in the town of East Granby, directly on the old highway from Boston to New York. When Lieutenant Erastus Bates died in 1826, his widow, Amelia Higley, retained possession of the farm till her death. The present dwelling (now belonging to her * Lemuel Bales was a captain during the Revolution, and participated in several battles. For many years Captain Bates kept a tavern in the north part of East Granby. The merry old gentle- man was fond of fighting his battles over again by relating his reminiscences of those stirring times. After the surrender of Burgoyne several detachments of the British prisoners of war were marched through East Granby, and a portion of them bivouacked on the premises of Captain Bates. " The British had plenty of money," said Captain Bates, " to pay for the best we had, and my folks were kept busy in distributing pitchers and pails of cider among them. At night all the floors of my tavern were spread over with them." At one time several teams laden with specie, en route from Boston to Philadelphia, halted for the night at Captain Bates'. The specie had been borrowed from France. It was inclosed in strong plank boxes, drawn by thirteen teams, well guarded, and amounted to several millions of dollars. " Newgate oj 'Connecticut" p. 112. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 221 grandson, Albert C. Bates) stands on the site of the house in which she lived her married life, and where her death took place; the rear part of the building now in use being a part of her old homestead. She was a woman of unusual force of character, capable, and possessing readiness to accomplish with her own hands an ample amount of domestic duties. Martha-like care and labor filled her daily life as it did the lives of the women of her time. The scope of her industry included dyeing, spinning, and weaving. There are still to be found in the old homestead woven relics bearing evidence not only of her patient skill and refined taste, but exhibiting, as well, a rare artistic knowledge of dyeing attractive shades and designing patterns. She survived her husband thirteen years, and died in the year 1839, aged sixty. Lieutenant Erastus and Amelia Higley Bates had ten children, viz. : Anson, Daniel, Albert, Flora, Carlos, Milton, Laura, Alfred, Mind- well. An infant daughter was born and died, October 19, 1802. ANSON BATES, the eldest child, born May 4, 1799, practiced law and was also a farmer in East Granby. He married and had a family. He died aged eighty. DANIEL, the second child, was born August 23, 1800. He died unmarried, October 12, 1821. ALBERT, the fourth child, born January 15, 1804, married Lucretia Bates, his cousin. He removed with his family to Medina, Medina County, O. He died February 6, 1885. FLORA, the fifth child, born May i, 1806, married Metcalf. They resided for some time in Granby, but later on she removed with her two sons to Caledonia, Minn., in the early history of that State. She died in 1877. CARLOS BATES, the sixth child of Lieutenant Erastus Bates and Amelia Higley, was born at the old family homestead in East Granby, March 23, 1808. This spot was his home during the entire period of his life seventy-one years. He attended the district school, afterward taking an academic course at the Westfield Academy. He pursued his studies still further under a private tutor, Cicero Holcombe. At the age of nineteen he began teaching a district school, teaching and study- ing alternately for several years. About the year 1834 he began mercantile pursuits, opening a country store in Poquonoc, Conn. He afterward went to Natchez, Miss., engaging in the same business. Here he became the owner of two slaves a man and a woman. For a period of twenty years, from the year 1837, he traveled throughout the 222 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Southern States, engaged in collecting for the clock manufactur- ing firm of Erastus Case & Co., of Canton, Conn., generally returning to his Northern home at East Granby each season. In the year 1845 Mr. Bates was elected and served in the Con- necticut State Legislature as representative for the town of Granby. His last journey in the South was made in 1860, just previous to the Civil War. As one of the heirs of his mother's estate, he became the purchaser, at her death, of the shares in the home farm which were inherited by his brothers and sisters. This gave him full right and title to the farm and homestead. In the year 1860 he married Maria Stimpson, who died, after a brief illness, of conges- tion of the lungs, leaving an infant, which survived the mother but a few months. On the 1 2th of December, 1861, Mr. Bates married Mrs. Hannah S. Stowell, a widow * with two children, the daughter of Captain Enoch and Sophia T. C. Powers. Mrs. Stowell was born February 27, 1820. By the year 1861 Mr. Bates had acquired a handsome competency. When the turbulent days of the Civil War came, he was outspoken and thoroughly loyal in its most shadowy times. Retaining unshaken faith in the financial credit and ultimate national supremacy of our government, he invested liberally in government bonds. This action finally resulted in his realizing a handsome increase of fortune. After this period he occupied his time in settling estates and filling engagements of trust, and attending to his personal affairs. He was a man to whom his fellow-citizens and neighbors of all the sur- rounding towns appealed and consulted on every important ques- tion, especially those concerning public measures. In the year 1874 he again entered actively into politics, and received the Re- publican nomination in the third district for Member of Congress. But he suffered defeat, the district proving strongly Democratic. Mr. Bates bore a strong and well-rounded character, with a well-stored mind. He was capable of delivering an eloquent and happy speech on public occasions, when it came in his way. Books were a source of pleasure to him. He was a man who read widely and thoughtfully, and was acquainted with literature. A friend who knew him well, says that " he was thoroughly acquainted with a dozen good poets, and delighted in Shaks- pere." He acquired a fair knowledge of both Latin and French. * Mrs. Stowell was the widow of Austin C. Stowell, whose death took place in the year 1853. ALBERT CARLOS BATES. DESCENDANTS OF SETff HIGLEY, 1ST. 223 He died December 20, 1878. The Hartford Courant contained a few days afterward the following editorial : "Mr. Carlos Bates, a native and much respected citizen of East Granby, died at his residence Friday morning, the 2oth, at the age of seventy-one. Mr. Bates sat in his chair conversing with his family and friends the preceding evening, cheerful and apparently quite strong. He had been confined to his house with indisposition for a few days, but had given evidence of an improved condition. His whole life has been one of useful- ness and activity. Many will mourn the loss of his wise counsel and advice." Mr. Bates was interred in the grounds of Elmwood Cemetery, on the 23d, a large concourse of people attending the funeral. The spot is marked by a beautiful shaft of Scotch granite. The children of Carlos and Hannah S. Bates were: An infant son, born August 7, 1863; died August 10, 1863. Albert Carlos, born March 12, 1865. ALBERT CARLOS BATES, the younger of the two sons, and the only surviving child of his parents, was born in the ancient homestead in East Granby, on the 1 2th of March, 1865. As has been already shown, his father was a man possessing a strong mind, and rose to considerable distinction in the political, social, and moneyed world, by his energy of character and fine mental abilities. Young Bates had only entered his thirteenth year when death deprived him of paternal care. Upon his mother, a woman of unusual brightness and quick intelligence, devolved the guardianship of his youth. His education, till he reached his fourteenth year, was received at the district school ; he was afterward sent to the Athol High School, at Athol, Mass., where his progress in his studies gave highest satisfaction to his professors. He then entered the Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield, Conn. Here his advance was so rapid that he completed the full four years' scientific course in three years, passing successful and highly creditable examinations, and receiving his diploma, June 24, 1885. Astronomy and chemistry were studies especially agree- able to his natural tastes. For these sciences he showed such aptitude that he was called to the capacity of assistant teacher in the chemical department, a position which he filled with great acceptance for several school terms. His father, at his decease, left a large estate, consisting of farms, bank stocks, etc., including the old Bates farm and homestead in East Granby. On reaching his twenty-first birthday Albert C. Bates became the absolute owner of this property. He bears the reputation of possessing excellent business ability ; he appreciates the value of money, and his " cast of thought," life, and habits having always been praiseworthy and manly, he has managed his property in accordance with the conditions of prosperity. His natural tastes, however, run into subjects of a literary and scientific character ; to these pursuits he is ardently devoted. He is a 224 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. natural-born antiquarian, nothing pleasing him better than to be engaged in diligent investigation and patient inquiry, no matter the labor and painstaking it requires. In his home he possesses a very creditable cabinet collection of curios and relics, some of them of much worth, as well as a valuable telescope of high power, indicating his pleasure and familiarity with the study of the heavenly bodies. Mr. Bates' thorough habit of investigation and historical research won his way to prominence in the Connecticut Historical Society, of which he had the honor to be elected a member, July 2, 1889, the youngest man in the society. On January I, 1893, he was elected its librarian, a very responsible position, though an employ- ment thoroughly congenial to his tastes. The office requires great minuteness of de- tail, thorough method, and systematic arrangement ; all of these qualifications arise from an original element or fitness of mind with which few are gifted. These abili- ties Mr. Bates at once applied to the best interest of the valuable library of twenty- five thousand volumes and several thousand pamphlets, with the gratifying result, that after months of patient labor, valuable records and " long forgotten treasures," which had long been concealed, were brought to light and chronologically arranged and classified. Mr. Bates was one of the earliest contributors of time and labor to this Family History. From the first of the undertaking he faithfully rendered invaluable aid to the writer in the pursuit of necessary historical material, furthering its interests in every possible way, and spending much time in research, copying records, etc., which entitles him to a large share of profound gratitude from its readers. He is a man utterly devoid of egotism, reticent and sensitive, of amiable temper- ament, and possessing a cheerily constituted nature. In the year 1891 he was elected the treasurer and town clerk of the town of East Granby. MILTON BATES, the seventh child born to Lieutenant Erastus and Amelia Hig- ley Bates, was born November 15, 1810 ; died September 25, 1831, unmarried. LAURA BATES, the eighth child, born March 17, 1813, married, first, Harvey Trumbull. Her second husband was Van Dorn. They resided in Ohio. She died in Hartford, Conn., 1884, leaving three daughters. ALFRED BATES, the ninth child, born March 13, 1815, was twice married. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of General George Owen of East Granby, Conn. They reside in Enfield, Conn. MINDWELL BATES, the tenth and youngest child of Lieutenant Erastus and Amelia Higley Bates, was born June 9, 1819. She married, first, Henry Johnson of Suffield, and, second, Benjamin E. Smith of Hawley, Mass. They lived in East Granby. She died in the year 1887. She was the mother of two children, a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, Harriet, who died aged twenty-three. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 225 FAMILY OF SETH AND MINDWELL HIGLEY. Continued from page 188. POLLY HIGLEY, and a twin sister, children of Seth and Mindwell Higley, were born in the old homestead at Simsbury, Conn, (no date obtained). The twin died at two years of age. Polly mar- ried, first, Herman Pinney. She married, second, Palmer. No account of the family has been given. RHODA HIGLEY, the eighth child of Seth and Mindwell Higley, was born at Simsbury about the year 1783. She married, first, October 29, 1800, Pliny Humphrey, son of Theopolis Humphrey. Her second marriage was to Aaron Moses Seymour. She died in Simsbury, September 15, 1867. SALLY HIGLEY, the ninth child, was born at Simsbury, Conn., November 20, 1785. She married, October 15, 1805, George Barnard, a man who bore a reputation for exceptional worth and character as long as he lived. They settled on a farm in a part of Simsbury which is now the town of Bloomfield. Here they always resided. Mr. Barnard was a blacksmith by trade, which he carried on as well as farming. They were well-to-do in the world, and highly respected. They were both members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Barnard died of pneumonia, April 19, 1862. His wife, who was a bright and active woman, always enjoying strong health till late in life, died of disease of the heart, Novem- ber 20, 1870. They were interred in the cemetery of the parish of St. An- drews. They were the parents of twelve children, viz.: George A., Caroline, George again, Harriet, Chloe, Carlos, Caro- line again, Amelia, Elizabeth, James, Mary, Henry. Of this family, George A., Caroline, and Carlos died in infancy; Chloe and James both died when about sixteen years of age; two others, one of whom was Elizabeth, died at thirty, unmarried. OLIVER HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Continued from page 188. Oliver, Seth, ist, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. OLIVER HIGLEY, the tenth child of Seth and Mindwell Higley, was born in the old homestead at Simsbury, Conn., October 21, 1790. He married Clarissa Phelps of Simsbury, April 26, 1812. 226 . THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It Is difficult to follow the course of their lives, the data fur- nished being very incomplete and meager. Most of their lives after their marriage were spent in the complicated circumstances, isolation, and struggle attendant upon new settlements in unset- tled States. They appear to have emigrated about 1830 to Central New York, and made a home in the vicinity of Cicero, Onondaga County. After residing here a number of years they removed to Independence, la., while that State was yet a new country. Later in life Oliver Higley removed with married children to Decatur, Neb., where he spent the last years of his life. He was always marked as a hardworking man, of thoroughly honest principles, and did his everyday work after the quieter fashion in agricultural pursuits ; but his round of life contained its measure of worth, for he was much respected in whatever community he lived. He lacked financial ability, and was inno- cent of the love of money-making, and therefore did not accumu- late lands or property. To do his best, toiling in good heart, to supply his large family with actual necessities, was his daily battle with the world ; the development and education of his chil- dren was left much to the spirit of their own inclinations, and the enlightenment which the few advantages and influences sur- rounding them could give. Of his wife, Clarissa Phelps, who was of the highly respectable Phelps family of Simsbury, Conn., little has been preserved. She was born at Simsbury, August 14, 1790. There is no question but that her children inherited from her much which inspired them to honest motives and the better type of living. She died March 30, 1860. Oliver Higley died in Decatur, Neb., in 1883. Their children were : Oliver Nelson, Harrison, Almon, Rosetta, Augustus, Hiram, Edwin, Louisa, Thomas, Elizabeth A., and Chauncey, who was killed by falling from a sled loaded with logs. The two eldest children are given as having died, no data being furnished for these pages. ALMON HIGLEY, the third child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born November 18, 1816. He married February 15, 1844, in Seneca Falls, N. Y., Mary E. Neafie, who was born in New Jersey, October 22, 18 o. They settled in Seneca Falls the year of their marriage, afterward sojourning for a time at Independence, la., and later (previous to 1861) removing to Decatur, Bur! County, Neb., where they now reside. They had children, viz. : DESCENDANTS OF SETH H 1C LEY, \ST. 227 MORRIS GOETCHINS, born in Seneca Falls, N. Y., November n, 1844, who married November 14, 1877, in Decatur, Neb., Jennie Griffin. She was born in Chicago, 111., in 1861. They reside in Decatur. They have two children : Homer Clarence, born February 27, 1878 ; and Lizzie Goetchins, born Novem- ber 17, 1880. ELIZABETH SHAW, the second child of Almon and Mary Neafie Higley, was born in Independence, la., April 26, 1848. She married June 7, 1867, in Arizona, Burt County, Neb., John Creagan. He was born Octobor 19, 1843. John Creagan served throughout the entire Civil War. Elizabeth Higley Creagan died November 13, 1876. Their children : Frank Alman, born in Arizona, Neb., April 9, 1869 ; Lida Evangeline, born on the Omaha Indian Reservation, Nebraska, October 9, 1871. ROSETTA the eldest daughter of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, is recorded as having died; no dates. AUGUSTUS, fifth child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born in Onon- dago County, N. Y., October 24, 1819. He married Mary Shaver, September 4, 1845. She was born January 23, 1825. Their children: Delavan, born April 12, 1846 ; Seward, born March 23, 1851. DELAVAN HIGLEY married, and has two children, viz.: Grace, born Decem- ber 2, 1876 ; and Josephine, born March, 1883. SEWARD married , December 2, 1876. HIRAM, sixth child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born in Cicero, N. Y., 1824. He married in 1845 Caroline M. White. Mr. Higley removed with his family from Cicero, N. Y., to Waukesha, Wis., in the year 1838, where he resided till 1861, when he removed to Decatur, Neb., where they now reside. They had six children, viz. : I.ouis Dalton Higley, born 1846 ; married in 1861, Julia A. Pounds. They reside in Decatur, Neb., and have children : Mary> Josephine, born 1869 ; Elsina Blanch, born 1871 ; and James Myrl, born 1875. Clara L,, born 1848; married, 1866, E. P. Porter. They reside in Wayne, Neb. Josephine E., born 1852 ; died 1859. Cora M., born 1860 ; married F. M. Nolin, 1877. They reside at Omaha, Neb. Jennie J., born 1863, resides at Decatur, Neb. Hiram A,, born 1865. EDWIN HIGLEY, SON OF OLIVER. Continued from page 226. Edwin, Oliver, Seth, ist, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. EDWIN HIGLEY, the seventh child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born at Cicero, N. Y., December 24, 1825. His childhood's earliest days were spent in his paternal home. While yet a young lad he went to live with his aunt, Mrs. Amelia Higley Bates, at East Granby, Hartford County, Conn., and being quite separated from his brothers and sisters, the family becoming widely scattered, he knew little of them afterward. He resided for some time in Bridgeport, Conn. Early in the year 1846 he took up the westward march, removing to Waukesha, 228 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Wis. Here, at the age of twenty-one, he married Louisa G. White, July 7, 1846. She was born March 27, 1829. He joined the 28th Wisconsin Regiment, V. I., in the late Civil War, and served with zeal and courage in the din and can- nonade of battle for three years, receiving an honorable discharge at its close. On the 4th of May, 1866, he, with his family, left the town of Waukesha by wagon and emigrated to Decatur, Neb., where, after a long and wearisome journey, they arrived on the 7th of July. His wife, Louisa White Higley, died December 6, 1878. On July i, 1882, he married Mrs. Susan H. Thompson (formerly Susan Roe). She was born March 13, 1836. They reside in Decatur, Neb. His children, who were all by his first wife, are: Herman Ward, Frank ., and Addie F. HERMAN WARD HIGLEY, the eldest of the three children of Edwin and Louisa White Higley, was born at Waukesha, Wis., November 12, 1849. He attended school in his native town eight years, and in the year 1 866 went with his parents to Decatur, Neb. Mr. Higley has had a varied career, his whole life having been spent on the frontier of our country. Actuated by the spirit of adventure, he went in the early spring of 1877 to the Black Hills, then among the wilds of the great far West. It was in these new and unsettled regions that his life was shaped into an ideal man of the mines and mountains, and his character became stamped with traits of the very best type frankness, geniality, perseverance, and large-heartedness. As a matter of course such a life has given him great intuitional powers, courage, and physical vigor. Prospecting for ores on the great Pacific slope has been the main feature of his occupation. In this he has met with flattering success ; as a man of business he is well balanced and has accumulated wealth. He once remarked to the writer : " My experience has been far from one of com- fort and ease it has been a life among strangers, one of excitement, hardships and privations, ups and downs, but, God be thanked, it has not been all downs. I have always had plenty and to spare." On the 1 2th of November, 1882, he married Mary D. Scott, who was born in Gerry, Chatauqua County, N. Y., in the year 1864. Her father, a gold seeker, who, like thousands, flocked to the far West in 1849, became a miner of Pike's Peak that year, and afterward going onward to California, and there sifting the gold sands when as yet there was no home civilization in that fertile State. In the year 1879, in search of new soil and scenes, the Scott family became pioneers into the Black Hills when Mary was but twelve years of age. They resided for some years in Lead City, a mining camp in South Dakota. Here she met Mr. Higley, her future husband, whom she married at seventeen. She was a person of amiable qualities, had received a fair education, and possessing a talent for music, gained considerable merit by her close application to its study. She has always been remembered by the old residents of Leadville as one of the most cheerful and clever young ladies HERMAN WARD HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIGLEY, 1ST. 229 in " the Hills," during its earliest history. Though of slender build and refined features, she had a brave and courageous heart ; in times of emergencies and frontier perils she did not hesitate to take her Winchester rifle and follow her husband where strong men failed. Many were the marked and thrilling incidents of their experience. In September, 1881, Mr. Higley went to the Judith Mountains, Northern Montana. After their marriage his young wife accompanied him to this region. Residing here about four years they went, in 1886, to Washington, then a Territory, spending their winters on Vashon Island, Puget Sound, and their summers in min- ing camps in the mountains. Finally, attracted by the mineral discoveries in Okanogan County (Washington), they settled at Conconully. Mr. Higley here provided a comfortable and pleasant home, and life to them appeared to be replete with happiness. But, alas, for human plans and anticipations ! The untimely death of the attractive young wife cut short a career whose future was full of ye 1 brighter promise. An issue of the Okanogan Outlook published a few days after the sad event con- tained the following obituary notice : " One of the most sorrowful visitations of the angel of death that ever occurred in this community took place when Mrs. Mary Scott Higley departed for a fairer and brighter land. She was seized about ten days ago with an attack of peritonitis, and although attended by the best medical skill the county affords, she sank so rapidly that soon all hopes of her recovery were abandoned. She quietly passed away at three o'clock, Tuesday morning, December 16, 1890. It is seldom that human eyes have looked upon a more strangely pathetic scene than that witnessed at the deathbed of the deceased. Gathered about were the stricken husband and sorrowing friends, powerless to save her valuable life ; for two hours before her death, and while perfectly unconscious, Mrs. Higley sang almost constantly, and her voice was not less clear and strong than when she was in perfect health. " The funeral was largely attended. The services were conducted by Rev. H. M. Marsh of Ruby, in accordance with the rituals of the Episcopalian Church, of which deceased was a member and the faithful organist. " She left a bereaved husband and three little children, one a babe of twenty-one months, and a boy and girl aged six and seven respectively. She was of a cheerful and animated disposition, an amiable and affectionate wife. Beloved and honored for her mother-love and wife's devotion, respected and esteemed as a friend and neighbor, her loss has broken up one of the happiest families in Okanogan County, and cast a gloom over the entire community." Few men realize what the situation involves to be left with three young children, one an infant in arms, in a rough mining town so isolated from the great world. Mr. Higley proved himself equal to the trying circumstances. For many months following the decease of his wife, with his own strong arms he rocked the cradle, and without assistance tenderly cared for his group of little ones, as well as to all their needs except the laundry work ; this was done by an Indian squaw from a neighboring Indian Reservation ; however, this convenience and aid at last failed him, because of the village camp inhabitants having taken from the jail an Indian accused of some foul deed, and, applying lynch law, hanged him to a convenient tree ; the frightened squaw never appeared at Mr. Higley's door again. 16 230 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Three years later Mr. Higley married the second time. His wife, Jessie Arzella Henderson, to whom he was married in Chicago, November 18, 1893, bore deserved reputation as an artist, and possesses well cultivated musical ability. To avail his children of school advantages and society, Mr. Higley purchased a home in Seattle, where he resides (1895) with his family, still holding his interests in the mountains of Okanogan County, where they spend their summers. Children of Herman W. and Mary Scott Higley : Pearl, born August 5, 1883 ; Ray C., born November 2O, 1884 ; Carl W., born July, 1886, died October, 1886; Earl W., born March 25, 1889. FRANK E. HIGLEY, the second child of Edwin and Louisa White Higley, was born in Waukesha, Wis., July 9, 1854. He married January 21, 1877, Belle Darling of Indiana. They reside in Decatur, Burt County, Neb. Their children: Fred A., born October 23, 1877; Percy B., born August 29, 1879, died March, 1881 ; Ward C., born July 20, 1881 ; Orville D., born March 28, 1883 ; Florence C., born April n, 1885. ADDIE F. HIGLEY, the third child of Edwin and Louisa White Higley, was born December 27, 1867, in Decatur, Neb. She married September 28, 1886, Nahum T. Dinsmore of Castle, Mont., where they reside. They have one child, Naomi Louisa, born July 4, 1887. Cant fn tied from page 226. LOUISA HIGLEY, eighth child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born at Cicero, N. Y., September 30, 1827. She married J. W. Briggs, December 31, 1844. They had ten children, as follows : Ether, born October 24, 1845, died November 5, 1865 ; Thales, born March 31, 1847, married Emily Bronson January I, 1871 ; Horlense A . , born November 27, 1848, died October 18, 1865 ; Plutarch H '., born December 29, 1850, married February 22, 1877 ; Elenora C., born October 9, 1852, married P'. S. Brown October 25, 1881 ; Ida L., born July 24, 1856 ; Beatrice C., born May 9, 1859, married Charles Turk March 18, 1884 ; Cora E., born April 25, 1861, married Colonel F. Wood November 14, 1883 ; Nettie A., born July 27, 1864, died May 20, 1865 ; Ada F., born August 14, 1870. There are ten grandchildren whose names are not given. THOMAS HIGLEY, the ninth child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, was born May 9, 1829, in Madison County, N. Y. He married January 7, 1858, Sarah Welch. She was born in Waukesha, Wis., May 17, 1841. He married, second, Ida Hilton May 5, 1878. Mrs. Ida Hilton Higley died October 8, 1883. He resides in Plum Creek, Neb. Children by first wife : W. G. Higley, born in Vernon, Wis., January 9, 1859; resides at Blair, Neb. Harry, born in Waukesha, Wis., September 12, 1861. Vernon, born August 23, 1863 ; resides in Clinton, la. Maurice E., born October 30, 1866 ; died May 23, 1872. Children by second wife : Minne, born June, 1872 ; Fred, born 1874, died the same year ; Allie, born 1876, died 1880 ; Thomas, born 1879 ! Jessie, born 1883. Of the above family, Harry Higley removed to Nebraska with his parents in 1862. He married, October 23, 1881, Mary E. Cane of O'Neill City, Neb., who DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 2Z>. 231 was born in Pendleton, England, April I, 1864. They reside at Blair, Neb., where Mr. Higley is doing a thriving business, dealer in fruits, nuts, tobacco, etc., etc. They have two children, viz.: Eva ., born March 22, 1883 ; Clarence ff., born January I, 1885. ELIZABETH, the tenth and youngest child of Oliver and Clarissa Phelps Higley, married Frank Blodgett. No record of the family can be given, its place of resi- dence not being known. HULDAH HIGLEY CASE. Continued from page 162. Huldah. Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. HULDAH, the sixth child of Brewster Higley, 2d, and Esther, his wife, was born at Simsbury, February i, 1750. On July 8, 1777, she became the first wife of Abel Case, son of Amos and Mary Holcombe Case of West Simsbury (now Canton), Conn. Here Mr. and Mrs. Case resided through her life, in the old paternal homestead on "East Hill," which came into the hands of Abel Case from his father, Amos Case, Sr. They were the parents of five children : Huldah, the eldest, born 1778, married Jabez Hamblin ; Abel, Jr., born 1783, married Rachel Humphery ; Dinah, born 1786, married Ira Case ; Tirzah, born 1787, married Sadoc Case ; and Carmi, born 1793, who died unmarried at twenty-two. The descendants of Huldah Higley Case residing in Canton were numerous. She lived to the age of sixty, and died August 12, 1810. Her husband married a second time. He died April 29, 1834, aged eighty-six. ENOCH HIGLEY. Continued from page i6a. Enoch, Brewster, zd, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. ENOCH HIGLEY, the youngest son and last child of Brewster Higley, 2d, and Esther Holcombe, was born August 25, 1754. He grew to manhood in Simsbury. Rosannah Moore, to whom he was married October 28, 1783, was the daughter of Job Moore, of the now venerable and historic Church of St. Andrews, the oldest Episcopalian parish formed in the State of Connecticut. 232 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. On his marriage Enoch sold his farm in Simsbury, and the young couple settled in North Granby. Enoch Higley made profession of his Christian faith on the 8th of October, 1787, with the Church at North Granby. Rosannah probably retained her connection with the Episcopal Church, in which faith she was baptized, until the 27th of September, 1817, when she was admitted to membership in the same church to which her husband belonged. There is no record concerning children having been born to them till the 2d of September, 1798, when the birth of the first of four daughters is registered. The child was named Harriet, The second child, named Lucy, was born May 29, 1800 ; the third, born June 3, 1804, was called Chloe. The youngest, Betsey, was born November 6, 1808. Harriet, the eldest, married Almon Holcombe ; Lucy married Samuel Weed ; Betsey united with the Church in Granby, Janu- ary 6, 1828, and in 1829 removed to Providence, Luzerne County, Pa., her sister Chloe, who was yet unmarried, accompanying her. We have no genealogical account of the descendants of the children of Enoch and Rosannah Higley. Enoch received by bequest a liberal share of property from his father's estate, of which he, with his brother Joel, served as executors. In common with his older brothers, his religion was the fore- most principle of his everyday life, and his energies were devoted to the work and interests of the Church. The truths of the Bible were his guiding star. He left behind him " the good name which is to be chosen rather than great riches." Enoch Higley and his wife were interred in the North Granby cemetery. The inscriptions upon the tombstones which mark their last resting place read thus : Enocb f>fgleB TRosannab 2>teD 3ulB 12 1827. UOlife of Bnocb 73. BieD flfcas 10> 1823. Sgefc 62. CHAPTER XXXVI. JUDGE BREWSTER HIGLEY, 4TH. Continued from chapter xxxi. p. 171. Brewster Higley, 4th, Brewster, 36, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Let the sound of those he wrought for, And the feet of those he fought for, Echo round his bones forever more. TENNYSON. THE birth of Brewster Higley, 4th, is thus entered in " Book 4," page 156, of the time-stained record of Simsbury, Conn. : " Brewster Higley, the son of Brewster Higley, 3d, and Esther his wife, was bom in Simsbury, March 14th 1759." There is no question but that his birth occurred in the home- stead built by his grandfather, Brewster Higley, 2d, which is shown in the illustration, page 161. His penmanship and orthography indicate that he acquired a fair education for the times, though the schools in his day had deteriorated, and common school education was then at a low ebb. He contributed, wherever he lived during an active life of more than eighty-eight years, his full share to the stability, activities, and excellent citizenship which characterized the Higleys of his day. Like the three Brewsters Higley who were his seniors, the patriotic spirit was deep-rooted in his nature. There is little doubt that his broad round shoulders and fine manly physique, with a frame fitted at an early age to endure hardship, greatly aided him in gratifying his natural inclination to military service; for when he was not yet eighteen he joined the troops of the Revolutionary army, serving for a time in the division com- manded by Major-General Charles Lee. He fought in the battle of White Plains the syth of October, 1776, and was with the American forces on their gloomy retreat which preceded the battle of Trenton. This battle, which was fought two months later, was one that lived vividly in his memory to the latest day of his life. 233 234 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Christmas night, 1776, a memorably bitter cold night, the troops struggled across the river among the great drifting blocks of ice, to the opposite shore, where Brewster did guard duty through the night. He returned from the war, and after remaining at home a year, he again entered service under Ethan Allen, when that patriot was Major-General of the Vermont militia. He never forgot the extreme sufferings of the troops during those winters. Provisions were scantily supplied, "the cold was intense, the men were thinly clad and their feet so lacerated from walking over the rough frozen ground with worn-out shoes, or with bare feet, that the clods upon which they stepped were sometimes marked with their blood." His children and grandchildren used often to listen to his recital of these stirring war stories, and hear him relate how Colonel Allen's feet were badly frozen during a march in Vermont. He often spoke of the shocking profanity of this commander. Brewster Higley, 4th, was twenty years of age when he removed with his father and the family from Simsbury, Conn., to Vermont. From that year (1779) his home was with the "Green Moun- taineers," till he emigrated to Ohio eighteen years later. Vermont had declared her independence two years before, but was not admitted to the Confederation of States till March, 1791. He was thus associated among the founders of that State. During the stormy days of invasion by the British and Indians from Canada, after the family removed from Simsbury, Conn., to Ver- mont, he belonged to the garrison at Castleton Fort. On February 25, 1783, he returned to Simsbury and claimed for his bride his second cousin, Naomi, daughter of Joseph Higley. The union proved a singularly congenial and happy one. The young husband and wife took up their residence at Castleton, in a house just west of that of the bridegroom's father. Here there was born to them a family of six children. The seventh was born in Ohio. While a resident at Castleton, Brewster, 4th, was engaged in farming his land. He was appointed justice of the peace, and occupied important positions in public service. But the time came when his attention was directed to the then far away wilderness which had been organized by the old Con- DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 3Z?. 235 tinental Congress under the name of the Northwest Territory, a part of which is now the noble and populous State of Ohio. At the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston the first meeting for the organization of the " Ohio Company " was held March i, 1786. On the zyth of October, 1787, a contract between the United States Government and the appointed agents of the Ohio Company was signed for the purchase of a great tract of land lying on the north bank of the Ohio River, in which was included the present counties of Meigs, Gallia, and a part of Washington, now in the State of Ohio ; and in April, 1788, the first settlement of this purchase was farmed at Marietta, which was also the first settlement in the Northwest Territory. The country was a dense wilderness forest, bordering the beautiful river bearing the name of the future State. From Boston and elsewhere, Brewster, 4th, no doubt, heard news of the vast rich tract of country now open for settlers, and considering the advantages of making it his future home, he resolved upon emigrating thither. The step was evidently taken without his father's approbation. In his grim grief and dissatisfaction, Brewster, 3d, enters in his private record book,am0ng a list of deaths, the following: "July 27th 1797. Brewster removes with his family, viz: wife, three sons, and three daughters, with a desire to go to the Ohio as 7 suppose." What the effort cost Brewster, 4th's, affectionate heart may be conjectured from a letter addressed to his mother a few years later: " It is true, my mother, that I have been remiss in writing to my friends in New England. The reason you have cause to complain is because you do not know, neither can you realize .what were my feelings when I sold my home and came away with my family to live wherever I might find a place to settle. " I have often seated myself with a great deal of pleasure to write for particular news, or of circumstances respecting my affairs, but soon found my mind was led directly back to that one delightful spot in Vermont where in former days I so much doted on spending the remaining part of my life. These reflections baffle my reso- lutions. I lay aside my pen saying to myself ' I cannot write How can I ! ' " I am, my honored mother in duty bound, yours unfeigned until death. " Farewell, "BREWSTER HIGLEY." The journey which he now undertook was the first westward emigration of the Higleys. 236 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. " On the 2gth of July, 1797 [says his grandson, Milo H. Higley of Rutland, O.], my grandfather Brewster Higley 4th, with his wife and family of six chil- dren, and their household goods packed in a wagon drawn by two oxen, started on their long and tedious journey to the Northwest Territory. " After a toilsome and wearing travel of six long weeks they arrived, the loth of the following September, at Wheeling, Va. Here my grandfather purchased a small flatboat, into which he placed their household effects, and gave it in charge of their two eldest sons, Brewster [5th] and Cyrus, assisted by a stranger, a man who desired passage down the river. The parents and younger children journeyed onward by wagon and oxen to a point nearly opposite the mouth of the Little Hocking, where the town of Belle Ville, W. Va., is now situated. " Here, after long delay and much anxiety on the part of the parents for the safety of their boys, the flatboat arrived. For four days and nights, meanwhile, either the father or the mother had sat upon the river bank watching for their coming. Motherlike, Mrs. Higley's eyesight penetrated farthest up the dark deep-flowing stream, and she was the first to discern the boat between the broken cliffs em- bosomed in foliage. Her shout of joy made the forest ring. " The family spent eighteen months on the Virginia shore in a rude log cabin, with their boat moored to a tree close by. All this while my grandfather was busy looking out for a location to found a new settlement. He was guided through the wilds by the little compass which his great-grandfather, Capt. John Higley, had used in the Connecticut forests more than one hundred years before. "Finally a surveying party which was surveying the Ohio Company's purchase came into camp, and from these he learned there was a desirable tract of land, sec- tion seven, range thirteen, about twenty miles north of Gallipolis. 1 One of the party offered to act as guide to my grandfather in finding it. " Leaving his family at the rude camp, they set off in the dense forest without even a path to guide them. On reaching the ' promised land ' and carefully look- ing it over, he decided the matter at once, saying, ' This shall be my future home,' and took possession. He purchased the whole of this section [7], which lay in what is now Rutland Township. In addition he purchased two hundred acres of Sec- tion 13, and eighty acres near Marietta, O. They left their camp on the river bank at Belle Ville in the spring of 1799, and again took to the family boat, in which they floated down the Ohio river to the mouth of Leading-Creek, which was then very full in consequence of back water, the river being high from spring freshets. The stout arms of the father and sons propelled their boat up this creek a distance of four miles with long poles. Here they safely landed, and tearing their boat to pieces they built on an elevated knoll out of the lumber thus obtained a rough shelter for the family to occupy until they could select a location and build a log cabin. In this rude home they camped the most of the summer. In due time a cabin three miles from this spot was constructed of bark and poles resem- bling in style an Indian wigwam. The site on which this first rude dwelling stood was many years ago consecrated to the uses of a family burial-ground. "When the family was finally settled in their wilderness home, Gallipolis, twenty miles distant, was the nearest town ; and their nearest neighbors were two families of settlers who lived eight miles away." 1 Gallipolis was settled by the French in 1791. It is described about the time Brewster Higley, 4th, came to Ohio, as " a singular village settled by people from Paris and Lyons [France], chiefly arti- zans and artists." DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 3 A 237 Governor Arthur St. Clair, the first Governor of the Territory, appointed Brevvster Higley, 4th, justice of the peace, in 1801, and in 1803 he was appointed, by Governer Edward Tiffen, Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a term of seven years. This commission gave him jurisdiction overall the eastern section of territory northwest of the Ohio River, extending to the Lakes. In 1807 he was appointed postmaster, which office he held about twenty years. Ohio became a State in 1803, and was admitted free from the blighting influences of slavery. Rutland, near which place Judge Brewster Higley's farm lay, was the first group of houses in Meigs County, and received its name by his proposition, from the lively town of that name in his Green Mountain State. It did not, however, come to the dis- tinction of being called a town until 1815. It was not until 1825 that there were church privileges nearer than Gallipolis. In that year the Higleys, the Binghams, and their neighbors organized "the First Presbyterian Church" of Meigs County, and in 1830 a church edifice, which is still in use, was built a half a mile from the Higley homestead. The first school in the neighborhood was opened in 1802 by Samuel Dennd, a collegiate graduate from Massachusetts. He taught here four years. In his religious beliefs and practices, Judge Brewster Higley clung closely to the religion of his fathers. He united with the First Presbyterian Church in Gallipolis in 1810, and from this time walked an out and out Christian professor. For years numbering almost a half century, Judge Brewster Higley and his esteemed wife resided on the farm where they first settled in Ohio. The time came, as the country opened and the hardships of the pioneer's life were lightened, when a well- built house succeeded the first simple dwelling. There had been a long and varied experience during these years. Hard toil and great privations had in no small measure attended the beginnings and development of a new and wooded country, and many a time these labors had been unpalatable to thei." natural inclinations and tastes ; but their energies never failed them. They pressed onward, and are worthily counted among the old civilizers who were privileged to lead the van in the founding and opening of one of the most prosperous States in our great Union. It is well stated that " the increase of popu- 238 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. lation, the development of resources, and the growth of the towns and cities of the State of Ohio, seemed like a work of magic," in their day. After a life fraught with wide experiences, through which he walked with constant reference to his obligation to God, Judge Brewster Higley reached its last mile-stone in 1847, i n the luxuri- ant month of roses. During his latter days he had little to dis- turb the tranquillity of his mind ; and to recall from his well-pre- served memory his own early history, and with his good wife to review that of their forefathers, was a constant pleasure. They have together thus left a legacy of information, the most of which has been received through Milo H. Higley, of Rutland, O., which has proved a most valuable contribution to this volume. About two weeks before he quitted earth he was seized with an affection of the heart. As the disease progressed he was calm and serene, speaking of the nearness of his dissolution with the greatest composure, and giving minute directions concerning his burial. He often spoke of the comforting assurances the Gospel afforded him, and dwelt upon " the Saviour's dying love." He was buoyant in his expectation of ''the crown of righteousness laid up for them that love Him." When the last moment of his earth-life came, while gazing with melting tenderness upon his son, who was attending him, he fell asleep. It was in the holy quiet of a Sabbath, June 20,1847. He was interred in the family burial plot, which, as has been already stated, is the identical spot where his first home in the wilderness stood. The following is inscribed upon his tomb : 3Brewster fjfgleg Sen. a sototer of tbe "Revolution Bleo June 20tb. H. D. 1847. 88 gears, 3 montbs, anD 6 Dags. Mrs. Naomi Higley, his wife, was a woman of vigorous constitu- tion and excellent abilities. It will be remembered that she was the daughter of Joseph Higley and second cousin to her husband, Judge Brewster Higley. She was born in Simsbury, Conn., January i, 1761, and sur- vived her husband. She united with the First Presbyterian Church at Gallipolis in the early settlement of the country, and DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY^D. 239 lived the life of a Christian woman. In her after years she looked backward to days well-spent, and forward with confident hope to the joys of a life that should never close. Her Bible was her com- panion and chief study. She was a real existence of King Solomon's picture of the model woman of olden time, " who looked well to the ways of her house- hold, and ate not the bread of idleness." In the "willing work of her hands, she sought wool and flax, laying her hands to the spindle and hold of the distaff," and "all her household were clothed." Her granddaughter, now living, well remembers that her grandmother once hatcheled, with a great iron comb, a quantity of flax which she spun and wove into sixty yards of linen. The comb is still retained by her descendants as a valuable heir- loom. Her hospitality knew no bounds within the compass of their circumstances " the latch-string of their door was always out" to welcome the stranger, friend, or neighbor. For years after they became residents of Ohio, the wayfaring traveler depended upon the hospitality of the private homes of the settlers, there be- .ing then no taverns. It was rarely that charges were made to these lodgers, and the main labor of their entertainment fell upon the women of the household. Naomi Higley was a woman of a kindly, affectionate temperament, but firm in what she believed to be right. In cases of illness she was ever ready to aid her friends and neighbors by nursing and serving, taking their afflic- tions and pains upon her own heart. Through the long period of her married life, sixty-four years and six months, by the side of her husband she bore her full share of its unremitting toil and cares. In the repose of old age she sat beside him recalling the times when their souls had been tried by scenes of privation and peril, and enjoying the contempla- tion of the progress and prosperity which had attended (in their own times) the growth and development of their beloved country. As the weight of years settled upon her she retained to a fair degree her elasticity and vigor. Her memory of the people and scenes of her childhood remained clear as long as she lived. It is related of her that on their arrival in Ohio, while living with their young children in the rude "shanty " near Leading Creek, she daily mounted a horse and rode a distance of three miles, through the dense and tangled forests, to the site where the cabin, which was to be their future home, was being built and the 240 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. field cleared for cultivation by her husband and older sons, carry- ing to them their midday meal. Here she regularly hitched her horse to a certain young mulberry tree, which grew near the little log cabin. In the course of many years the tree spread its long leafy branches over the family burial-ground, the same spot where once had stood their first home in the wilderness, and it became a highly valued relic as a witness of their early days. Sixty-six years passed by, and all the members of the family which had emigrated thither had one by one put life's burdens down and lay silently sleeping beneath its shade. The tree, too, died. Their son, Dr. Lucius Higley, preserved its stump in the form of a memorial, imbedding into it a block of marble bearing this inscription : " SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF MY DEAR MOTHER WHO HITCHED HER HORSE TO THIS TREE IN 1799." The side-saddle she used in those days, and upon which she rode horse-back from Castleton, Vt., to Ohio, is still preserved by Milo H. Higley. Mrs. Higley was feeble and tottering during her last years, and though the scenes and events of her younger life were fresh in her mind, she was forgetful of nearer happen- ings about her. She pathetically inquired each day for her hus- band, wishing his return, seeming to forget King David's beautiful grief-stricken expression : " But now he is dead can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him, but he shall not re- turn to me." It was in less than three years, during which time she was ten- derly cared for by her son, Dr. Lucius Higley, and his family, that she joined her husband in his eternal home. She departed this life, Febuary 4, 1850, aged eighty-nine years and one month, and was laid to rest by his side. " So willing to toil and suffer, To care and watch for all, So near in heart to the Master, So eager to follow His call ; She spent her soul in His service sweet, And only in death could rest at His feet." Brewster Higley, 4th, and his wife Naomi were the parents of seven children, six of whom were born at Castleton, Vt., the seventh near Rutland, O. They were as follows : DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ^D. 241 Brewster Higley, jt/i, Susan, Cyrus, Theresa, Harriet, Lucius, and Joseph Trumbiill Higley. For descendants of Brewster Higley, $th, see chapter xxxix. Continued from page 171. LOUISA HIGLEY, the eldest daughter of Brewster Higley, 3d, born August 9, 1761, married Benajah Guernsey Roots, the son of the Rev. Benajah Roots of Simsbury, Conn, on the pth of January, 1783. They settled at West Rutland, Vt. Their children were : Alanson, Esther, Zeruah, Polly,' Betsey, Louisa, and Caroline. Louisa Higley Roots died May 16, 1832. ALANSON, her eldest child, removed to Ohio. He was the father of Guernsey Y. Roots, the head of the widely known commission firm of Roots & Co., of Cin- cinnati, O. ESTHER, the second child, died unmarried. ZERUAH married John Jordon ; POLLY married Bryant Bartlett, and removed to Michigan ; BETSEY died unmarried ; LOUISA died unmarried ; and CAROLINE married the Rev. Mr. Prince of Michigan, with whom Mrs. Louisa Higley Roots spent the last years of her life. PROFESSOR CYRUS GUERNSEY PRINGLE, A. M., the distinguished American botanist, the great-grandson of Louisa Higley, has performed notable public service in the line of his chosen science. He has made extensive reports for the census of 1880, upon the forests of some of the New England States, Northern New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. For the past ten years he has been a collector of plants in Northern and Central Mexico. He worked under the direction of Dr. Gray of Harvard College, until the death of the latter, and since under the patronage of Professor Sereno Watson of Cambridge, and of Professor Sargeant of the Arnold Arboretum. He has discovered hundreds of species, many of which bear his name ; and recently Dr. Watson has founded a new genus Neo- pringlia in his honor. His plants go into all the leading herbaria of Europe and America, as he has secured a very high reputation among botanists for his accuracy of observation, and for the neatness and completeness of his specimens. ANNIE, the second daughter of Brewster Higley, 3d, and Esther Owen, born April 13, 1764, married Lieutenant Samuel Campbell, September 22, 1786, and was the mother of thirteen children, viz : John, Annie, Cyrus, Phebe, Attrtlia, Samuel, Amanda, Esther, Chauncey, Milo, Minerva, Harvey, and one whose name is not given. They resided at West Rutland, Vt. Several of their children removed to Ohio. Annie (Higley) Campbell died January 20, 1852. Her husband, Lieutenant Campbell, died 1812. ZILPAH, the third daughter of Brewster Higley, 3d, born December 8, 1766, died unmarried, March 30, 1798. 242 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. It is recorded that a half bushel of silver coin, a part of the legacy left by Brewster Higley, 2d, to his son Brewster, 3d, was received by the latter from Connecticut in 1794. A part of this money was spent in the purchase of a necklace of gold beads for each one of the eight daughters of the family ; and the remaining amount was used in furnishing the new red frame house, and in taking this invalid daughter, Zilpah, for the benefit of her health to the newly discovered, and now famous, Congress Spring at "Sarratogua. " But the effort to recover her health proved fruitless. She continued to decline till death released her. DELIGHT, the fourth daughter of Brewster Higley, 3d, born August 23, 1769, married Deacon Enos Merrill of Farmington, Conn., November 23, 1789. They settled in Castleton, Vt., where they lived long and useful lives. They had four children.' The family possessed musical talent, and directed the singing on all of the social occasions of the church for a great many years. Deacon Enos Merrill died at Milton, Vt, August 9, 1858, in the ninetieth year of his age. His wife died at Castleton, October 13, 1800. Their children were : Lucy, Allison, Owen, who removed to Ohio ; Selah Higley, and Laura. Delight (Higley) Merrill's two sons and two grandsons were graduated at Middlebury College, Vermont. Of their daughter LUCY'S children was the Rev. Edwin Hoyt of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was graduated in 1836 at Middlebury. His son, Judge Birney Hoyt, resides in Detroit, Mich. Hon. SELAH HIGLEY MERRILL, the second son of Delight Higley Merrill, was a prominent lawyer in Castleton; register of Probate, 1814, 1823, 1829, 1837; representative to the State Legislature 1831-38 ; and States attorney 1829-37. He died 1839. LAURA, her youngest daughter, married Professor Henry Howe, who was prin- cipal of the Canandaigua Academy, New York, for twenty-four years. He died in 1865, He was graduated at Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1817. CHAPTER XXXVII. ERASTUS HIGLEY. Continued from page 171. Erastus, Brewster, sd, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. By Rev. Henry Post Higley, D. D. Blessed the natures shored on every side With landmarks of hereditary thought ! Thrice happy they that wonder not life-long Beyond near succor of the household faith. The guarded fold that shelters, not confines '. Their steps find patience in familiar paths, Printed with hope hy loved feet gone before Of parent, child, or lover. THE CATHEDRAL. ERASTUS HIGLEY was born in Simsbury, Conn., May 16, 1772. He was the sixth of ten children born to Brewster, 3d, and Esther Owen Higley Brewster, 4th, the first born, and himself being the only sons. Brewster Higley, 3d, the father, removed with the eight children then born, from Simsbury, Conn., to Castleton, Vt., 1779, and settled upon the farm that was to have the Higley title plowed in, by a little more than a hundred years of occu- pancy, extending from himself to children of the fifth generation. Erastus would have been a boy of seven when the journey was made to the new home. He was not old enough to bear any part in the war of the Revolution, but his child-memory reached back to those, times. Once, when the family were removed for a little while from home for their safety, he carefully hid his store of beech-nuts from the Britishers, to find them gone when he returned, nicely shelled by deermice. Following the example of his father and the two preceding Brewsters, Erastus chose an Esther to be queen of his kingdom. October 9, 1798, Erastus Higley and Esther Anna Guernsey were married. He was twenty-six years of age; she a few months older. Erastus Higley was called "a man of good judgment," in after years. He never showed it more plainly than in the choice of his wife. Fifty-nine years of married life followed, wedded to one who lives in the memory of her grandchildren, as nearly 43 244 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. perfect as it is given to woman to attain. In stature she was rather below medium height, slight and yet compact ; in manner quiet and self-contained ; a gentle spirit, well balanced with firm- ness, love, and truth, to which was joined rare common sense; practical skill and judgment were well-nigh lost sight of in that deeper spiritual insight which only they attain whose lives know the same companionship that marked the patriarch Enoch. What a blessed grandmother she was ! Seven years after this marriage, the death of the father left Erastus Higley, at thirty-three years of age, with the full care of a varied business on his hands. Beside farming and stock-raising, they had two years before undertaken a carding machine and fulling-mill business, and a grist-mill and marble sawing were added. He was one of the company that built the dam on Castleton River at the village. He sold his interest in the water-power to S. H. Langdon in 1835. Building had a large place in his life. The forests were cut down to furnish a place for pasturage and crops, but construction turned much of the forests into per- manent shelter and use. A large barn was built, while smaller barns, sheds, and fences filled out a full line of such production. The chief work of all was the substantial and spacious brick house completed in 1812. A large cider-mill was built, and a still pre- pared to manufacture cider-brandy, but the opening of the tem- perance reformation won his approval, and mill and still were never used save as the former became a barn. The following, taken from the address of his grandson, Professor Edwin Hall Higley, at the Higley reunion held at Simsbury, Conn., in 1890, is here inserted : " The quantity of self-denial shown in thus giving up the cider business can be appreciated only when one recalls the excessive use of spirituous beverages which then prevailed among all people, and on all public and private occasions. The cellar of the brick house which Erastus Higley completed in 1812, was designed with especial reference to the reception of cider. It was deep and cool and spa- cious, and divided into numerous rooms, alcoves, and recesses. It was all floored with broad, smooth slabs of slate-stone, and in some places stone shelves stood along the walls. Here the cider and the other preparations of apple-juice were to be stored, and the fame of Deacon Brewster, 2d's, large cider mill and distillery was to be revived. Fifty barrels was the regular annual supply for the family. This amount was not consumed, however, by the Higleys alone. On Sundays, during the recess between the morning and afternoon sermons, all the church-goers who lived at a dis- tance from the meeting-house used to repair regularly to Deacon Higley's for a little DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ZD. 245 bodily refreshment. Huge pans filled with doughnuts (prepared on the preceding Saturday) and mugs of cider were consumed on these occasions. Mrs. Zeruah Caswell, a granddaughter of Brewster, 3d, who is still living (1895), well remem- bers the scene when these large companies were assembled on a Sunday noon, warming their mugs of cider in the embers of the enormous fireplace. That no secular thoughts or conversation might arise to disturb the sanctity of the day, someone always read aloud from a volume of sermons during the progress of these solemnities. A book of sermons which was kept for this use is still preserved in the family. When, however, as above stated, the New England conscience became generally aroused to the dangers resulting from strong drink, the cider was given up, and the huge wooden screws and other timbers for the presses were piled away in a barn where we boys used to play. The barrels still remained in the various rooms and alcoves of the cellar, barrels of different sorts and sizes, some stout and some slender, others long and queer-shaped, which had served for the divers brands of cider, cider brandy, and apple-jack in the old days. But they were empty and covered with dust and cobwebs, and we grew up to regard them as a conventional furnishing for a cellar, but as having no conceivable use." The brick house of 1812 has been the Higley home for more than seventy-five years. Counting children, it has well served four generations, who have known its shelter, comfort, rest, and cheer; its condition giving promise of a long future yet. No notice of the " subject of this sketch " would be complete that did not recall his unusual physical strength. He was a well built man of about six feet in height, but if one may believe the stories told of him, he had muscles of steel. Such items as these could be gleaned: a balky horse felled by a blow of his fist; logs loaded, by himself and a big Irishman in his employ, as other men would handle rails ; medical students caught plundering his orchard tossed headlong over the fence. Rev. John Spaulding writes of him "while he was Sheriff of Rutland County a man in the neighborhood committed a crime which shocked and deeply stirred the vengeance of the whole community. Armed to the teeth the criminal fled to the fields, threatening death to any- one who should lay hands on him. Sheriff Higley had the nerve to tame, and the muscular strength to lodge him in prison." The estimate of his fellow-citizens was shown in various offices and trusts, which he filled with fidelity and honor. He repre- sented the town in the Legislature in 1839 and in 1840. He was made Judge of Probate in 1814 and again in 1821 and in 1823. Whatever his early training may have been, he was a man of substantial culture, by virtue of his associations, his reading, and his own thinking. Even in his old age he became interested and well informed in the then advancing science of geology. 17 246 THE HIG LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. He was a man that had earnest convictions on all matters of public interest. He was a zealous Whig the last colt raised on the farm while it was under his supervision was named " Zachary Taylor " ! He was a strong anti-slavery man, with the courage of his con- victions. When occasion demanded he aided with the business of the underground railroad. In a great revival in Castleton, Erastus Higley and Esther Anna, his wife, with their sons, Harvey and Nelson, were part of a company of ninety-one who confessed Christ, and joined the Congregational Church, an February 2, 1817. In 1834, he was chosen deacon, and served the church in that office till his death, twenty-seven years after. He was a con- scientious and intelligent Christian, a liberal supporter of the gospel, an earnest, faithful, and judicious officer of the church. Seven children were born to Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, in the fifteen years following their marriage. The mother out- lived all but two of these, and the father all but one. Thus come trial and sorrow as well as blessing. " Bits of brightening and of darkening, Bits of weariness and of rest, All the hoping and despairing, Of the full or hollow breast. With these is life begun and closed, Of these its strange mosaic composed." Financial embarrassments were also in his old age a sore dis- appointment to this strong, and for that period successful, man. Even with the burden of increasing years he chafed at any limi- tation of his strength. His health was impaired by a partial sun- stroke, and perhaps by the too little caution to which his strength and ardor inclined him. From this cause came a check upon accumulation ; there was added an unfortunate interest in a bank, which was almost wrecked by a cashier ; a root (Root) of trouble that it took in the end a good part of the farm to root out. Yet amid these clouds of life there was a silver lining in their perfected discipline: very clearly it shone in the aged grandmother, as she grew ripe in faith and grace and beauty of character for the waiting home in heaven. Not many saw a tender side to Judge Erastus Higley. Yet a grandson remembers how it did appear even in the midst of these annoyances. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ^D. 247 Speaking of this bank loss the old man said : " I ought to have heeded your grandmother when she cried and begged me not to mortgage the farm. She always knew best, and gave me sound advice. I thought I knew better than she about such business, fool that I was ; I was mistaken, and she was right." The tears and tones of these words made them a tribute to a faithful wife, and told how the heart of her husband rested in her. Both lived to pass well beyond the boundary of fourscore years, going from useful lines to the welcome and reward that awaits those who had sought faithfully to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Erastus Higley died September 3, 1861. Esther Anna Higley, his wife, died November 13, 1857. They rest side by side in the Castleton cemetery. The seven children born to Erastus and Esther Anna Higley were: Sarah Maria, Hervey Owen, Nelson, Zilpah, Esther Ann, Erne- line, and Columbus. SARAH MARIA HIGLEY, the eldest child, born January 27, 1799, married Marquis de Lafayette Hooker April 7, 1825. He was born February 22, 1792. Mr. Hooker was a widower with two children ; he was a descendant of the noted Rev. Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, Conn. They resided in Hampton, N. Y. Marquis de Hooker died August 18, 1831, leaving with his widow five children, three of whom died of scarlet fever within one week. Sarah M. (Higley) Hooker married, second, March 9, 1841, Joseph Morse of Poultney, Vt., where she resided the remainder of her life. She died August 22, 1860. NELSON HIGLEY, the third child of Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, was born October 6, 1803, and prepared for college in the Rutland County Grammar School, Castleton, Vt., the oldest chartered school in the State, and was graduated from Middlebury (Vt.) College in 1826. He chose the ministry for his profession. During his theological studies the succeeding three years, his health became im- paired, which he never recovered. He was ordained in 1829. Though the hand of death was visibly upon him, his spirit was firm in its purpose and he preached supplying destitute churches three years without a settled parish. His strength then succumbed. He died March 19, 1832. He never married. ZILPAH, the fourth child of Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, was born November 5, 1805. She received a good education at the Rutland Grammar School in Castleton. On May 12, 1835, she became the third wife of Josiah Per- kins, M. D., who was then the Dean of the Castleton Medical College, and a physi- cian highly honored by the profession. Her married life covered a period of less than one year. She gave birth to a daughter, Mary Amelia Zilpah Perkins, dying in childbirth, March 25, 1836. Her daughter married the Rev. Nathaniel P. Gilbert of Pittsford, September 248 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. 29, 1860, and went immediately to Santiago, Chili, where five daughters were born to them. The date of her death has not been given. ESTHER ANN, the fifth child of Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, was born Janu- ary 25, 1808, and died aged seventeen. Her father writes : "She had a strong and retentive memory, which rendered her capable of unusual progress in the acquisition of knowledge in whatever branch she pursued." Without extraordinary advantages she excelled in the studies that were then commonly taught in the schools, and in English literature ; and had few rivals in her style of English composition. With little assistance she acquired French so that she read and translated it into English with much facility. Before she was thirteen years of age she committed to memory and recited the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. John, the Acts, Romans, First Corinthians, and a part of Second Corinthians. In her fourteenth year she made public profession of religion. She died in the Christian faith, March 4, 1825. EMELINE, the sixth child of Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, was born Septem- ber 22, 1810, and died June 20, 1817. COLUMBUS, the seventh and youngest child, born August 13, 1813, died April 12, 1815. CHAPTER XXXVIII. REV. HERVEY OWEN HIGLEY. Continued from page 247. By his son, Professor Edwin Hall Higley. Hervey Owen, Erastus, Brewster, 3d, Brewster, ad, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh. ECCLESIASTICUS i, iv. HERVEY OWEN HIGLEY, the eldest son of Erastus and Esther Anna Higley, was born in Castleton, Vt., July 14, 1801. His first home was the " Southmayd House," where his parents had made their home since their marriage in 1798. In 1805 occurred the death of his grandfather, Brewster Higley, 3d, when his parents returned to the "old red house," and resided with the mother till 1811, when the new brick house was built, in which members of the family dwelt until 1886. Hervey was the second child of his parents. He was of a quick and thoughtful disposition, and possessed of a retentive memory from his earliest years. He had a distinct remembrance of his grandmother, Guernsey, who died when he was but three years old. He vividly remembered a reproof for wastefulness which the old lady gave him, warning him that God looked with dis- favor upon those who wantonly destroyed any of his good crea- tions. Seventy years after he recounts this early lesson, suggest- ing that the impression then received might have been the origin of an overcautiousness about " saving the fragments that nothing be lost." Other reminiscences which he recorded of his child- hood show him to have been peculiarly sensitive to anything involving rebuke or humiliation. Owing to his father's positive and incisive character, opportunities for such impressions were doubtless somewhat frequent. In 1874, commenting upon some of his early memories, Hervey wrote: " Parents should as much beware of exposing their child to too deep a sense of shame on the one hand, as of cultivating vanity on the other." Partly as a result of the home influences, and partly no doubt as an inheritance, his disposition was early shy, shrinking, and 249 250 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. bashful, characteristics which he felt to be a burden throughout his whole life. His boyhood, however, was a happy one, and en- livened with much social visiting and intercourse among the numerous cousins the Roots, Campbells, Merrills, Guernseys, Denisons, the Porter and Cross families, who all dwelt in or near Castleton. In the early summer of 1811, just as the new brick house the old Higley homestead was commenced, he planted near the west door a maple tree, which has grown to large proportions, and is still standing (1892). In 1817 a deep religious interest spread over Castleton, and on February 2 eighty-six persons united with the church the Con- gregational. Among these were Erastus Higley and his wife and their three eldest children, Sarah, Hervey, and Nelson. Some two or three years later Hervey was pursuing his studies in the Rutland County Grammar School in Castleton, and was urged by his preceptor, Henry Howe, to prepare for college. In those days a religious lad rarely went to college unless with the view to becoming a minister of the Gospel. And after much prayerful consideration, he decided to study for the sacred pro- fession. He entered college at Middlebury, Vt., in 1822 as a sophomore, and was graduated in 1825. He was distinguished for scholar- ship during his college course, and received the valedictory honor at graduation. A fine critical discernment in philological and literary matters was his prominent intellectual trait, which he retained to after years. He carried the habit of. self-criticism to an extreme which he believed to have hindered him in his subsequent labors. "How often," he writes, "have I detected myself hesitating, when addressing a public assembly, to speak the word in mind, questioning if another word would not be more appropriate or felicitious." He formed many close friendships during his college life with men whom he ever afterward held in high esteem and affection, and some of whom, in after years, attained great eminence. In March, 1825, shortly before his graduation, the family life was saddened by the death of his sister, Esther Ann, seventeen years of age and of unusual promise, as her sprightly letters and essays show. Hervey was much affected by this parting, and writes of "the DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY^D. 251 views he then had of the vanity and worthlessness of earthly good, and the inexpressible value of true religion." After leaving college he taught in the Academy at St. Albans, Vt, with pleasure and success. He then entered the Theological Seminary at Andover. Dr. Ebenzer Porter, the senior professor at Andover, was a brother of Jared Porter, who had married Harley Higley, an aunt of Hervey, and Professor Porter, through this relationship, was led to take a special interest in him during his studies at Andover. These studies were entered upon and continued with delight. Concerning them he afterward wrote: "The Hebrew language, while it was the treasure-house of such important truths, was rich enough in rhetorical and philological beauties to make every lesson a feast." He found, too, an "absorbing interest in the exegesis of the New Testament, pursuing the precise sense and meaning of the words used by evangelist and prophet." At this time he made an index to one of Professor Porter's published works, for which a note of acknowledgment from Dr. Porter is preserved. In his senior year his classmate Henry Little (afterward the well known Home Mission Secretary of Indiana), invited him to join him in a sleigh ride of fifty miles to his home at Bascomen, N. H. The invitation was accepted. Some seven miles from the house they stopped at a ladies' school which Henry Little's sister Sarah was attending ; the sister was persuaded to become a third inmate of the sleigh and accompany them to the homestead. Thus a pleasant acquaintance was commenced, and the days of the furlough seemed too short. The acquaintance was continued by correspondence, and a marriage engagement ensued. After he was graduated at Andover, Hervey Owen Higley was ordained as an evangelist by the Newburyport Presbytery, Sep- tember 24, 1829, at Boston. Fifteen others commissioned for home and foreign missionary work were ordained at the same time. The choice of a field for future labor had received much thought. He felt strongly the claim of the foreign field, and his facility in acquiring a new language was urged by his friends as an indication of his fitness for such labor. But after much prayer and consultation with his parents and friends, he decided for home missionary work in the sparsely settled State of Ohio. 252 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. On the 29th of September, 1829, he was married to Sarah Gerrish Little, and after a visit to his parents they set out on their three weeks' journey to Ohio. They went by stage from Poultney, Vt, to Albany, N. Y., and thence to Schenectady, where they embarked on the "safe waters of the Erie Canal." This brought them to Lockport, whence they journeyed by stage via Niagara Falls to Buffalo. At Buffalo they took a sailboat to Cleveland, O. There they again took a canalboat going to Mas- silon, O., and from thence by stage to Granville, Licking County, where their brother, Jacob Little, was already established. During the next seven years Mr. Higley became familiar with all the hardships and experiences of home missionary life in a new country. Long rides on horseback over muddy roads, through swollen rivers and dense forests ; preaching in rude structures of logs, and laboring among a rough and heteroge- neous population, made up his daily life. His first parish was Georgetown, near the Ohio River. The inhabitants were largely from Kentucky, without much receptivity for Yankees or New England ideas on temperance, Bible classes, or general decorum, and still less for their notions about taste and refinement. Mr. Higley labored among this inharmonious people for a year with moderate success, and then removed to Hartford, Licking County, where he saw his church increase under his ministration from twenty-four to one hundred within three years. In 1835 his health succumbed to the continued fever and ague contracted during the first year at Georgetown. He made a journey to Peoria, 111., whither another brother-in-law had gone, and for a time the question of going to this farther and newer region, or of returning to Vermont for a season of rest and recruiting, hung in the balance. The decease of his brother Nelson, his brother-in-law Hooker, and sister Zilpah, leaving his father and mother quite bereft, decided the question, and in the early summer of 1836 he returned to the Castleton home. Here he dwelt until his death in 1878. His health was partially restored after his return to Vermont, but it was never strong. The influence of his life in the home, the church, and the social and intellectual world about him cannot be adequately chronicled. Who can make a summary of the good accomplished in forty years of noble Christian living ? The "hired men " employed in his service were usually con- DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY.ZD. 253 verted during their stay with him, and, if capable, were encouraged to make effort for more education and fit themselves as useful members of society. He filled and magnified the office of super- intendent of the Castleton schools. Many teachers would bear testimony to his helpfulness in their work. He was clerk of the Castleton Congregational Church for thirty years. In 1847 ne accepted the office of deacon, an office which had been held in the same church by his father, grandfather, and two great-grand- fathers before him. It is altogether probable that all the successive pastors with whom he served would concur in the statement of the Rev. Lewis Francis at the Church Centennial in 1884 ; Mr. Francis spoke thus of Deacon Higley: " A more faithful, godly, and able officer no church could desire. A man of scholarly ability, and educated for the ministry, he accepted the office of deacon, and in his kindly sympathy, in his generous appreciation of his pastor's work, in his untiring faithfulness, every pastor had reason to rejoice." Deacon Higley was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Castleton Seminary, and was constantly watchful of its progress and interests. He contributed occasional pithy articles to the religious newspapers, wrote papers for the Rutland County Conference of Ministers, delivered interesting temperance and Sunday school addresses, and aided in all good causes as much as his health would permit. His classics never grew rusty. A knotty page of Latin was sure of a graceful translation at any call, and his Greek Testa- ment was a portion of his daily reading. He died after a brief illness, by a sudden attack of pneumonia, April 4, 1878, and was interred in Castleton cemetery, where a suitable monument marks the spot. His classmate and lifelong correspondent, the Rev. John Spaulding, D. D., writes: "The analysis of such a character strongly reveals the noble virtues of sincerity, integrity, faith- fulness, and usefulness." The following lines are from the poem by Rev. George F. Hunting, delivered at the Castleton Cen- tennial, 1884: " And lo, another, long revered, Stanch Deacon Higley, calm and wise ; I mark his slow, deliberate speech, And see the kindness in his eyes. 254 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. He stood beside the stream of life, A sturdy oak, so strong of limb That we, who sported on the tide, And drifted over to his side, Knew we could moor our little boat, And lie in safety, tied to him ! " CHILDREN OF THE REV. HERVEY O. AND SARAH GERRISH (LITTLE) HIGLEY. EMMA LITTLE HIGLEY, the eldest child of Hervey O. and Sarah Gerrish Higley, was born at Hartford, Licking County, O., March 12, 1834. Her birth took place during the brief period of the missionary labors of her father while her parents were residing in the then "backwoods State." On their return to Vermont in the summer of 1836, while she was yet the baby of the household, she was brought to Castleton, where she was reared in the ancient Higley homestead. The seminary at Castleton was the scene of her school-life. The inspiration for the "love of study," for which that honored institution was famed in those days, reached in her a mind capable of comprehension and well balanced. She developed into a good and true woman, and a teacher of fine ability. She was graduated in the class of 1852. In 1868-69 she taught in the seminary from which she was graduated, and soon after one of her pleasing experiences was the teaching of a select school of twelve girls. For a period covering fifteen years previous to her removal to Middlebury, Vt., Miss Higley occupied various spheres as a teacher, both in the Southern and Middle States. Acquainted with life in its various phases, she has done much by her wide experience and thoroughness of pur- pose for the advancement of the young, uplifting many a life to an elevated plane, and making it of greater value. But music was Miss Higley's natural gift. From an early age it was her genius. In this science she has attained a high degree of excellence, in which her pleasant and agreeable disposition has proved a valuable factor in her calling. The proof of her well attested merits is shown by the fact that she occupied the position of instructor of vocal music in the Middlebury, Vt., public schools for twenty successive DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ID. 255 years from 1871. We have no hesitation in stating that her name will exercise a lasting influence upon her music-loving pupils. Nothing in this connection of her life is more pleasing to observe than the marked and deferential love which the young people and children, especially her boy pupils approaching man- hood, greet her as she walks about the town. The town of Middlebury, Vt., has been her permanent home for the past ten years. Soon after her father's decease in 1878, she purchased here a pleasant cottage home, where she has made gardening and fruit-raising somewhat of a study, and where she is the companion of her aged mother. For several years, amid the daily pressure of her profession and cares, she engaged in collecting a quantity of genealogical material which has been cheerfully contributed to, and proved of much value in the compilation of this work, in connection with her own branch of the Higley Family; she has also been one of the leading movers in founding a subscription library in the town, to which she devotes much of her time and personal attention. She became a member of the Hawthorne Club in 1879, a literary society whose membership comprises the best talent and culture of the village, together with members of the faculty of Middlebury College. Miss Higley possesses a heart full of gener- ous impulses and human tenderness, and in her nature there is an unfailing fountain of juvenility and good spirits, with a strong sense of humor. It was in 1851 that she enrolled herself among the list of members of the church home, the First Congregational Church of Castleton, where for four generations, since 1793, the Higley Family of that town have helped most efficiently to make the church a power for good. LEAVITT NELSON HIGLEY, the second child of the Rev. Hervey O. and Sarah Gerrish (Little) Higley, was born September 19, 1836, and died November 26, 1837. HENRY POST HIGLEY, A. M., D. D., the third child and eldest surviving son of the Rev. Hervey Owen and Sarah G. (Little) Higley, was born at Castleton, Vt., February i, 1839. His earliest associations were with scholarly people, and he undoubt- edly inherited impulses for study. He was prepared for college at the long-useful and still efficient Castleton Seminary, from which he was graduated at seventeen; in the meanwhile, without neglecting 256 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. his studies, he was taught to be industrious in season and out of season, learning to perform the detail of out-of-door work promptly and efficiently. In his response to an after-dinner toast at the Castleton school centennial some years later in life, he remarked: "I owe more than some who have preceded me to Castleton schooling, for I took lessons in open-air elo- cution on yonder side hill, driving oxen. That picture, to the southeast, framed between these two maples, showing just where the wood-road enters the timber, reminds me what great shouts it took to get safely down that hill." His out-of-door exercise bore good fruit in developing a fine physique, mental vigor, and a strong constitution, giving him also a large and broad comprehension of the real affairs of life, which proved valuable toward his marked success in his future calling. In due course of time young Higley entered Middlebury Col- lege, taking the entire course, and was graduated in 1860; and in 1865 he was graduated from the Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y. On the completion of his theological studies he was asked to supply temporarily the then vacant pulpit of the Second Con- gregational Church at Beloit, Wis. It was not long before the church recognized in its temporary supply the man qualified to become her permanent pastor, and accordingly measures were adopted which terminated in his installation the following year, 1866. During the interval he accepted for a few months a small charge at Vevay, Ind. On the 25th of July, 1866, he married Lillie Maria Condit of Auburn, N. Y., daughter of the Rev. Dr. Condit, who was at one time pastor at Longmeadow, Mass., afterward professor of rhetoric at Amherst, and later professor in the Auburn Theo- logical Seminary. Miss Condit was born July 29, 1837. She inherited the peculiar charm of native grace and gentleness which was a chief characteristic of her honored father's life. Gifted with wisdom, tact, and sympathy, she was a true "help- meet" in Dr. Higley's peculiar sphere of usefulness "a model wife of a model pastor." By the favor of Middlebury College, Henry Post Higley, M. A., received the degree of D. D. in 1886. Dr. Higley remained in the pastorate of the Second Congrega- tional Church at Beloit twenty-five years. The small member- ship of 90 which gave him an earnest welcome in 1866 increased DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ID. 257 and grew. The church building was of necessity twice enlarged, and at the close of his pastorate, of the 633 he had received into membership, 420 were on profession of faith, many of whom Dr. Higley had baptized. To this number might be added a large number of persons who regularly attended divine services, but who did not enter the communion. Dr. Higley's public teaching was Biblical, meeting the purpose of life : it was clear, earnest, effective, and to the heart. The result was life and vitality in the church. His influence outside the parish was most valuable. In Beloit few ministers had so many outside calls upon their time and sym- pathy. He was on the side of every good cause, and while he, in some cases, maintained an active and armed protest against virulent forms of evil, he preserved the love and respect of his fellow-citizens. Dr. Higley was a stanch friend and supporter of Beloit Col- lege. His educational impulses enabled him to enter with keen interest into its development and prosperity, serving as a member of the board of trustees for eighteen years, and much of that time being the secretary. His loyalty to the college was only equaled by his loyalty to his church; his deep interest was never found wanting, and his wise counsels and words of advice will ever prove to have been of substantial value to the institution. His association and influence with the Wisconsin Congrega- tional Union, in the proceedings of which he was an active and valuable member, will remain among the pleasant memories of his associates. There was a strange commingling of joy and unfeigned sorrow in the hearts of his parishioners, as well as in the hearts of his fel- low-citizens, on the approach of the two silver anniversaries, June 10, 1891 the quarter of a century of Dr. Higley's pastor- ate, and July 26, 1891 the twenty-fifth anniversary of the mar- riage of Dr. and Mrs. Higley; both dates coming near each other. Because of Mrs. Higley's enfeebled state of health, he had, after much serious deliberation, decided that he was compelled to relinquish his charge and seek a more congenial climate, hoping for her restoration. Among the social events that had occurred in Beloit the last twenty-five years, none exceeded in interest the banquet which celebrated the joyful, yet sorrowful, occasion. It was a social gathering in its truest sense a church family gathering. With 258 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Dr. Higley's own parishioners came many invited guests from far and near, including clergyman and their wives, and honored men from other cities. The festive event was made all that perfect arrangements and extensive provision, with excellent manage- ment, coupled with sincere affection for the pastor and his wife, could make it. It was a happy moment to the friends of Dr. and Mrs. Higley when they could congratulate them on their silver marriage anni- versary, and wish them many happy returns of the event, but there was genuine sorrow that the hour of " good-by " had come, when they should leave the church and city where they were so much loved. At the close of a long and interesting programme of proceedings which extended far into the night, a member of the board of trustees, stepping forward with a bag containing a goodly quantity of silver coin, said in part : "I have the pleasure, dear pastor, in behalf of this church and society to hand to you this our united tribute of affectionate regard. We ask you to accept it not because it measures our love and esteem for you, but because it is a tribute made up from the dimes, the quarters, the halves, and the dollars of those who will ever hold you in kindly remembrance. It comes from the aged, the middle-aged, the youth, the boys and girls, and our infant class, together with those who have gone from our midst. The band then struck up : " God be with you till we meet again." Dr. Higley responded in a few appropriate remarks, and with much feeling dismissed the large company with his benediction. Dr. and Mrs. Higley are sojourning at present (1893), in the salubrious climate of Southern California. They have no children. PROFESSOR EDWIN HALL HIGLEY, A. B., A. M., the fourth child of Hervey Owen and Sarah G. (Little) Higley, was born at Castleton, Vt, February 15, 1843. He received his name in honor of his father's friend, Professor Edwin Hall. After the usual common school course, he was sent to the Castleton Seminary in 1856, under the administration of the Rev. E. J. Halleck. Among his instructors were the Rev. Stephen Knowlton and Mr. Watts, men whose exact scholarship and personal interest in their pupil left an abiding influence. In 1858 he became a member of the Castleton Congregational PROF. EDWIN HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 3Z>. 259 Church. He entered Middlebury, Vt, College, September, 1860; but inspired by a noble patriotism, when the trumpet note of battle sounded the following year, on the breaking out of the Civil War, he withdrew from his studies while a sophomore and enlisted. At a farewell dinner given by his classmates at the Addison House on the ad of October, 1861, in honor of the departure of Mr. Higley and his two comrades, John Williamson and H. D. Smith, for the field of contest, in reply to a parting address, Mr. Higley said in part: "Classmates, there is a divinity which shapes our ends. I think there is more work for me to do after the war is over ; I do not go with the expectation of never coming back. I rely on God; if he wills that I survive the conflict, well; if not, 'tis well I am ready to die. If any praise is due for this act of mine, give it not all to me; my mother deserves it. Listen to the letter she sent me. She says : " ' I have a good deal of sympathy, my son, with your feeling that fifty years hence you will be ashamed to say that neither of my three sons lifted a finger in the hour of our country's peril. Though you know very little of the hardships before you, doubtless you can bear them as well as others. If you feel it your duty to go, I should be sorry to stand in your way ; Go, and may God bless you y keep you, and bring you safely back but especially may you be kept from the evil influences around you, and may you never allow a spirit of revenge to dwell for a moment in your breast.' "I go, classmates," said Higley, "feeling that I am attended by my mother's blessing." He was mustered into service with the ist Regiment, Vermont Cavalry, November 19, 1861, a regiment made up almost entirely of native Vermonters. The regiment attained a notable history, fully deserving the encomiums it received, and sustaining the characteristics of the Vermonters pointed out in the old-time geographies: " Vermont is famous for men And women, and horses, and sugar. The first are strong, the third are fleet, The second and fourth exceedingly sweet, And all exceedingly hard to beat." Edwin Hall Higley was elected orderly sergeant of Company R at the outset. He was early promoted to the rank of lieu- tenant, and later on received his commission as captain. He was finally breveted major of his regiment for meritorious conduct. He took part in many battles and finally found himself a prisoner 260 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of war incarcerated in the famous Libby Prison at Richmond, Va. Of his direful experiences here during nine weary months, dragged out through almost hopeless days, little will be learned from these pages, interesting as the narrative would prove to be. The dark battle-cloud then covering this nation has fully cleared. Heaven's descending dew of peace and reconciliation has fallen upon every section of our country fallen alike upon the " Blue and the Gray, " all having taken hands again in fraternal union and expressions of sympathy between the victors and the vanquished ; and Professor Higley, true to the wise admonitions of his beloved mother, " never to allow a spirit of revenge to dwell for a moment in his breast," bears no ignoble prejudice or bitterness in his memory of the scenes in Southern prison life he will not nar- rate them. After having taken honorable part in the entire campaign of the war, he was mustered out of service, May, 1865. He re-entered Middlebury College the same year, from which he was graduated in 1868. Immediately after completing his college course, he became a teacher at Charlestown, Mass., where he continued till 1872, and during this period, on the 2d of June, 1870, he married Jane Shepard Turner of Middlebury. She was born February 12, 1845. In 1872 he became a member of the faculty of Middlebury College, Professor of Greek and German, remaining in this position till 1882, when he went to Leipsic, Germany, where for three years he added to his earlier achievements in his knowl- edge of language. Returning to the United States in 1885, Professor Higley was appointed Master of Greek and German in Groton School, near Worcester, Mass., which position he con- tinues acceptably to fill (1895), taking rank as a superior instructor. In recognition of his scholarly attainments, Middlebury College, in 1871, conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Professor Higley has devoted himself to a very considerable degree to music, enjoying a high reputation among those possess- ing unusual attainments. Music is in him. Among the Americans who have won honors in Germany his composition has excited favorable attention. For a number of years he performed on the organ during the DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY ,%D. 261 services in the church at Castleton, and for many years was the organist and musical director of the Central Church in Worcester, Mass. It was a high day in Castleton, Vt., June 7, 1884, when on the completion of a century of church life the First Congregational Church of that town celebrated the epoch. For four generations, since Deacon Brewster Higley, 3d, became associated with the founding of the church in 1793, the Higley family had been represented in its board of deacons. Brewster Higley, 3d, was the second deacon elected; his son Judge Erastus Higley was for twenty-seven years, from 1834 to 1861, an officer of the church, and from 1847 to 1878, Hervey, the son of Judge Erastus, served as deacon; then the mantle fell upon the youngest son of Hervey, Alfred Higley of the present generation. For this most interesting occasion, Professor Edwin Hall Higley composed the following centennial hymn with the music, which was sung by both choir and congregation, and afterward published for preservation in the Historical Com- memoration Proceedings. On announcing the hymn, the presid- ing member "counted it most fortunate that a son of the church was moved to be the psalmist of the occasion." " In vain the watchman waketh, And keepeth constant ward. Unless Jehovah taketh The city in his guard. This lesson from the Psalter Our fathers heeded well, And built to God an altar When here they came to dwell. " Here 'midst the forest's rudeness Amid the eternal hills They joined to bless the goodness Of Him who all things fills. The voice of exhortation, Of prayer and praise was heard. They laid their homes' foundations Upon God's Holy Word. " Thou whom the Fathers trusted, Still for their children care ! Their armor yet unrusted May we with courage wear ! H 262 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. O may we never falter To face the self-same foe, With those who built this altar A hundred years ago ! " Professor Higley was called to preside over the after-dinner exercises, which, on calling the gathering to order, he opened by a happy speech. During the reminiscences given, the fact was brought out that forty years before (1844) the Sunday school was marched as a cold water army, with badges and banners, from the church to seats and a collation under Judge Higley's wide-spreading butter- nut trees; the badges bearing the words: "Here we pledge per- petual hate to all that can intoxicate." An immense roll of signatures to the temperance pledge was 'displayed in the show window of a jewelry store in the town. At the general reunion of the Higley Family at Simsbury, Conn., August, 1890, Professor Edwin Hall Higley added much to the pleasurable success of the occasion by his power in music, as well as by an interesting historical paper he furnished. In person he is tall, robust, of fine physique, with a face glow- ing with genial feeling, and possessing a fine sense of humor, yet unassuming and retiring, seeking no public honors, and prone to hide his gifts. ALFRED ERASTUS HIGLEY, the fifth child and youngest son of Hervey O. and Sarah G. (Little) Higley, was born September 26, 1844, at Castleton, Vt. His early schooldays were spent in his native town. At sixteen he went to the Castleton Academy, which, he declared in an after-dinner speech at the school cen- tennial, August 10, 1887, "were golden days when he serenaded the girls and climbed the balconies, and was under the instruc- tion of the best and strongest teachers of his time." To his principal, Miss Harriet N. Haskell, he paid a happy tribute of respect, speaking of her as " his ideal teacher." At this school, which he entered in 1860, and from which he was graduated 1864, he was fitted for college. He then entered Middlebury College and was graduated in the class of 1868. On the 7th of April, 1869, he married Jane Anne Van Vleet, a lady of bright attainments and attractive manner, who was also a pupil at the Castleton Seminary. She was born June 22, 1848. To Alfred Erastus fell in succession the Higley homestead at DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY t %D. 263 Castleton, of which he took charge in 1868, and where he re- sided with his family till the year 1886. Following in the foot- steps of his father of forty years before (1839-46), he was made a member of the Board of Trustees of Castleton Seminary, 1885 ; and also was his father's successor as deacon in the Castle- ton church, being, as has been stated, of the fourth generation of Higleys which have served in this official relation, taking an un- flagging interest in the church's prosperity and workings since its early organization. On that memorable historic occasion the one-hundredth anniversary of this church, he rendered efficient service on the committee of arrangements. In 1886 he removed with his family to Benson, Vt., remaining till the year 1890, his practical farming proving an excellent proof that a college education does not unfit a man for becom- ing a thoroughly capable agriculturist. Indeed, Mr. Higley gave evidence in this special vocation- of the .value of a trained mind. For several years he turned his attention particularly to raising high-blooded stock. In 1891 he received an appointment to the United States Ar- senal at Watertown, Mass., where he was engaged for some time. Later on he built an attractive residence near his mother in Middlebury, Vt, where he now resides (1895). Mr. Higley is of fine personal character, has a genial tempera- ment, and full of excellent qualities of mind and heart. Alfred Erastus and Jennie Van Vleet Higley are the parents of two children, viz.: Edna Van Vleet Higley, born July 18, 1872 ; Mary Gerrish Higley, born March 2, 1874. EDNA, the eldest, was graduated, 1890, from the Castleton, Vt., State Normal School. After pursuing three years of musical study in the New England Con- servatory in Boston, from which she was graduated, she continued for two years her violin study in Berlin. The " glory of the music " which she produces from her favorite instrument, since the pursuit of her study abroad, ranks her among those who have attained very high excellence, and cannot fail to distinguish her future in the musical world. MARY, the youngest daughter, was graduated from the State Normal School in Castleton, Vt., spent three years at the Loring School, Chicago, and entered Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., '94. She is taking the full college course. 264 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ESTHER HIGLEY GUERNSEY. Continued from chapter xxxi, p. 171. Esther, Brewster, 3d, Biewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. ESTHER, the sixth child of Brewster Higley, 3d, was born July 29, 1775, and on Thanksgiving Day, November 20, 1797, married Sylvanus Guernsey, the Rev. Lemuel Haynes of West Rutland officiating. The elder daughters of the family had all had the marriage ceremony performed by their father, Deacon Brewster Higley, 3d. Erastus Higley and Esther Ann Guernsey were "best man" and bridesmaid. After the wedding ceremony was over and the festivities were near closing, the bride and brides- maid, who had long been bosom friends, wished a little private chat together. The house was full, and the weather too cold for muslin-robed lassies to6tand outside the door. So they cuddled among the wraps in a sleigh standing with the horses hitched near the door. Dr. Gridley's sharp eyes noticing their move- ments, he quickly loosed the hitching strap, sprang into the sleigh, seized the lines and drove the team to Landlord Moulton's Inn, some two miles away, where he traded the young ladies for a mug of cider. The discovery, pursuit, and bringing them back, which created great merriment, were not long delayed, and no ill-will was entertained against the joke-loving doctor. Esther's daughter, Mrs. Zeruah Caswell, who is now living, says that her grandfather, Brewster, 3d, walked to Hartford and purchased for Esther a brass kettle, a silk dress, and white muslin for her bridal trousseau. For both Esther and lola he purchased red broadcloth cloaks trimmed with " thag." ZERUAH CASWELL, daughter of Esther (Higley) Guernsey, was born October 31, 1805. She is the only survivor of her generation, and is now a resident of Castle- ton, Vt., where the main part of her life has been spent. She was one of six grandchildren of Brewster Higley, 3d, who were all born the same season and brought home at Thanksgiving, During the family gathering the six babies were placed upon a blanket which was spread upon the floor in front of the grandmother as she sat in her great armchair, to the great delight and admiration of all present. Zeruah married Memri Caswell of Middletown, Vt., March 5, 1846, and has lived to a bright old age, ninety years, a woman of strong character and rare ability, a most interesting link with the long past. Throughout her life she has been greatly beloved by her kindred and friends ; she still superintends her house- hold affairs, and retains her memory and lively faculties to a very remarkable degree. A pleasant reminiscence in connection with her younger days is told of the first DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, ZD. 265 Sunday school held in Castleton. This was in the year 1819, and on " Frisby Hill," held in a little, old-fashioned, unpainted schoolhouse. " The two young girls, Zilpah and Esther Ann Higley, having read about the Sunday school started by Robert Raikes in England, talked with their schoolmates and begged the con- sent of their parents to the plan of starting one in the schoolhouse on the hill. Having obtained the permission they sought, and promises from the boys and girls in the district to be present, they made an urgent request to Miss Margaret Merrill, who was teacher of the day school, to be also the teacher of the new Sunday school. Mrs. Caswell, who was one of the youngest of the children, well remembered how the young teacher knelt upon the bare floor to ask God's blessing upon this first Sunday school in Castleton. The lesson given the scholars was the first ten verses of the first chapter in Genesis, to be perfectly learned and repeated to Miss Merrill at the close of one hour. Weeks passed, and the news of the little Sunday school on " Frisby Hill " spread among the children in the schools of the other districts, and soon other Sunday schools were born. The good work went quietly on in the little schoolhouses here and there, till the pastor of the Congregational Church in the village thought it time to organize a Sunday school in connection with the church ; he therefore visited all the schools in the out-districts and invited them to unite in one to be held in the town academy. One hundred and fifty children gathered, not one over twenty-one being found among the number. In 1821 it was decided to remove the school to the church building, where it has now remained for seventy-four years, the nursery of the church. Esther (Higley) Guernsey died at Castleton, Vt., May 7, 1831. Her hus- band, Sylvanus Guernsey, died April 3, 18 , aged eighty-eight years. They had four children, viz. : Soloman Kasson, Horace Roots, Calvin Owen, and Zeruah. SOLOMON K. was born September, 1798, and died May 6, 1821. ZERUAH, as before stated, was born October 31, 1805, and is still living (1895). SARAH GUERNSEY, daughter of Calvin, is now (1895) filling an important posi- tion in the missionary field in the Indian Territory. Except her aged aunt she is the only descendant of this branch of the family. TOLA, the seventh of Brewster Higley, 3d's, children, was born May i, 1778. She married Deacon William Denison of Lyme, Conn., on the 25th of March, 1800. They resided at West Rut- land, Vt. Their children were : Eliza, who married Henry Post ; Fanny, who married John F. Duncan ; lola, who married Hoyt Guernsey; and William Cowper, Francis Le Count, Edward Higley, and Mary. Their youngest daughter, Mary, married the Rev. Horace Ly- man, and went to Oregon in the early history of that Territory, while it was yet little known, and when it was reached only by ships passing around Cape Horn. Mrs. lola (Higley) Denison died March 26, 1821. 266 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. HARLEY, the eighth daughter of Brewster Higley, 3d, was born October 9, 1781. She married Jared Porter, son of the Hon. Thomas Porter of Tinmouth, Vt, on the 8th of June, 1804. They settled in Tinmouth, where their children were all born, and where they resided until August, 1831, when they joined their children, who had removed that year to Redford, Wayne County, Mich. Mrs. Harley (Higley) Porter died at the residence of her eldest son at the above place, October 16, 1831, aged fifty years. Her husband, Jared Porter, died in Wilmington, Del., May 2, 1837, aged fifty-six years and five months. Mr. and Mrs. Porter had three children, viz. : Zachariah, born June 4, 1805 ; Thomas Rodney, born January 3, 1810 ; Brewster Higley Porter, born January 2, 1820. The latter now resides in Indiana. Professor Edward D. Porter, son of Zachariah, and grandson of Mrs. Harley (Higley) Porter, is Dean of the College of Agricul- ture of the University of Missouri, and resides at Columbia, Mo. ZERUAH, the youngest child of Brewster Higley, 3d, born Au- gust 18, 1784, married Ebenezer Cross January i, 1812. They removed to Oxford, O., September, 1817, with their three daugh- ters. Their three sons were born after their removal to that State. Their children were : Eliza, Maria, Laura, Owen, Kasson, and Ebenezer. Zeruah Higley Cross died at Marion, Ind., September 24, 1854. CHAPTER XXXIX. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 4TH. Brewster Higley, sth, Brewster, 4th, Brewster 3d, Brewster, 2d, Brewster, ist, Capt. John Higley. Continued from page 241. But who is this by the half opened door, Whose figure casts a shadow on the floor ? MATTHEW ARNOLD. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 5th, was born in Castleton, Vt., March 30, 1784, and emigrated with his parents to Ohio when he was thir- teen years of age. In 1805 he returned to his native State to attend school, and remained two years. He performed this jour- ney the entire distance afoot. Just as he was leaving his home on the long and lonely pilgrimage, he provided himself, from a forest tree near at hand, with a stout cane, upon which he notched the height of each child of the household. This cane has been preserved, and is now in the hands of Alfred E. Higley, Esq., of Middlebury, Vt, a descendant of his grandfather, Brewster Higley, 3d. In 1814 he married Achsah Evarts of Rutland, O., where *hey settled. Here their three children were born, viz. : Louisa, Zeruah, and Brewster Higley ', 6th. Brewster Higley, 5th, died August 19, 1823, aged 39 years. He was interred in the Family burial-ground on the old home farm at Rutland, O. His wife removed with her children to Dunlapsville, Union County, Ind., and resided with her brother, Dr. Sylvanus Everts. She died in 1828. Her two youngest children were taken back to Rutland, O., to their kind and generous grandparents. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 5TH. LOUISA, the eldest child of Brewster Higley, 5th, and his wife, Achsah Everts, was born March 16, 1815, and in 1833 married Dr. Robert Cogley of Dunlapsville, Ind. Her second marriage was to John F. Allinson, a merchant of if 268 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Union Mills, Ind., who died in 1857 in Irvington, la., where they then resided. Mrs. Cogley became a student of medicine and received a medical diploma. She practiced her profession successfully for several years in Wichita, Kans., where she lived the last fifteen years of her life. She died December 5, 1887. She was the mother of six children, two of whom by her first marriage are living, and one by the second. THOMAS S. COGLEY, her eldest son, is a practicing lawyer, residing in Washington, D. C. He joined the forces in the late Civil War, serving as orderly sergeant in the 2gth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, General Buell commanding. MARY JANE COGLEY, daughter of Dr. Robert and Louisa (Higley) Cogley, was born in Rutland, O., in 1845. She married, December, 8, 1864, George D. Ewing of La Port, Ind., where she resided many years. Mr. Ewing is a photog- rapher by profession. They now reside in Walkerton, St. Joseph County, Ind. They were the parents of six children, three of whom are living, viz. : Lydepham, born December, 29, 1868, who is in mercantile pursuits, residing in Winamac, Ind. ; Maud, born April 25, 1874, who is preparing herself as a teacher of the piano ; and Earl, born May 8, 1880. CHARLES R. ALLINSON, her youngest child, born in 1854, of the second marriage, resides in Van Buren, Ark. Zeruah, the second child of Brewster Higley, 5th, was born at Rutland, O., August 26, 1817. She married James E. Sanderson September 17, 1835, w i tn whom she lived nearly thirty years, until her husband was removed by death, May 8, 1865. He was interred at Bremen, Fairfield County, O. She now resides with her son Charles C. Sanderson at Union Mills, La Porte County, Ind. They were the parents of eleven children, viz. : Sidney, Amanda, William Brewster, Mary Luzetta, Harriet, Mary Augusta, George R. , James H. , Josie A. , Charles C. , and Horton E. SIDNEY, the eldest, was born September 26, 1835, and married John English. They reside in Copp, Potter County, S. D. They were the parents of four children, viz. : Mary, who married Francis Kirby ; and Harriet. The sons were Melvin and Harry Higley, a bright and promising boy of twelve, who died March, 1891. Mrs. Sidney English died of pneumonia December 27, 1891, four days after the decease of her son. Her body was taken to Union Mills, Ind., for interment. AMANDA, the second child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, born April 26, 1838, married A. Washbury. They have three children, viz. : Fin ley ; William, who died at seventeen ; and Ina. Mr. Washbury died August 21, 1877, aged forty-six. The family reside in M'Carthur, Vinton County, O. WILLIAM BREWSTER, the third child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sander- DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 4777. 269 son, was born September n, 1840, and entered the war on the 15th of August, 1862. He did not long survive the hardships he encountered. He died at Young's Point, Miss., February 7, 1863. MARY LUZETTA, the fourth child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, born November n, 1842 ; died at the age of two years. HARRIET, the fifth child, born May 12, 1845, married Otis Hathaway. They have three children : Gtty, who died at three years ; Dallis, and George. They reside in Sheldon, Iroquois County, 111. MARY AUGUSTA, the sixth child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, was born March 13, 1847. She is unmarried and resides in Copp, Potter County, S. D. She is a teacher in the Copp School. GEORGE R., the seventh child, born March 24, 1849 ; died, aged three years. JAMES H., the eighth child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, born July 16, 1852 ; married Lizzie Fielding. They have no family. They reside in Copp, Potter County, S. D. JOSIE A., the ninth child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, born September 17, 1854 ; married Othello Higley. No dates given. They are the parents of two daughters, Bessie and Mabel. They reside in Union Mills, La Porte County, Ind. CHARLES C., the tenth child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, born April 25, 1839 niarried Emma Tice. They reside with their widowed mother, Mrs. Zeruah Sanderson, in Union Mills, La Porte County, Ind. They are the parents of four sons, viz. : Clarence, Lewis E., James E., and one whose name is not given. HORTON E., the eleventh and youngest child of James E. and Zeruah Higley Sanderson, was born April 26, 1860. He resides in Copp, Potter County, S. D. He is unmarried. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 6th, M. D., the third child of Brewster Higley, 5th, and Achsah Everts, was born at Rutland, O., November 30, 1823, three months after the decease of his father. On the decease of his mother he resided with his grandfather, Judge Brewster Higley, 4th, and afterward with his sister. At the age of eighteen he began the study of medicine in the village of New Plymouth, O. His first medical practice was in Pomeroy, O. In the spring of 1848 he removed to La Porte, Ind., and formed a partnership with his uncle, Dr. Everts. From the medical college located at La Porte, he took his medical degree February 22, 1849. He also became a member of the Northwestern Academy of Natural and Medical Science. He practiced his profession in La Porte twenty-six years. ^ Dr. Brewster Higley married, October, 1850, Maria B. Winchell, who bore one child, born September, 1851, a son, who died a few days old. His wife fell a victim to a prevailing epidemic in May, 1852. August, 1853, Dr. Higley married Eleanor Page, 270 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. who bore one son, Brewster Higley, 7th. His second wife died soon after the birth of this child. His third marriage was in 1857 to Catherine Livingston. From this marriage there were born two children JEstelle^'bom April 4, 1859, and Arthur Herman, born September 3, 1861, both living ; but his wife met with an injury, of which she died, June 2, 1864. In the spring of 1871 Dr. Higley removed to Smith County, Kans., where he married, March 8, 1875, Sarah E. Clemans. To them four children were born, viz. : Sandford, who died in 1878; Achsah, born 1877; Everett, born July 26, 1880; and Theo., a daughter, born September 10, 1882. While living in Smith County, Kans., Dr. Brewster Higley, 6th, was elected and served one term as clerk of the court of the fifteenth judicial district for his county. The climate of Kansas proving too severe for his health, he sold his farm in 1886, and removed to Van Buren, Crawford County, Ark., where he now resides. He has retired from pro- fessional life, and is engaged in farming and fruit-growing. BREWSTER HIGLEY, 7th, the only son of Dr. Brewster Higley, 6th, and his wife, Eleanor Page, was born 1854, and married Mary Daniels. Brewster Higley, 7th, M. D., resides in Nebraska, where he has a lucrative medical practice. They had two sons, William and Frederick, both of whom died in infancy. Continued from page 241. SUSAN, the second child of Brewster Higley, 4th, and his wife Naomi, was born at Castleton, Vt., 1786, and resided with her parents after their removal to Meigs County, Ohio, until her decease. She never married. She died March 23, 1848, aged sixty-two. CYRUS HIGLEY, the second son of Brewster Higley, 4th, and his wife Naomi, was born in Castleton, Vt, July 26, 1787, and was a boy of ten years when his parents removed to Ohio. He spent the remainder of his life near the town of Rutland, O. He married Electa Bingham of Athens, O., February 13, 1816. Cyrus Higley was a soldier in the war of 1812, volunteering as a cavalryman, and furnishing his own horse. He was at one time among the troops stationed on the border near where Dayton, O., is now situated, doing guard duty against the hostile Indians. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian. The Home and Foreign Record, an organ of that denomination, makes allusion to Cyrus Higley as "one of the most valuable co-workers" of the society. JULIUS B. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, TH. 271 His wife Electa (Bingham) Higley, died October 6, 1826. Cyrus Higley died July 30, 1854, at Rutland, O. The Pomeroy Telegraph contained the following with the announcement of his decease. "As he lived, so he died, in the faith of the Gospel of Christ. Our beloved brother was long a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of Rutland, taking a deep interest in the troubles which so long affected the church, and was very devoted in his attach- ment to old school views." As he neared his final close of life, of which he was conscious, he expressed his desire " to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." Of him it may be said, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." Cyrus and Electa B. Higley were the parents of three children, viz. : Lucy P. , Julius B. , and Elizabeth. LUCY P. HIGLEY. their eldest child, born February 17, 1818, and married Dr. William Hooper, November, 1841. They resided at Rutland, O., where she died, October, 1876. JULIUS BICKNELL HIGLEY, the second child of Cyrus and Electa Bingham Higley, was born November 9, 1822, at Rutland, O. He married, March 14, 1844, Maria Louisa Fuqua of Greenup County, Kentucky. They resided on the old home farm at Rutland, on which he had grown to manhood, till November, 1866, when with his family, then consisting of his wife and eight children, he emigrated to Greenwood, Jackson County, Mo., settling on a farm where he resided for six- teen years. The greater number of his children having by this time left the paternal home, and settled at different points in the great West, he, with his wife, in 1882 removed to a farm in Reno County, Kansas, where they remained till the year 1889, when they went to Sterling, Rice County. Here the decease of his wife, Maria Louisa Higley, took place, February 28, 1892, after a tranquil and happily spent married life of forty-eight years. One of his sons writes of his father as follows : " He is at the present time (1895) in the Territory of Oklahoma. It is his nature to live in a new country. He has frequently been heard to remark that nothing would gratify him more than to again aid in building up an unsettled country, if he were only a younger man, and equal to the activities required, yet he to-day possesses more vitality than many men of fifty, which he is proud to claim is the result of his very temperate and careful habits of life. " I realize my incompetency to do justice to the character of my father ; we are glad to, place on record something of his noble worth one has only to know him to speak his praise. " From his early years he has lived the life of the Christian, devoted wholly to the cause of his Master, Jesus Christ, as has been evidenced at all times by his daily walk and conversation. 272 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. " At the age of thirty-two years he was ordained a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church at Rutland, O., in which capacity he served many years. By force of circumstances he and his wife and some of his children became members of the Congregational Church at Greenwood, Mo., in which he served many years as a deacon. Mr. Higley is very liberal and progressive in his views ; he studies and thinks for himself, and since his connection with the Congregational body he finds that he prefers it to the Presbyterian Church, on account of its church government and more liberal teachings on the doctrine of predestination. He is at present an honored member of the Congregational Church of Sterling, Kans. " At all business meetings of the church his advice and counsel are eagerly sought, and received with marked respect and attention. " At the weekly prayer meeting he is ageneral favorite, and a regular attendant." The children of Julius B. and Maria L. Fuqua Higley were : S. Fnqua, Frances E., Cynthia, Dennis B., Artemas J., Addie L., Stephen W,, Huburt L. S. FUQUA HIGLEY, the eldest child, was born at Rutland, O., January 25, 1845. He is a typical Higley in every sense of the name ; broad-shouldered, weighing 230 pounds, clever, active, cheery in disposition, and energetic. In politics he holds strong allegiance to the Republican party. He resides in Hutchinson, Kans., and is engaged in the profitable business of school supplies of all kinds. FRANCES E., the second child of Julius B. and Maria Louisa Higley, was born September 24, 1846, and married Charles L. Campbell of Pleasant Hill, Mo., April, 1867. She died March 8, 1868. CYNTHIA, the third child, born February 17, 1848, married Ira F. Davenport of Kansas City, Mo., August 14, 1884. They reside at Greenwood, Mo. DENNIS B. HIGLEY, the fourth child of Julius B. and Maria Louisa Higley, was born at Rutland, O., September 28, 1849, and, married Carrie E. Nobles of Hamp- ton, la., April 28, 1884. They reside in Sterling, Kans., where Mr. Higley is a citizen of excellent standing, engaged in a successful business " Loans and Invest- ments." Besides being the owner of a pleasant home in the town, he has large real estate investments in Sterling. ARTEMAS J. HIGLEY, the fifth child of Julius B. and Maria Louisa Higley, was born near Rutland, O., October I, 1851. At the age of fifteen he removed with his father's family to Greenwood, Jackson County, Mo., where he resided five years, working on the farm in the summer and attending school in winter. The last winter in pursuit of his education in Missouri he studied at the Lincoln Academy in Greenwood, after which he spent two years at Beloit College, Wisconsin, he then traveled one year, and returned to Missouri and engaged in farming. On the 6th of September, 1876, he married Emma E. Howe at Kewanee, 111., daughter of the late General J. H. Howe. Mr. Higley continued an agricultural life till the year 1879. I ts dull routine, however, not suiting his tastes, and afford- ing little opportunity for the higher intellectual attainment to which his ambition led him, he removed to Hutchinson, Kans., where after studying law in the office of Houck and Brown, Mr. Brown being at that time a Member of Congress, he was admitted to the bar. After practicing his profession for some time he became engaged, with nattering success, in investing money for Eastern capitalists. Devot- ing his energies to this business, he has placed a greater amount of money among the farmers and business men of Western Kansas than any other investment com- pany of his town. His opinions on business enterprises are considered of much value by those seeking to invest capital. He possesses an abiding faith in the future of the city of Hutchinson ; some of its most prominent buildings are standing witnesses of his push and energy. The Higley Block, built by Mr. Higley, is the finest office building which Hutchinson now contains. Mr. Higley is entirely devoted to his family, which consists of his wife, two sons, and two daughters, and can almost always be found at his home when not at his place of business. His children : MARIA L. FUQUA HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 47Y7. 273 Florence, born January 2, 1878 ; Clyde S., born September 28, 1880 ; John, born April, 1885, and an infant whose name is not given. ADDIE L., the sixth child of Julius B. and Maria Louisa Higley, born March 13, 1855, married Albert B. Clark, November 27, 1886, at Kearney, Neb., where they resided. The date of Mr. Clark's decease is not given. STEPHEN W. HIGLEY, the seventh child of Julius B. and Maria Louisa Higley, born May 3, 1857, married Sarah E. Henson of Socarro, N. M. , December 9, 1885. They reside at Perry, Oklahoma Territory. Their son, Claude Higley, was born February 6, 1887. HUBURT L. HIGLEY, the eight child of Julius B. and Maria Louise Higley, born August 19, 1864, resides a: Riley, Oklahoma. , Continued from page 271. ELIZABETH, the third child of Cyrus and Electa Bingham Higley, born Decem- ber 30, 1824, married David D. Allen, April, 1846. They resided at Rutland, O., where she died December 30, 1846, in less than one year after her marriage. Continued from page 241. THERESA HIGLEY, the fourth child of Brewster Higley, 4th, and Naomi his wife, was born at Castleton, Vt. , May n, 1791, and married Josiah Simpson, July 23, 1829. They resided near Rutland, O. Two children were born of this marriage. Mary, who married Thomas Kirker and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah ; and Adeline, who married S. W. Higley of Rutland, O. Theresa Higley died May 12, 1863, and was interred in the public cemetery at Rutland. HARRIET HIGLEY, the fifth child of Brewster Higley, 4th, and Naomi his wife, was born at Castleton, Vt., 1793, and was brought to Ohio by her parents when four years of age. She married Alvin Bingham of Rutland, February 12, 1816. Here they settled, and became prosperous farmers. Mrs. Bingham died May 18, 1872. She was laid in the Family burial plot on the old homestead farm. Alvin and Harriet Higley Bingham were the parents of six children, viz. : Lucy; Lucius If., born June 28, 1819. Amanda, born April 3, 1821, married S. R. Cavender. She died P'ebruary 24, 1892 ; he died December 28, 1891. Clarissa, born March 6, 1823, married Carpenter ; she died March 14, 1892. Alvina, born November 7, 1826; and Samuel N., born August 14, 1831. Lucius H. Bingham, the eldest son, served in the Civil War. Lucius HIGLEY, the sixth child of Judge Brewster Higley, 4th, and Naomi, his wife, was born at Castleton, Vt., October 24, 1796. He was not yet one year old when his parents removed 274 THE HI G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. from his native State to Ohio, taking this infant boy with them. He married Nancy Shepherd, November 26, 1821, and resided for more than four score years upon the farm that his father opened in the wilderness in 1799. He was a witness to remark- able changes in the progress of civilization, his life being pro- longed until he became one of the few living links connecting the present times with the early beginnings of Ohio. He was familiar with that part of the State in which he settled before the plow- share had turned the soil of the heavy forest-covered land, or the hum of human industry was heard in the almost uninhabited wilderness. It was with intelligent and unceasing interest that his eyes looked upon the development of the country, the whole face of which changed in his day. A great State, taking its place as the third in the Union, was, since his boyhood, hewn out of that section of the Northwest Territory; new counties were organized and old boundaries rear- ranged; section after section of cultivated field was covered with towns and villages, corduroy roads and depths of mud into which the vehicles sank to the hub were followed by the macadamized road, and then the railway ; postal communications were es- tablished, and the newspaper and telegraph came. Centers of mental activity were established ; educational facili- ties were brought to a high development ; church spires point- ing heavenward arose in every direction, bearing strong testi- mony to the declaration that " Righteousness exalteth a nation." It was the backwoods no longer. Lucius Higley was a man who noted these great passing events of real life, and who co-operated in the accomplishment of these rapid changes. Throughout his long career he was highly re- pected for his personal worth and solid character. He united with the First Presbyterian Church in Gallipolis while yet a young man. Personally he was social in habit, and exceedingly fond of music. During his green old age he re- tained his health and spirits. The final day came August 8, 1881, when his freed spirit was gathered to his fathers, and his mortal remains were placed beside theirs and those of his beloved wife in the Family burial-place under the mulberry tree. He departed this life at the age of eighty-four years and ten months. When his days here closed, the last New England pioneer of this branch of the family had passed away. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 47W. 275 " Our life's history," once remarked his aged uncle in a letter, "consists chiefly in entrance and exit the intervening space is passed at a step, and we fly away." Nancy (Shepherd) Higley, his wife, was born near Maysville, Ky. Her father removed, with his family, to Meigs County, Ohio, settling near the Higleys during the Indian troubles. By her energy and perseverance she obtained a fair education for those times, and at the age of seventeen she began teaching school, continuing until her marriage. She was a woman of a strong, well-balanced mind, was gifted with an unusually retentive memory, and considerable musical attainment. The cheerful evenings by the home fireside, which it was the habit of their father and mother to enliven by singing together, are among the happy recollections of their children. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Rutland, O., from its first organization, and was ever a warm friend and counselor to the poor. Her husband in writing to a relative some months after her decease exclaims: "The beloved wife of my bosom departed this life Jan. 2ist [1862]. Her name is melodious in my ear I have lost my parents, my brothers and sisters, but there was no such void as when this wife of my bosom went from me. We were brought up near to each other, attended the same school, and have walked side by side many a year." Nancy Higley died in the Christian faith, in the sixty-sixth year of her age. Lucius and Nancy (Shepherd) Higley were the parents of nine children, viz. : Susan, Lucius M., Nancy A., Naomi, Mary, Ransom Br cluster, Charles W. , Milo H. , and L. Sardine. SUSAN, the eldest child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, born August 22, 1822, married the Rev. William H. Bay. They reside in Marietta, O. Lucius M. HIGLEY, M. D., the second child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, was born in the ancestral homestead near Rutland, O., November 5, 1823, and married Elizabeth B. Morton, September 19, 1848. They reside on a part of the old home farm. Dr. Lucius Higley was a student at Chester, Meigs County, O., attending a collegiate school which was successfully established in 1842. At the age of twenty-two he began the study of medicine under the instruction of Dr. Richard Morton of Springfield, Ky., in which town he afterward practiced his pro- fession twelve years. In 1861 he turned his attention to business pursuits in the mercantile line, in Middleport, O., which he relinquished after three years of experi- ence, and in 1868, on the decease of his brother, Dr. Charles W. Higley, at Rutland, he returned to that town and again took up medical practice. He is now retired 276 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. from active life. Dr. Lucius Higley has held the office of justice of the peace for near twenty years, and has given attention to matters of a legal kind, together with devoting considerable attention to literary pursuits. He is President of the Meigs County, Ohio, Pioneer and Historical Society, and President of the Board of Education. Dr. Lucius M. and Elizabeth B. (Morton) Higley were the parents of several chil- dren who died in infancy. Their living children are as follows : Nancy H., born May 22, 1852, who is unmarried and resides with her parents ; William M., born March 30, 1860 ; Pratt //., born January 2, 1862, who married January i, 1891, Luella Cornwell of Gillespeville, O.; Lillie ., born September 2, 1872. WILLIAM M. HIGLEY resides with his parents near Rutland, when not engaged in teaching. NANCY ALICE, the third child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, born March 5, 1825, married George W. Moulton. They reside in Arkansas City, Cowley County, Kans. NAOMI, the fourth child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, born April I, 1826, married Judge A. Logue. They reside in Cheshire, Gallia County, O. MARY, the fifth child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, born August 27, 1827, married Captain Joel Phelps Higley, September 14, 1848. She resides at Middleport, Meigs County, O. (See sketch of Captain Joel Phelps Higley, page 1 83.) RANSOM BREWSTER HIGLEY, the sixth child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, born in Rutland, O., January 6, 1829, married July 7, 1857, Amanda Smith, who was born February 7, 1829 ; she was a daughter of Livingston Smith, a first cousin to Brewster Higley, 4th, on the maternal side. Ransom B. Higley was engaged in gold mining in the early days of California gold hunting, going to that State in 1851. His perilous passage by steamer to Panama, and long delay and discomfort at that point in the torrid heat, together with a leaky ship on the Pacific, and finally a shipwreck upon the coast of Mexico, is in striking contrast to the swift, luxurious journey across the continent as it is now accomplished. He remained in California six years, returning to Rutland, O., where he resided until his death, which took place January 22, 1870. His wife is still living. Their children were as follows : Brewster O., Emma N. and Ella, twins, and Homer R. PROFESSOR BREWSTER O. HIGLEY, the eldest son of Ransom B. and Amanda (Smith) Higley, and the eighth Brewster in the line, was born at Rutland, O., January 24, 1859. Having received his early education at a district school in his native town, he entered the university at Athens, O., and completed a college course, class of '92, degree B. Ph. During the course of his studies he engaged in teaching. He is a member of the Delta Tau Fraternity, a society whose growth is on the increase and becoming influential. He is now the associate professor in the department of United States history and political science in the Ohio University. On the 1st of January, 1891, he married Amelia H. Shutt, daughter of John and Sarah Shutt of Middleport, O. She was a successful and enterprising teacher in the Middleport Schools, an educational institution of the higher grade. They reside at Rutland, Meigs County, O. They have one child, Brewsler S. Higley (the gth Brewster), born June 5, 1894. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 47W. 277 EMMA N., the only surviving daughter of Ransom B. and Amanda (Smith) Higley, her twin sister, Ella, died in childhood, was born July 6, 1861. Emma N. married, September 2, 1888, Elmer L. Bingham, son of Samuel N. Bingham, and grandson of Harriet (Higley) Bingham. He was born May 4, 1861. They reside at Rutland, O. HOMER R. HIGLEY, the youngest child of Ransom B. and Amanda (Smith) Higley, was born at Rutland, O., September 3, 1864. He entered the Ohio University at Athens in 1888, where he is at present taking a scientific course, as well as a special course in electrical engineering. He is also a member of the Delta Tau Fraternity, and has been a successful teacher. He resides at Rutland, O. DR. CHARLES W. HIGLEY, the seventh child of Lucius and Nancy Shepherd Higley, was born at Rutland, O., June 17, 1831. He married Sarah Williams. He became a medical practitioner of unusual ability at Rutland, where he had an extensive practice. He died February 9, 1866. Dr. Charles W. and Sarah Williams Higley were the parents of four children, viz.: William C., Rodney A., James B., and Julia. WILLIAM C. HIGLEY, their eldest son, born June 28, 1855, married Ella Lewis, October 9, 1878. They have three children, viz.: Carl, born September 30, 1879 ; Cora E., born June IO, 1882 ; and Clara, born December 23, 1884. Mr. Higley is a druggist and resides in Coolville, Athens County, O. RODNEY A. HIGLEY, the second child of Dr. Charles W. and Sarah Williams Higley, married Mary Lowery. (No dates furnished.) They have two children : Artie and Ethel. JAMES B. HIGLEY, the third son, married Mary Clark. They have two chil- dren : Charles and Bessie. JULIA, the only daughter of Dr. Charles W. and Sarah Williams Higley, married F. M. Grover. MILO H. HIGLEY, the eighth child and fourth son of Lucius Higley and his wife Nancy Shepherd Higley, was born November 18, 1832, at Rutland. O. His entire life has been associated with agricultural pursuits. He received his early education in the district schools in his native township, attending later on a select school in Pomeroy, O. His bent when quite a boy was for musical study, and at an early age he availed himself of all the opportunities within his reach to follow this ambition. His progress under competent teachers was satisfactory, and at seventeen years of age he became an instructor. In 1848 he formed a choir, the first organized choir in Meigs County, and became its conductor. For many years he has been a teacher of the science, and the leading conductor of music on the public occasions of his town. On Tune 17, 1855, he married Mary V. Pankey. Mr. Higley resides in the ancestral homestead which his grandfather, Brewster Higley, 4th, built, and which has come down through two generations. His wife, Mary V. (Pankey) Higley, died of la grippe, January I, 1892. Milo H. and Mary V. (Pankey) Higley were the parents of the following four children, viz.: James L., Edward S., Kate E., and Burt P., all of whom were born near Rut- land, O. 19 278 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. JAMES L. HIGLEY, the eldest son of Milo and Mary V. Higley, born November 13, 1856, married Lenie Lamb of Barlow, Washington County, O. He was edu- cated at the Middleport, O., High School. He is a farmer, and resides on the ancient home-farm. EDWARD S. HIGLEY, M. D., the second son of Milo H. and Mary V. Higley, born September 28, 1862, received his early education at the Middleport High School, from which he was graduated at ninteeen. In 1882 he began the study of medicine at the Hahnemann College, Chicago, from which he took a medical diploma in 1886, and the following year he took a special course in the Chicago Homeopathic College, also receiving a medical diploma from that institution. He was appointed after competitive examination as Interne to Cook County, 111., Hospital. Since then he has actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Chicago, 111. He married Cora Van Zant of Rutland, O., December 29, 1886. They have one child, a daughter. KATE HIGLEY, the only daughter of Milo H. and Mary V. Higley, was born at Rutland, September 28, 1862. She died, unmarried, April 7, 1888. BURT P. HIGLEY, the fourth and youngest child of Milo H. and Mary V. Higley, was born January 2, 1872. He is a young man, bright, of marked intelligence, and full of good spirits, making many friends wherever he goes. He began teach- ing a district school when eighteen and has fully sustained his marked ability as a teacher. He is taking a college course at Marietta College, Ohio. His home is with his parents. L. SARDINE HIGLEY, the ninth and youngest child of Lucius and Nancy Shep- herd Higley, was born at Rutland, O., January 22, 1837. He never married. He enlisted in the Civil War in the ?th Ohio Battery, and departed on February 23, 1862, with the troops for St. Louis, Mo., where they were furnished with arms and equipments. He fought bravely in the battle of Shiloh, which raged nearly two days ; was at the capture of Memphis; and in the siege and fight at Corinth, Miss., and at the taking of Vicksburg. From exposure in the service during the late summer of 1863, he was brought down with fever and lingered for some weeks in an army hospital. When it was clear that there was little hope that his life could be saved, he was granted a fur- lough at Jackson, Miss., and sent northward, making a courageous effort to reach his home. But with all his courage and endurance his strength did not rally suffi- cient for the entire journey. He succeeded in reaching Portsmouth, O., the home of his sister, where he survived but two weeks, and died October 22, 1863. He showed great fortitude throughout his entire illness, and expressed noble acquiescence to the fact that he was yielding up his life to the service of his country. With great calmness he settled all his affairs. As he neared his close he fre- quently repeated the familiar stanza : *' Jesus can make a dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are, While on his breast I lean my head, And breathe my life out sweetly there." It was his expressed wish to be laid to rest under ' ' the old mulberry tree " in the Family cemetery on the ancestral farm near Rutland, beside " the old patriarchs," as he called them his grandparents and kindred. To him it was a Machpelah. Sardine Higley possessed a fine tenor voice, and was exceeding fond of singing. Full of humor, kind and sociable, no comrade in his company was better liked. He was declared to be " the life of the camp." DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 47V7. 279 Contin uedfrom page 241. JOSEPH TRUMBULL HIGLEY, M. D., the seventh child of Brewster Higley, 4th, and Naomi his wife, was the only child in the family who was born after the removal of the parents from Vermont. His birth occurred in the year 1800. He was noted in his younger years for his poetical talent, a vein of which runs through different branches of the Higley family. He married Emily Reed, and in 1835 removed to Rushville, Rush County, Ind., where he was a medical practitioner of good standing. He died there in 1838. After his decease his wife, with her children, returned to Rutland, O., where she died. They had three children, viz. : Lucinda, born 1831, who died aged twenty; Joseph, born 1833, who died in 1879; and Marion, who died in 1875. There are no living descendants of this family. CHAPTER XL. DAVID HIGLEY. Continued from chapter xviii. David, ist, Brewster, tst, Captain John Higley. Speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice. SHAKSPERE. DAVID HIGLEY, ist, the second son of Brewster Higley, ist, and Esther Holcombe, was born 1712, and, according to the " Record," married Anna Owen, " Aprrille the 3: A. D. 1735." Their home was in Turkey Hills, Simsbury, Conn. David Higley held a place of social distinction in the com- munity, and was honored by the title of " Mr.," a form of address which was not, in those days, a mere title of courtesy to every adult male citizen, but bore a special significance. He possessed a comfortable property, which was increased at the decease of his father and his mother by legacies from their estates. In 1785, his "list for the year " for the Society amounted to 10 145. The pages of an old account book furnish evidence that his larder was supplied with the usual stores for the table furnished in the average colonial home; among the articles named are goodly quantities of cheese and pork. And like the greater number of his brother church laymen of his day, the product of the rude old-time country cider-mill appealed to his tastes; and the sight of a barrel of cider, or a jug of the more enlivening and richer distilled product, cider brandy, from his brother Deacon Brewster's still, contained a fountain of irresistible pleasure in which he indulged as he, sat with the old cider connoisseurs before the fire-heap of logs blazing on his broad hearthstone. The following entries were made the winter of 1768-69: Oct. Nov. Dec. 1768 1768 1768 1769 1760 David ii Higley Dr 4 qts. Brandy. 4 Quarts Brandy. 2 Quarts do 2 Quarts Brandy, i Ot. Brandy. a March. ii 380 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 1ST. 281 During the month of September, 1775, five gallons of brandy are charged. David Higley, ist, was well known in town affairs, receiving responsible appointments. As "surveyor of highways" and member of the school committee, he rendered long public service, while his popularity and efficiency as tything-man' is shown by the repeated appointments he received to that office, covering a period of several years from 1752. He must have been a man of exceptionally fine physical development, his exhibitions of manly power having been so excellent that they gave him fame throughout the colony. As an athlete he was champion in the foot-race, an attainment of high distinction in those times. Few equaled him. Tradition has it that in running races with horses, running from Salmon Brook to Westfield, he was always the victor. For this skill he was often called to the front when emer- gencies arose in Indian and deer hunting. A minute recorded on the church records, Turkey Hills parish, states: "February i6th, 1777: David Higley y e ist entered into full communion with y e church," and the records show him to have been ever afterward, to the end of his life, active in the affairs of the church society. His wife, who is entered upon the church roll of membership as " Jehannah, wife of David Higley y e first," was admitted to the full communion of the same church, July 6, 1777. She was then sixty-five years old. The year following their marriage David and Anna Higley buried an infant son who bore the name of his father. Their other children were as follows : Anne, Elizabeth, David, Deborah, and Tirzah. . ANNE, the eldest daughter, born August 19, 1738 ; married Daniel Halliday of Suffield, "ye yth day of Jan. 1760." They settled in Turkey Hills, and were admitted to the church the same day with her father. There is no account preserved of ELIZABETH, the second child, born February 13, 1742/3. She may have died in infancy. DAVID, 2d, was the only son who lived to maturity. (See sketch.) DEBORAH, the third daughter, born October 15, 1747, was twice married ; her first husband, James Carr, was an Irishman. He died previous to 1778. They had two children. August 17, 1780, Deborah Higley Carr married Stephen Griffen, and became the mother of four more children. She was admitted to full com- 1 See footnote i, p. 141. 282 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. munion in the Turkey Hills Church, October 18, 1778. She outlived Mr. Griffen, who died in 1821. TIRZAH, born July 25, 1752, married, 1779, Benjamin Wright of Egremont, Mass. Anne, the wife of David Higley, ist, died after they had walked in life side by side for fifty-one years. The stone which marks her grave in the EastGranby cemetery is still standing and is inscribed thus: 1Tn memory of flfcrs Bnnab, wife of Ob* Davfo wbo oieo December & 3lst &2> 1786. fln g 75 12ear of 1ber David Higley died about the year 1790, the exact time of his decease not being known. He is last mentioned at the close of the year 1787; moneys were "allowed to his heirs" in the settle- ment of the estate of his brother in 1794. It is reasonable to suppose that he was interred near his wife in the Turkey Hills cemetery; but the precise spot cannot be identified. Wherever it was, the little strip of green earth where his hands lay crossed was tenanted by a man who left this life not empty of its earthly honor, for he bore the esteem of the people. DAVID HIGLEY, 2d, the only son of David, ist, and Anna (Owen) Higley, was born in Turkey Hills, July 6, 1745. He married his second cousin, Mary, the daughter of Jonathan Higley and his wife Mary Thompson. She was born in Turkey Hills, June 9, 1750. The mar- riage took place near the time that her family were thrown into sudden bereave- ment by the accidental drowning of her father in the Farmington River, just above Tarrifville, Conn., 1771. (See sketch, chapter Ix.) From the year 1781, David, 2d, was active in the town and the church society, receiving many appointments for various services. In 1782 he took up the work of the "school committee," a service in which his father had faithfully engaged ; and at the town meeting held in Granby, the first Monday in December, 1790, that office of strange importance the tything-man, was conferred upon him. Our knowledge as to where he spent the latter years of his life is somewhat imperfect. That he emigrated about the close of the century seems quite evident, but whether to Vermont or to the Western Reserve, in Ohio, is not clear. It was probably the latter. He may have accompanied one of his children when they emigrated from the State. The date of his death is therefore missing. His wife, Mary Higley, appears to have died previous to 1795, as she is not mentioned in her mother's will, which was executed that year. David, 2d, and Mary Higley had children as follows : David, 3d. born June 14, 1773 ; Huldah, born March 20, 1777, and baptized at DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,\ST. 283 the Turkey Hills Church the 25th of the May following ; twin sons, born Febru- ary 1 8, 1779, one of whom died soon after birth on the same date ; the other, named Elisha, died February 19, 1779. DAVID HIGLEY, 3d, the eldest child, married Olive Allen and removed from Connecticut. A statement is found in writing that he emigrated with his family to Vermont, but there is no trace to be found of them in that State. It is altogether probable that they went to Central New York, with other Higley families. HULDAH HIGT.EY, the only daughter of David, 2d, and Mary Higley, married David King. They emigrated to the Western Reserve, Ohio, and settled in the vicinity of Kinsman, Trumbull County, where their descendants now reside. CHAPTER XLI. CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. Continued from chapter xviii. p. TOO. Joseph, ST., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Hold fast your Puritan heritage, But let the free thought of the age Its light and hope and sweetness add To the stern faith the fathers had. WHITTIER. JOSEPH HIGLEY, Sr., was the third child and third son of Brewster Higley, ist, and Esther Holcombe. He was born October 21, 1715, and baptized when two months old. His life and experience was passed in Higley-town, Simsbury, the place of his birth being the same as that of his death. His home estate lay next adjoining his brother Brewster Higley, zd's, farm. He was old enough to enter into the active relations of life while several of the families of the first gener- ation were yet in their prime. The Higleys of Higley-town, by the middle of the eighteenth century and during Joseph's day, were strong in numbers, cour- ageous in spirit, and of great influence in the community. There were now no less than twenty-seven families settled on their own estates at Simsbury and its adjoining parishes, whose heads were the sons, grandsons, and granddaughters of Captain John Higley. These had intermarried with many of the old well-known families of that vicinity, the Holcombes, Cases, Barbers, Humphreys, and other, still everybody in those parts seemed related or connected by marriage with everybody else. Joseph Higley was a prominent figure among them. He was the owner, by inheritance and purchase, of a considerable amount of landed property, the deeds of which are found upon the Sims- bury records, and was well-to-do in the world. His family lived in substantial comfort. Civilization in the colony had now reached a stage of advance, though the customs and habits of the people were in keeping with the simple mode of living which belonged to the times. 284 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 1ST. 285 Like the elder Higleys, Joseph Higley, Sr., took an active interest in the affairs of the town. At the town meeting held in December, 1756, he was "chosen Surveyor of highways " for the year ensuing, and sworn into office. To this official relation he was re-elected annually for a number of years. He filled appointments as "District Committeeman" as well as other public offices, which furnish commendation to his ability and faithful discharge of duties. There are many marks of distinction left upon record to indicate that his social position was dignified and on an elevated plane. His name was prefixed by the title of "Mr.," till a military title was conferred upon him, showing that his rank was fully recognized as among the notable citizens. His pew in the Simsbury Church, "No 4, front pew," re-assigned to "Ensign Joseph Higley" on the 27th of December, 1768, by a town committee appointed for " y e seating of y e meeting," was in a location which evidences that the committee carefully con- sidered his consequence. These church sittings were always distributed with "respect to persons." Joseph Higley was not less conspicuous in the Colonial militia than others of Captain John Higley's sons and grandsons who made soldiers' records. The following action of the General Legislature is found recorded under date, " October session 1762 " : "This Assembly do establish Mr. Joseph Higley to be the Ensign of the First Com- pany or train-band of Symsbury, in the first register in this Colony." l At the May session, 1769, he was promoted to the honorable rank of captain. Captain Joseph Higley was no exception among his brothers and neighbors who were fond of their flip, apple-jack, and the cider-mug, his name being entered upon the pages of Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d's, accounts, among thirty other accounts against different Higley's living in the neighborhood, concerning "Creditors bringing cider to the Still." Captain Joseph Higley was three times married. Soon after passing his twenty-second birthday he married Ruth Holcombe, April i, 1737. His wife died in childbirth the following July, and the infant followed his mother to the grave, one month after, August 26, 1737. A stone still marks the place where they were laid in the Turkey Hills cemetery, East Granby. 1 " Public Records of Connecticut," vol. xiii. 286 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. About 1740 he married Sarah Case, with whom he lived till separated by death, on the i2th of June, 1756. After a lapse of about seven years he married Mrs. Eunice (Smith) - , a widow ' with five children, with whom he lived a happy united life for twenty-seven years. By his second and third marriages he became the father of ten children, one of whom died in childhood, March 26, 1759. The children of whom his wife, Sarah Case, was the mother were : Joseph, Jr. (or 2d), Micah, Asa, Ozias, Simeon, and Sarah. His wife, Eunice Smith - was the mother of three of his children all daughters, viz. : Naomi, Ruth, and Susannah. Of the sons and their descendants sketches will be found on pages following. SARAH, his eldest daughter, who was born 1753, married James Rudd, November 13. 1773. an 1777 In tbe 24*b gear of ber age. NAOMI, who was born January I, 1761, married February 25, 1783, her cousin Brewster Higley, 4th, then of Vermont. They removed to Meigs County, Ohio. She died at the ripe age of eighty-nine. Further particulars of her life are recorded in connection with the sketch of her husband. 8 RUTH, born about 1763 or 1765, married Judah Case. She was living when her mother's will was probated, 1797. SUSANNAH, born 1769, married Alexander Campbell Humphrey of Simsbury. She died in 1859, aged ninety years. Captain Joseph Higley died at Simsbury, May, 1790, in his seventy-fifth year. His will was offered to the Court of Probate, July 17, 1790. He appointed his sons, Joseph, Jr., Asa, Ozias, and Simeon executors of his estate, and to his youngest son, Simeon, he devised his home farm. The will provides for his " beloved wife Eunice Higley." To his son, Joseph Higley, Jr., he gave " the lot on which he now dwells in Becket, Massachusetts Common- wealth"; and to his two grandsons, Micah and Benjamin, the children of his son Micah, then deceased, he gave lands in the 1 The Editor failed to discover the name of Eunice Smith's first husband. * See p. 238. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 287 same vicinity. The lands bequeathed to Asa and Ozias lay in Simsbury. Legacies were left to his daughters. The inventory amounted to ^1008 145. 6d. His wife, Eunice Smith Higley, sur- vived him seven years. Her will, which is upon the Simsbury records, was received at court, June 15, 1797, and mentions in a bequest to her daughter, Susannah Humphrey, "my cow." She left her property to her own children by her two marriages. The children of her husband, Captain Joseph Higley, by his former wife are not mentioned in the will. She had property in her own right received from her father Smith's estate. JOSEPH HIGLEY, 2D, AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Joseph, 2d, Captain Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. JOSEPH HIGLEY, 2d, the eldest son of Captain Joseph Higley Sr., and his second wife Sarah (Case) Higley, was born at Higley- town, Simsbury, May 22, 1741. He married Azubah -Gillette, December 3, 1772, a descendant in direct line of one of the oldest Connecticut families, her ancestor, Jonathan Gillette, having come from England with the Rev. John Wareham and the emigrating church in 1630, and a few years later settled in Wind- sor. She was born February 27, 1749. Soon after their marriage they went to reside at Becket, Mass., being among the early settlers in the rugged and beautiful Berk- shire hills, which at that time were covered with woods and brush. Their homestead appears to have been held by the father, Cap- tain Joseph Higley, till his death, eighteen years later, when by the provisions in his will he gave to Joseph, 2d, " the lot on which he now dwells in Becket, Massachusetts Commonwealth." Here they lived the remainder of their lives. Azubah, the first year of her marriage, busied herself in teaching the town school, and, as was the custom of that day, her husband collected her earnings. On the Becket town records is the following item : " Voted November i ith 1773 to pay Joseph Higley's account for his wife keep- ing school the sum of \, IDS." He filled the office of town surveyor for several years, about the beginning of the present century. Joseph Higley, 2d, died December 17, 1823. His wife, Azubah (Gillette) Higley died fourteen months later February 13, 1825, at the age of seventy-six. They were interred in the old burial- 288 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ground at Becket, where tombstones, bearing the simple inscrip- tion of the names and dates of decease, mark the spot where they were laid. Children of Joseph and Azubah Gillette Higley : Joseph Higley, 3d, born April 25, 1774. Sarah, born March 18, 1778; died October 28, 1782. Isaac, born May 30, 1776; died June 15, 1776. Silas, born September 23, 1780. Philena, born November 6, 1787. Minerva, born April 19, 1791 ; died April 6, 1825. The following genealogical sketches of the descendants of Joseph Higley, 3d, were mainly prepared by the Hon. Brainard Spencer Higley of Youngstown, O. JOSEPH HIGLEY, 3d, was the first child and eldest son of Joseph Higley, 2d, and Azubah Gillette. He was born in Becket, Mass., April 25, 1774. Being a faithful student he obtained an education beyond the average young man of those times, and became a teacher whose praise was on the lips, in long after years, of those to whom he was instructor. He also practiced surveying. His marriage is thus recorded : "December 4th 1803. This day I joined in matrimony, Joseph Higley Jun. and Sybil Coggswell, both of Becket. " NATHANIEL KINGSLEY, Justice." Sybil Coggswell was born March 15, 1776. Leaving Becket with a family at that time numbering six children, they emigrated in October, 1815, to Windham, then Sharon, Portage County, O., arriving on the i9th of the month. Here they joined the colony of relatives and connections who had preceded them a few years before (1811) from Becket. Mr. Higley cleared the heavily timbered land of lot 54, the farm upon which he resided the remainder of his life, and which is still owned by his son, John Larkin Higley. He became a citizen highly esteemed and influential. He actively sustained the church, entered into military duties, and took part in all that pertained to the best welfare of the community. He died of a fever, October 18, 1825, and was interred in the Windham cemetery. His wife, Sybil (Coggswell) Higley, was a woman of iron con- stitution and of remarkable enterprise and industry. She died December i, 1864, aged eighty-eight years. Joseph, 3d, and Sybil (Coggswell) Higley were the parents of HON. BRAINARD S. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 289 eight children, six of whom were born in Becket, Mass., and the two youngest in Windham, viz. : Sybil Rosella, born September 21, 1804; Joseph Nelson, born September 6, 1806; Sarah Melissa, born November 6, 1808; Ezra Coggswell, born August 22, 1810; Eliza Dewey, born April 22, 1812; Henry Allen, born February 21, 1814; John Larkin, born January 17, 1816; and Oliver Brewster, born March 18, 1818. SYBIL ROSELLA, the oldest child of Joseph Higley, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell, was born in Becket, Mass., September 21, 1804; married, about 1832, David P. Robison, who was born January 15, 1805. The resided in Freedom, O., for many years, then in Danville, la., and again in Windham, O., where they died ; she died April 27, 1879, ne died January 22, 1880. His second wife was Eliza Dewey Higley Earl, sister to his first wife. They married September 17, 1879. No children by either marriage. JOSEPH NELSON, the eldest son of Joseph Higley, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell, was born in Becket, Mass., September 6, 1806. He married in Aurora, Portage County, O., May 2, 1832, Susan White Spencer, daughter of Deacon Brainard Spencer and Amy Camron (pioneers of the Western Reserve). She was born September 8, 1810, in Aurora. They resided at different periods in Windham, Aurora, Twinsburg, Harmon, and Youngstown, O. He was a hardworking man, and, although of limited education, was quite a reader and well informed. He died in Youngstown, March 17, 1879. After his death his widow resided with her daughter, Mrs. Harriet Allen, in Harmar, O., where she died, June 23, 1890. Children -.Joseph Brainard, born November n, 1833, died July 18, 1834 ; Brain- ard Spencer, born September i, 1837, in Windham, O.; Harriet Anna, born Sep- tember 29, 1843, i* 1 Aurora, O. [The following sketch of the Hon. Brainard Higley is chiefly taken from the " History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties," Ohio. THE EDITOR.] Brainard S., Joseph Nelson, Joseph, 3d, Joseph, 2d, Captain Joseph, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. BRAINARD SPENCER HIGLEY, the eldest surviving son of Joseph Nelson Higley and his wife, Susan White Spencer, was born in Windham, O., September i, 1837. He removed with his parents to Aurora, O., in 1840, and thence to Twinsburg, O., in 1849. Here he received his preparation for college at the Twinsburg Literary Institute, and entered the Western Reserve College, from which he was graduated in 1859 with third honors of his class. He studied law at the Cleveland Law College, also with the Hon. Sherlock I. Andrews, and the law firm of " Hitchcock, Mason, and Estep," and was admitted to the bar at Wooster, O., July 2, 1860. 290 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, On the ist of January, 1861, he married, at Twinsburg, O., Isabella R. Stevens, daughter of Dr. John G. Stevens, who was born in Nelson, O., August 15, 1838. They established their home at Youngstown, O. Here Mr. Higley was soon recognized as a painstaking and reliable counselor and attorney, qualities which peculiarly fitted him for the settlement of estates and the management of causes growing out of business transactions. In 1863, during the Civil War, Mr. Higley became a member of the National Guard, of which there were three companies in Youngstown. In April, 1864, Governor Brough ordered the whole force of Ohio National Guard to report on May 10, for active service for one hundred days. The Youngstown com- panies became a part of the i55th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Colonel H. H. Sage. B. S. Higley was corporal of Company D. The regiment was mustered into service at Camp Dennison, and immediately afterward sent to Martinsburg, Va. Subsequent orders took it to Washington, D. C., White House Landing, City Point, Bermuda Hundred, Norfolk, and other points, making a raid through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City, N. C. While at Norfolk, on garrison duty in an entrenched camp, the whole regiment, and particularly the Youngstown troops, sickened. The climate seemed deadly to them. Very few escaped illness, many died, and large numbers were disabled. When the Youngstown companies were mustered out of service, August 27, and returned home, they excited and received commiseration from the hearts of the entire community. Brainard S. Higley's health was permanently impaired by the ordeal through which he had passed. "Just before entering service he had been elected mayor of Youngstown; a new marshal and council had also been chosen. These all enlisted for the war before assuming the duties of their respective offices, leaving the town to be governed temporarily by the old officials whose terms had expired. On the return of the regiment 'the incumbents-elect took their places. Mr. Higley filled the office of mayor two years, 1864-65. "In 1867 he entered into a business enterprise at Marietta, O., to which place he removed with his family and resided eight years. The business proving a failure and the stockholders suffering considerable loss, Mr. Higley returned to Youngs- town in 1875, and has since devoted himself closely to the prac- tice of his profession. With two exceptions he is the oldest DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 291 member of the present bar. He is a lawyer rather than an advocate, and is particularly successful in causes requiring careful preparation and close, tedious study. As a citizen and man he is held in high esteem." Children of Brainard Spencer and Isabella (Stevens) Higley: John Stevens Higley, born October 20, 1861, died December 18, 1865; Belle, born May 27, 1863, died September 17, 1863; Ruth Isabella, born May 22, 1866, died October 8, 1871; Joseph Nelson, born September i, 1868; Brainard Spencer, Jr., born January 13, 1871; George, born February 3, 1872; Henry Brewster, born April 30, 1873, died November 24, 1873; Almon Knox, born February 14, 1878, died January 20, 1880. JOSEPH NELSON HIGLEY, the eldest surviving child of Brainard Spencer Higley, finished his course of study at the Rayen School, Youngstown, O., from which he was graduated June 18, 1889. As valedictorian of his class he made himself a record by the delivery of an oration which was worthy of, and received the highest plaudits from, the large number of citizens who filled the Opera House on the occasion. His subject was " Uncle Sam." He has chosen the legal profession, and is now pursuing the study of law under his father. Continued by the Hon. Brainard S. Higley. HARRIET ANNA HIGLEY, the youngest child of Joseph Nelson Higley (4th), was born in Aurora, O., September 29, 1843 ; married April 7, 1870, to George Luman Allen, who was born October 29, 1844. Since marriage they have resided in Harman, Washington County, O. Children : Charles Ethan Allen, born February 21, 1871; Florence May Allen, born August 26, 1872. SARAH MELISSA HIGLEY, third child of Joseph Higley, 3d, and his wife Sybil Coggswell (page 289), born in Becket, Mass., November 6, 1808, married, December IO, 1829, Elijah Adams Scott, who was the son of John Scott, and born in Becket, Mass., November 28, 1800. She died March 18, 1836. He died November n, 1880, having on March i, 1837, married, as his second wife, Sarah Ann Under- wood, who survived him. Children of Sarah Melissa (Higley) and Elijah Adams Scott : JOSEPH STILLMAN SCOTT, born in Freedom, O., December 22, 1830; married Ann Eliza Purdy, December 25, 1850. They have one son, Frank Ellsworth, born July 20, 1862. They live in Donaldsonville, Marshall County, Ind. JULIA ELIZA, born in Freedom, O., December 17, 1833. Married Josiah B. Whippy, December 18, 1880; no children. They reside in Atwater, O. SARAH MELISSA, born in Freedom, O. , February 24, 1836. Married Isaac N. \Vilcox, May 26, 1857. They live in Windham, O. " In answer to the first call for troops in April, 1861, Lieutenant Isaac N. Wil- 292 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. cox enlisted in Company F, 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served three months as second lieutenant. He afterward raised a cavalry company which was attached to the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and served as first lieutenant till near the close of the war, when he received a captain's commission. " Lieutenant Wilcox took an active part in the famous battle of the Wilderness, and in many other battles under General Grant, and in marches from the Rapidan to the James River." * Their children : Ida Melissa, born July 17, 1858; married, May II, 1886, Aaron B. Pinney; live in Windham, O. Scott Stillman, born June 14, 1864. Wesley Walter, born August 31, 1881. EZRA GOGGSWELL HIGLEY, the fourth child of Joseph Higley, 3d, and his wife Sybil Coggswell, was born in Becket, Mass., August 22, 1810. Married, October 28, 1835, Amanda A. Messenger. She died March 14, 1886. In 1838, three years after his marriage, he was induced to go to the then far West, accompanying his father-in-law, Hiram Messenger, on a visit to Iowa. Finding the broad prairies awaiting the husbandman, they decided that that should be their future home. The spring of 1839 found Ezra and his family in Danville, Des Moines County, la., where he resided till his death. He was one of the first and most substantial men who pioneered that State. He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding October 28, 1885. His wife died March 14, 1886. Ezra C. Higley died January 24, 1892, aged eighty-one years and five months. Their children : Sybil A., Harriet M., Henry H., Emily M., Mary P., born in Danville, la., May 9, 1855; died December 7, 1868. SYBIL A. HIGLEY, the eldest daughter, born in Windham, O., September 5, 1836. Married, October, 1859, William H. Stewart. They have always resided in Danville, la. Their children : Edward E. Stewart, born October 3, 1860; married, December 23, 1884, Blanche Bodeboun, and lives in Oberlin, Kans. ; have one daughter, Edna Day, born Sep- tember 17, 1886. Alice M. Stewart, born October 9, 1862 ; married, December 23, 1885, William Hunt; resides in Burlington, la.; they have two daughters, Clara L. and Helen E. Clara B. Stewart, born January i, 1867; married William Hanna, November 5, 1890. HARRIET M. HIGLEY, second daughter of Ezra C. and Amanda A. Higley, was born in Windham, O., February 5, 1838. Married, January 29, 1868, Judson A. Scovel. She died May, 1874, leaving the following children : Luman W. Scovel, born January 15, 1871, lives in Tucasto, la.; EJfie D. Scovel, born December I, 1873, died October, 1874. HENRY H. HIGI.EY, eldest son of Ezra C. Higley, was born in Danville, la., April 4, 1842. Married, January 30, 1867, Mary E. Minson. Has always lived in Danville, la., and is a farmer. Henry H. Higley enlisted August 25, 1862, in the i$th Iowa Infantry, and was with his regiment until the close of the war. Was with General Sherman from the time he left Grand Junction, through the seige of Vicksburg and Grand Gulf. Thence went to Atlanta, Ga., and was in both battles, 22d and 28th ; and then in the flank movement that forced Hood to surrender ; was with Sherman on his march to the sea. Was in Raleigh when Lee surrendered. He was in eighteen battles. He was honorably discharged August 5, 1865, at the close of the war. 1 " History of Portage County, Ohio," p. 924. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 293 His children are : Nellie A., born March I, 1869 ; died October 23, 1878. Twin girls, born July 22, 1876. Frank //., born August 2, 1880. Pearl M., born May 15, 1887. EMILY M. HIGLEY, fourth child of Ezra C. Higley, was born in Danville, la., September 19, 1846, and resided with her father on the home farm. ELIZA DEWEY HIGLEY, fifth child of Joseph, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., April 22, 1812. Married in Windham, O., June 15, 1834, James Earl, who was born November 25, 1807. He died November 28, 1846. Her second husband was David P. Robison, whom she married September 17, 1879. He died January 22, 1880. Mrs. Robison died 1888. She was a re- markable woman. Left a widow upon a farm, with three children, the eldest only eight years of age, the youngest an invalid, incurable, and often helpless, and her aged mother, who soon became weak mentally and a serious charge, she managed her farm and business successfully, acquired a competence, educated and reared her children to adult years, and tenderly cared for and nursed her mother until she died, aged over eighty-eight years. Notwithstanding all her labors and cares, Mrs. Robison lived an active life till her decease in 1888. Her children, all of first marriage, are : ORLANDO LYCURGUS EARL, born July 22, 1838. He enlisted, September 20, 1861, as private in Company A, 42d Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Colonel James A. Garfield (subsequently President of the United States) commanding ; was in Camp Chase twelve weeks. The regiment was a part of the force sent in Decem- ber, 1861, up the Big Sandy, Virginia. Took part in the battle of Middle Creek, January 10, 1862 ; went down the Ohio to Louisville, Ky., then to Cumberland Gap. From the Gap, supplies being cut off, was forced to retreat, and reached the Ohio River at Greenupsburg in the fall of 1862 ; went to Memphis, Tenn., and was with Sherman in his unsuccessful attack upon Vicksburg ; was in Grant's army dur- ing the campaign that resulted in the capture of Vicksburg. During the rest of his term of service he was on or near the Mississippi River ; was honorably discharged at Columbus, O., September 30, 1864, never having received a wound or been ill one day. He married, December n, 1865, Emily J. Cutts, who was born April 18, 1842. He lives in Windham, O., and has the following children : Edwin C., born July 6, 1868 ; Mabel A., born June I, 1870; Enise B. t born September II, 1873. EDWIN D. EARL, second son of James and Eliza Higley Earl, born June 17, 1841, enlisted in Company I, I7ist Regiment Ohio National Guard, in April, 1864 ; ordered to Johnson's Island to guard Confederate prisoners there. During Mor- gan's raid the regiment was sent to Kentucky, and the subject of this sketch was killed at Keller's Bridge, in the engagement June II, 1864. Windham never had a young man who was more highly esteemed, more loved, and more generally lamented. ELIZABETH A. EARL, born March n, 1846; died February 3, 1870. HENRY ALLEN HIGLEY, the sixth child of Joseph, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell Hig- ley, born in Becket, Mass., February 21, 1814, married, May 7, 1840, Mary E. Seeley, who was born October 16, 1821, and died October 4, 1866. His second wife was Marion M. Udall, born April 16, 1842. This marriage took place Novem- ber 7, 1867. His wife died October 7, 1870. His third wife is Sarah Joslyn, who 20 2 94 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. was born April 6, 1825, and to whom he was married August 24, 1871. He has lived in Windham since 1815, is a farmer, and one of the substantial and highly respected citizens of the town. He has repeatedly held offices of trust. His chil- dren are as follows ; all of them by first marriage except the last, who is of the second : Henry James. Charles Olin, born March 5, 1852 ; died January II, 1862. Nettie M., born May 25, 1855, resides in Cleveland, O. Frank S., born March 7, 1869, resides in Windham. HENRY JAMES HIGLEY, the eldest son, was born in Windham, O., June 30, 1849 ; married, December I, 1870, Virginia A. Little. He is a painter by trade, and re- sides in Windham, O. Children: Warren William, born July 7, 1874 ; died October 23, 1877. James Little, born August II, 1880. Thomas William, \yon\ March 4, 1882. George Henry, born September 22, 1884. JOHN LARKIN HIGLEY, the seventh child of Joseph, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell Higley, was born in Windham O., January 17, 1816, and married, March 2, 1841, Elizabeth K. Frary, who was born in Becket, Mass., November 12, 1820. Mr. Higley bears the reputation of being one of the most successful farmers of the township. His farm is the original land which his father, Joseph Higley, 3d, settled upon on his arrival in Windham in 1815. He has served as justice of the peace and held other town offices. Windham has no more reputable or worthy citizen than he. During the Civil War he did a noble work by faithfully rendering very efficient aid to the families of soldiers who were at the front. He is an honored and active member of the Presbyterian Church. Children of John Larkin and Elizabeth K. Frary Higley : Infant son, born and died March 12, 1842 ; Ophelia L., Joseph Larkin, Emma E., Halbert D., born November II, 1853 ; lives in Windham. Belle A., born April 26, 1857. Francis S., born July 16, 1859. OPHELIA L., the eldest daughter, born October 4, 1843, resides in Windham. JOSEPH LARKIN, eldest son of John Larkin and Elizabeth Frary Higley, was born January 23, 1847 ; married, October 31, 1876, Jennie A. Scott, who was born March 12, 1858. He is engaged in business in Canton, O. Children : Ethel, born May 3, 1880 ; died January 22, 1883. Etta, born September, 1883. EMMA E., daughter of John Larkin and Elizabeth Frary Higley, was born in Windham, O., May 25, 1849 ; married, August 12, 1880, N. S. Kellogg, and resides on a farm in Claridon, Geauga County, O. Children : Gertrude Belle, born February 7, 1882. John Sherman, born August 14, 1883. OLIVER BREWSTER HIGLEY, the eighth and youngest child of Joseph, 3d, and Sybil Coggswell Higley, was born in Windham, O., March 18, 1818 ; married, August 1 8, 1846, Eunice D. Johnson, who was born March 5, 1824. They resided in Danville, la., where on August 15, 1847, there was born to them a son, Milton B. Mrs. Eunice D. Higley died Angust 18, 1847. Oliver B. Higley married, June 4, 1849, his second wife, Betsy Case, who was born June 4, 1827. About this time he removed to \Vindham, O., where he died, February 19, 1866. He was an indus- trious and thrifty citizen, a worthy member of society. His widow resides with her son, Edwin E. Higley, in Windham. The children by second marriage are : Charles W., born May 30, 1850. Mary Francis, born August 20, 1851 ; died WILLIAM E. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 295 September 23, 1888 (unmarried). Julia A., born May 27, 1854 ; died August 13, 1858. Clinton A., born July 13, 1859, a printer, resides in Minneapolis, Minn. Edwin E., born March 13, 1864. MILTON B. HIGLEY, the only child by the first marriage, was born in Danville, la., August 15, 1847; married, September 21, 1875, Celia Castle, who was born Febuary n, 1855. He is employed in a factory in Ashtabula, O. Their children : Ettie M. y born September, 19, 1878. Flossy M., born June 5, 1884. CHARLES W. HIGLEY, the eldest son of Oliver B. and Betsey Case Higley, born May 30, 1850 ; married, December 7, 1872, Lovena A. Weed, who was born August 12, 1850. He is a farmer and resides in Windham, O. Their children: Verna M., born December 7, 1874. Lena M., born June 20, 1876. EDWIN E. HIGLEY, the youngest son, born March 13, 1864 ; married, January 19, 1886, Lucy Barnum, who was born May 12, 1863. He is a farmer and resides in Windham, O., in the house formerly owned by his father, Oliver B. Higley. SILAS HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Silas, Joseph, 2d, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 288. We now return to the direct line of Joseph Higley, ad, son of Captain Joseph, ist. SILAS HIGLEY, the fourth child of Joseph Higley, 2d, and Azubah Gillette, was born at Becket, Mass., September 23, 1780. He lived and died in Becket. On the 3oth of October, 1805, he married Deborah Messenger, who was born October 15, 1783. The marriage ceremony was performed by " George Conant, Justice." Silas Higley died June 9, 1864, at the age of eighty-four. His wife died March 9, 1857. They had six children, as follows: Silas Orlando, Deborah Laverna, twins, born August 28, 1806. Edwin Wood, born August 15, 1808; died March 7, 1844. Lueian Arthur, born April 13, 1810; died November 14, 1844. William Dwight, born January n, 1812; died November 28, 1817. Emily Aurelia, born September 27, 1813; died May 21, 1839. Of the above family SILAS ORLANDO, who was known altogether by his middle name, Orlando, married Lucinda Davis, May 13, 1831. They reside in Becket. They had one child, George Edwin, born April 23, 1862, who died the following September. DEBORAH LAVERNA, his twin sister, married Myron B. Maltoon of Lenox, Mass. Their children were : George Myron, born October 9, 1834; Catherine Laverna, born June 20, 1837; Charles Giddings, born April i, 1839. Deborah (Higley) Maltoon died in Lenox, Mass., January 30, 1882. 29 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. LUCIAN ARTHUR, the fourth child of Silas Higley, married Morilla N. Church of Middlefield, Mass., October n, 1831. They resided in Becket, Mass. He died November 14, 1844. His wife died January 18, 1870. Their children : Charles Wright and William Edward. CHARLES WRIGHT HIGLEY, born January 15, 1835, married Ann Miller of Lenox, Mass., November 21, 1858. He died June 22, 1863. WILLIAM EDWARD HIGLEY was born September 23, 1837. His early education was obtained in the public schools. His father dying when he was but seven years of age, the care and solicitude of the family came upon the mother. William was thus early initiated into the responsibilities of life. Employment was found for him on a farm at Middlefield. When a youth of sixteen he went to Pittsfield, Mass., to learn the trade of tailoring, and afterward opened a tailoring establishment in Middlefield. Later on he removed to Becket, where he conducted a merchant tailoring business for many years. Mr. Higley displayed originality and ability in the art of cut- ting garments, and became widely and popularly known in his line of business. He wrote a series of articles for Scott's Mirror of Fashion, and other trade periodicals, which, attracted very con- siderable attention, and were republished in the columns of The Tailor and Cutter, in London. The many inquiries that came to him from these articles, instigated him to originate and patent a system of cutting, the best points of which have been adopted in nearly all of the systems of cutting garments now in use. In 1880 Mr. Higley opened a grocery house, and later he pur- chased an apothecary store, in which business he is now engaged. William E. Higley is a member of the Congregational Church in Becket, which he has served for many years as collector and treasurer. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Music happily being one of his delights, he entered its realm, devoting a considerable amount of time to its practice. He is a successful instructor, teaching in private schools, and for thirty- two years he played a Boehm flute at the church services, and con- ducted the singing. The cause of education has long laid upon Mr. Higley's heart, in which he takes practical interest, having served for some time as chairman of the school board of his town. On the ist of January, 1860, William E. Higley married Maria CHARLES W. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 297 A. Miller of Stockbridge, Mass. They are the parents of three children, viz. : Charles William, born November 18, 1864; Arthur Lucian, born April 4, 1868; and Anna Morilla, born January 4, 1870. CHARLES WILLIAM HIGLEY, the eldest child of 'William E. and Maria A. (Miller) Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., November 18, 1864. His early education was obtained at a private school in that town ; later on he attended the high school at Stockbridge, Mass., and afterward was a student at the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. During the year 1882 he took the responsibility of becoming a teacher,his mental power advancing him at an early age. He accepted a position in the school at West Becket. The following year, on obtaining a State scholarship, he entered the Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute, from which he was graduated July, 1886, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. The same year he entered the engineering department of the Boston Bridge Works. By nature and habit industrious, he has proved, in this connection, thor- oughly efficient, his ability, energy, and activity challenging the respect and admira- tion of the company. He now holds a responsible position, being its representative. In his early boyhood Charles W. Higley developed a bent for music, in which he was indulged, and his development was such that he performed on the organ at the church services in his native town at the age of thirteen, continuing as organist for three years. He resides in Boston, Mass. ARTHUR LUCIAN HIGLEY, the second child qf William E. and Maria A. (Miller) Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., January 4, 1868. Scarcely one year of his life had passed when he was made deaf by the effects of an attack of measles. Every effort has been made by his parents to make the life of this most promising child both enjoyable and useful. He received an excellent education at the Clarke Institution for the Instruction of Mutes, at Northampton, Mass., where he was a student ten years. Here he learned the cabinetmakers' trade, making himself a reputation for his clever work- manship, and showing himself thoroughly possessed of mechanical genius. He resides with his parents in Becket, following his trade, in which he excels in turning out fine and beautiful work. To all who meet him, his bright, intelligent face and attractive bearing at once give evidence of his unusual natural abilities. ANNA M. HIGLEY, the third and youngest child of William E. and Maria A. (Miller) Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., January 4, 1870. Her first school days were at a private school in Becket. She pursued her studies and was graduated at the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. She afterward taught for ten school terms. On the igth of March, 1891, she married Fred M. Burleigh of Chester, Mass., in which town they now reside. Continued from pagt a88. PHILENA HIGLEY, the fifth child of Joseph Higley, 2d, and Azu- bah (Gillette) Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., November 6, 1787. She married, July 5, 1813, John Milton Brewster, M. D., 298 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. who was born in Becket, Mass., October 22, 1789. Dr. Brewster was one of the most eminent physicians of his State. The following sketch was furnished by a descendant : Philena Higley inherited the sterling qualities of her ancestry. Reared in a quiet New England town, improving the advantages of the village school, and imbibing the religious sentiment of a Christian home, the foundations of a strong character were laid. The delicate physique and refined face of the young girl con- cealed her power of endurance. When Philena was fourteen years of age her mother became abed-ridden invalid, and Philena was called to fill her place. Right cheerfully did she accept the trust. To this young housekeeper soon came another charge a child to claim her care. She adopted this niece (a twin daugh- ter of her brother Silas), who was ever after as an own daughter. The year 1813 brought another change to this young woman. Dr. John M. Brewster, a native of the same town, and a promising young physician, claimed her as his bride and took her to their new home, the adopted niece going with them. This proved an eminently Christian home, noted for its hos- pitality and resources : the sick were relieved ; the slave found refuge; and the sorrowful were always comforted; there was always room for the stranger, and few were the months extending through a long life when some needy person was not sharing Mrs. Brewster's attention. There are to-day many men of prominence who speak of her as " mother," because they owe their success in life to her encourage- ment and advice. Her daily life of patience, hope, love, and charity was her best teaching ; and although never robust, she was spared to her loved ones until she had numbered eighty-eight years, when she passed as peacefully away as a little child lies down to its sleep. "Her children rise up and call her blessed." Mrs. Philena Higley Brewster died at her home in Pittsfield, Mass., January 21, 1876. Her husband, Dr. John M. Brewster, died May 3, 1869. Children of Dr. John M. and Philena Higley Brewster : Flavia Jerusha, born June 20, 1814 ; died April 27, 1821. Oliver Ellsworth, born January 30, 1816, married ; died Septem- ber 12, 1866. John Milton, 2d, born November 28, 1817, married ; resides in Monson, Mass. Joseph Higley, born January 27, 1820, married ; resides in Monson, Mass. Flavia ARTHUR L. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 299 Jerusha, 2d, born May 23, 1822 ; married Franklin W. Gibbs of Lee, Mass. Henry Badger, born April 14, 1824, resides in Pitts- field, Mass. William Cullen, born May n, 1827; died September 19, 1847. Sarah Philena, born September 20, 1829; married Robert W. Adam of Pittsfield, Mass. Mary Minerva, born January 24, 1832; married George H. Laflin of Chicago, 111., and resides in that city. MINERVA HIGLEY SCOTT. Continued frontpage 288. MINERVA HIGLEY, the sixth and youngest child of Joseph Higley, 2d, and Azubah Gillette, was born in Becket, Mass., April 12, 1791. She married Linius Scott, May 27, 1824, the Rev. J. L. Mills officiating. On the 22d of March, 1825, she gave birth to a son, Joseph Hig- ley, after which her strength never rallied ; she died April 6, 1825. JOSEPH HIGLEY SCOTT, her only child, became a faithful and successful clergy- man in the Presbyterian Church. He removed to the Western Reserve, where he preached for many years, beloved and honored. Metropolis, 111., was afterward his home, where he died after an illness of many weeks, leaving a family with a very comfortable living. His death took place February 26, 1879. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. S. M. Burton of Golconda, 111., assisted by the Rev. B. Y. George of Cairo. Mr. Burton preached from Revelations xiv. 13. " A large audience of sympathizing friends filled the church in which Mr. Scott so long and faithfully labored as pastor, and kind hands laid tenderly away the remains of one whom they will ever remember with affection, for his genial nature and untiring devotion to the cause of Christ, and the good of his fellow-man. Mr. Scott was a marked man methodical in all things, he accomplished, without any ostentation, more than most men with greater strength are able to do. Though a quiet man, his convictions were always outspoken, and his influence for good in the community was very great. He will long be remembered by a community who sympathize with his family for their great loss, and who sensibly realize that one of its most justly honored citizens has gone to a sure reward." CHAPTER XLII. MICAH HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Micah, ist, Captain Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued front page 286. MICAH HIGLEY, the second son of Joseph Higley, ist, and his second wife, Sarah Case, was born at Higley-town, Simsbury, Conn., January 12, 1743. He married Olive Adams, who was also of Simsbury, January 5, 1774. On the 3oth of the previous November, 1773, Micah Higley purchased a home in Becket, Mass., " House lot, No. 44," for the " sum of ;6o. " His father having also set apart land for his sons in Becket, Micah and his wife removed here soon after their marriage. They owned and settled on lot No. 48. His sister Sarah, who had married James Rudd less than two months previously, also removed with her husband to Becket, the two families living neighbors. The married life of Micah and Olive Higley was cut short in a little less than five years by a distressing accident. On the morning of December 19, 1778, a light snow having fallen in the night, Micah and his brother-in-law, Mr. Rudd, went to the woods to shoot deer, neither of them knowing that the other was out. Micah wore a deer-skin cap. Mr. Rudd, while stealthily watching about, caught glimpse of a moving object behind a fallen tree top, and supposing it to be a deer, took aim and dis- charged his gun. To his horror on approaching his game, as he thought, he discovered that he had shot and killed his brother- in-law, Micah Higley. The fatal accident caused a great shock to the neighbors and friends, and plunged Mr. Rudd into bitter emotions, but regrets were fruitless. The interment took place in the old Becket burial-ground. The tombstone bears this inscription : flfcfcab f>f0leg wbo was sbot an& Ofefc instantlg Dec 10tb 1778 35 gears. 300 DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 301 His widow, Olive (Adams) Higley, was left with two young sons, Micah, Jr., born January 25, 1776, and Benjamin, born November 30, 1777. She married, October n, 1779, Elijah Alford, Jr. (see p. 177), who was cousin to her husband, and in 1811 removed to Wind- ham, Portage County, O. , where they brought up a family of six children. She died September 16, 1827, near Windham. Her grave is marked by a tombstone in the Windham cemetery. The birth of Micah Higley, Jr., son of Micah Higley and Olive Adams, is found upon the Records at Becket, Mass., as follows : " Micah Higley, son of Micah and Olive Higley, born in Becket, February 9, 1776." He was baptized July 2, 1786. The same Town Records an- nounce his marriage thus: "Micah Higley and Mehitable May Bowen married at Becket, Sept. i3th, 1703." Mehitable M. Bowen was born in Roxbury, Mass., January 8, 1783- On the i2th of May, 1808, they were together admitted to the church in Becket in full membership. On the death of their grandfather, Joseph Higley, ist, in 1790, Micah and his brother Benjamin received a legacy of lands at Becket, where Micah and his wife then resided, and where the five eldest of their family of ten children were born. In June, 1816, they removed to Augusta, N. Y., then to Whites- boro, Oneida County, in that State. Here they lived till the summer of 1833, when they removed to Windham, Portage County, O. Here they were received into the church by letter from New York Mills, N. Y., October 17, 1833. Micah Higley died May 14, 1841. His wife died January 20, 1839. They were buried in the Windham cemetery. Their children: Cumberland W., Ebenezer, Abigail Smith, Olive, Martha Porter, Mary W. and Eliza Bowen twins, Harriet Newell, Eunice Washburn, and Henry. CUMBERLAND W., born in Becket, Mass., December 7, 1805. In 1826 he went afoot from Madison County, N. Y., to Portage County, O., making the journey in thirty days. He carried a gun on his shoulder, with which he supported himself the most of the way. He died of malarial fever at Windham, O., October 12, 1827. He never married. EBENEZER, the second son of Micah Higley, Jr., was born in Becket, Mass., June 25, 1807. He was an earnest Presbyterian. While pursuing his theological studies at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, O., intending to enter the ministry, he con- 302 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. traded a severe cold, which ended in consumption. He finished his course of study, but never was able to enter the pulpit. He died November 15, 1837. Unmarried. ABIGAIL SMITH HIGLEY, third child of Micah Higley, Jr., born at Becket, Mass., June 6, 1809, married John H. Clark at Windham, O., March 4, 1839. Lives at Bell Centre, Wis. Children : Florilla, married Davis, and lives in Patch Grove, Wis. Theodore IV., who served in the Union Army in a Wisconsin regiment during the Civil War ; resides at Bell Centre, Wis. Mary, married Russell, and, second, John Harmon, who resides in Arizona. OLIVE HIGLEY, the fourth child of Micah Higley, Jr., born February 22, 1812, at Becket ; died at Windham, O., February 6, 1841 ; unmarried. MARTHA PORTER HIGLEY, the fifth child of Micah Higley, Jr., born in Becket, January 29, 1815; married Charles Curtiss, January 22, 1845 ; died of cancer, Sep- tember 9, 1873. Children : Ar delta Lee, born December 10, 1845 ; married Severus Hoard, September 3, 1868. Marcus, born December 14, 1847 ; married , lives at Leroy, Mich. Augustus H., born May 20, 1850, lives at Scott, Van Wirt County, O. Katie Augusta, born October 5, 1852; married Benjamin C. Roberts, March 6, 1879 ; lives at Rich wood, Union County, O. Gains, born February 6, 1857 ; lives at Galena, Delaware County, O. MARY WILLIAMS HIGLEY, a twin, and the sixth child of Micah Higley, Jr., born at Augusta, N. Y., September 18, 1816, married Benjamin B. Clark at Windham, O., 1836. He died 1845. Second marriage to Samuel W. Forman of Newton Falls, O., February 17, 1847. She died May 3, 1887, at Braceville, O. Children by first husband: JOHN B., born April 10, 1838, married Elizabeth A. Price, February, 1867. He was four years in the Civil War, Company D, 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. Re- sides in Big Rapids, Mich. LOUISA M., born February 8, 1842, married, first, 1859, Earl B. Johnson, who served during the war on General Kirby Smith's staff, and died, 1865, at Shreveport, La.; married, second, A. R. Russell of Newton Falls, O., April, 1867, where she now resides. Children by second marriage : FRANCES LEVINA, born November 19, 1847, at Green, O. ; married Cyrus L. North of Braceville, O., November I, 1870. Cyrus L. North served in the Union Army during the Civil War. They have two daughters, twins, Jessie M. and Grace C., born May 19, 1875. They reside at Braceville, O. CATHERINE ELIZA, born November 16, 1849 ; married, January 3, 1877, Thomas W. Harrison, who died July 20, 1883, at Lapeer, Mich.; married, second, at Big Rapids, Mich., Stewart Gorton, August 5, 1884. Mr. Gorton served three years in the Union Army during the Civil War. They reside at Luzerne, Mich. Children : Mark P. Harrison, born January 29, 1878 ; died December 19, 1880, and an infant son, who was born and died July 8, 1879. EMMA ORMSBY, born April 4, 1854 ; married, April 19, 1882, Newton B. Allen. They have two sons, Charles Wallace and Arthur Newton. Reside at Braceville, O. CHARLES EDWARD, born June 27, 1857; died unmarried, April 5, 1882, at Brace- ville, O. ELIZA BOWEN HIGLEY, a twin, and the sixth child of Micah Higley, born Sep- DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 33 tember iS, 1816, resided at Wellington, O. Her church letter was received at the Windham Church, from Whitesboro, N. Y., January 2, 1834. She had one child ; viz.: Samuel N. Alford, born in Braceville, O., 1842. Resides at Puget Sound. HARRIET NEWELL, the eighth child of Micah Higley, Jr., born at Augusta, N. Y., August 6, 1819 ; married William Russell, April 10, 1841. She died June 9, 1877. They had six sons and one daughter, six of whom are living ; no data furnished. One of the sons, Luman Russell, served three years in the Union Army in a Wisconsin regiment. EUNICE WASHBURN, the ninth child of Micah Higley, Jr., born Augusta, N. Y., October 17, 1821 ; married, April 7, 1845, Nathaniel E. Marcy. They reside at Wellington, O., being among the early settlers of the town, and among its most esti- mable citizens. Mr. Marcy was active and outspoken in the Abolition cause in its early agitation, and voted one of the first two ballots cast in the town against the slavery question, which was then " mastering American politics." In their home they hospitably received and entertained many of the reformers and prominent lec- turers in the anti-slavery cause. Nathaniel E. Marcy died July 15, 1887. Children : ADELBERT EDWIN MARCY born August 2, 1846, enlisted in the 4ist Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the breaking out of the war, when only fifteen years of age, serving one year, when he was discharged for disability. He afterward re-enlisted in the 2d Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and served till the close of the war. He gained high laurels as a scout. Married Mary Nash, April, 1872. They have three sons : Kenneth Edwin, George, and Chalmer. Reside in Wellington, O. WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON MARCY, the second son, was born March 18, 1848. In his fifteenth year, 1863, he enlisted in the 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regi- ment of six months' men. While doing picket duty, on a bitter cold winter's night, January I, 1864, his feet were frozen to his ankles, from the effects of which, after much suffering, he died in nineteen days at Camp Nelson, Ky. He was interred at Wellington, O. LORIN, born October 6, 1850, died aged ten months. LAURA PHEDYMA, born May 17, 1852, married Charles Manville, January 30, 1872. He died October 17, 1886. They had children : Harry Chester, Mabel Ella, and Leon Jerome, Reside in La Grange, O. ELLA IRENE, the last child of Nathaniel and Eunice W. (Higley) Marcy, born September 12, 1854, married E. Chauncey Fowles, April 19, 1883, and resides in Cleveland, O. HENRY HIGLEY, the third son and youngest child of Micah Higley, Jr., born at Augusta, N. Y., married, September 7, 1850, Abbie L. Bugden of Andover, O. They reside at New Windsor, 111. Mr. Higley is well-to-do in the world. He was at one time engaged in the boot and shoe business, but for twenty years has been a farmer. His wife, Abbie L. Bugden, is a bright, noble-hearted woman, of genial tempera- ment, and possessing a highly poetic nature, with considerable talent for giving it expression. Her mother, Martha Upham Wade, was the daughter of James Wade, a soldier of the Revolution, who emigrated to Ashtabula County, 'Ohio, from Massachusetts, and sister to the late distinguished senator from Ohio, the Hon. Benjamin F. Wade. Her father was William Bugden, a native of Wethersfield, Conn., who emigrated from Sharon, Conn., to Ohio, during Mrs. Higley's infancy. Mrs. Higley composed a strikingly appropriate poem for the Higley reunion of 1887, held at Ashtabula County, Ohio, which met with much acceptance on that interesting occasion. (See appendix.) CHAPTER XLIII. COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. Colonel Benjamin, Micah, ist, Captain Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Men of great integrity and purity of life, who have no thought of pushing into any ambitious sphere, but only of doing with all their might the work which their hands find to do, are the salt of society, the strength of a nation, and it is not well that such should be forgot. GREV. BENJAMIN HIGLEY, son of Micah and Olive (Adams) Higley, was born at Becket, Mass., November 30, 1777. His baptism, with that of his only brother, Micah, Jr., is entered upon the register of the Becket Church as having taken place July 2, 1786. When an infant but one year old he was deprived of paternal care by the accidental and sudden death of his father; he had, however, careful training and admonition under his stepfather's guidance, Elijah Alford, 3d, 1 who was his father's cousin, and whom his mother married the year following the decease of the latter. There is but little placed before us to make us familiar with the earliest years of his life. As far as is known his education was received at the county school, and though, during his day, there was a growing indifference and degeneracy in the cause of education, he acquired a fair knowledge of the common branches. But the life of the clear-headed man of after years, endowed with brain as well as sinew, possessing wisdom, tact, and enter- prise, guided in his daily acting and living by the true spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, plainly indicated that his childhood surroundings had been such as developed the higher qualities of a manly nature. Lives such as the subject of this sketch are an exhortation to honesty of purpose and integrity; they stood for right, and have exercised an influence lasting and fruitful. The Becket Town Records show that Benjamin Higley entered his active career as a teacher, having taught the district school for several terms. In 1804 he was chosen one of the school 1 Elijah Alford, zd, was the son of Elijah, Sr., and Hannah Higley Alford of Becket, Mass, (see page 177). DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 305 committeemen for the town. From his early manhood he was ever after an earnest supporter of the cause of education. The same year he was elected constable of Becket. On the i6th of September, 1802, he married Sally McKown, who was born in Norwich, Conn., March 10, 1773. The young couple settled in Becket on farming lands owned by Benjamin Higley; and on the 6th of September, 1807, "Benjamin and Sally Higley " were together " admitted into full membership in the church." Soon after establishing a home of their own they took under their care and shelter an orphan, six years of age, named Eli Case, to whom they were foster-parents till he reached his majority. In the summer of 1810 a number of the residents of Becket became greatly stirred by the description which was given by one Captain Mills, of an unoccupied township in that large tract of land then known as the Connecticut Western Reserve in the new State of Ohio. Captain Mills had already emigrated to Nelson, the township just north of it, and had returned on a visit to his native town in old Berkshire. The township described by him was No. 4, range 6. The report led to much discussion, and resulted in the proposi- tion made by three or four neighbors to Benjamin Higley, that they would work for him one, day each if he would go to North- ampton (Mass.), and confer with Governor Strong, the principal owner of the tract, concerning his willingness to sell, and learn the terms of purchase. This service Mr. Higley promptly attended to, making the trip the first week in July, 1810. He returned, bringing a good report from Governor Strong. Having now a young family of three sons, whose future he con- sidered, with that of their adopted boy, and feeling assured that on reaching manhood they would not remain on the rocky farm- lands of the Becket hills, together with being, no doubt, prompted somewhat by the land speculative spirit which had swept over Connecticut, Mr. Higley favorably decided upon the serious undertaking of removal westward. Some weeks after the date above mentioned, on the loth of September, 1810, a number of men came together at the house of Thatcher Conant in Becket, and entered into contract "to pay their equal proportion of the expenses of exploring and viewing 36 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. this township of land in ' New Connecticut,' to be paid over to the agents of the Company." Benjamin Higley was one of the signers of the contract. His stepfather, Elijah Alford, acted as clerk of the meeting. It was " Voted, that Dillingham Clark Esqr. and Jeremiah Lyman be agents to Explore Said Township," etc. These two men immediately set off on horseback for that densely wooded wilderness. Having performed the journey by the 3ist of October, a meeting was held at the house of Elijuh Alford to hear their report, which being favorable, Mr. Clark was appointed to apply to Governor Strong for the privilege of purchase; and at a subsequent meeting, held November 3, a com- mittee was chosen to devise a plan for dividing the township, if purchased. The negotiations with Governor Strong having been satis- factorily completed, which included the appraisal of the farms and real estate belonging to the purchasers in Becket, to be turned in by them toward payment for the township, an exchange of deeds by the agents of the company was ordered at a meeting held November 27, 1810. This tract of wild land contained " 14,845 acres more or less," and was purchased at $1.76 per acre. 1 Having now obtained the township they next preceeded to apportion it among the members of the company, and assign to each individual his particular share. This was done by lot. By the i$th of March, 1811, the proprietors received their deeds, and discharged their agents. Except Dillingham Clark, who invested the largest amount of money and drew much the largest quantity of land, the stepfather and son, Elijah Alford and Benjamin Higley, drew the largest shares. The value of the deed received by Benjamin Higley was $2040. His original share, together with that of a separate purchase made by his wife, amounted to 1227 acres. To this he added by exchange and purchase, making the whole number of acres which he obtained more than thirteen hundred. The company reserved half of lot 56, near the center of the 1 The names of the original purchasers were : Dillingham Clark, Benjamin Higley, Elijah Alford, Jeremiah Lyman, Enos Kinsley, Bille Messenger, Ebenezer N. Messenger, Aaron P. Jagger, John Seley, Nathan Birchard, Elisha Clark, Benjamin C. Perkins, Alpheus Streator, Thatcher Conant, Gideon Brush, Isaac Clark, Oliver Brewster, and Spencer Clark. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 307 township, for "a public green, a burial-ground, and the use of a minister." Arrangements having been finally concluded, several of the families began to look toward immediate removal, each family consulting its own convenience as to the time of beginning the journey. Fully believing in the ordinances of religion and in the rich advantages and benefits of church organization, a party of eleven of those who proposed to emigrate decided to organize a church before starting, and on the 2d of May, 1811, a meeting was held in the old First Congregationalist meeting-house in Becket, for that purpose. 1 A written request was presented, signed by the parties " desir- ing to be dismissed with the design to be formed into a separate church before their removal." The persons named were : Deacon Elijah Alford and Olive, his wife, Thatcher Conant and Elizabeth, his wife, Benjamin Higley and Sally, his wife, Jeremiah Lyman and Rhoda, his wife, Ruth Alford, daughter of Deacon Elijah Alford, Susannah Conant, and Anna Streator. All of the above, it is stated, were "in regular standing and full communion." After giving the subject deep consideration and prayer the ministers present unanimously gave their permission for the pro- posed measure, and dismissed the applicants from their immediate relationship with the Becket church. The parties above named then " having taken upon themselves the Confession of faith and Convenant," were publicly formed and installed as a regular Church of Christ, Deacon Elijah Alford was chosen as standing moderator and deacon of the new organization. This infant church they transplanted to the leafy solitudes of nature in the wild forest of Ohio, and it is now the First Congre- gational Church of Windham, Portage County. Early in June (1811) six families of the emigrants set out "Westward ho!" The Higleys had a canvas-covered wagon which was laden with their beds and bedding for camping out, together with cooking utensils for camp-fires, and other essentials, two horses, a yoke of oxen, and two cows. They were thirty- 1 The ministers present at this meeting were the Rev. Joseph L. Mills of Becket, Rev. William Gay Ballentine of Washington, Mass., Rev. Alvin Hyde of Lee, and Rev. Jonathan Nash of Middlefield. 308 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. seven days making the journey, arriving at their destination July 15. The families, not all keeping pace with each other, arrived on different dates. From a well-draughted plot each man knew just where his lands lay. For temporary shelter Benjamin Higley with his family occupied a rough log house built from trees, which had been felled by his two half brothers, Elijah Alford, 3d, and Oliver Alford, assisted by two young men named Messenger, be- longing to families of the proprietors, who had preceded the emi- grants in March and erected a rude structure on lot No. 84.' But the Messengers had returned to Becket late in the spring, greatly discouraged with the prospects. The dense forests covered the face of their surrounding world. All nature was wild. Except one Indian trail through the thickets near the northern border of the township, there was not even a pathway of access from one point to another. And the whole country teemed with deer, bears, and wolves, with innumer- able lesser game of every variety, and reptiles of many kinds. The struggle of life with their environments now began with the emigrants in serious earnest; but courageously and with energy and capacity both men and women gave their full contri- bution toward civilization. They laid the ax at the roots of the great trees with fresh blood and strong muscle, and began clear- ing a space in which to begin farming operations. Later in the season, 1811, Benjamin Higley sowed a small patch of wheat on lot No. 84, on a partial clearing in the woods which the Indians "had used. This was the first wheat that was raised in the township. From three bushels of seed sown upon four acres, one hundred bushels of wheat were harvested the following summer. Benjamin Higley early constructed a substantial dwelling of logs on lot No. 36, near the center of the township, and near the present site of the village of Windham, to which he removed. It was a well-watered, fertile section, on which is an exhaustless, beautiful spring of pure soft water. This spot was his home fifty-seven years, till the close of his long and useful life. Mr. Higley's was the third family from Becket that arrived in 1 The original plot of lots drawn by the proprietors show that one half of No. 84, containing 75 acres, was drawn by Benjamin Higley. He afterward sold the same to Elijah Alford, with other land, as shown by the land records, for the consideration of $257. " Windham Town Record" PP- 13. !$ a The Indians had all removed west of the Cuyahoga River previous to 1811. They joined the British in the war of 1812. The remains of an Indian village on the bottom lands of Windham township were to be seen for many years after the settlers came. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 39 the township. By the last of July the little colony comprised eight families, a family from the neighboring township of Nelson having joined them. On Sunday the 28th of July, 1811, the little church in the wilderness held its first service. It was a memorable day. " Although it is always Sunday in a vast solitude like this, except in storm and earthquake, it now seemed all the more quiet and serene. The church doors were wide open; the grand cathedral aisles were full of light and beauty, soft and entrancing, leading the soul up along the mighty columns of evergreen life to the blue apse of heaven." The still small voice of the Eternal whispered to every heart. The echo of song rang through the solemn and mysterious forests in strange harmony with the music of the trees. There were forty-two persons present; and from that date forward, though they were without roads, without bridges, and constantly forced to meet numberless difficulties and inconveniences, as Sabbath after Sabbath came around, they never failed to meet together for public worship. A month later the settlement was visited by the Rev. Nathan B. Darrow, who was sent out by the Connecticut Missionary Society. He preached the first sermon to which they listened in their isolation, taking for his text : " For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness." ' Mr. Darrow administered the holy communion the first Sabbath in September, which was received by sixteen communicants. Fifty years afterward Benjamin Higley stood the only living member who was present on that day, and but two others were inhabitants of earth. Early in October (1811) his stepfather, Deacon Elijah Alford with his mother, Olive, and their family, arrived. They made a temporary stay in the log house on lot 84," the first house built in the settlement, and finally settled there permanently. The first regularly held town meeting was held on the 24th of October. Benjamin Higley was chosen to preside. The busi- ness proceedings concerned the very genesis of the town. A committee was appointed "to erect corner posts, marking the 1 Deuteronomy xxxii. o, 10. * This lot has been the home of Elijah Alford's descendants for three generations. 21 310 THE HIGLEYS A.VD THEIR ANCESTRY. boundaries to the lots." It being essential that the farmers and producers should at once have roads, Benjamin Higley and Alpheus Streator were made a committee to petition the commis- sioners that a committee be appointed to " lay them out." From this time, for more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Higley was notably associated with the construction of highways, and in advancing improved means for transit. The town was at first called by the proprietors Strongsburgh, in honor of Governor Caleb Strong of Massachusetts. Later on March n, 1812 it was formally named "Sharon" a Biblical name, by which it was known eight years. In 1820, by enactment of the State Legislature, it was changed to its present name Windham. ' From the beginnings of the town Benjamin Higley was inspired with the great need of a school system, and always bore in mind its large usefulness and strong influence in character building. His early teaching days had left their impress of its imperative importance. Being elected one of the first three trustees of the township, it lay within his compass to do much toward the advance- ment of educational interests, and from the first he never faltered in his steadfast and loyal support of public instruction. A school was opened in a private house the first winter, and early in the winter of 1812-13 a lg schoolhouse, which was the first public building erected in the town, was built. From that time the town has always sustained excellent schools of the common and high school grades. The year following Benjamin Higley's arrival in Ohio came the formal declaration of war, 1812. By Hull's cowardly sur- render the scattered border settlements were at the mercy of the treacherous Indians, being entirely unable to make defense against them. The little colony at Sharon was thrown into great apprehension and distress. It is stated that "every man ran to his arms," quitting his heavy labor of clearing the forests and preparation for seed-sowing. On the 23d of August of that year, just at nightfall, a messenger rode into the settlement, with military orders for all the able- bodied men to march at daybreak with their muskets, ammunition, and rations, destined to Cleveland forty miles distant. Cleveland 1 This township was "set off" from Hiram township, April 5, 1813. It was many years before school districts were formed, or school commissioners appointed. " January 2, 1806, three Trustees and a Treasurer were authorized to Deflected in each township for the purpose of taking charge of the school lands or the moneys arising therefrom."" History a/ Portage County, Ohio" p. 302. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 311 was then on the frontier. Devoting the night to the hasty prepar- ation of rations, " cleaning hunting rifles, sharpening their knives, and filling their powder horns and bullet pouches with ammu- nition," in the early morning they left their wives and families, in a desperate fright, to defend themselves against the maurauding Indian depredators and the bears and wolves of the dark woods, directing that in case the American forces were defeated they should promptly flee to the nearest settlement and fortify them- selves against attacks of the savages. The military tendency of Benjamin Higley was strong; a gift bestowed by legacy upon him by his ancestors of four generations. He now made no hesitation at shouldering arms and facing the situation. He went into camp, and was elected sergeant of the ist Battalion, 2d Regiment, 4th Brigade, Ohio Militia. 1 On the troops reaching the front, " so general had been the uprising that the Major-General commanding gave directions that half the volunteers should be sent home to act as a reserve or a second guard in case of emergency." Many of the men returned in ten days, the immediate cause of the alarm having proved not well founded. It is not definitely known how long Sergeant Benjamin Higley was absent, or how often he was called into active service during this war. On the 6th of May, 1813, another serious alarm was given. That summer " every able-bodied man in Portage County, not then in active service or on parole, was ordered to Cleveland, and the scattered settlements were again left defenseless."* An interesting old manuscript relates that "the people of Sharon suffered in the general calamity. Many who were sum- moned to the field of defense were gone for months at a time, others for an indefinite period, according to the emergency. In these sudden frays fear seized on every soul. By the close of the year some suffered for want of provisions which were scarce and high-priced, the men having turned their attention to the war, the yield of the small fields which had been cleared were light owing to the scanty seed sowing." The announcement by Perry of his glorious victory, Septem- ber 10, 1813, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," was received by the affrighted and anxious inhabitants with pro- foundestjoy, through "an excited horseman who dashed into the 1 Whether he had joined the Ohio militia previous to the war has not been ascertained. 8 " History of Portage County, Ohio," p. 281. 312 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. settlement blowing a horn and conveying the glad tidings. The terrible suspense and dread of Indians were now past and soon gave way to thanksgiving and rejoicing over the brilliant success of the American naval forces on Lake Erie." 1 The church in the woods at Sharon observed the 2d of December, that year, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer. On the i4th of July, 1818, Sergeant Higley received a com- mission as lieutenant, and having signalized himself by military ability, he was on the icth of July, 1816, commissioned captain" of the 2d Company, 2d Regiment, ist Battalion. This com- mission was issued from Chillicothe, which was then the capital of the State of Ohio. On the 23d of September, 1819, he received a promotion, issued by Governor Ethan Allen Brown, to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the ist Regiment, 3d Brigade, 4th Division. The date when he rose to the rank of colonel by his successive promotions does not appear among his papers. He served with devotion in the Ohio militia after the war closed, till August 9, 1820, when, at his own request, he was officially and honorably "discharged from further military duty." On the 2d of June, 1816, Colonel Higley "raised " a barn, one of the first frame buildings erected in the township. Two years later, the 3d of September, he raised a substantially built frame dwelling-house, which was painted in 1821. These buildings, together with a wood-house and a "cow house" built in 1823, are still in a good state of preservation (1895). In 1826 he built a cider-mill. In 1824 a census was taken, showing that the colony had increased to eighty-three families, comprising "467 souls." The 1 " History of Portage County, Ohio," p. 281. 8 The following copy of Colonel Higley's old mustqr-roll, preserved among his papers, bears much of interest, the names of his company being the familiar names of the first settlers of the town- ship, whose descendants are now its leading citizens. "MUSTER ROLL. "Capt. Benj. Higley. "Sergeants Hiram Messenger. " Lieut. John Messenger. James Seley. " Ensign John Streator. " Corporals Erastus Snow. Joseph Southworth. " Music, EH Case. " PRIVATES : "Elijah Alford Junr., Oliver Alford, Gideon Bush, Joel Bradford, Levi Alford, Thatcher F. Conant, Jacob Earl, Joseph Earl, Jonathan Foote, Robt. M. Gondon, Joseph Higley, Aaron P. Jagger, Daniel Jagger, Thomas Lee, Thomas M. Seymour, Ebenezer O. Messenger, Nathan H. Messenger, Benoni Y. Messenger, Ephraim H. Seeley, Stillman Scott, Albion Taylor, Joshua Waldon, Nathaniel Rudd, Albion Taylor, Isaac Clark, John Condor, Benj. Roth, Alpheus C. Munsell, and others. " Stillman Scott defishanl in all but a musket. Joshua Walden defishant in all but a Rifle." DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 313 readers of the Bible and Testament were carefully and separately numbered. Colonel Benjamin Higley's household, it appears from the register, contained eight person, six of whom could read the Scriptures. They were the possessors of " three whole Bibles and three whole Testaments." In 1819 an element of dissatisfaction arose in the church with Colonel Higley's views upon the subject of the Trinity. He was a thorough trinitarian, but, expressing himself concerning the "Three in One" in language somewhat different from that generally used in his time, the minister of the church, with a handful of followers, standing rigidly upon the old Puritan plat- form, and taking up the hair-splitting point, inflamed themselves with the idea that Colonel Higley was ''embracing heresy." We do not hesitate to declare that in these times of greater toleration of religious ideas, and a more liberal policy of the Church at large in platforms of beliefs, the question would be deemed unworthy of notice. There is no evidence that Colonel Higley ever undertook to advocate a doctrine at variance with the Westminster Catechism, or that he did more than to state his cogitations in quiet casual conversations with his familiar friends, yet the arbitrary and vigilant minister felt willingly bound to enter charges. Being an emphatic man of his sort, and tenacious of holding the sacred rights to his own convictions, Colonel Higley would not recant. The carefully kept records show him all through the difficulty to have been amiable toward the church, his tone being peaceable and without enmity, and assuming the policy of silence as far as he could. In March of the following year, 1820, after having been sus- pended from church fellowship for a few months, he stated to its official body his regret that "he had indulged in such reason- ings, and made use of language concerning this incomprehensible distinction of Persons in the glorious Trinity as had been calcu- lated to lead the mind into perplexity and had excited the feelings of the brethern "; at the same time avowing his belief in the doc- trine of the Trinity as expressed in the "Confession of Faith." This acknowledgment was accepted by the church as satisfactory. This ecclesiastical struggle, together with the character and ability he evidenced, made a marked impression upon the church; but the state of religion stood at a low ebb that year, and there was much feeling engendered which did not wear away. The 3H THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. result was that in the spring of 1820 a number of prominent families retired from the communion. And Colonel Higley, after a time, withdrew for a number of years, attending worship with a small body of believers at Newton Falls and Garrettsville. Among his private papers is found a church letter in the hand- writing, and over the personal signature, of the Rev. Joseph Treat, pastor of the church, under date May 2, 1824, stating: " This may certify that Benjamin Higley is a member of the church of Christ in Windham, Portage County, O., in good and regular standing ; and as such he is entitled to the attention and esteem of the followers of the Lamb." The letter, however, is not upon record; the "brethern" evidently desiring to re-establish fraternal relations with so earnest and valuable a man, did not consent to his withdrawal. A month later the church appointed him the assistant superin- tendent of the Sabbath school. But the wound was not healed, nor the difference cordially settled. Later on, 1831, he united with a body of Christians known as "Seceders," and aided in erecting a church for this sect. In this connection he remained fourteen years. The day came when the zealous young minister of the First Congregation Church was deposed from his place by request of the congregation; the church passed through different stages, during which its spiritual and financial condition were often at a very low state. But time is a conciliator and time brings to pass, " The ringing grooves of change." On the 25th of January, 1845, Colonel Benjamin Higley, Elijah Alford, William C. Adams, John Larkin Higley, and their wives, with four other persons, were cordially welcomed into the mem- bership of the old church home which Colonel Higley, with his associates, had founded and nursed in its infancy, the rules being suspended in order that they might be admitted the same day that their names were presented. Colonel Benjamin Higley loved music. It was a happy factor in his useful life, and in this direction he made himself of special service to the church he loved. He studied the improvement of the choir, planned to have its members attend musical gatherings, and encouraged them in various ways. Among the projects which his music-loving spirit conjectured, and which was carried out, was the presentation in February, DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 315 1852, of a church pipe organ an excellent instrument, in the cost of which he was joined by Dillingham Clark, Warren W. Hinman, and Daniel Jagger. A graceful acknowledgment of the handsome gift is spread upon the church records. At the semi-centennial celebration of the settlement of Wind- ham township, he was in request to represent the musical aspect of the occasion. Although he had passed his four-score years, he served with successful endeavor as chairman of the committee for arranging an old folks' concert. As a matter of course old time music was revived, and the breezes were filled with airs of "ye olden days." One of the most touching of his efforts at vocal music occurred at the first Sabbath service in May, 1864, following the departure of the volunteer soldiers of the village to the Civil War. It was a time of anxiety and sadness. Forty-five noble, strong men, accustomed to attend worship, were missing from the congrega- tion; there was but one male voice left in the choir. Julia Higley Colonel Higley's married granddaughter sang bass. Colonel Higley's indomitable spirit suggested taking the part of the absent ones. There was something strangely pathetic in the sight of his venerable form, crowned with the impress of eighty- five years, his fine brow touched with the halo of life's setting sun, when he arose, and, leaving his accustomed seat, he marched up the aisle with his bared head erect, and entering the choir, joined in with the organ as it pealed out its solemn tones. There was telling eloquence in the old man's eager act and in- spired manner, if there was inharmony in the quavering notes of his voice as he struck into the music, which brought tears, befit- ting the occasion, to more than one cheek of those who turned to gaze at him and listen. In the early days of his pioneer life in Ohio, Colonel Higley regularly set apart the months of November and December of each year for the hunt. He thoroughly enjoyed this agreeable pastime. But he made his enthusiastic fun pay; settling his annual tax bills for a number of years with the proceeds of the skins and furs which he collected. The spicy narratives of these wild and exciting adventures were a characteristic features of his extreme old age. ! 1 One morning in the late autumn of 1815, Colonel Higley and his adopted son, Eli Case, muffled to their noses in deer-skin caps, which were pulled over their ears, set out hunting. It was a misty day, a light rain falling at intervals. On nearing a swamp in the woods a half a mile from his house (on lot 17), they separated from each other, Colonel Higley sending Case to steal around to a certain spot to see if he could get a shot. All at once the rustling of bushes told Higley's alert ears that something was happening. Case's 316 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Sally McKown, his wife, was his affectionate and faithful com- panion throughout their united lives. Her kindly heart and true open-handed hospitality multiplied her opportunities for serving. The door of their hospitable home was always cordially open to the stranger. She was found at the bedside of the sick by night and by day, and if distress entered the home of a neighbor she was there. Like all pioneer women it was her lot to work, work, work, from early Monday morning till late Saturday night, with Sunday scarcely excepted. Her household duties were legion. She spun, wove, and dyed, cut and made all the garments worn by the entire family, nine in number. She also manufactured the skins of the deer which her husband killed in hunting into gloves and mittens, and became such an adept in the business that for many years she was called upon to make all of the wedding- gloves worn by the young bridegrooms of Sharon and the adjacent settlements. These she cut by a pattern. The leather was used in its natural color. With the proceeds of her glove industry was purchased, at the distant stores of merchandise at Ravenna and Pittsburg, all of the wares and notions which were used by the family during their first ten years in the Ohio wilderness. gun went Bang ! Colonel Higley with his gun in hand hurried to the spot. Case had surprised a big black bear which was feeding among the limbs of a fallen tree in the shadows of the thicket. Stepping back about three paces he fired, the ball entering the bear's head below the ears and com- ing out at the nose, tumbling it over, but not killing it. The beast was soon on his feet, running round and round in a circle. Higley quickly raised his gun to his shoulder and fired, but missed his aim. They both hastily loaded, but this time their triggers clinked, and their old flint-locks flashed in the pan ; their guns were wet and they could no longer use them. The bear was badly wounded and angry. Knowing there was serious danger at hand, the two men yelled for the Streator brothers, who were fitting up an addition to their log house a quarter of a mile away, who came with axes and clubs, and all gave chase, the bear now making off toward the swamp, having recovered himself enough to move as rapidly as a man could easily run. While he was crossing a little creek on a fallen log, the men with their clubs tried to knock him off, but could not. On bruin ran. He had just reached the swamp when Alvin Streator struck him with an ax, which infuriated him even more than before, and the brute showed fight. Alvan ran and the bear after him. It was a blood-curdling moment. Colonel Higley, Case, and John Streater hotly pursuing, the latter dashed forward with his ax meaning to deal a blow upon the bear's head, but his ax glanced as he struck, and the beast whirled and grabbed it, and raising upon his haunches, he hugged it. Streator, losing his balance by the impetus of quick motion, landed in the quagmire, sinking above his knees and losing one shoe, which the old men of the neighborhood still declare " is there yet." It was only by superhuman exertion that he managed to scramble out of reach of his enraged antagonist. Just then, as the bear was turning on to the other men, a sway of Colonel Higley's club, with a terrific blow across the nose, brought him to the ground and he lay dead at their feet. On skinning the animal it was found that the layer of fat upon its back was nearly four inches in thickness, which, together with the thick hair, had most effectually warded off the blows from ^L - the axes. The bear was allowed for the present to lie where he fell until the next day, when Mr. Cas killed a deer near by. So they had a deer and a bear to take home. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY. 317 These employments of her busy fingers were performed in addition to the usual household duties cooking, washing, and ironing, hominy, soap, and cheese making. The manufacture of cheese was an almost universal industry among the well-to-do and progressive farmers of the Western Reserve from early in the century. Butter and cheese were the chief products of the Higley farm for many years. Mrs. Higley's fame in these arts extended far beyond the township boundaries. She was also careful each year to dry native plants to be used in case of family ailments. Every mother of a household in those times had certain specifics for every malady that came to her family. It was many years before physicians were called upon, indeed, there were few in that part of the country, and apothecaries were not known. Mrs. Sally Higley was stricken by paralysis, which greatly enfeebled her, a few weeks before her final demise. Her decease took place October 2, 1849. To enter the beginnings of a State, when everything was rude and wild, and share the labors and responsibilities in laying the foundations of any of its parts is no ordinary place to have occu- pied in this life. Although never desiring political preferment, Colonel Benjamin Higley, in the full spirit of zeal for the public good, did his part in the essential and steady work of whatever would advance the interests and improvement of VVindham. He filled almost every office in town matters into which the townspeople could place him. He devised the construction of roads to render the new country accessible, he surveyed lands, was repeatedly appointed fence viewer, constable, overseer of the poor, grand juror, and, as the population increased, he served in arranging and " setting off " school districts, looked out that schoolhouses were built and schools established, and aided in building two churches; and, indeed, grappled with all the measures which the advancement and well-being of the community demanded. Colonel Benjamin Higley was commanding in figure, erect, firm, and military in his bearing. His individuality was strong. He always bore a thoughtful air. His cheerful and genial spirit made him companionable to both aged and young alike; children were his delighted little friends, made happy by listening to his entertaining stories of adventures with the wild animals and 31 8 THE HIGLEYS AKD THEIR ANCESTRY. hunting exploits of early times, which he never tired of con- tributing to their amusement. He was square and upright in his dealings, though never behind in a bargain. When well on in years he contracted a second marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth A. Perkins, a widow, who died April, 1864. He gave farms in the vicinity of Windham to each one of his sons, together with his adopted son, and his only surviving daughter. He outlived nearly all of his contemporaries, sitting down in his old age in great tranquillity, after a long life of prosperity and active usefulness, having followed with deep interest the history of events, and witnessing his noble State Ohio richly endowed with a high state of cultivation and crowned with upward progress and prosperity. He lived on the same farm which he carved out of the wilder- ness till he entered his ninetieth year, when he peacefully closed his honored career, and was "gathered to his fathers." He died July 4, 1867. He was interred in the Windham cemetery, by the side of his first wife, Sally McKown. In the First Congregational Church at Windham an attractive memorial window of stained glass has been placed as a tribute of honor to his memory; bearing the inscription : Colonel JBenjamfn " Sure to the last end Of the good man is peace ; how calm his exit ! Night dews fall not more gently to the ground, Nor weary worn out winds expire so soft. Behold him in the evening-tide of life A life well spent, whose early care it was His riper years should not upbraid his green ; By unperceived degrees he wears away, Yet, like the sun, seems larger at his setting. " The children of Colonel Benjamin and Sally McKown Higley were as follows : Robert M., born February 12, 1804; Benjamin ., born April 25, 1807, died September 15, 1826; Lorin, born February 2, 1810; Matthew P., born September 12, 1813; Sarah Ann, born January 19, 1819; Hannah Z.,born January 2, 1820, accidentally drowned July 12, 1824; Alfred J/., born December 12, 1822. ROBERT M. HIGLEY. CHAPTER XLIV. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. "We plow the deep, and reap what others sow." ROBERT McKowN HIGLEY, the eldest son of Colonel Benja- min and Sally McKown Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., February 12, 1804, and baptized September 20, 1807. He came to Windham, O., with his parents in 1811. His early years were spent working upon his father's farm, learning the first lessons of the privations and toils of a pioneer life. After a school had been established, he attended it during the winter months. When about nineteen he one day met with an accident, dislocating his hip, causing a lameness which affected him the remainder of his life. After this he made an education his chief aim, attending the school at Warren, O., and finally was fitted for a successful instructor. He taught steadily six years. He married Lydia Mary, daughter of Thatcher Conant, Sr., November, 1831. She was born April 23, 1808. They took pos- session of a farm given him by his father. He afterward entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, William C. Adams, pursuing a mercantile business, and while thus engaged made frequent journeys with teams, then the only method of transporta- tion, through sloughs of mud and over corduroy roads, to Cleve- land, Pittsburg, and Wellsville, on the Ohio River, to which places he took the various products of the farms, exchanging them for such staple goods as the needs of the frontiersman required. They could afford no luxuries in those times. January, 1835, became a way-mark in the family story by the husband and wife together -making public profession of religion, uniting with the Congregational Church in Windham, of which they remained consistent and esteemed members while they lived. For many years Robert M. Higley was a very active man in the public interests of the town. Among many other public ser- vices rendered acceptably to the inhabitants, he filled the office 320 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of justice of the peace for twenty-one years, and was always known as " Esquire " Higley afterward. The last years of his life were pathetically spent. Varied trials combined to weigh down his spirits, and his mind became clouded. For a period of more than twenty years he was to a great extent deprived of the ordinary scenes and associations that make life desirable, remaining in seclusion in his own home, under the faithful and affectionate care and attentions of his daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Goodrich. He passed peacefully -away in his home at Windham, on a Sabbath morning, August 3, 1890, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. The decease of his wife took place many years before, her health having declined by consumption. She died June 20, 1853. Robert M. and Lydia Conant Higley were the parents of five children, viz. : Edward B.; Sarah E.; Mary E.; Lydia ^.,'born March 10, 1841, and died July 2, 1845; Rosaline E., born November 9, 1847, who married, July 26,. 1870, George W. Finley, and died August 16, 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Finley resided in Lawrence, Kans. She left no children. EDWARD B. HIGLEY, the eldest child of Robert M. and Lydia Conant Higley, was born at Windham, O., October 24, 1832. At an early age he attended the Windham district school, after- ward entering the Windham Academy. From the age of twelve he devoted a part of his time gaining experience by clerkship in a store of general merchandise. At twenty-one he established a mercantile house for himself, connecting with it the sale and shipping of dairy and farm products, which he continued for twenty-eight years in his native town. On the 7th of November, 1853, he married Julia M., daughter of Isaac M. Clark of Windham, an old schoolmate. In the spring of 1882 they removed to Mason City, la., where Mr. Higley now conducts an extensive wholesale and shipping busi- ness in poultry, butter, and eggs, with branch houses at Spencer, la., and in South Dakota. "The enterprising house of E. B. Higley at Mason City is one of the points west of Chicago which consolidates and sends to the Eastern seaboard cities a fast stock- train, laden entirely with the products in which it deals." His beautiful suburban residence, " Farm Home," at Spencer, where he resides, is one of the most attractive and desirable pieces of property in the township. EDWARD B. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 321 His wife, Julia M. Higley, died at " Farm Home," December 10, 1893. Her body was brought eastward and interred in the family burial lot at her native town, Windham, O., on the i7th, the funeral services being held in the Congregational Church, of which she became a member in February, 1856. The following extracts are from a sketch of her life which was then presented: " Julia M. Clark Higley, born in Windham on the 2Oth of June, 1833, the oldest child of Isaac M. and Sarah (Frary) Clark, was one of a family of seven children. Her early school advantages in the old academy of Windham gave her intellectual culture, and nearly two years of earnest study enabled her to complete the preparatory course at Oberlin, and fitted her for entering the regular college course in that institution, but her cherished hopes of a thorough education were blighted by financial reverses in her father's family. On the 7th of November, 1853, she married Edward B. Higley, and in that relation they passed along life's journey together, mutually sharing their joys and trials for forty years. In intel- lectual and literary pursuits she took a deep interest, and, from her youthful days until her later years, was ready to lead or assist in temperance, literary, and social entertainments in aid of enterprises for the good of others. " During the war clouds of the Rebellion her voice and musical talents were prominent in a glee club of this place, which gave admirable concerts, the avails of which were given to aid in furnishing supplies for the hospitals and the suffering soldiers. In her later years she read the four years' course laid out by the Chau- tauqua Literary and Scientific Association, and was a leading active member of the large Chautauqua class at Spencer, la. , at the time of her death. In horticultural and floral subjects she was full of enthusiasm, and the plants she cultivated and the fruits she matured about her home were the admiration of her neighbors. The pleasure of watching the beauties of the opening flowers and their exquisite color- ings led her heart to adore the power and goodness of the Creator, in thus bestow- ing such marvelous loveliness and perfection upon the works of his hand. "On the approach of death, while conscious of its nearness, she looked forward to the change that awaited her with a spirit of resignation to God's will, and peace- fully fell asleep in death on a quiet Sabbath evening." The Clay County News (Iowa) says of her : " She was a true lover of flowers, a skilled horticulturist, and was a gifted literary character. She has read many excel- lent papers at our farmer institutes, and will be sadly missed by that organization ; and also by the C. L. S. C., of which she was an active and helpful member. These societies were represented at the funeral among attendants and pallbearers. The C. L. S. C. presented beautiful floral gifts." SARAH E. HIGLEY COTTON, the eldest daughter of Robert M. and Lydia Conant Higley, was born at Windham, O., September 30, 1834, and married, January i, 1848, John Cotton, who was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, February 9, 1826. Falling a victim to consumption, Mrs. Cotton's married life extended to a 322 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. period of a little less than six years. She died at Windham, O., December 9, 1853. Her husband survived her many years, his death taking place in Allen County, Indiana, January 26, 1880. They had one child, viz. : ROBERT McKowN COTTON, M. D., the only child of John Cotton and Sarah E. Higley, was born June 9, 1849, at Windham, Portage County, O. He was left motherless before he was five years of age. He remained under the care of his father till he was ten, when in the month of July, 1859, he was placed in the home of his grandfather, Robert M. Higley. Here he resided till May, 1865, assisting in farm work during the summer and attending the district school about four months of each winter. At sixteen he set out to make his own way in the world. He first went to the State of Illinois, then to Iowa, afterward drifting back to Indiana, and finally to Michigan ; all the while supporting himself by any employment he could find. At the same time he was a diligent reader, and spent his Sundays, stormy days, evenings, and early mornings in studying physiology, chemistry, and other sciences. He spent one winter in the lumber forests of Michigan, and during this time, in addition to being regularly employed at work by the month, he managed to take a course in double entry bookkeeping, by devoting his Sundays and evenings, and rising at four o'clock in the morning, to study. These efforts prepared him to pass his examination and enter the department of pharmacy, University of Michi- gan, on the 1st of January, 1873, though he was three months behind his class, and was without any experience in compounding drugs. While passing his senior year in pharmacy, by close application and using great economy of time, he took the junior year in medicine. He was graduated June 24, 1874, receiving the degree of pharmaceutical chemist ; and was appointed assistant in analytical chemistry in the chemical laboratory, where he served during the school years 1874-75. While performing these duties he at the same time took his senior year in medicine, and was graduated with his class, receiving the degree of M. D., March 24, 1875. After leaving the university he gave his attention to pharmacy, residing one year in Central Illinois. . February 9, 1876, he married Lina Brown of Ann Arbor, Mich., who was born near Pickney, Livingstone County, Mich., October II, 1849. They resided in Fainnount, Neb., three years, where Dr. Cotton practiced medicine in Clay and Fillimore counties. They then removed to Clyde, Oakland County, Mich., remaining there till May, 1887, when he removed with his family to Tyndall, Bon Homme County, S. D., where he now resides, practicing his profession, and is the owner of a drug and apothecary store. Children of Dr. Robert M. and Lina B. Cotton : Grace Rena, born March 29, 1877, at Fairmont, Neb. ; Nina B., born August 26, 1883, at Clyde. Mich. ; Lyra H., born February 16, 1890, at Tyndal, S. D. MARY E. HIGLEY, the third child of Robert M. and Lydia Conant Higley, born October 24, 1838, married William P. Goodrich, November 25, 1869, who was just six years her senior, having been born October 24, 1832. William M. Goodrich died JULIA M. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 323 October 24, 1876. His widow and only surviving child reside in Windham, O., in the old homestead of her parents. They had two children, viz. : Charles C., born October 6, 1870 ; and died, June n, 1878 : Lina M., born July 13, 1876. LORIN HIGLEY. Lorin, Colonel Benjamin, Micah, ist, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. I found Him in the shining of the stars, I mark'd Him in the flowering of His fields, But in His ways with men I find Him not. Idyls of the King. LORIN HIGLEY, the third son of Colonel Benjamin and Sally (McKown) Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., February 2, 1810, and baptized on the i8th of March following. He was brought a babe to Portage County, Ohio, the following year, on the removal of his parents westward. The family was the third that arrived in the township. His boy-life, spent amid the solitudes and sublimity of the great forests and chaos of tangled thickets, was full of the variety of interests associated with the frontiersman's surroundings. Eager in the pursuit of game, with which the woods abounded, he had unrestrained fun in trapping and shooting, and many an adventurous hunt for " coons," oppossums, wild turkeys, squirrels, and numerous small game, including rattlesnakes, copperheads, black snakes, and other reptiles. It was no uncommon thing to any day kill a dozen or more snakes, the rocky hillsides and ledges being alive with them. He earned his spending money by tanning the skins of woodchucks, of which he made whip lashes and sold them, doing a thriving business. Deer, bear, and wolves were still numerous. The settlers generally made their shoes of deer skins. His education was received at the district school. Nobly and earnestly did he perform his part when he had arrived at mature years, in the enormous difficulties and labor of opening a new country, and getting at the fruitful soil; and in bringing the state of society upward, not in a restricted sense, but in laying the groundwork upon which the wider and more important economi- cal features of to-day are developed. March 8, 1832, Rachel Elmina Frary of Windham became his wife. On the i6th of January, 1834, they took possession of 324 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, a dwelling-house newly completed, which was built on a farm owned by Lorin Higley, located one and a half miles south- west of Windham Center. Here they spent fifty years of married life, much blessed in a social domestic tie, that stood the strain and stress of the usual cares, anxieties, and disquietudes which enter into so large a part of this earth-existence. On the same spot they celebrated their golden wedding, March 8, 1882, an occasion of great interest to the gathered children, grandchildren, and kindred who hailed them with greetings of their veneration and love. In the autumn of 1884, October 22, wishing to lay aside the care of a large farm, Mr. Higley pur- chased a home in Windham village, to which they removed. On the 29th of April, 1840, Lorin Higley united with the First Congregational Church of Windham. After this the affairs of the church, with those of the society, were among his chief activities and close attachments. For many years he was an efficient worker in the Sabbath school. In politics Mr. Higley was a Republican. During his long life he filled various offices of trust in the township. His wife, Rachel Elmina Frary, was born in Becket, Mass., June 27, 1811. In October, 1829, she came to Windham in com- pany with her mother, who was then a widow, and six brothers and a sister, of a family of eleven. The other children remained in Massachusetts. Soon after their arrival Rachel engaged in teaching, which she continued till her marriage. She was a woman of remarkable bodily vigor. For forty-five years she performed her household duties without having to con- sult a physician. She made public profession of religion during the time of a great revival, and united with the First Congregational Church, February, 1860. Long before this time, however, she had illus- trated the life of a Christian by the best of evidence her daily walk and example. Quiet, unassuming, patient, and persevering, her special field of labor and influence was in the circle of her home. It may well be said of her that "she hath done what she could." Her children, and many who knew her, delight to "rise and call her blessed." For many years she suffered with sciatic rheumatism, together with weakened heart action, which finally ended her life. Her death took place July i, 1889. Her husband survived her more than two years, when calmly and peacefully, on the evening of February 25, 1891, he took his LORIN HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY 325 departure, joyously realizing the glories of the unseen and eternal world beyond. Children of Lorin and Rachel Elmina (Frary) Higley: Sheldon Frary, Stephen Lorin, William Adams, twins, born and died March 20, 1842 ; Seymour Augustus and Sarah Ann, twins. SHELDON FRARY HIGLEY, the eldest child, was born November 24, 1833, at Windham, O. He received his education at the com- mon school and at the Windham Academy. On the 6th of May, 1856, he married Cecilia E. Fitch of Geneva, O., and settled on a farm near his native village. In February, 1860, he united with the First Congregational Church of Windham, and the following year was among the first who nobly and patriotically offered themselves to save the Union in time of her peril. It was early in the autumn of 1861 that he enlisted in the 4ist Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served one year in the Civil War, when he was honorably discharged on account of disability for further service, caused by ill health. In the spring of 1864 he again enlisted in the ryist Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for one hun- dred days, and served his time. At the close of the war he sold his farm at Windham, and removed to Geneva, O., where he now resides. Since the year 1866 he has followed commercial travel- ing. He is also the owner of a well cultivated fruit farm lying near Geneva. Sheldon and Cecilia E. (Fitch) Higley are the parents of one child, Mary Elmina Higley, born July 15, 1867. She received her education at the Geneva high school, and was a student two years at Oberlin College. She married, March 23, 1890, Leslie Harry Webb of Cleveland O., where they now reside. STEPHEN LORIN HIGLEY, the second child of Lorin and Rachel E. (Frary) Higley, was born January 27, 1837. In 1857 he went to the then far West, taking up his residence in Colorado. On the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted (1861) in the zd Colorado Cavalry. He was assigned to the staff of General Blunt. He took part in many severe battles, and continued in active service till the war ended. He then returned to Colorado, and pursued his profession of surveyor, being engaged with Captain E. L. Berthoud's engineer- ing corps, surveying railroad routes in Colorado. In the autumn of 1883 he returned to Windham, O., broken in health, and died January 10, 1884. He never married. 326 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. WILLIAM A. HIGLEY. William A., Lorin, Benjamin, Micah, ist, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. WILLIAM ADAMS HIGLEY, the third child of Lorin and Rachel E. (Frary) Higley, was born at Windham, O., March i, 1840. His first school days were spent at the public school in Wind- ham village. He then pursued the entire academic course at the Windham Academy; and afterward attended one year the State Normal School at Geneva, O. His early boyhood and youth being spent on his father's farm homestead, he became familiar with agricultural pursuits. The Civil War roused in William A. Higley, as it did in his two brothers, the war instinct, as well as his loyal faith in our Govern- ment; he willingly offered his service in its defense. On August 31, 1862, the approach of the war on Ohio soil strangely disquieted the city of Cincinnati. The next day, Sep- tember i, "the Confederate general, Kirby Smith, with ten thou- sand men entered Lexington, Ky., and were soon joined by the daring raider, John Morgan, with his forces. Six thousand of these troops were sent against Cincinnati. "The situation looked dark and foreboding. The defeated troops of the Northern army were falling back to Louisville, Ky., and victorious Confederate forces were encamped between the cities. General Lewis Wallace arrived in Cincinnati and assumed command. Martial law was proclaimed, and the citizens were officially notified that ' an active, daring, and powerful enemy threatened them with every consequence of war.' Business ceased entirely, banks and schools closed, the street cars were stopped from running, thousands of citizens organized into mili- tary companies and began to drill. " Preparations for defense began on the opposite side of the Ohio River, where hasty fortifications were traced, guns mounted, and pickets thrown out. Bankers, clergy, teachers, merchants, and artisans worked side by side in the entrenchment." 1 The citizens filled their cisterns, laid in food supplies, and hastily prepared for the "siege." It was threatened that the city was to be burned. Meanwhile Governor Tod was equally astir, and was fruitful in his steps for the defense of his State. 1 Extracts from " The Military History of Ohio," p. 188. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY, 327 "The soil of Ohio must not be invaded by the enemies of our glorious government," he proclaimed, as "he called on all the border counties to arm in self defense, "and ordered his adjutant- general to "send forward all available troops instantly; they were not to be held for muster but to be forwarded." In every quarter of the State, city, town, and village, volunteer defenders arose. Farmers and village men turned out by the thousands, armed with their squirrel guns and shot-pouches. They had no thought of pay or allowance, or of anything but the defense of their beloved State and to maintain the nation's honor. " It was one of the most patriotic actions taken by the men of Ohio during the entire war. All offers of armed men were accepted and were ordered to report to General Wallace." For days these heroic volunteer civilians, so suddenly organized, "henceforth to be known as the 'Squirrel Hunters,' " moved toward the threatened city and swarmed its streets. Every rail- road train brought large detachments of these untrained troops. One of the first young men of Windham to answer to Governor Tod's call for defenders was William A. Higley. Full of energy, life, and spirit, in the prime of strong young manhood, a few months past twenty-two, he was quick to place himself among the great reserve power ready for action. He shouldered his father's old silver-mounted rifle, that had for forty years served well on many a hunting expedition, and with which many a wolf and deer had been killed. All night the members of the family molded bullets, and his patriotic mother cooked a supply of rations. With a folded blanket upon his back, without uniform or knapsack, he, with his comrade "Squirrel Hunters," eagerly set forward and were early the next morning crowded at the railway station into a sheep transportation car. It was a rough experience for the farmer boys in exchange for their soft feather beds and well-laden tables, but the spirit of fight and defense was in every heart, and determination was upon every face. Each man made up his full contribution to the com- mon defense. On arriving at Cincinnati these troops were transported and stationed across the Ohio River on the Kentucky shore opposite the city. Here they stood vigilant and ready for determined action every hour of the day, and all night they laid upon their arms. "On the night of September 9 the advance of General Kirby 328 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Smith's forces were so near the outskirts of the defenses that several skirmishes took place. In the city excitement reached its height." 1 September n the Confederate forces under General Smith began to retreat, and on the i3th the volunteers were dis- missed with public appreciation and pride of thousands of grate- ful citizens for their noble service. The Windham "boys" arrived home on Sunday, the i4th. The following is a copy of the official discharge received by Mr. Higley and his gallant comrades. "THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS' DISCHARGE. " Cincinnati was menaced by the enemies of our Union. " DAVID TOD, Governor of Ohio, called on the Minute Men of the State, and the Squirrel Hunters came by thousands to the rescue. "You, WILLIAM A. HIGLEY, were one of them, and this is your HONORABLE DISCHARGE. " September, 1862. "CHARLES W. HILL. " Approved by " Adjt.-Gen. of Ohio. " DAVID TOD, "Governor. "MALCOLM MCDOWELL, " Major and A. D. C." The following Certificate was subsequently issued by the Governor of Ohio: THE GRKAT SEAL) 'THE STATE OF OHIO, "j STATE OFOHIO, \ " EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 1802. ; v y / " COLUMBUS, March 4th, 1863. "To WILLIAM A. HIGLEY, ESQR., of Portage County, O. The Legislature of our State has this day passed the following Resolution : " Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, That the Governor be, and he is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate out of his contingent fund, a sufficient sum to pay for printing and lithographing dis- charges for the patriotic men of the State, who responded to the call of the Gov- ernor, and went to our Southern border to repel the invaders, and who will be known in history as the ' SQUIRREL HUNTERS.' "And in obedience thereto, I do most cheerfully herewith inclose a Certificate of your service. But for the gallant services of yourself and the other members of the corps of patriotic ' Squirrel Hunters,' rendered in September last, Ohio, our dear State, would have been invaded by a band of pirates determined to overthrow the best government on earth ; our wives and children would have been violated and murdered, and our homes plundered and sacked. Your children, and your children's children, will be proud to know that you were one of this glorious band. " Preserve the Certificate of service and discharge, herewith enclosed to you, as 1 "The Military History of Ohio." DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 329 evidence of this gallantry. The rebellion is not yet crushed out, and therefore the discharge may not be final : Keep the old gun then in order ; see that the powder horn and bullet pouch are supplied, and caution your patriotic mothers or wives to be at all times prepared to furnish you a few days cooked rations so that if your services are called for (which may God in his infinite goodness forbid), you may again prove yourselves ' Minute Men,' and again protect our loved homes. " Invoking God's choicest blessings upon yourself and all who are dear to you, " I am very truly, Yours, "DAVID TOD, Governor." On May 4, 1864, William A. Higley again entered the Civil War, joining the lyist Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company I, Ohio National Guard, and served his full term of enlistment. The story of this regiment is related in the sketch of Corporal Alfred M. Higley, the uncle of Mr. Higley, who belonged to the same company and regiment. William A. Higley was assigned to the quartermaster's de- partment. After his regiment suffered defeat by superiority of numbers at the battle of Cynthiana, Ky. , and were taken pris- oners and finally paroled, he met the scattered forces when they again collected together at Camp Dennison, O. He remained with the regiment, doing guard duty on Johnson's Island, till it received its honorable discharge at Sandusky, O., August 20, 1864. Mr. Higley has always resided in Windham. He has for many years owned a commodious, well-appointed home in the village, and a farm on the outskirts. For twenty-six years he has been engaged in commercial traveling, having been associated the greater part of this period with the National Lead Co. of New York, his business office being in Cleveland, O. With every detail of the business he is thoroughly familiar, and has brought to the Company in the discharge of his duties rare and faithful energy and business ability. The successful issue of that pleasant occasion, the general family reunion in 1889' of the Higleys at Windham, O., was largely due to Mr. Higley's efficient oversight and labors, together with his genial welcome to the guests, leaving nothing omitted which could contribute to their comfort and pleasure. In the cordial hospitality of his home, his wife and household add their full share. William A. Higley is a pushing man, of varied knowledge, and 1 See sketch of Alfred M. Higley, p. 335. 33 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of generous character. He possesses a graceful geniality and pleasant friendliness at all times, to which he owes in a large measure the popular high esteem in which he is held. His wife, Elizabeth Elmina Scott, was the daughter of David Scott of Becket, Mass., who came to the township of Freedom, O., about 1828-29, and Sarah Philena Marcy, who arrived from Otis, Mass., at Freedom, January 13, 1828. Thomas and Elizabeth M. Marcy, the parents of Sarah Philena Marcy (and grandparents to Elizabeth Scott Higley), were among the early founders of Freedom township, and among the organizers of the first church in the town February 10, 1828. Their daughter, Sarah, was a woman of deep practical piety, and an excellent scholar for those times, and has left upon record interesting reminiscences of her devoted life. She married David Scott, 1 November 18, 1830. They settled on a farm near Drakes- burg, O., and here Mrs. Elizabeth Scott Higley was born, July 7, 1842. She resided with her parents, near Drakesburg, till March, 1860, when the family removed to Windham, O. Five years and six months later she became the wife of William A. Higley. She is of a cheerful and remarkably serene nature, of which her kind face is an index, gentle in social life, and diffident of her excellent abilities. Mrs. Higley is an admirable wife, well quali- fied to be the kindly companion of her husband. William A. Higley and Elizabeth E. Scott were married at Windham, Octobers, 1865. Their children: LUTHER SCOTT HIGLEY, the eldest, was born November 2, 1866. He was graduated from the high school of Windham, June, 1886, and entered the university at Worcester in September of the same year ; but was unfortunately not able to complete the course on account of impaired eyesight, which forced him to abandon his studies in the autumn of 1888. He resides in Cleveland, O., and is engaged in business with the Standard Sew- ing Machine Company of that city. From his boyhood he has given considerable earnest attention to music, and is well-skilled in the use of the cornet, bearing a high reputation as a performer in B flat. JOSEPHINE MARCY HIGLEY, the second child of William A. and Elizabeth E. Scott Higley, was born September 26, 1874. She was a bright and interesting schoolgirl while pursuing her studies in the high school at Windham. She is making a specialty of music. SEYMOUR A. and SARAH ANN HIGLEY, twin children of Lorin and Rachel E. (Frary) Higley, were born June 8, 1845. 1 David Scott was born at Becket, Mass., 1803. He died at Windham, O., March 28, 1877. His wife, Sarah Philena Marcy, was born 1807, and died August i, 1876. MATHEW P. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 331 They attended together the common school in Windham and afterward the Windham Academy, closing their schooldays by a course at the Hiram Collegiate Institute. Sarah Ann married, September 2, 1875, John Luther Miner, who was born and brought up in Cornwall, Conn. They reside in Jamestown, N. Y. They have but one surviving child : Lorin Luther, born January 20, 1878. Seymour A. Higley married, October 13, 1880, Emma R. Sheldon 1 of Aurora, O. He is the owner of, and resides in, the old homestead and on the farm near Windham village, where his parents founded their hearthstone in 1834. Their children are : Nellie Gertrude, born March 31, 1883; Benjamin Sheldon, born June 6, 1890; Herbert Seymour, born , 1894. MATTHEW P. HIGLEY. Matthew P., Colonel Benjamin, Micah, ist, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Behold the upright : for the end of that man is peace. PSALM xxxvii. MATTHEW P. HIGLEY, the fourth son of Colonel Benjamin Higley, was born at Windham, O., September 12, 1813. He was the second male child born in the township. In his youth he attended the district school, but later on he acquired a good rudimentary education at the academy in Windham Center. Until he reached the age of twenty-one, when not in school he did the work usually falling to farmers' sons. Strength and muscle, with close application to the hard toil of farm life, was prized in those days as a card to good standing in the com- munity, quite as much as books and book-learning. On reaching his majority his father gave him a farm, which he subsequently sold in order to purchase one containing a greater number of acres. He received his pay in patent clocks, which he traded in part payment for a fine farm located in the adjoining township of Paris. Here he built, in 1840, a house and two barns, and resided nine years. He married, September 25, 1839, Luna C. Robbins, daughter of Philander and Lydia Robbins of Warren, Herkimer County, N. Y. 1 Judge Ebene/er Sheldon, the grandfather of Emma R. (Sheldon) Higley, was from Sufiield, Conn., and was the first settler of Aurora township, arriving in Portage County, Ohio, June, 1779, Her father, Ebenezer Sheldon, Jr., came to Aurora in 1800. 33 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. In 1849 h e purchased a farm in Windham township, on which he built a residence which the family occupied till the autumn of 1870. Retiring then from active life, he removed to Windham village, purchasing the old academy building in which he received his education and fitting it up as a pleasant residence. During the last days of his well-spent life, he occupied the same room in which he pursued his studies when in the vivacity of youth, more than sixty years before. He was long a familiar figure to the citizens in his walks through the streets, greeting with the same friendliness the humble and the well-to-do alike. Like his parents and brothers, Matthew P. Higley early came to believe in the principles of the Gospel. He united with the First Congregational Church of Windham in 1840. The moral weight of his father's umblemished character rested, too, upon this son as it did upon his brothers. His habits were always exem- plary, and he enjoyed the esteem of the community. The evening of his days were happily and contentedly spent. He retained his full interest in the current affairs of life, though in August, 1^90, he had a light stroke of paralysis, which greatly enfeebled him physically. On the 25th of September, 1889, Mr. Higley and his wife cele- brated the very interesting occasion of their golden wedding, as well as the tenth anniversary of the marriage of their daughter, receiving the congratulations of their numerous kins-people and friends. They bore in their beautiful old age the armor triumphant of the Christian; in happy cheerfulness looking toward the golden era in the life beyond, which they calmly approached. Matthew Higley died November, 1893. Children of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Robbins) Higley: Hannah Lovisa ; Philander Robbins j Marion C.; Perkins B.; Frank M. y born April 24, 1857, died March i, 1865; David Mack. HANNAH LOVISA HIGLEY, the eldest child of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Rob- bins) Higley, was born August 15, 1841, and married Henry B. Walden, November 25, 1863. They are prosperous farmers in Windham. Mr. Walden did soldierly duty in the late war, entering, in the spring of 1864, the I7ist Regiment Ohio National Guard, serving with the one-hundred-day men, and seeing active service in the engagement at Cynthiana, Ky. Their children are : Frank, born February 3, 1866; Luna C., born August 18, 1867; Delia A. , born October 12, 1873 ; and Caroline M., born January 30, 1875. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 333 PHILANDER R. HIGLEY, the second child of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Robbins) Higley, was born in the township of Paris, Portage County, O., January 17, 1843. He received his early education at the public school and the academy in Wind- ham, afterward taking the course at the Hiram Collegiate Institute, followed by a full commercial course at Eastman's College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. When the emergency of the Civil War called men into action, Philander Higley came to the front. On the sudden demand for defenders of the city of Cincinnati and the southern border of Ohio, in 1862, he tendered his services for duty, and joined the " Squirrel Hunters" brigade. This service, however, as has been already stated, was of short duration. Mr. Higley received a certificate of com- mendation, which was ordered by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor, for his prompt and loyal response to the call for troops. In May, 1864, when he had only recently passed his twenty-first birthday, he entered the Union Army, with the lyist Regiment, Company I, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a company composed chiefly of his fellow-citizens. With his regiment he passed through the rough foray when General John Morgan's men stole upon the Union forces unexpectedly at Cynthiana, Ky., a severe fight following, in which cannon ball and shot did deadly work. Philander Higley showed hero blood, doing brave and noble service as color-corporal of his company. He was captured and made prisoner, but was, with his comrades, finally paroled. He was in the war service till the term of his enlistment expired, and received an honorable discharge. On the I2th of October, 1870, he married Adelaide Cannon, daughter of Reuben P. Cannon of Aurora, O. They are the parents of one child, a daughter, named Maude, who was born December 20, 1877. They reside in Windham, O., and own a farm in the vicinity of the village. MARION C. HIGLEY, third child of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Robbins) Higley, was born June 13, 1848. Her schooldays were spent at the \Vindham public school, and at the Hiram Collegiate Institute ; afterward she spent one year at the Lake Erie Female Seminary at Painsville, O. She married, September 25, 1879, Frank O. Wadsworth, and became the mother of three children, viz.: Lee O. Wadsworth, born May 20, 1883 ; Flora V., born June 13, 1885 ; and Luna Olive, born March 20, 1887. They resided at San Diego, Cal., where Mr. Wadsworth engaged in the culture of tropical fruits. Mrs. Marion C. Wadsworth died of cancer May 10, 1892, and was interred at San Diego. PERKINS B. HiGLEY.the fourth child of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Robbins) Higley, was born at \Vindham, O., July 3, 1851. He received his education at the Windham schools. He married, December 15, 1875, Harriet Messenger, and owns a farm in Windham, upon which he resides. .Mr. and Mrs. Higley have three children, viz.: Lulu M., born August 9, 1877 ; Bertha M., born November 6, 1881 ; and Ray, born March 20, 1887. DAVID MACK HIGLEY, the sixth child and youngest son of Matthew P. and Luna C. (Robbins) Higley, was born December 16, 1858. He attended the Windham schools. On the iSth of October, 1883, he married Lucretia R. Cannon of Aurora, O., aud now resides upon his farm in W r indham. He displays a highly creditable talent in music, and plays alto, in the musical organization known as the " Windham Band." Their first child, Clayton Cannon Higley, was born June 26, 1895. 334 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. MRS. SARAH ANN HIGLEY ADAMS. Continued front page 318. SARAH ANN HIGLEY, daughter of Colonel Benjamin and Sally McKown Higley, was born at Windham, O., January 19, 1817. When quite young she was sent from home to attend school at New Lisbon, O. On the i2th of July, 1832, when she had scarce passed her fifteenth birthday, she married William C. Adams of New Lisbon. They took up their residence at Newton Falls. Two years later they removed to Windham. Mr. Adams here conducted a dry goods mercantile business, in which he con- tinued till 1850, when he retired from active business life. The marriage was one of mutual happiness and comfort. After a lapse of nineteen years Mrs. Adams fell a prey to that insidious disease consumption, which, after some months of suffering, proved fatal. She died December 27, 1851. William C. Adams passed the remaining years of his life, after retiring from business, living quietly in Windham. June 9, 1853, he married Eliza McClintock. He died , 1875, aged seventy. William C. and Sarah A. Higley Adams were the parents of twelve children, only two of whom survived infancy; ten little ones passing away between April 3, 1835, and June 4, 1848. Benjamin Higley, the oldest child, survived ; and Mary Ann, the youngest. BENJAMIN HIGLEY ADAMS, the eldest child of Sarah Ann Higley and William C. Adams, was born at Windham, O., September 6, 1833. He was educated at the academy in his native town, leaving school in 1852. In 1854 he went to the then far West, now the State of Nebraska, where he se- cured a tract of land near Plattsmouth and remained two years. He afterward went to Colorado, but returned to Windham in 1857, and studied law in the O. S. & W. Law College at Cleveland and was admitted to the bar May 17, 1859. The autumn of the same year he went back to Plattsmouth, Neb., and entered upon the practice of his profession. In the early beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the I4th Ohio Indepen- dent Battery, and was mustered into service September 10, 1861. Holding the responsible position of chief gunner of his battery, he proved himself a gallant soldier. At the memorable battle of Pittsburg Landing he was in the thickest of the fight, with determined bravery courageously remaining the last man at the guns, barely escaping being made a prisoner, when, "owing to failure of infantry sup- port, its guns were captured." Taking a severe cold the night after the battle, he fell seriously ill, and was DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 335 brought home by his father, who had hastened to him, reaching Windham, June 16, 1862. He died six days after, at the early age of twenty-eight. MARY ANN, the youngest child of William C. and Sarah Ann Higley Adams, was born at Windham, O., February 22, 1850. The year following, when she was scarce yet two years of age, she was left a motherless infant. In Eliza McClintock, who became her second mother, she found a kind-hearted, careful guardian, who devoted much faithful attention to her home training and education. Her school- days were spent, after attending the Windham Academy, at the Lake Erie Female Seminary at Painesville, O. At the general reunion of the Higley Family held at Windham, 1889, she presented an original poem, entitled " Our Family Tree," which, with the fine effect with which it was read, was received with much enthusiasm. She married, September I, 1887, John D. Bosley of Johnstown, Penn., where they now reside. ALFRED M. HIGLEY. Continued from page 318. ALFRED M. HIGLEY, the youngest son of Colonel Benjamin and Sally McKown Higley, was born at Windham, O., December 2, 1822. He spent his youth in the rude toil incident to the Ohio farmer-pioneer's life. The district school was the scene of his first efforts for an education. Later on he enjoyed the advan- tages of the academy in his native town. He was eminently a child of religious stock, his home life and associations being spent amid intelligent Christian surroundings. At twenty he made public profession of religion and united with the First Congregational Church of Windham, to which he was a close adherent and a valuable member as long as he lived. Possessing a pleasant and amiable disposition, he endeared him- self to a wide circle who prized his friendship. At twenty-two, January 9, 1845, ne married Mary R. Knapp of Geneva, O., and by virtue of being the youngest son of his father's family, he remained with his parents, taking his young wife to their home. Here they launched out upon life together under happy and comfortable circumstances. A diligent, stead- fast, and honorable life," spent mostly in agriculture pursuits, brought him an ample competency, though in after years he met with reverses which somewhat reduced his living. In May, 1864, at the trumpet call of the Civil War, he volun- teered his services to do soldierly duty, joining the one-hundred- day men of the Ohio National Guard, who composed a part of the lyist Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Alfred M. Higley 33 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. was made corporal, Company I. In the same regiment were his three nephews. The regiment was mustered into service at Sandusky, O., and placed on duty on Johnson's Island, Lake Erie. In June it was sent to Kentucky, detailed to meet General Morgan and his guerrillas, who were near Cynthiana. Immediately after arrival hot work began, the regiment finding itself suddenly surprised and surrounded by Confederate forces numbering full two- thirds more than its own men. They fought after bush-whacking fashion. The unequal battle continued five hours, against great disadvantages to the Northern troops, many of whom were untrained soldiers. After stubborn resistance General Hobson was forced to accept a flag of truce ; however, the service of the Federals was creditable, and they afterward received high commendations for displaying great personal courage. On being surrounded and taken prisoners they endured the hard- ships of a chilly night, without food or shelter, and were marched fourteen miles beyond the Confederate lines, where they were paroled without blankets, or rations, or arms for defense. They rapidly made their way to Augusta, on the banks of the Ohio River, forty miles distant, crossed the river, and finally joined their comrades who had come into camp before them at Camp Dennison, O. Being paroled, the regiment was returned to its old camp on Johnson's Island and could not be placed on duty for some time; it then served on guard duty till the expiration of the term of enlistment, when it was honorably discharged and mus- tered out of service, Corporal Higley returning to his home at Windham. During the winter of 1866-67 he made a journey to California, sailing from New York in December, and going by the way of the Isthmus. He arriving in San Francisco after a delightful voyage, January 19. He spent several months visiting different parts of the State. Returning via Panama, he arrived in Wind- ham July 5, just in time to attend the funeral of his aged father. On the 5th of September, 1889, a notable event took place at the homestead of Alfred M. Higley, on the old family estate of his father, Colonel Benjamin Higley the fourth annual reunion of the widely-extended Higley Family of this country. By general invitation of Alfred M., and his nephew, William A., Higley, the large assemblage of kindred and connections, num- ALFRED M. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 337 bering full three hundred, from several States, convened, and met a welcome in keeping with the generous and true hospitality with which the host and his excellent wife, with all of this branch of the Family joined by the descendants of Joseph Higley, 3d, have a well merited reputation. The rural feast was a thoroughly enjoyable success, a rich profusion of table varieties being served in tents erected for this special purpose. Formal exercises were held, at which able historical addresses were delivered by the Hon. Warren Higley of New York and Hon. Brainard S. Higley of Youngstown, O., and a historical paper presented by Mrs. Mary Coffin Johnson of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs. Mary Ann Bosley read an original poem. The occasion was enlivened by music given by the Windham Cornet Band, several members of which were of Higley families. Those present will long remember the tall and dignified presence of Alfred M. Higley, who presided on the interesting occasion, as he gave one and all, in a neat and graceful speech, a most kindly and hearty welcome to his home, "the old land-mark of his tribe, where seventy- eight years before a dense forest had covered the ground"; as well as the enjoyable day when old friendships were renewed, and blood relations for the first time met and became acquainted. Scarce one year had closed its days, bringing the next annual reunion close at hand, when the scene at the old Windham home- stead was suddenly and wholly changed. " They bade adieu to gladness, And joy was turned to sadness ; Life seemed a desert." Love was weeping in secret as well as openly. From the same home in which he was born, and in which he had always lived, the subject of this sketch departed " to a better country, that is an heavenly." His decease took place August 17, 1890, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He left the precious legacy of a life above reproach, commanding the respect and trust of all who knew him. His wife, Mary Robbins Knapp, who survives him, was the daughter of Orin Knapp and Sarah M. Burrell, and was born in Geneva, O., March 16, 1823. Her parents came to Geneva, O., when they were young people, Mr. Knapp being a native of Norfolk, Conn., and Sarah Burrell of Sheffield, Mass. They were married in 1819. Mrs. Higley's childhood was spent in Geneva, 338 THE HIGLEYS AXD THEIR ANCESTRY. her native place, where she attended a select school. She after- ward received two years' instruction at the Windham Academy, and attended an academy at Conneaut, O.. She then became a teacher for three years previous to her marriage. She united with the First Congregational Church at Windham at thirteen years of age. Children of Alfred M. and Mary R. Knapp Higley: Sarah Maria, born August 10, 1847; Burrell Alfred, born November 25, 1850; Arthur Stanley, born March i, 1861. SARAH M. HIGLEY, the eldest child, received her education at the Windham district and high school, and at the Hiram Collegiate Institute, afterward spend- ing one year at the Lake Erie Female Seminary. She married, November 13, 1867, Sergeant Edward Payson Clark of Windham, who had made a most honorable record during three years' service in the Civil War, having enlisted in its early history in Company D, iO4th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and when mustered out was first sergeant of his company. He fought in engagements at twelve different points. In company with her husband, Mrs. Sarah M. Higley Clark openly professed reli- gion, uniting with the Congregational Church at Windham, during a time of revival, March, 1868. She was of a happy, genial disposition, endearing herself to all who knew her. She died January 5, 1874, leaving one child, Edward Alfred Clark, who was born January 22, 1870, and resides with his father. BURRELL ALFRED HIGLEY, the second child of Alfred M. and Mary R. (Knapp) Higley, was born November 25, 1850. He received his education at the district and high school in Windham, afterward taking the preparatory course of Oberlin College. He then attended the Commercial College at Mount Union, O. At the age of seventeen he united with the First Congregational Church of Windham, in the work of which he took an active part, filling various offices. In a business line he was a merchant of Windham village, where he resided. He married, November II, 1878, Rilla E. Bosley. But the bright lives of these excellent young people were destined to a short duration. Burrell A. Higley died October 17, 1885. His wife survived him but five brief months. She died March 16, 1886. Of a cheerful temperament and a generous nature, Mr. Higley left behind him a life fragrant with excellencies of character, the perfume of which still lives in the hearts of his friends and associates. ARTHUR STANLEY HIGLEY, the youngest son of Alfred M. and Mary R. (Knapp) Higley, was born March I, 1861. He attended the Windham schools, afterward studying two years at the Newton Falls High School. He completed his education by taking a full course in the Commercial Department of the Normal School at Ada, O., receiving a diploma February 24, 1882. Mr. Higley has by energetic and faithful practice developed his natural talent for music, and attained skill as a performer on the solo cornet, in B flat. He is the cornetist at the regular services of his church, and a member of a musical union of local fame, which gives regular weekly village open air concerts, and is much in request to play on public occasions in neighboring cities. DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN HIGLEY. 339 He owns the farm near Windham village once the old homestead of his grand- father, Colonel Benjamin Higley, which has come into his possession in succession, and partly by purchase, and where he now resides. Mr. Higley possesses a frank, clever personality ; he is a successful farmer of intelligence and unusual enterprise. He married, October 27, 1886, Alta E. Hudson, formerly of Edinburg, O. They together united with the First Congregational Church of Windham, March, 1887. Arthur S. and Alta E. Higley are the parents of two children, viz. : Florence Mildred, born November 7, 1888 ; and Ruby Lucille, born July 21, 1893- CHAPTER XLV. LIEUTENANT ASA HIGLEY. Asa, ist, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 286. Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. JOEL i. 3. ASA HIGLEY, ist, the third son of Captain Joseph Higley, ist, and his second wife, Sarah Case, was born at Higley-town, Sims- bury, Conn., January 31, 1745. It appears to have been the design of Captain Joseph Higley to settle his four eldest sons in Becket, Mass., at which place he purchased lands, intending that his youngest son, Simeon, should remain with him at the home farm in Higley-town. The two eldest, Joseph and Micah, fulfilling their father's wishes, removed to Becket, but Asa and his next younger brother, Ozias, absolutely refused to go; whereupon their father sternly declined to give them a start in life. They were, however, strong, independent, and energetic, and not being daunted, arose to their emergency. To the mountain sides in West Granby they went, where they purchased lands a mile west of West Granby Center, contracting a debt for the same by agreeing to pay two bushels of wheat per acre. The times of the Revolution found them with some remaining ^debt; yet, full of the military spirit, when open war came, they were ready to march against the British. Asa Higley, ist, served with the Connecticut State troops, iSth Militia Regiment, entering the army under Captain Samuel Hays. He was corporal of his company. 1 They arrived in New York, August 22, 1776. He was with the American army when the forces found their retreat cut off after the disastrous defeat upon Long Island, and his general with his forces charged and broke through the British lines, reaching their camp with great loss of life and at great peril. Hundreds were killed and made prisoners, but Corporal Higley was among the fortunate. He 1 " Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution." 34<> DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 341 was afterward in the fight at Horse Neck, and in the battle at White Plains, October 28, 1776. After the battle of Horse Neck, overcome by fatigue and exposure, he suffered from a serious ill- ness, which well-nigh cost him his life. Careful nursing at his home, to which he was removed, together with a fine constitu- tion, restored him, and no sooner was his health regained, than he hurried back to the fight for liberty. He was then promoted to the rank of lieutenant. The follow- ing year he was in the fierce encounter with Burgoyne at Still- water and Saratoga. After Burgoyne's surrender, October, 1777, Lieutenant Asa was detailed with his company to guard the British prisoners on their march to Boston. When the Revolutionary Army was disbanded he returned with his brother to their farm in Granby. Captain Joseph Higley, now seeing that these sons were industrious and thrifty, relented and assisted them to remove the debt from their land. The date of Lieutenant Asa Higley's marriage has not been ascertained. It was about the year 1770. His wife was Eunice Colton, daughter of the Rev. Eli Colton. They resided as long as they lived upon the farm which he, with his brother Ozias, purchased before the Revolutionary War. An old record states that he "was a respectable farmer and that both he and his wife were worthy professors of religion." They were members of the church at North Granby. They together "owned y e Covenant," December 29, 1771. It is probable that they took this step the year after their marriage. Asa had faithfully attended the Simsbury Church before going to Granby, since we find "the great pew in the gallery " assigned by the town committee for his use in 1768. In November, 1786, he was reappointed tything man, having previously filled the office; he was surveyor in 1793, and frequently served as grand juror. Lieutenant Asa Higley died early in 1805. His will was received at the Court of Probate on the 28th of March of that year. It was dated one year previous, March 12, 1804, and the indications are that he was in declining health for many months. His will states that: "Laboring under infirmi- ties tending to dissolution, and sensible that the time of my departure is at hand, that my house may be set in order I have thought fit to dispose of my affairs," etc. He left substantial legacies to "his beloved wife Eunice," to his sons Asa and 23 342 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Pliny, and to his two daughters. His son Asa was named as his executor. The place of his burial remains undiscovered. Their children were : Asa, ad, Eunice, Theodosia, and Pliny. i CHILDREN OF LIEUTENANT ASA AND EUNICE (COLTON) HIGLEY. CAPTAIN ASA HIG^EY (2d), born October 13, 1771, spent his life in West Granby, Conn., upon the homestead farm that had belonged to his father. He was made freeman September 15, 1794, at the age of twenty-three. He married Ruth, daughter of Noadiah Kendall; the date of the marriage has not been found. On the 7th of July, 1822, Asa, with his wife Ruth, were admitted to the First Congregational Church, North Granby, on profession of their faith, and they appear afterward to have continued faith- ful members till their decease, living lives that commanded the fullest respect of all who knew them. The absence of data prevents a record here of Asa, 2d's, mili- tary deeds. He served, in all probability, with the Connecticut State troops in the war of 1812. From many allusions found in old writings, as well as from the inscription upon his tombstone, it is known that he held the rank of captain, and that he was known in the community as " Captain Asa Higley." Captain- Asa and Ruth (Kendall) Higley were the parents of eleven children, three of whom died in infancy. On the 8th of September, 1832, two months after their parents were received into membership, seven of these children were baptized on one day in the North Granby Church. Captain Asa Higley died September 2, 1840. His wife died July 19, 1843. His tombstone is thus inscribed : 1Tn flfcemorB of Capt. Ssa flbtglcE wbo Died September 2*> 1840 69. How blessed are the pious dead Who follow Christ their living head, They rest in peace, their crown receive, In yonder heaven of perfect love. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 343 His will was admitted to the Court of Probate, Granby, Sep- tember 31, 1840. Their children were: Asa, 3d, Eunice, Harold, Gunilda, Adune, Theodocia, Ruth, and Miranda. The dates of births have not been furnished. CAPTAIN ASA HIGLEY, 3D. Asa 3d, Captain Asa, Lieutenant Asa, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. ASA HIGLEY, 3d, the oldest child of Captain Asa and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, was born in West Granby, Conn., May 16, 1806. He acquired a fair education by devoting his leisure hours from farm work to study, and also attended the country school. While yet a young man he taught several school terms. He was devoted to music, by which he was made captive. Possessing decided ability, never was his time spent so happily as when in the company of his musical friends. He conducted the musical services of the Methodist Episcopal Church at West Granby for more than twenty-five years. In his early years he learned a trade, that of carpenter and joiner, which he successfully practiced till he was near forty. He then retired to a farm. He always took an active part in politics, and was elected con- stable of the township; and afterward, in 1842, filled the office of justice of the peace, giving general satisfaction. Later on he turned his attention to the study of law, of which he acquired con- siderable knowledge, though his ambition never led him to apply for admission to the bar. He, however, successfully handled legal cases during the last years of his life, frequently being retained by the sturdy and honest farmers against able opponents. He made a good collector, and established a fair legal business. He served for some years as captain of the militia, and was still an officer when military drill was set aside. He lived an honor- able, upright, and useful life, and died May, 1869, in the sixty- fourth year of his age. His wife was Eliza, daughter of Nathaniel Pratt, whom he married in West Granby in 1835. They were the parents of three children, viz. : Brewster Asa, Perry, and Eliza Annan. BREWSTER ASA HIGLEY, their eldest child, was born at West Granby, Conn., January 21, 1836. There he grew to manhood. He received his education at the 344 THE H 1C LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. district school and worked upon the farm until he reached his majority. He then for two successive years taught the winter terms of a country school. In September, 1860, he removed to Gustavus, Trumbull County, O., and was engaged for several years in a mercantile business with an uncle. Here he mar- ried, in 1865, loa Stephenson. Five years after his marriage it was decided to re- move to Kansas for a change of climate, hoping to benefit the health of his wife. The adventure met financially with ill success, and their hopes not being realized, they returned eastward, and settled at Mercer, Pa., in 1880, where Mr. Higley was engaged for ten years with the Mercer Woolen Mills. In 1891 he removed to Toledo, O., where he held a position with the Armada Mills in that city. They have one child, a son, named Henry Clay Higley, born January 31, 1871. PERRY HIGLEY, the second child of Asa Higley, 3d, and Eliza Pratt, was born November 25, 1837. He attended the town school, working upon the farm during summers. In the year 1862 he took a journey to California, and being delighted with the fair country, found employment on a fruit farm near San Jose, where he remained a year. He then returned to his home in Granby, Conn. On the death of his father he was engaged for some time as superintendent of a department in the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine manufactory at Bridgeport, Conn., and sub- sequently was engaged with the Monumental Zinc Works in the same city. He resided in Bridgeport for several years. He is a man of powerful strength, and fearless in exercising it when occasion requires. Holding the office of constable while a resident of Granby, he some- times made daring arrests of wild or vicious persons who were holding at bay a crowd of townspeople. His great physical vigor has sometimes led him into odd experiences, as well as caused him to be a terror to evil-doers. Perry Higley married Kate, daughter of Martin Kelly, of Ansonia, Conn. They have no children. He resides in Brooklyn, N. Y. ELIZA, the third child of Asa Higley, 3d, and Eliza Pratt, was born March 8, 1839. Her early education was received at the academy in West Granby, and finished at Wilbraham, Mass. Possessing a bright intellect, she had a taste for study and ranked one of the first in her class. After her schooldays were passed, she proved a successful teacher. She possessed a passion for music. Under its inspiration she performed well on the piano when but twelve years old, and at fourteen she played the organ at the church services. She married the Rev. Charles E. Paige, who was graduated at the Middlebury, Vt., College, and had just entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her gentle disposition and kindly ways brought her many loving friends, who mourned her untimely death, April, 1871, at the age of thirty-two. Mrs. Paige left three young motherless children. *' In secret love the Master To each one whispers low, ' I am at hand ; work faster ; Behold the sunset-glow ! ' And each one smileth sweet Who hears the Master's feet." DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 345 Continued front page 343. EUNICE HIGLEY, the second child of Captain Asa, 2d, and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, married Hiram Case and resided at West Granby, Conn. Their children were : Adune, George, Anna, Charles, Asa, and John, who died in childhood. She became a member of the church at North Granby in 1832, July I. She died . HAROLD, the third child of Captain Asa, 2d, and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, lived un- married upon the old homestead which his grandfather had settled in West Granby. When he had passed his fortieth year he married Rachel Austin of Suffield, Conn., to which town, after selling his property, he removed. Here he followed farming. He united with the North Granby Congregational Church May 4, 1828. His wife died April 2, 1864, aged fifty-six. In the year 1882, as he was one day returning from the field during a severe thunder storm, he was killed by lightning. He lived the honorable life of a good man. They had no children. GUNILDA, the fourth child of Captain Asa, 2d, and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, married Myron W. Graham of Canton, Conn. They had five children, whose names are not given. ADUNE, the fifth child, died aged ten. THEODOCIA, their sixth child, married Waldo Reed of Granby, Conn. She had one daughter, Kathleen, who possessed unusual talents, and became a successful teacher. She married a physician and removed to Illinois. She died at the age of thirty-four. RUTH, the seventh child of Captain Asa, 2d, and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, married Samuel White. She became a member of the North Granby Congregational Church, July i, 1832, on profession of her faith. They resided at Suffield, Conn., and had one child, a daughter. MIRANDA, the youngest child-of Captain Asa, 2d, and Ruth (Kendall) Higley, mar- ried Emerson Case of Barkhamstead, Conn., and was the mother of four children. FAMILY OF LIEUTENANT ASA HIGLEY, 1ST. Continued front page 342. We now return to the direct line of Lieutenant Asa Higley and Eunice Colton. EUNICE, their eldest daughter, married Deacon Thaddeus Hays, of an old and very respectable family of Simsbury and Granby. They had one child a son, named Flavel Hays. THEODOSIA, the third child of Lieutenant Asa and Eunice (Col- ton) Higley, was born 1781, and married Nathan Strong, a farmer of Granby. They had no children. She died October 9, 1853. PLINY HIGLEY, the fourth child of Lieutenant Asa and Eunice (Colton) Higley, was born 1784. He followed farming, living upon the old farm in West Granby upon the mountain side, which his father purchased in 1771; but he was not successful. He was easy-going, good-natured, and lacking in energy, but withal 346 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. agreeable and most kind. He was distinguished by a feature which has marked the Higley race through all its history his fine physique and Sampson-like strength. It was said of him that rather than harness his horses he would take the tongue of his loaded wagon and pull it to any part of his farm. Another marked quality in his make-up was his excellent memory. By simply reading through an article or essay once or twice, he could repeat it correctly weeks afterward almost verba- tim. Being fond of books, and having a taste for historical research, he made himself very familiar with the history of other lands as well as with that of his native country. On the 4th of May, 1828, he was admitted, on profession of faith, to membership in the First Congregational Church in North Granby. But for some reason which is not stated, his association with the church appears to have been unfortunate. It is upon record that he was "expelled November 3, 1837." He married Martha Beman, the date of marriage not given. After they were both well advanced in years, his wife was rendered almost helpless from inflammatory rheumatism. This called forth Pliny Higley's kindness and patience to a remarkable degree, his devotion to her needs proving a striking illustration of the best qualities which exalt human nature. His faithful attentions were brought to a close by a sudden attack of typhoid pneumonia, which proving fatal, closed his life on the morning of the 3d of February, 1861. When his wife was informed that he had passed away, she had no more spirit in her, and exclaimed : "I can live no longer ! " In a few hours she was attacked with apoplexy, and on the evening of the same day departed. One wide grave in the North Granby cemetery was opened to receive their remains, in which, two days later, they were laid side by side. The inscription on a double tombstone reads as follows: t>t0leg flfcartba 2>leJ> Dis TMife fc 1861, DieO BE 77. ffebruarBSO 1861 BE 81. In death they were not divided. Pliny and Martha (Beman) Higley were the parents of three children, viz.: Elvira, Almira, and Gilbert. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 347 ELVIRA married John Cosset and removed to Michigan. ALMIRA married Charles Alderman and became the mother of three daughters. GILBERT HIGLEY, the only son of Pliny and Martha Beman Higley, was born in West Granby, September 3, 1823. He lived at home with his parents till he was sixteen, when, having acquired the elements of a plain English education, he was apprenticed to his cousin, Asa Higley, 3d, to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner, in which his excellent natural ability in due time caused him to excel as a workman. When his term of apprenticeship expired, in 1844, he went to North Carolina. Here he engaged in trading in dry goods, and two years later did an extensive business in the purchase and sale of carriages. He then became a contractor and builder, in which he met with profitable and satisfactory success. In 1850 he took the contract for building the court-house at Lumberton, N. C., and finding a wife in the person of Ann Eliza, daughter of Thomas A. Norment, he married in 1851, and settled in the town, where he has since resided. He grew prosperous, and entered fully into sympathy with Southern interests. The beginning of the War in 1861 found Gilbert Higley engaged in building a large Presbyterian Church, with three Northern men among his workmen. One of these left immediately and returned to his New York home ; another ventured to remain longer, and ran the blockade ; the third, an elderly man from Connecticut, remained. The Confederate States were mustering their forces. In April, 1862, a company was formed in Lumberton of which Mr. Higley was commissioned second lieutenant, and went into camp a little south of Wilmington, N. C. His regiment did service on the coasts of the Carolinas and on the islands near Charleston till the autumn of 1863, engaging in but one sharp encounter, which was at Neuse River bridge on the railroad south of Goldsboro. The regiment was then ordered to Petersburg, where it went into winter quarters. In the spring of 1864 Lieutenant Higley was with his regiment at New Berne, N. C., when the Federal forces were driven in. They took a goodly number of prisoners, but failed to carry the town by assault. Afterward the troops did lively service in preventing the advance of General Butler upon Petersburg. He was in the engagement at Dairy's Bluff on May 16, 1864, and behind the " almost impreg- nable line of earthworks " from which the Confederate forces charged and drove Butler back to Bermuda Hundred. His division was afterward ordered across the James River, to fall in on the flank of Lee's army. The Confederate troops lay in line of battle behind breast- works all one night, but before the evening of the next day, June I, 1864, at the battle of Cold Harbor, Lieutenant Higley with all his men were taken prisoners. He was the only officer of his company in command at the time, the first lieutenant being with the ambulance corps, and his captain ill in hospital in Richmond. In August these prisoners were sent by the Federal Government to Charleston, S. C., and placed under the guns of the fort on Morris Island, to prevent the Confederates from firing upon the fort. They were kept here three weeks in a stockade, and were then conveyed to Fort Pulaski, Ga. Here their rations per day were five hard-tack biscuits and a small piece of meat. After a time they were put on ten ounces of corn meal per day, which was issued in quantities to cover ten days at a time. On this allowance they lived thirty-three days. 34 THE H 1C LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. About this time General Sherman with his army came through on his way to Savannah, and some of his men coming to visit the Confederate prisoners' quarters found how they were subsisting. About forty of these Union soldiers divided their rations of meat and threw them over the lines into the prison yard. The Federal guard and provost marshal ordered them to stop, but they did not obey. General Foster was at the front. After this incident there were added to the prisoners' regular rations of meal four ounces of meat and four ounces of potatoes. On the 2oth of February, 1865, an order for exchange of captured prisoners was received, and from this time full rations were given them. They were finally transferred to Fort Delaware, where they were kept till the igth of June, when the war being ended, they were discharged and left to get back to their homes as best they could. Lieutenant Higley reached his home at Lumberton, N. C., on the 2Qth of the same month, having worn the " gray " three years from the time of his enlistment in the Southern army, and having served in " brave and simple faith" in its cause. He now resides in the town and State of his adoption. Lieutenant Gilbert and Ann Eliza (Norment) Higley are the parents of six chil- dren, all of whom reside in Lumberton, N. C., except the eldest, a daughter, who lives at Blacksburg, S. C. Their names are as follows : Martha Elizabeth, born October 5, 1852, married James H. Barnes, and has six children. Thomas N., born March 7, 1854, married Emma Pope, and has two children. Mary Fannie, born March 28, 1857. Gilbert P., born April 8, 1863. Annie K., born September u, 1867, married Neal A. Brown. Arabella Ilderman, born April 28, 1869. CHAPTER XLVI. OZIAS HIGLEY. Ozias, ist, Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 286. " Still linger in our northern clime Some remnants of the good old time." OZIAS HIGLEY, ist, the fourth child of Captain Joseph Higley and his second wife, Sarah Case, was born at Simsbury, Conn., March 20, 1748. Together with his brother Asa Higley he purchased, when about twenty-three years of age, lands on the mountain side in West Granby, after having refused an offer from his father of a farm at Becket, Mass., on condition that he would reside upon it. For their Granby lands the brothers agreed to pay "two bushels of wheat per acre." However, as has been before stated, Captain Joseph Higley, on seeing the unyielding courage and industry of these two sons, assisted them later on in paying the debt on their farms. There is circumstantial record that Ozias Higley was one of the patriots of the War of the Revolution. And while there is every probability that the story is correct, no official record of the fact is yet discovered. He married, December 3, 1772, Martha Gillette, 1 of whom we have no particulars. The Gillettes were one of the oldest and best known families in the colony, and of excellent standing. Ozias Higley was made freeman September 19, 1775. On the ad of January, 1774, he, with his wife, signed the church covenant, and two years later, January, 1776, were admitted on profession of their faith to the First Congregational Church in North Granby. At this time the Rev. Josiah Strong was the pastor. Ozias Higley had already been a faithful church-goer since his youth. When but twenty we find him assigned by the town committee 1 Martha Gillette was probably the daughter of Isaac, Jr., or Captain Zaccheus Gillette of the Granby Church. 349 35 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. to "pew 14" in the old Simsbury Church, where he sat with two neighbors "and their wives." Among many kinsman and other residents of the parish, he was a patron of his uncle Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d's, cider dis- tillery, his name being among the "Creditors who brought cider to the Still," September, 1775. The time had not yet come when the use of strong liquors as a beverage was unpopular ; indeed, it was considered necessary to health, and it was as much a usage, and as honorable to partake of it, as of any other beverage. Total abstinence societies had not yet been dreamed of. Only pure liquors which were prepared from wholesome materials were then used. Ozias Higley was appointed by the town and served as tithing- man, 1 December 4, 1784, and served also during the years 1794-95. He is described as a man of unremitting energy, prompt and quick in endeavor, and highly respected ; and was consequently recognized as a useful member of the community. He was fre- quently appointed to public service. His first wife died October 7, 1817. Previous to 1821 he married his second wife, Elizabeth of Simsbury, whose name appears in the settlement of his estate. He died at his farm in West Granby, June 22, 1827. His will was admitted to probate June 29, 1827. His son, Judge Silas Higley, and his nephew, Captain Asa Higley, were appointed his executors. The children of Ozias, ist, and Martha Gillette Higley were as follows : Theodore -, Ozias, 2d, Betsey, Martha, Silas, Annis, and Abiel. THEODORE HTGLEY, the eldest child, born 1773, married Polly Ann Gaylord in West Granby, Conn. Having been unfortunate in the loss of property, he removed with his family to Montgomery County, North Carolina, about the year 1828, where he took up the business of retailing goods from place to place by peddlers' carts. Leaving North Carolina he went to Missouri, establishing him- self in Holt County. Here he resided a number of years till his decease, 1853. Their children were: Mary Ann, who married Jairus Gray of Fabarra County, North Carolina, where they reside; Martha, born 1816, married David 1 For the duties of this peculiar office, see sketch of Nathaniel Higley, page 141. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 351 Nest, and resides in Holt County, Missouri ; William G., mentioned below; Frances, born 1819, married Thomas Evans, and resides in Holt County, Missouri; Susan, born 1827, died, unmarried, 1851; Algernon, born 1833, resides in Holt County, Missouri. William G. Higley, born 1817, married Maria Dayton, February, 1850, and resides in American Fork, Utah. Their children: Theodore, born March, 1853, died in Salt Lake City, 1869; Annie G., born September, 1854, married W. A. Pitt, 1873, of Salt Lake City, where they reside. Mr. Pitt is the proprietor of the Overland House. Josephine, born February, 1856, died in Salt Lake City, 1867 ; William, born October, 1857, died 1860 ; Dolly, born 1859, died 1860 ; Lulu, born 1861, married, 1883, Henry Roberts, who died the following year; Frank, born 1862, died 1865; Leon, born 1865, married Mary Stoddard, 1886, and resides in American Fork, Utah ; Willard, born 1869. OZIAS HIGLEY, 2d, the second son of Ozias, ist, and Martha (Gillette) Higley, was born in Granby, Conn., 1773. He married Delight, daughter of Alexander Cossett, born December 21, 1769. His father gave him a farm at Becket, Mass., to which they removed, and July 28, 1801, Delight was received into the Becket Church "by letter" from the church at Granby. Here they lived a number of years. Ozias Higley, 2d, sold his farm at Becket and removed with his family to Herkimer, N. Y., and there through misfortune lost his property. Soon after this, unhappy relations existing between the husband and wife culminated, and they separated, breaking up the family. The helplessness into which the children were brought by this state of things aroused the ready and practical sympathy of their father's sisters at Granby, who made them their wards. Their children were as follows : Ozias, 3d, born September 24, 1791; Betsey Maria, born August 3> J 793> an d baptized February 31, 1796; Sally, born November 21, 1797; Marquis (familiarly called Mark), born June 10, 1799; Julia, born 1802, and Nancy. Ozias, 3d, the eldest, and his sister Betsey Maria, married and settled in the State of New York. Sally lived with her aunt, Mrs. Alpheus Hays, and married Ansel Humphrey. Marquis went to his grandfather, Ozias, ist, subsequently returning to his father in Western New York. The father and son afterward went South and followed peddling. It is not known that they ever returned. Julia resided with her aunt, Mrs. Elnathan Strong. She was killed by lightning, April 20, 1820, aged eighteen. Nancy married Dr. Benjamin Weld of Canton, Conn., and removed to Iowa. 35 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. BETSEY, the date of whose birth is not given (page 350), daugh- ter of Ozias, ist, and Martha Gillette, was admitted to the church in North Granby on profession of her faith, June 6, 1828; she became the first wife of Alpheus Hays of Granby, who was Repre- sentative to the Connecticut Legislature, 1822-26. They had one child, a daughter, Emetine, who married Dr. J. D. Wilcox. Betsey died , and Mr. Hays married for his second wife, her first cousin, Sarah Higley, daughter of Simeon Higley. MARTHA, the second daughter of Ozias Higley, ist, and Martha Gillette, married Theodore Hays. They had children, viz. : Dwight, William, Edwin, Betsey, Martha, and Arthur. The last four died early in life. Continued from page 350. SILAS HIGLEY, the fifth child of Ozias, ist, and Martha (Gillette) Higley, was born in Granby, Conn., 1780. He was admitted freeman at Granby, September 21, 1801; and is recorded as hav- ing, on profession of his faith, become a member of the church at North Granby, October 21, 1804. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar while yet a young man, scarcely thirty. For more than forty years Judge Silas Higley practiced his profession in Hartford County, Connecticut, being many years on the bench, and " was honorably identified with the growth, organization, and management of the leading interests of the town." The public records show that few citizens were more prominent. Socially and intellectually by bench and bar, and from a legal standpoint, he was acknowledged everywhere as one of the foremost and distinguished men of the county. He married Melissa . Judge Silas Higley died June 21, 1853, and was interred in the Salmon Brook cemetery (Hartford County), where a handsome monumental shaft of granite honors his memory. His wife, Mrs. Melissa Higley, died May 16, 1856, aged seventy-four years and six months. They had four children, as follows : MARY THERESA, born February 22, 1808, who married James Case, M. D., October 5, 1830. Dr. and Mrs. Case were the parents of one son, William Case, a prominent lawyer who resides in Hartford. Mrs. Case died 1887. They resided in Salmon Brook, Conn. JOHN JAY, the second child of Judge Silas and Melissa Higley, born 1809, died April 6, 1826, aged 17. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 353 WILLIAM WILTSHIRE, their third child, was born 1819, and died September 14, 1820, aged eighteen months. JULIA MINERVA, their fourth child, born January, 1821, died September 29, 1822, aged one year and eight months. ANNIS HIGLEY, the sixth child of Ozias, ist, and Martha (Gillette) Higley (page 350), was born^ November 8, 1781. She became a member of the Granby church in 1802. January 6, 1806, she married Elnathan, son of Deacon Elnathan Strong, of Granby, Conn., who was sergeant in the i8th Militia Regiment in the Revolutionary War, Captain Samuel Hays' company. They settled on a farm in Granby, lived in good circumstances, and bore an excellent reputation in the community, being highly respected. They lost a number of children by death in infancy, only one living to mature years, who was named Annis Elizabeth, born November 19, 1816. She married John Burwell, and resided in Granby. Annis (Higley) Strong died November 17, 1842. Her husband survived her less than one month. He died of pneumonia, December 4, 1842. CHAPTER XLVII. ABIEL HIGLEY. Abiel, Ozias, ist, Captain Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 350. My advice is to consult the lives of other men as he would a looking-glass, and from them fetch examples for his own imitations. TERENCE. ABIEL HIGLEY, the seventh and youngest child of Ozias, ist, and Martha (Gillette) Higley, was born in West Granby, Hartford County, Conn., in the year 1789. His early life was spent in occupations incident to a Connecticut farm. It was no doubt during these years that he gained his ardent love for horses, which brought him in time to be an exceptionally fine horseman. In the year 1814 he married Prudence Crane of East Windsor, Conn., and took his young wife to his farm at West Granby. For a number of years he turned his attention somewhat away from farming, entering into a considerable business in the pur- chase of clocks and notions, which he shipped by coast vessels to North and South Carolina. During the winter months he traveled over these States selling his goods to the planters. He was one of the original " Yankee Clock Peddlers." There is no question but that these journeys led to the expan- sion of his mind, and enlarged his ideas of life beyond the narrow boundaries of the Connecticut farm that had been his foster-land from his birth, and may have been the indirect stimulus to an undertaking a few years later, to leave its hard soil and reach a country more fertile and favored. The successive births of six children brought his home- in a few years to be the abode of an interesting family. On the 4th of January, 1829, Abiel Higley and his wife together united, on profession of their faith, with the First Congregational Church of North Granby, and on the i2th of the July following they had a public baptism of their four children, " Henry Edwards, Sarah Cornelia, Harvey Grant, and Maria Louisa," who was then the youngest. Their eldest son, at the age of twenty-two, who had assisted DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 355 his father on his business tours in the Carolinas, craving a field of adventure in the then "far West," determined to satisfy it. Leaving the family home in Granby in the autumn of 1840, he made his way to the great prairie State of Illinois, of whose rich surface covered with deep black soil, ready to support its civilized millions, his forefathers, whose lives we have been tracing, never had dreamt. The enthusiastic letters of the son telling of the wonders of these broad unplowed prairies, together with business reverses, were the immediate cause of Abiel Higley undertaking removal westward. In the spring of 1841 he disposed of the farm at Granby, fitted up several teams, loaded into wagons a meager supply of the bare necessities for living, for this was before the days of Western railroads, and with his wife and six children, among whom was a married darghter and her husband, they set out on that old time two months' overland journey of privation and peril, from Hartford County, Connecticut, to the Mississippi River. The strict watchfulness which the church exercised over its members in those days is strikingly shown in its record concern- ing Mr. and Mrs. Higley. The minister was evidently not in sympathy with their movements, and taking occasion to adminis- tet reproof, he enters on his church book under date, "March i3th 1841 Abiel Higley, Admonished, W. W.," 1 and on the opposite page, " Abiel's wife admonished, W 7 . W." But onward they went; and there was no disappointment in their favor in the weariness and perils of the long trudging road. The journey was fraught with all the hardships incident to a journey of the magnitude accomplished in that way at that day. Arriving at Bloomington, 111., in July, they stopped there the remainder of the summer and the following winter. In the mean- while it was decided that their son, Henry E., should go to Marion, Linn County, la., and on the ist of April, 1842, Abiel and his family again set their faces westward and followed on. A two weeks' further travel brought them to their destination. The journey from Bloomington, 111., to Marion, la., in the early return of spring, was a difficult one, being just after the spring rains. The streams were overflowing their banks, the roads, which were but Indian trails over the broad unbroken prairies waving with tall grass, were at times almost impassable. No one 1 The interpretation of " W. W.," is watch withdrawn. 35 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. but a brave and resolute man would have attempted such a journey with a family. On the i5th of April, 1842, they arrived at the end of their long and weary march, Marion, the county-seat of Linn County, Iowa, which was at that time but a hamlet of twenty dwellings, includ- ing the rude log cabins. Here Abiel Higley decided to permanently settle, and pur- chased a farm just east of the town, which he at once began improving. Says his son, Major Mortimer A. Higley : " The country was very new. It was four years before Iowa was admitted into the Union as a State. Marion was but a few miles from the Indian line, and the Indians for many years were our friends and associates more than the white people. The tribe nearest was the Sacs and Fox tribe; in many respects a noble people. "The hardships and privations of this pioneer life can only be known and appreciated by those who experienced it. Luxuries we had none, and but few of the bare, rough necessities of life. " All the pioneers were moneyless. There was no money in the community. Whenever a settler had a wagon load of produce to sell, he was forced to haul it to Dubuque, seventy-five miles dis- tant, sleeping under his wagon at night and cooking his own food, then dispose of his whole wagon load for a few dollars. Dressed pork at that time sold for one dollar per hundred pounds, and it required eight hundred pounds of pork to buy a barrel of salt. " In our neighborhood it was impossible to sell any produce for cash. All business was done on the "dicker," or bartering, principle. There was not a sufficient amount of money to pay the taxes, though they were light. Warrants were issued by the county to pay its expenses, and the inhabitants, getting hold of these warrants, would trade or "dicker" them at the stores of general merchandise for the necessaries of life. And to pay their taxes they took their butter, eggs, wheat, oats, and corn to these stores and dickered them for goods, county warrants, etc., paying the amount due without using a dollar of currency. " I remember that letters often lay for weeks in the post office before we could afford twenty-five cents in cash to pay the postage. Postage was not prepaid in those days. And the mails, being slow and very irregular, and money so scarce, we seldom received letters, though we enjoyed hearing from our friends. We were far more pleased at receiving a newspaper than a letter, DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 357 the postage being much less on papers, and they often brought us more news than the letters contained, the margins being covered with writing. An ink was used which was legible only after it was exposed to the heat. " While there was a great proportion of the settlers honest, in- dustrious, enterprising men, there were a great many daring, dishonest adventurers who spent their lives stealing horses and manufacturing and passing counterfeit money. Lynch law was frequently practiced, and many a wretch was hurried into eternity without judge or jury. This was the only way that the honest settler could protect his family and his property." It was but five months after Abiel Higley's family was settled in this new country and new surroundings, that its members were called, under strange and sorrowful circumstances, to suffer a sore affliction in the death of the husband and father. Abiel Higley was stricken down with a serious illness in the month of Septem- ber, and died October 5, 1842; leaving his wife a stranger, far from the home of her childhood and kindred, with six children, and but a small allowance of this world's goods, the means which he had brought with him having been largely consumed by the purchase of the farm and its improvements. After his decease the balance was required to pay the bills consequent upon his illness and death. But Prudence Higley was brave and courageous. She met the emergency of the situation with firm resolution, keeping her young family together. Henry and Harvey, her two oldest sons, aided her to the best of their abilities. Major Higley states that "a contractor, who was supplying a distant United States fort Fort Atkinson with rations, engaged these two young men to haul these supplies across the wild prairies to the fort. This was a great undertaking, when it is taken into consideration that there were no roads, and no means for crossing the swollen streams except by swimming the 'horses and conveying the wagons and provisions over on rafts, which was not only laborious work, but at times was attended with ex- treme danger. "On one of these journeys they were overtaken by a violent storm in the midst of the wide prairie, many miles from their only protection, the timber that belted the banks of the streams. It was late in the day and darkness overtook them. The rain fell in torrents, and the only way they could keep to the dim trail was by the flashes of lightning, which was so vivid that the 35 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. young teamsters thought they could see a stream of electric light pass around the tires of the wagon wheels. At last they reached their camping-ground in safety, and as the party of teamsters sat around their camp-fire that night, even the profanest and most hardened of them acknowledged in his own rough way the terror of God's thunder-bolts." Mrs. Prudence Higley lived to fulfil her sacred life-trust in bringing up her family, receiving much compensation in her old age for her noble heroism, and finding herself surrounded by every comfort, coupled with the luxuries, of life which she desired. She died at Cedar Rapids, la., in the eightieth year of her age, January 4, 1878. It was of such as she that Judge Warren Higley spoke in his speech at the Higley Family reunion at Windham, O. : "Our mothers God bless them ! What do we not owe to them ! They gave us the best of their lives ; trained us to virtues that are brightest in our manhood ; inspired us .to noblest endeavor, and even encouraged us to walk in the pathway that leads to honorable achievement in our chosen avocations. In our weakness they tenderly cared for us. In our ignorance they taught us. In our discouragement they cheered us. In our successes and victories over difficulties they rejoiced with us. In our unbelief they lead us lovingly to the fountain of eternal life the source of all power, the Good. They taught us love of country, inspired us with hope and faith. When a noble son works his way up into the blaze of popular recognition, and commands distinguished honors from his countrymen, how gener- ally do we trace his virtues back to his mother's teachings to her who wisely sowed the precious seed in the garden of his youth. " The grandest virtues and noblest heroism of the mothers and sisters and wives and daughters, though exercised without ostentation, or the thought of public recognition, would, if known and faithfully recorded, make the brightest pages of history and do most honor to womanhood and manhood." Children of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley : Henry Edward, Sarah Cornelia, Harvey Grant, Louisa Maria, Wellington Wesley, Mortimer Abiel. HENRY EDWARD HIGLEY, the eldest child of Abiel and Pru- dence (Crane) Higley, was born at West Granby, Conn., July 15, 1818. When quite a lad he made journeys with his father when engaged in the sale of clocks in Virginia and the Carolinas. In 1840 he went to Bloomington, 111., and in 1842 he removed with his father and the family, who had come from Connecticut, to Marion, la., where for a number of years he was engaged with his brother Harvey in the manufacture of fanning mills. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 359 He married Mary N. Morgan of West Granby, July 29, 1845, the affection for each other having been cherished since their schooldays, when but children. He brought his young wife to his Western home at Marion ; but in less than one year, April 22, 1846, she died in childbirth. Her baby son survived her but a few months. Soon after the decease of his wife he removed to Cedar Rapids, engaging there in selling merchandise. In 1849, gld having been discovered in immense quantities in California, he was led in feverish excitement to join in company with a party of reso- lute and brave men, and cross the plains to the Pacific Coast, a three months' journey full of peril in those days. Arriving at Sacramento in the autumn, he was soon busily employed in min- ing, and in conveying goods and mining supplies by pack-load upon the backs of mules up into the mountainous regions. This he continued till 1851, when he returned by the way of Panama to Cedar Rapids, la., and again entered into a partnership with his brother, Harvey Grant Higley, in merchandising, at which he remained till the close of his life. In 1853 he married for his second wife, Hannah E. Emery of Dingman's Ferry, Pa. They had two children, a son, Edward ., and a daughter, Mary ., born 1855; the latter died in child- hood, February 6, 1863. Henry Edward Higley died August 6, 1868. His wife is still living. EDWARD EMERY HIGLEY, their son, born September, 1853, married in Chicago, 111., December 29, 1885, Georgia A Brogdin of Toronto, Canada. He resides at the town of Higley, Orange County, Fla., which he founded, and where he has large interests. He is engaged in mercantile pursuits, and holds the appointment of postmaster. Continued front fage 358. SARAH CORNELIA HIGLEY KENDALL, the second child of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, was born at West Granby, Conn. May 21, 1822, and married Albert Kendall of Granby, November 9, 1840. They removed to Bloomington, 111., the spring follow- ing their marriage 1841 going westward in company with her father's family. Here they resided a few years, and then re- moved to Marion, la. Mr. Kendall was by trade a wagon-maker, carrying on the business while a resident at Bloomington, and for many years at 360 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Marion. He did a profitable business making sales throughout the State in its early history. Later in life he engaged in the hardware business. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Kendall was specially noted for its warm hospitality. There was a never-failing cordiality offered their guests, which will ever linger in the memory of those who were privileged to be entertained beneath their roof. In this respect it was an ideal home. Albert Kendall died January, 1876. His wife, Sarah C. (Higley) Kendall, died December 8, 1888, at Marion, la. Their children : WILLIAM ALBERT KENDALL, the eldest, was born at Marion, la., April 4, 1847. He married, November 18, 1875, Jennie E. Frantz of Burlington, a native of Penn- sylvania. They reside at Burlington, la., Mr. Kendall holding a responsible position as General Agent for the B. C. R. & N. Railroad Company, an office which he has faithfully and honorably rilled for more than twenty years. They have two children, both born at Burlington, viz.: Leslie, a daughter, born July 21, 1879, and Reginald IV., born September 3, 1884. WELLINGTON JEROME KENDALL, the second son of Albert and Sarah (Higley) Kendall, was born May 19, 1851. He married December 25, 1873, Emma E. Brancht at Findley, O. They reside at Marion, la. At the time of his father's death he was his partner in the hardware firm, and was his successor in business. He was well known as an active, keen-sighted, and successful business man. Hav- ing prospered and acquired a competency, he retired in recent years from active business life. They are the parents of two children, viz. : Carl W., born April 5, 1881, and Alberta, born July 25, 1877. HARVEY GRANT HIGLEY, the third child of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, was born at West Granby, Conn., September i, 1824. In figure and features he bore close resemblance to the maternal side of the family, but inherited strong characteristics of his father; among which was the great fondness he early betrayed for horses. This continued a part and parcel of his nature throughout his whole life. When but a boy of seventeen he drove a four-horse team from Granby, Conn., to Marion, la., no small undertaking. Though he never entered the turf, he was a practical horseman, and always fond of driving. His good judgment and excellent handling of horses, in which few have excelled, was well-known in all circles. At one time, in addition to his regular business, he was the owner of a large stable of horses, of which he never permitted one to be overdone or jaded. Until the year 1847 he was engaged in a partnership with his DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 361 elder brother, Henry, in the manufacture of fanning mills. He then removed to Cedar Rapids, engaging in mercantile pursuits, in which he continued till within a few years of his death. The last years of his life were given to the care of his real estate, and improving the same. Some of the finest blocks in that city are monuments testifying to his enterprise and public spirit. Harvey Grant Higley married, November 7, 1849, Anna Bishop of Bristol, Conn. He died June 23, 1878. His wife survives him. They were the parents of five children, viz.: Henry Grant, Elmer Abiel, Mortimer John, Louis Karl, and Albert Harvey. HENRY GRANT HIGLEY, the eldest, was born in Cedar Rapids, la., February 16, 1851. He married, October 28, 1875, Ella M. Nye, who was born in Boston, Mass. His business is that of florist, owing a fine business house, also extensive gardens, which are pleasantly situated on the bluffs commanding the southern suburbs of the city of Cedar Rapids. Both he and his wife gained considerable note for original and highly artistic designs in floral decorations. They have three children living, viz.: Henry G., Jr,, born February 4, 1880; Louis Karl, born June n, 1886 ; and Ella ; all of whom were born in Cedar Rapids. Three children died in infancy. ELMER ABIEL HIGLEY, the second son of Harvey Grant and Anna (Bishop) Higley, was born at Cedar Rapids, la., November 19, 1856. He married, Decem- ber 29, 1880, Helen L. Olds, who was from Vermont. Mr. Higley is the senior member of the firm of Elmer A. Higley & Co., wholesale dealers in eggs, butter, poultry, beef, and veal. They are the owners of large cold storage warehouses in Cedar Rapids, in which they store these products in great quantities, holding them till the market is ready for their sale, and doing an extensive busi- ness. During the year 1891 Elmer A. Higley 'and his brother, Mortimer John Higley, who are managers of the estate of their father, Harvey G. Higley, erected a fine business block, corner of Third Avenue and Second Street, Cedar Rapids, at a cost, including the lot, of eighty-seven thousand dollars, which, in honor of their old Connecticut ancestral town, they call " The Granby." It stands as a handsome monument to Harvey Grant Higley, who for many years contributed to the progress and improvement of this enterprising city. Elmer A. and Helen (Olds) Higley are the parents of three children, all born in Cedar Rapids, viz.: Harvey Douglas, born July 16, 1882 ; Donald Sturges, born October 14, 1884, who died December 6, 1886 ; and Fred Mitchel, born April 16, 1888. MORTIMER JOHN HIGLEY, the third son of Harvey Grant and Anna (Bishop) Higley, was born at Cedar Rapids, la., October 25, 1861. He is the junior partner of the firm of E. A. Higley & Co., and assumes the charge of the office and financial interests of the firm. He married at Burlington, la., October 10, 1883, Ida Nelson of that city. They have one child Hazel Higley, born July 20, 1885. 362 THE II IG LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ALBERT HARVEY HIGLEY, the fifth son of Harvey Grant and Anna (Bishop) Hlgley, was born in Cedar Rapids, la. , September 29, 1872. He received his education in the city schools of his native town, and afterward attended Kempter Hall, Davenport, la. He married, February 23, 1892, Mary, daughter of H. B. and Susan Stibbs of Cedar Rapids. They reside in Lexington, Ky. Continued from page 358. LOUISA MARIA HIGLEY, the second daughter and fourth child of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, was born at West Granby, Conn., April 10, 1827. She was a girl of fourteen at the time her parents turned their faces westward. On the 2 ;th of November, 1844, she married, at Marion, la., William Greene of Burlington, in that State, to which place she went to reside with her husband. Mr. Greene was at the time engaged in book-binding, being the first man who engaged in this business in Iowa. He met with success, and did the binding for the Territory, Iowa not hav- ing yet become a State when he began the business. In 1846 he removed with his family to Cedar Rapids, being among the very first comers to the place, and was one of the first to open a mer- cantile business, his brothers, Judge George Greene and Joseph, being partners in the firm. Possessed of enterprise and great natural ability, and seeing avenues then opening in the new State for money-making, as well as the possibilities for its development and improvement, he was one of the leading and foremost men in bringing the State of Iowa up to her present advanced and remarkable condition of prosperity, and for many years was widely known in business circles. In the year 1857 Mr. Greene, associated with his brother, Judge Greene, entered into the banking business, having branch houses in several of the prominent centers of the State Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Cedar Falls, Vinton, and Sioux City. In 1863 they turned their attention to constructing and operat- ing railroads, Mr. Greene personally superintending the building of the McGregor Western Railroad. They built the Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and North Railroad, having the management of the latter until 1873. No undertaking seemed too great for William Greene, and no public enterprise was started in Cedar Rapids during many years of its history about which he was not consulted. His life was DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 363 identified with the whole life of the young city. He was a man of exceeding liberality and great kindness of heart: the poor were never turned away empty-handed. He never entered politics. When, in the early history of the city, it was determined to organize the parish of Grace Church, he was made a member of the vestry, although a very young man, and filled the office of senior warden for thirty-seven years, only laying down the office when he left this life. For many years he was a faithful com- municant of the church. Mr. Greene was born in Staffordshire, England, January 25, 1819, but, from two years of age, was reared and educated at Buffalo, N. Y. He died March 28, 1887. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Greene was conspicuous for its elegance and its unbounded hospitality. Louisa M. Higley, the wife, mother, and hostess, for more than forty years was her hus- band's confidante and the sharer of his inner life, bearing with him the "heat and burden" of his successful activities in the business world. They were the parents of ten children, as follows : The eldest, George Higley, was born at Burlington, la., October 29, 1845. He married Charlotte Backus at Independence, la., and had three children : William, Henry, and Nellie. He was a railroad man and lived at Denison, Tex. He died at St. Paul, Minn., February, 1892. The second child, Sefer Prudence, was born at Cedar Rapids, May 16, 1848, and married Peter Martel, a native of Syracuse, N. Y. They have three children, all born at Cedar Rapids : Mary, Barbara, and Sefer. Mrs. Martel died at Cedar Rapids, May 5, 1889. The third child, William Wellington, was born at Cedar Rapids, April 13, 1850. His wife was Fannie Patterson. They have one child, Nellie. He is a farmer and lives near his native place. The fourth child, Frank Higley, was born at Cedar Rapids, October 29, 1854. He married Rosa James, and lives on a farm near that city. They have four children, namely : Maud, Louise, Everilt, Nellie. The fifth child, Mary Boardman, was born at Cedar Rapids, October 2O, 1856 ; she married Willis P. McCreary, an attorney-at-law. They reside at Hastings, Neb., and have three children: Mary and Willis, born at Cedar Rapids, and Dorethea, born at Hastings, Neb. The sixth child, Charles Mortimer, was born at Cedar Rapids, October 29, 1858. He married Emma Troxel of Burlington, la. They have two children, both born at Burlington : William Troxel and Fannie. Charles M. Greene died at Cedar Rapids, December 25, 1889. The seventh child, Sarah L., was born in Cedar Rapids, November I, 1860, and married J. Fred. Kimbal of Council Bluffs, la., where they now reside. They have no children. Mr. Kimbal is a banker and real estate operator. 364 THE H1GLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The eighth child, Robert Abiel, was born in Cedar Rapids, January 18, 1862. He married Edna Smith at Douglas, Wyo., where they now reside. They have no children. He was graduated at the Iowa University in civil engineering. The ninth child, Fannie Jane, was born in Cedar Rapids, September 3, 1867, and married, October 30, 1890, Chas. T. West. They now reside in Cedar Rapids. The tenth and last child, Albert Joseph, was born in Cedar Rapids, August 27, 1868, and married Florence Burr, March, 1890. His wife died the following April. He resides with his mother in Cedar Rapids, la. Continued from page 358. WELLINGTON WESLEY HIGLEY, the third son and fifth child of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, was born in West Granby, Conn., July 14, 1831. He was about eleven years of age when his father removed, with his family, to the fine and fertile Territory of Iowa, this country being at the time of their coming yet the scene of border life. From his youth he has participated in the successive stages of advancement through which the prosperous State, with its growing cities and towns, has passed. The progress of this new realm of civilization, which lay in the heart of the great rolling prairies of the central United States, has been one of remarkable advance. The only laborers in those times were the settlers and their sons, and every man and boy had his share in extending his helping hand toward the proud results of honest labor. Personally, in general bearing, facially, and in leading charac- teristics, he is the most pronounced Higley of his branch of the family. He is a man of decided opinions, and possesses the courage to maintain them; of fine business ability and rare judgment, and has achieved an exceptional reputation, winning his way in life with marked success as an honorable business man. Elastic in temperament, quick-witted, and with a ready answer to any question, linked to a delightful sense of humor, Mr. Higley is popular at all social gatherings. He gained some knowledge of business life in Burlington, la., in 1844, and came finally to Cedar Rapids, where in 1846 he entered the mercantile house of his brother-in-law, William Greene, as a clerk, remaining till the year 1856. He soon rose to be the manager of the establishment. The trade of the house was in its early days largely with the Sac and Fox Indians, and to this day the descendants of those Indians come to his place of business to inquire for him. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY,\ST. 365 The year 1856 found him engaged in the lumber trade, under the firm name of Higley & Carroll, and about the year 1858 he, with J. C. McClelland as partner, was the owner of large stables. In the autumn of 1859, in company with his two older brothers, Henry and Harvey Higley, he entered the dry goods trade, in which he continued till the year 1866, when he became the pur- chaser of a partnership with his younger brother, Mortimer A. Higley, in a hardware and stove house. This house is still doing an active and successful business. Wellington W. Higley was largely instrumental in organizing and founding the Merchants' National Bank of Cedar Rapids, and was one of the original directors. He also lent his aid in organizing the Security Savings Bank, and has been one of its directors since its organization. Oak Hill Cemetery, lying southeast of the city, where the citizens lay their dead, " Who hath awakened from this dream of life," is a spot triumphant in rural beauty, of which they are justly proud. To its improvements and adornments Mr. Higley has given much careful attention, having been for many years a lead- ing director, the treasurer, and superintendent of the grounds. He married, April 8, 1858, in Cedar Rapids, Jane E. Farnum, who was born in Millbury, Mass. They are the parents of three children, viz.: Jessie ., Charles Wellington, and William Mortimer. JESSIE E., the eldest, was born September 17, 1861, in Cedar Rapids, la., and married, November 23, 1887, Eugene A. Regley, M. D. Dr. Regley was gradu- ated at the Chicago Medical College, and attended colleges in New York City and Europe in the line of his specialty the eye, ear, and throat. He ranks as one of the most skillful practitioners in the State. They have one child, a son, born December 9, 1888, who bears the given name of his grandfather, Wellington Higley Regley. CHARLES WELLINGTON, the second child of Wellington W. and Jennie E. (Farnum) Higley, was born March 18, 1 866. He received his education at Coe College, in his native town, after which he traveled abroad. He is now engaged as special agent and adjuster for the Underwriters' Insur- ance Company of New York, his territory embracing Iowa, Minnesota, and Wis- consin. He resides in Minneapolis, Minn. WILLIAM MORTIMER, the third and youngest child of Wellington W. and Jennie (Farnum) Higley, was born July 24, 1874. He is pursuing his studies in the high school in Cedar Rapids. 366 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. MORTIMER ABIEL HIGLEY, the sixth child and fourth son of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, was born at West Granby, Conn., April 12, 1838. His memory scarcely reaches back to the time of the removal of his parents to Iowa in 1842, when he was but four years of age. He received his education at the common schools at Marion and Cedar Rapids, which he attended till the age of fourteen. From this time till he was seventeen, he was gaining experience in the elements of a business life in the mercantile house of his older brothers in Cedar Rapids, the family having removed to this place in the year 1849. At Waverly, la., in 1855, he obtained a situation as clerk in a store of general merchandise, continuing here till the year 1857, when he went to Neosho Falls, Woodson County, Kan., and re- mained one year, seeing much of rough border life. In July, 1857, he returned to Cedar Rapids, and entered the employ of W. B. Mack, a wholesale grocer, serving his superior well, and remaining in this position till the beginning of the Civil War. During this period he held the office of city recorder, which he resigned when going into the army. The Civil War gave Mortimer A. Higley an opportunity to show the mettle of which he was constituted. Determined to enter the contest, he made a record for himself by securing a commission to raise a company of infantry on the call for troops. He at once recruited about forty men and took them to Lyons, la., there consolidating them with a company but partly recruited, which was then assigned as Company A, i5th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and which became the first company of the regiment. In this he enlisted September 17, 1861, and was promoted to the first lieutenancy the 28th of the following October. The i5th Iowa left camp, taking a boat down the Mississippi River, March 19, 1862. It was a stormy, gloomy day. "Many sad hearts were left behind," says the historian of the regiment, " but everyone felt that if the i5th should find the opportunity, it would give a good account of itself, and inscribe its name high on the roll of fame." And so it came to pass. None who follow the history of its conspicuous record, taking its place in the oldest brigade in the Army of the Tennessee, can fail to do hom- age to its pre-eminent usefulness and noble service to our country in her time of danger. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 3&7 Of Lieutenant Mortimer Higley, says General Belknap: "He was a very efficient officer up by daylight or before, and watch- ful of the interests and necessities of the men. He was a soldier and a real hero." February 20, 1862, Lieutenant Higley was promoted to the position of quartermaster of his regiment, and in August, 1862, was assigned to the staff of General E. O. C. Ord, commanding the district of Corinth, as acting commissary of subsistence. He was assigned to the staff of General McKean, as quarter- master of the 6th Division of the Army of the Tennessee, Octo- ber 4, 1862, and to the staff of General James B. McPherson, as acting commissary of subsistence of the left wing of the Army of the Tennessee, November i, 1862. His ability was so promptly recognized in the department that he was recommended for promotion as commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain, to which position President Lincoln appointed him, November 28, 1862, and he was assigned to the staff of General J. B. McPherson, as chief commissary of sub- sistance, i;th Corps, Army of the Tennessee. In January, 1864, an officer of the subsistence department of higher rank was assigned to the lyth Corps, and Captain Higley was assigned to the staff of General J. M. Tuttle, as depot com- missary of subsistence at Cairo, 111., until the following April, when he was ordered to report to General C. C. Washburn at Memphis, Tenn., with whom he was to have made the march with Sherman's army through the Confederacy. Serious illness, how- ever, prevented General Washburn from going upon this invasion, and Captain Higley was assigned as depot commissary of sub- sistence at Memphis, supplying all troops with commissary stores from Memphis to Corinth, Miss. Captain Higley was in the heat of active service at the battle of Shiloh, Miss., when his regiment "went through its bloody baptism," on April 6 and 7, 1862. For three hours the 15th Iowa maintained its position, "the men fighting like veterans," though they were but two weeks in the field, and 'twas the first time they had been under fire. After the battle only 407 an- swered at roll-call, out of 1045 noble men. Seventeen officers were among the killed and wounded. General Belknap again remarks of Captain Higley: "Though his position did not call for it, he was found in the midst of danger, rallying the scattered men, and regardless of peril." 368 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. And in his official report of the battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862, General Thos. J. McKean, commanding 6th Division, i3th Army Corps, uses these words: " Acting Division Quartermaster M. A. Higley performed his arduous duties in a very intelligent manner; has always shown himself reliable, and was fearless and indefatigable." The official report of the colonel commanding, Colonel Hugh T. Reid, in his report of the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, gives him no less praise and credit for "the masterly manner in which he per- formed his arduous duties on the field and elsewhere during the fight." At the battle of Corinth Lieutenant Colonel Belknap, then the colonel commanding, registers "Quartermaster Higley" in his official returns as among "the officers whose gallant conduct came under my especial observation." When Belknap came to fill the office of United States Secretary of War, he ever after honored Higley by the title of " major," by which he has since been known. On returning from the army, July, 1863, Major Higley again settled into active business life in Cedar Rapids, la., and became prominent in mercantile and financial circles. The year of 1864 found him in partnership with P. W. Zigler, engaged in the hardware business. In 1866 his partner sold his interest in the firm to Wellington W. Higley, a brother of the subject of this sketch, and the firm, which speedily built up a large and successful business, has since been known as Higley & Brother. On the i8th of April, 1883, he was elected president of the Mer- chants' National Bank of Cedar Rapids, which holds a supremacy of capital over all other banks in the county. This position he is holding at the present time (1892). Major Higley is public-spirited. In connection with his brother he has been a man of no ordinary importance in the current affairs of their city. Since the year 1875 he has been a member of the Board of Education, having from that time served continuously, and more than once has held the position of its president. To him is given much of the credit for the new and finely constructed high-school building which has been recently erected (1891) in Cedar Rapids, a thoroughly equipped educational center, which, states a cor- DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, 1ST. 369 respondent, "stands as a monument to the energy and persist- ence of Major M. A. Higley, who, as chairman of the building committee, has voluntarily devoted months of unremitting atten- tion to this labor of love." Major Higley is also vice president and treasurer of the Cedar Rapids Gas Works. Social life he enjoys in many of its aspects. Being possessed of fine intelligence, a genial good nature, he is endeared to a very wide circle; his highest and finest qualities shining most con- spicuously in his devotion to his home. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the 32d degree, and is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Perhaps the most distinguished honor that has been conferred upon Major Higley, was being elected Commander of the military order of the Loyal Legion ' of the United States, Commandery of the State of Iowa. This high position he held two years, 1888-89, after already having filled a term of service as junior and senior vice commander. Major Mortimer A. Higley's first marriage took place February 19, 1863, with Lucy L. Sheet, who was born in Wattsburg, Erie County, Pa., August 20, 1844. Her father, David F. Sheet, be- came one of the early settlers of Kane County, Illinois, while she was yet a child, and near Aurora she grew to womanhood. The marriage took place on the farm where the family resided. It came about after a romantic fashion, during the Civil War, while Major Higley was on duty, stationed at Cairo, 111., chief commissary of subsistence, Army of the Tennessee. Having a lower Mis- sissippi boat for his commissary depot, well furnished and equipped for comfortable living, he suddenly conceived the idea of bring- ing his fiancee ', from Northern Illinois, to his headquarters as his wife. The unexpected proposition for an immediate marriage was accepted. With General Tuttle's permission, a brief leave of absence was taken, Major Higley returning in a few days with his bride. They took up their temporary abode on the 1 The military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States was instituted at the time of the death of President Lincoln ; patterned after, and with similar purposes, as the honorable Order of the Society of Cincinnati organized by General Washington and officers of the Revolutionary War. It bears at the head of its roll of members, all of whom have died since its organization, Gen- erals Grant, Sheridan, who was commander-in-chief of the order, Hancock, McClellan, Logan, and a long list of others, whose acts and lives are an important part of the history of our common country." 37 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. steamer deck, where the young wife remained three months, until Major Higley was ordered to report to General Washburn at Memphis. From the beginning of their life together, Mortimer A. and Lucy Higley found great happiness in each other, the union prov- ing singularly congenial and fraught with reciprocal sympathy. Mrs. Higley was endowed with many gifts for making all those about her happy; animated, full of kindly hospitality, generously forgetful of self, hopeful and strong, her presence was always a cheer. Yet she was by no means a neutral character. She had quick intelligence, and thoughts of her own, but these were never obtruded to excite friction. In the year 1868 she united with the Second Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, and became one of its most willing and faithful supporters, " seeming," says her pastor, " to make its work and progress a constituent part of her being." Possess- ing a fine contralto voice, she for many years devoted much time to the choir of the church, and was its first organist. Later on she was chairman of the music committee. Her wide acquaintance in society, her cordiality as hostess, her activities in church and benevolent circles, her winning and love- able ways toward all classes of people, caused the whole city to be strangely moved with an indiscribable feeling of general sorrow, when she suddenly " went to her heavenly home," March 30, 1892. " She allured to heaven And led the way." Her last illness, which was brief, seized her while she was absent from her pleasant home and accustomed paths in life, visiting an invalid sister in the city of Chicago. It was in that city that Heaven's home-call came and she was not; for the angel of the Eternal took her. To the lonely home-hearts it was left only to dwell upon the thought of the added graces that are hers in the realms of light. Her earthly remains were brought to her bereaved home at Cedar Rapids, from which the funeral obsequies took place, Sun- day the 3d of April, amid her grief-stricken family and a large concourse of sorrowing friends and citizens. The interment was in the beautiful grounds at Oak Hill. The funeral ceremo- DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH H1GLEY, \ST. 37 1 nies were conducted by her friend and pastor, the Rev. J. R. Fowler, D. D. " Have we not caught that smiling On some beloved face, As if some heavenly sound were wiling The soul from our earthly place, The distant sound and sweet Of the Master's coming feet ? " The following Sabbath the auditorium of the Second Presby- terian Church was filled to overflowing on the occasion of a mem- orial service held specially in commemoration of Mrs. Higley's valuable services in noble Christian philanthropy and the influence she exerted by her warm-hearted Christian zeal in every good word and work. It was an impressive occasion; the holy joy of a great grief was upon all hearts that day. The choir, for the interests of which she had loved and labored, and with which the power of her melodious voice had so often revealed her own inner self, rendered in solemn tenderness, " Come Unto Me," " Sometime We Shall Understand," and other choice selections; the Rev. Dr. Fowler delivered an earnest address from Acts ix. 40: " Tabitha, arise," not alone setting forth Mrs. Higley's many virtues, but laying it upon his hearers to see to it that the work which she had left as a sacred trust should not be allowed to die; that " the seed she had sown and the things she had lived for," were the true ministry of life which build an enduring monument. On the 4th of February, 1895, Major Higley married, in Phila- delphia, Mrs. Jennette Robertson Nicholas. Major Mortimer and Lucy L. (Sheet) Higley were the parents of four children, viz.: Mary Louisa, Carrie J., Flora Blanche, and Mortimer Albert. MARY LOUISA HIGLEY, the eldest, was born in Cedar Rapids, la., April 24, 1866. She was graduated from Coe College in her native city, June 16, 1887, receiving a diploma. She married A. F. Matschke, October 27, 1887. Mr. Matschke was born in Brooklyn, N. Y. At the time of his marriage he had charge of the business of the United States Express Company in eastern Iowa. His health becoming impaired, they went to Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, in 1888, where they resided two years. They now live in Minneapolis, Minn. They have one child, a son, named Mortimer Higley Matschke, born June 18, 1890. CARRIE J. HIGI.EY, the second child of Major Mortimer A. and Lucy (Sheet) Higley, was born in Cedar Rapids, la., May 5, 1869. She married William Water- 37 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, house Dimond, November 8, 1886. Mr. Dimond was born in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, and is the son of General W. H. Dimond of San Francisco, Cal., director of the United States Mint, and grandson of John Thomas Waterhouse, an English subject and extensive merchant and landowner, who went to Honolulu in 1848. They reside at Honolulu. FLORENCE BLANCHE HIGLEY, the third child of Major M. A. and Lucy (Sheet) Higley, was born in Cedar Rapids, la., July 17, 1875. She was graduated from the high school of Cedar Rapids, and is at present (1895) a student at Dana Hall, Boston, intending to pass the entire course of Wellesley College. MORTIMER ALBERT HIGLEY, the youngest child and only son of Major M. A. and Lucy (Sheet) Higley, was born in Cedar Rapids, February 23, 1881, and died of German measels, followed by peritonitis, May I, 1888, aged seven years and two months. He was a bright, hopeful, kindly child, full of good cheer and noble impulses, with the promise of a useful life foreshadowed in his unusual intelligence. His departure brought a deep shadow into the stricken home, leaving a lasting furrow in the heart of his fond father. " And he asked, Who gathered this flower? And the gardener answered, The Master ! And his fellow-servant held his peace." ' 1 From a tombstone, Burdock churchyard, England. CHAPTER XLVIII. SIMEON HIGLEY. Continued from page 286. Simeon, ist, Captain Joseph, ist, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. SIMEON HIGLEY, the fifth child and youngest son of Captain Joseph Higley and his second wife, Sarah Case, was born in the year 1751. Of his childhood and youth we find no mention. At the age of twenty, December 17, 1771, he married Margaret Phelps, the daughter of Phelps and Martha Loomis. They appear to have first settled in that part of Simsbury which is now Granby, where they both united with the old Congregational Church on profession of their faith, October 10, 1773. Simeon is found later on, having a moderate supply of cider brandy distilled at his uncle, Deacon Brewster Higley, 2d's, cider still. On March 26, 1777, Simeon Higley enlisted in the War of the Revolution, Colonel Belden's regiment, Connecticut Militia, Captain Abel Pettibone's company. The terms of service of these soldiers were generally of short periods, the men re-enlist- ing. Phelps in his history states, " Of enlisted men for the army, few, if any, of the towns furnished a larger number than did the town of Simsbury." How long Simeon and Margaret Higley resided in Granby cannot be ascertained. His father, Captain Joseph Higley, by his will devised him his home farm in Higley-town, and also made him one of his executors. The farm came into his possession in 1790. Here they resided a few years, removing their church- letter to Simsbury parish. About the year 1798 Simeon sold the old home farm, and pur- chased a farm at South Canaan, Litchfield County, Conn., to which place he removed with his family, the mother of his wife accompanying them. He was now forty-seven years of age and was the father of a family. It is recorded of Simeon Higley that " he was an exemplary Christian, and was chosen deacon of the church when yet a young man." it 373 374 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. For more than twenty years the mother of Margaret Phelps Higley resided with her son-in-law, receiving tenderest care as she neared and passed the one hundredth mile-stone of life. Simeon Higley died October 30, 1822. His wife, Margaret Phelps, who was born November 16, 1747, survived him twenty- eight years. She was of a long-lived race, her mother, as already stated, living to the prolonged period of one hundred and one years. Margaret Higley lived to the extraordinary age of one- hundred and two years and four months, and her daughter Margaret's age, at her decease, was ninty-nine years and eight months. Her daughter Sarah lived to ninty-one years and six months. Margaret Phelps Higley died March n, 1850. In 1847 the centennial anniversary of her birth was celebrated with interesting observances, by neighbors and friends. "She was now as erect as a girl of eighteen," says the Rev. H. Good- win of Canaan, <: and exceedingly active in person, walking quite a distance to visit a neighbor shortly before. Until ninety years of age she walked to church, a distance of more than a mile. Her hearing was not greatly impaired, and her second sight had come and gone, but with the aid of spectacles she read without much difficulty, and sometimes did a little fine needle-work. She retained her judgment, and expressed her opinion in reference to the concerns of the house and farm and the movements of society. She obtained considerable knowledge of current events, in addi- tion to remembering those long ago passed; conversed readily and intelligently with visitors, enjoying the society of both the old and young, and manifested an interest in all that related to her church as well as public affairs. She sometimes suffered from rheumatism, which, however, did not seem to prey upon the vitality of her constitution." On this interesting anniversary the venerable woman stood quite alone in her generation. All had disappeared. The neigh- bors and friends of her youth, her companions and kindred, had all gone from the earth, leaving her in the midst of a new genera- tion. She had closed the eyes of many valued friends, and con- signed to the grave many a loved form. "If now," says Mr. Goodwin, "when she knows she must soon be removed, she had no prospect of a home and friends and the bliss of love in another life, how would her joys all wither ! " Mrs. Higley lived after this birthday event, two years and three months, a picturesque figure of her time. DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH HIGLEY, \ST. 375 Simeon and Margaret Higley had seven children as follows: Clarissa, Simeon, born March 31, 1777, died February 17, 1778; Margaret, SaraTi, Diadama, Simeon, zd, and Henry. Of this family three died within five months of each other, aged respectively ninety years and six months, ninety-nine years and eight months, and eighty years. The others who lived to matur- ity, died at the ages of sixty-nine, eighty-two, and eighty-five years. CLARISSA HIGLEY, the eldest, born November 30, 1772, married Ezekiel Haskins of Simsbury. They removed to Canaan, Conn., where she died March 16, 1854. Their children were, viz. : ZILPAH, born November 27, 1795, who married Henry Post, May, 1830. She died in Canaan, September 17, 1871. JULIA, born April 14, 1798 ; married John B. Reed, February 8, 1828. She died July 17, 1836. EMELINE, born May 22, 1800 ; married Frederic Fenn, December 25, 1823 ; she died at Canaan, Conn., December 25, 1875. Their descendants removed to Lan- caster, Pa. CHARLOTTE, born June II, 1804; married Frederick Lowery, bctober r, 1823; died at Lee, Mass., January 29, 1865. But one of her descendants is living: Can- field Lowery, who resides in California. MELISSA, born June 20, 1806; married Ormil Brinton, February it, 1837; died at Canaan, April n, 1886. Had two children : Julia and Frederick. Frederick was a soldier and died in the Civil War. MARYF.TTE, born June 7, 1808 ; married Nathaniel Brinton, May 22, 1836. SEYMOUR, born March 3, 1813 ; married Abia Deming, March 7, 1839 ; died at Canaan, August 18, 1883. SARAH G., born April ir, 1815 ; married Theodore Prentice, September r, 1841 ; died August 17, 1881. MARGARET HIGLEY, the third child of Simeon and Margaret Phelps Higley, was born January 28, 1779, and died August 15, 1878, aged ninety-nine years and eight months. SARAH HIGLEY, the fourth child of Simeon and Margaret Higley, was born September 25, 1781, and became the second wife of Alpheus Hays of Granby, Conn., in 1809 ; his first wife having been her cousin, Betsey Higley, daughter of Ozias. As has been heretofore stated, the Hon. Alpheus Hays was Represen- tative from Granby to the Connecticut Legislature, 1821-23. He died in 1828. His wife lived in widowhood forty-four years. She spent the last years of her life at Washington, Pa., removing thither with her youngest daughter, Mrs. McKinley, with whom she had her home. Mrs. Sarah (Higley) Hays was a member of tbe Presbyterian Church from 1829, forty-three years. " She took great delight," says her pastor, the Rev. James I. Brownson, D. D., "in the word of God, and in the society of religious people. Her faithful words and deeds, her sympathy and prayers, and her Christian ex- ample will ever live in the hearts of those who knew her, and of her children." The last three years of her life she was mostly confined to her bed, under the natural infirmities of age, which brought her slowly and gently down to the end of this earth-life. She died March 30, 1872, aged ninety years and six months. 37 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The Hon. Alpheus and Sarah (Higley) Hays were the parents of seven children, all born in West Granby, Conn. Their sons and daughter Margaret, resided at Washington, Pa. The children are as follows : GEORGE HAYS, who married Carolina Wilcox of West Granby. EDWARD, born August 9, 1815, married Rhoda Kendall, August 5, 1839. She was born October 17, 1815 ; had children. FREDERICK, born December 25, 1817 ; married Mary E. Redilion, June 5, 1855. She was born November 20, 1827 ; had four children. CHARLES and MORGAN, twins, born March 13, 1820; Charles married, first, Sophia B. Koomby, September 2, 1846, who died October 15, 1854 ; second wife, Margaret Fleming, married June 9, 1857, and had eight children. Morgan married, December 23, 1845, Sarah J. Wilson. She was born June 3, 1828 ; had nine children, three of whom died in infancy. His eldest son, William, died January 20, 1872, aged twenty-six. SARAH, of whom no further mention is made. MARGARET, born May 15, 1829; married Alexander McKinley of Washington, Pa., April 27, 1852. He was born January 4, 1817. She died in Christian hope, March 5, 1871. They had eight children. DIADEMA HIGLEY, the fifth child of Simeon and Margaret Phelps Higley, was born April 30, 1784, and died, unmarried, at Canaan, Conn., August 6, 1853. SIMEON HIGLEY, 2d, the second child of his parents by this name, and the sixth child of Simeon and Margaret Phelps Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn. October 17, 1786 ; married Wealthy Noble, daughter of Matthew Noble, February 22, 1822. She was born February 7, 1794. He died December i, 1871. Their children : ELIZABETH, born December 14, 1822, married Charles B. Maltbie, M. D., of Norfolk, Conn., May 22, 1848. The children of Dr. and Elizabeth (Higley) Maltbie were : Seraph Elizabeth, born May 18, 1852 ; married Lee P. Dean of Canaan, Conn. Mary Alice, born October 7, 1854 ; married Willard S. Brown ; reside in Falls Village, Conn. Charles^ born September 22, 1858 ; died Jannary 4, 1878. C. Belle, born January 27, 1867. The children of Lee P. Dean, are Lee Maltbie, born May 16, 1875 ; Willard Parker, born October a, 1879 ; Henry Charles, born June 8, 1885 ; Olive Elizabeth, born June 6, 1886. MARY, the second daughter of Simeon Higley, Jr. , and Wealthy Noble, was born July 20, 1825 ; married Chester Holcombe of Canaan, Conn., May 26, 1847. Children : Margaret Higley Holcombe, born March 23, 1856 ; married, 1877, Burritt Yale of Cornwall, Conn. HENRY HIGLEY, the seventh and youngest child of Simeon and Margaret Phelps Higley, was born July 7, 1792 ; married Caroline Phelps, March, 1851. He died April 26, 1872. They resided at Canaan, Conn. Their children : Henry Irving, born March II, 1852, married Sophia Call ; Eugene Greenville, born February, 1855. CHAPTER XLIX. HANNAH HIGLEY OWEN MILLS. Continued from chapter xviii. p. 100. Hannah, Brewster Higley, ist, Captain John Higley. The roots of humanity are so inextricably intertwined that we must grow together if we grow at all. DORA GREHNWELL. HANNAH, the eldest daughter of Brewster Higley, ist, was born in Simsbury, Conn., December 17, 1717, and named, no doubt, for her aunt, Mrs. Hannah Trumbull. She was unquestionably a woman of strong character, and had the conditions in which she lived been in the present day, she would have had a distinct personality. She married, first, about 1734, Elijah Owen, the son of Isaac and Sarah Holcombe Owen, and grandson of John Owen, a Welshman who came to Windsor, Conn., about the year 1634. They settled in Turkey Hills (now East Granby). The farm is still pointed out. Her husband, Elijah Owen, died September, 1741, at forty-one years of age, leaving his wife a young widow of but twenty-four. After a lapse of seven years, Mrs. Owen married, in 1748, Pelatiah Mills of Wintonbury, Conn., grandson of "the ancestor of the race of Miles or Mills, who came from Holland," and whose Dutch name, tradition says, was changed to " Mills " on his arrival in America. It is said of Pelatiah Mills that "he was a man held in high estimation, both in civil, ecclesiastical, and religious concerns." Mr. and Mrs. Mills walked side by side in happy union for thirty-eight years. In the repose of their advanced years their excellencies and virtues shone so conspicuously that they seemed " laying aside their earthly garments one by one, and dressing themselves for heaven." It is said that they were commonly alluded to as "the good Deacon Mills and his pious wife that good woman." Pelatiah Mills died in 1786, at an advanced age. Hannah Hig- 377 37 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ley, his wife, survived her husband twenty years and died in 1806, at the ripe age of ninety.* By her two marriages Hannah Higley was the mother of eleven children, several of her descendants becoming marked characters. Children by the first marriage : an infant, who died; Elijah Owen, Jr., born 1738; Hannah, born 1740; and Rebecca, born 1744. Children by second marriage: Pelatiah, Jr., Samuel, Roger, "Patsey" or Martha, Eli, Frederick, Susannah, and Elihu. ELIJAH OWEN, JR., the eldest son of Hannah Higley and Elijah Owen, was of pious character, and from early manhood was of great activity and usefulness in the affairs of the church at Turkey Hills. He died at Otis, Mass., in 1814, aged seventy-six. REBECCA, her eldest daughter, married Benedict Alford and settled at Windsor, Conn., but removed to Vermont about 1790. She lived to an extreme old age, ninety-five. Her husband, Benedict Alford, Sr., was a Revolutionary soldier. He was born probably about 1730. It is stated that later in life they removed to Geauga County, Ohio, where they both died. HANNAH, the third child of Hannah Higley and Elijah Owen, married, in 1757, Captain John Brown of Wintonbury (now Bloomfield), Conn., a direct descendant from Peter Brown, a Mayflower Puritan. She was the grandmother of John Brown, the slave liberator. 4 They settled at West Simsbury. Captain John Brown, her husband, was born November 4, 1728. He received his commission from Governor Jonathan Trumbull, who was first cousin to his wife's mother, May 23, 1776. On the nth of June he was directed by order of his colonel, John Pettibone, to enlist one third part of his company to serve as minute men, "for the defense of their own and the adjoining colonies." Soon after, Captain John Brown with his men joined the Revolutionary Army at New York, where, after two months' ser- vice, he was taken ill with dysentery, and died in a barn on the 3d of September, 1776, shortly before the battle of Long Island, in which his regiment took part. His wife, Hannah Owen Brown, was left a widow with a hard struggle before her, and in a trying situation, with eleven children, four sons and seven daughters ; the eldest but seventeen, and the youngest born after the death of his father. These children all lived to maturity, and she saw each one comfortably married and all except one have families. She was a woman of rare courage. Her great-grandson, Heman H. Barbour, writes of her : " I well remember my great-grandmother, Hannah (Owen) Brown, daughter of Elijah Owen and Hannah Higley, who died in 1831, aged ninety-one. She retained her mental faculties in a remarkable degree to the last, and very enter- taining stories did she tell us children of her eventful life. " The responsibilities and labors of bringing up her family, and managing the 1 The children of Brewster Higley, ist, particularly his daughters and some of their descendants, were noted for their longevity. It is said that the ages of his eight children, when added together, make the round number 646 years, averaging a longevity of more than eighty years each. a See sketch of John Brown, chapter 1. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 1ST. 379 farm affairs, were met and discharged with such fortitude, discretion, and patience as are seldom exhibited by woman. The suffering and hardships of the hard winter of .the Revolution, 1777-78, were peculiarly severe. For a long time she was obliged to provide water for her cattle by melting snow ; and repeatedly during this winter did she go on horseback several miles to a mill, with a bag of grain for grind- ing. Her faith in God, with a naturally energetic, brave, and indomitable spirit, sustained her through all her trials, and she kept her family together and reared her children to respectable stations in life. She was a noble woman." ' Of this numerous family of Captain John and Hannah (Owen) Brown, HANNAH, the eldest, born 1758, became the second wife of Solomon Humphrey and was the mother of the Rev. Heman Humphrey, president of Amherst College. DEACON JOHN BROWN, the eldest son, born 1767, resided in New Hartford, Conn., " an honored and faithful man." He married, first, Millicent Gaylord, and second, Mrs. Case, a widow. Hon. FREDERICK BROWN, the seventh child, born 1769, was a member of the State Legislature in 1812, and in 1816 was one of the founders of Wadsworth, O., where he was on the bench fourteen years. He married, first, Catherine Case ; second, Chloe S. Pettibone. OWEN BROWN, the eighth child, born 1771, was known as " Squire Brown." He and his first wife Ruth, granddaughter of the Rev. Gideon and Elizabeth (Higley) Mills were the parents of John Brown of Harper's Ferry, Va., fame. He was twice married after. He died in 1856. ABIEL BROWN, the youngest son, born in 1776, after his father's death in the army, was the hfstorian of Canton, Conn., a valuable work containing sketches of the early settlers of that town. He married Anna Lord of Lyme. He died in the year 1856. The daughters, besides Hannah mentioned above, were, viz. : Azubah, born 1760 ; married Michael Barber. Esther, born 1762 ; married Timothy Case. Margery, born 1764 ; married, first, David Giddings ; second, Prince Taylor. Lucinda, born 1765 ; married Russel Borden. Thede, born 1773 ; married William Mer- rells; and Roxy R., born 1775; married Alexander Humphrey. The sons of Hannah Higley, of whom her second husband, Pelatiah Mills, was the father, left numerous descendants, whose lives are worthy of extended record. Her daughter Martha, or Patsey, as she was familiarly called, married James Barnard, of a highly respectable family of Bloom- field, Conn. Susannah, married Hubbard, also of Bloomfield. 1 " My Wife and Mother," by H. H. Barbour, p. 75. CHAPTER L. JOHN BROWN. 1 Owen Brown, Hannah Owen Brown, Hannah Higley Owen, Brewster Higley, ist, Captain John Higley. The blast that startled camp and town, And shook the walls of slavery down The spectral march of old John Brown ! WHITTIER. JOHN BROWN, the son of Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, both of whom were the grandchildren of the two sisters, Hannah Higley Owen and Elizabeth Higley Mills (daughters of Brewster Higley, ist), was born at Torrington, Conn., where his parents then resided, May 9, 1800. The family moved to Hudson, O., in 1805, and here his youth was spent. He was never fond of school. However, on reach- ing early manhood and desiring to enter the ministry, he re- turned to Connecticut and studied under a private tutor, the Rev. Moses Halleck, who, it is said, fitted him for college. The impairment of his eyesight compelling him to give up his studies, he returned to his Ohio home. He then learned the tanner's trade, which he followed twenty years, during which period, except for his marriages, no marked events in his life took place. His first marriage is found upon record thus : " John Brown and Dianthe Lusk were legally joined in competent authority, on the 2ist day of June, 1820. REV. WILLIAM HANFORD." Dianthe Lusk was of Portage County," Ohio. She died August 10, 1832, having become the mother of seven children, five of whom survived her. His second marriage took place July n, 1 From The Century Magazine. Woodman's Portrait of John Brown. DANVERS, 8mo., 16, 1882. MY DEAR FRIEND : Thy portrait of John Brown is by far the best I have ever seen. It is the man not only the physical man, but his inner self also. It is he at his best and truest. Thanking thee for the picture, I am Very truly thy friend, ToSeldonJ. Woodman. JOHN G. WHITTIER. I have seen Mr. Woodman's portrait of my husband. I think it a very good likeness of him, and the more I see it the more I like it. MRS. JOHN BROWN. TOPEKA, KANSAS, November 15, 1882. 9 Book a, " Records of Portage County, Ohio." 380 By courtesy of THE CENTURY Co. Copyright, 1883, by THE CENTURY Co. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 1ST. 381 1833, with Mary Anne Day, of northern New York, who was then but seventeen years of age. She bore thirteen children. Seven of these died in childhood. Space will not permit in these pages of a lengthened biographi- cal sketch, or an acute analysis of John Brown's life and char- acter, which developed strong types of a vigorous individuality, one which was a singular compound of enlarged capacities and admirable virtues, but strangely balanced and difficult to inter- pret, a character of marked integrity, of splendid earnestness, conscientious to a high degree, strictly free from the use of all intoxicants, devotional in habit, adhering with rigid fidelity to narrow religious ideas, yet withal laden with many defects. He was severe in his utterances of pronounced opinions, might often have been called uncharitable in his condemnatory judgments, was shrewd and cunning in devising a purpose, a full believer in retaliation, in the sword, and in war, and finally proved himself equal to deep intrigue. And yet the great final act of his life, the seizing, with his force of only twenty-two armed men, 1 of the United States Govern- ment arsenals at Harper's Ferry, W. Va., October 17, 1859, to procure equipments for slaves for insurrectionary purposes, was the consummate outcome of a heroic and noble sentiment, a pro- found and living sympathy for the human beings whom he be- lieved to be unjustly suffering the wrongs of human bondage. In his last speech before the court which sentenced him to the gallows, his recorded testimony is but one prbof among many others that he acted in this event in accordance with his deeply- rooted convictions and his utter abhorrence of slavery. He said : " This court acknowledges, as I suppose, the validity of the Law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose to be the Bible or, at least, the New Testa- ment. That teaches me ' that all things whatsoever I would that men should do unto me, I should do even so to them.' It teaches me further, to ' remember them that are in bonds as bound with them.' I endeavored to act up to that instruc- tion. 1 say, I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of per- sons. I believe that to have iuterfered as I have done as I have always freely admitted I have done in behalf of his despised poor, was not wrong, but right." Said a South Carolina gentleman, who was early at the scene of the Harper's Ferry raid, a man at that time full of political prejudices, in speaking of this would-be liberator : 1 Brown's force consisted of seventeen white and five black men. 382 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. " It is impossible not to feel respect for men who offer up their lives in support of their convictions." ' And Bishop Phillips Brooks remarked : "Alas, for the man who will not rush through fire though it burn, through water though it drown, to do the work that his soul knows it must do." Some of John Brown's more prominent characteristics, showing the elements in his nature which, influenced by a fanatical zeal, fitted him for the bold and defiant undertaking which cost him his life, cannot perhaps better be given than the following per- sonal reminiscences narrated to the writer by his old-time friend, William H. Ladd, for some years president of the State Board of Agriculture of Ohio, a prominent member of the Society of Friends, and later a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. "I knew him well," says Mr. Ladd. " He began operating in the wool trade about three years before I met him. From the day that he came to my father's house, in the year 1843, to the time he began to devise practically his plans and pur- poses for the last great event of his life, he was often a guest in our home. " We were both interested at that time, and for a few years afterward, in stock and fine wool-growing, and our acquaintance thus formed brought us into many relations, not only of business but those of a social and friendly nature. We fre- quently attended the different State Fairs together, and were often out on long journeys. On one of these journeys in New York and New England, we traveled for three months together, mostly by private conveyance, frequently occupying the same bed-chamber. This was in 1846. " During these travels, John Brown would not go about on Sundays, nor could he be induced to talk of or make any allusion to business matters from sunset on Saturday evening till Monday morning. And wherever we happened to find our- selves on the Sabbath, he strictly attended a church service. "After I was married, it was the custom in my home on taking our seats at meals to bow our heads and ask a silent blessing, but when John Brown was my guest he invariably asked a blessing audibly, whether invited to do so or not ; and when our breakfast was over he never failed to kneel in vocal prayer, though we did not suggest it. " Though an agreeable companion, I cannot say that he was genial and social by nature. If interested in a subject and aroused, he conversed freely, but easily settled again into a mental retreat and introspection. This gave him an air of seeming coolness and immovability. His accustomed positive bearing had the effect to hold those with whom he was in contact somewhat at a distance and in a sort of awe. Being matter-of-fact and practical, he cared little for a joke, yet could not be called sanctimonious in manner. " My old friend could make a fair speech not fluent, but of few words, very terse and directly to the point. He had no respect for, and was impatient with, any 1 " Life and Letters of John Brown," p. 6ix. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, \ST 383 speaker who took the time and attention of an audience, " without," as he expressed it, "saying something." To receive a long letter was a positive vexa- tion to him. He scarcely ever read a letter to the end if it covered more than one page. " He entertained an abhorrence of shams, hating hypocrites, and greatly enjoyed tearing the mask from people and things. While he was entirely respectful in an argument, he was thoroughly independent, decided, and fearless, expressing his convictions in a downright fashion from which he could not be swerved. " I never found him a man to interfere with other people's matters unless he saw or knew something going on which his convictions led him to feel was wrong ; then he was outspoken, harsh, and rancorous. " We were once together at Northampton, Mass., on one of our journeys, and were invited to the home of a friend of mine, a wealthy manufacturer, to stay over the Sabbath. We, of course, accompanied the family to their church, a large and elegant edifice, in which worshiped a refined congregation. We were seated in a corner pew to the right of the pulpit. During the service I noticed John Brown constantly glancing at the choir, which was made up of twenty-four young persons, and was located in the gallery at the back of the audience. They were behaving in a frivolous manner, smiling, making signals, etc. This shocked his sense of propriety. He was disgusted and restless. Finally he seemed to forget the sermon and the service altogether, keeping close watch upon them. The bene- diction had scarcely escaped the minister's lips, when he exclaimed in a loud, indignant tone, ' What a mockery ! ' and much to my mortification, when my host, who was one of the prominent members of the congregation, introduced us to his pastor immediately after, John Brown, though he had never before met him, without any sort of formal greeting, ungraciously descended upon him with a volume of scathing reproof for permitting such conduct in the house of worship. " An intense love of investigation was one of his prominent characteristics. He liked prying to the bottom of matters and unearthing the foundations. In this connection his associations at the college at Bethany, W. Va., of which Alexander Campbell, the founder of the sect called Campbellites, or ' Christians,' was then the president, were most congenial to him, and afforded a pleasant place, both from a business and a religious standpoint, to which he delighted to resort. Mr. Camp- bell was at that time an extensive fine wool grower, and engaged as well in dealing penetratingly with theological and anti-slavery themes. " Brown was a vigorous observer of men, a close, shrewd scrutinizer, and always examined a proposition which was laid before him with great care, in business as well as other matters. During a period of full thirty years before his death, long before I knew him, he gave much of his time and thought and action to the cause of the abolition of slavery. 1 He was neither ashamed nor afraid to publicly denounce the system at any time or in any place. I have often heard him say that he ' would kill any man whom he might see taking a slave back into slavery, rather than allow him to do it." He always declared his creed to be, ' He that stealeth a man and selleth him, shall be put to death ' ' an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' 1 He was associated from the beginning with the band of those citizens of our Northern States who, in defiance of then existing laws, were conductors of the Underground Railway," whose trains ran mostly at night and gave no return tickets." The passengers were ths fleeing slaves. THB EDITOR. 384 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. "All the while I knew him he put his abolition principles severely into practice. He rigidly refused to use rice or sugar or any other product from the slave States, fearing he might encourage the slave power. He even refused coffee when a guest at my home or on our journeys, unless he was quite sure that it was the product of free labor. "His eldest four sons removed to Kansas in 1854, and Brown himself followed them about the year 1855 with his family. During the bloody drama enacted there in 1856-57, in which he gained laurels at Ossawattomie in the border warfare, his son, Frederick Brown, was murdered before his eyes. This act, no doubt, boiled John Brown's opinions on slavery to overflow, and brought to culmination his long-cherished and misguided plan for its overthrow [a plot to furnish the slaves with arms and incite them to rise in revolt], upon which he had deliberated for full twenty years. I think it was soon after the assassination of this son that he began maturing his secret scheme. " I have been told that a small circle of his intimate and trusted friends among the Abolitionists were made acquainted as early as 1858 with the fact that he early intended a raid of some sort. But he did. not make his project known to the most of us, nor did he even visit us while perfecting it, having fears, no doubt, that we would antagonize his purpose, knowing that he would receive our strong dis- approval of his proposed method of action." Twenty-one years after his execution at Charlestown, Va., his old friend, the Hon. Frederick Douglass, claiming in an elo- quent address that "John Brown's zeal in the cause of liberty resulted in the immediate cause of the war between the Northern and Southern States of our Union," used the following expressive language : "If," said he, "John Brown did not end the war that ended slavery, he at least begun the war that ended slavery. If we look over the dates, places, and men for which this honor is claimed, we shall find that not Carolina, but Virginia; not Fort Sumter, but Harper's Ferry and the arsenals; not Major Anderson, but John Brown, began the war that ended American slavery and made this a republic. Until this blow was struck the prospect for freedom was dim, shadowy, and uncertain. The irrepressible conflict was one of words, votes, and compromises. When John Brown stretched forth his arm, the sky was cleared, the armed hosts of freedom stood face to face over the chasm of a broken union, and the clash of arms was at hand." 1 Sixteen days after John Brown's unsuccessful attempt at Har- per's Ferry to lead the slaves to liberty, in which several lives were sacrificed on both sides, among them his two sons, Watson and Oliver Brown, and his son-in-law, Mr. Thompson, the sen- l TAe Century, July, 1883. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, \ST. 385 tence from which he suffered the penalty of death was pronounced against him by a Virginia court at Charlestown, where he had been taken for trial. He was declared, " Guilty of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, conspiring and advising with negroes and others to produce insurrection, and of murder in the first degree." In his defense he refused to acknowledge any intention of com- mitting murder or treason. From first to last he adhered to the statement that he was not in any way guilty at the bar of his own conscience. Froude once said, " High treason is either the greatest of crimes, or the noblest of virtues," and " which it is," says Stearns, "depends upon the circumstances of the case." The incidents and conditions during the brief interval between his capture and his death were touching in the extreme. He was shackled at the ankles, and fastened by a large chain to the floor of his prison cell, though there was little need of this precaution, for during much of the period he was confined to a pallet disabled by severe wounds which he received while defending his little party in the historic engine-house which was his citadel at Har- per's Ferry. With his efforts blasted, and his plot overthrown, stricken down and helpless, he appeared entirely resigned to bow before his fate ; while affecting nothing heroic, he yielded the pur- suit of his long devised purpose with resolute and courageous fortitude, steadfastly clinging to a strong and lively faith in the ultimate successful issue of the cause he was serving in sincerity of heart. " I can," he writes to his family, " trust God with both the time and the manner of my death, believing as I now do that for me at this time to seal my testimony for God and humanity with my blood, will do vastly more toward advancing the cause I have earnestly endeavored to promote than all I have done in my life before. I beg you all meekly and quietly to submit to this, not feeling yourselves in the least degraded on that account. " May God Almighty comfort all your hearts, and soon wipe away all tears from your eyes ! Think of the crushed millions who 'have no comforter.' I charge you all never in your trials to forget the griefs ' of the poor that cry, and of those that have none to help them.' " " Tell our children," said he, in the pathetic and only interview 386 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. he had with his wife in his cell, " that their father died without a single regret for the course he has pursued that he is satisfied that he is right in the eyes of God and of all just men." ' He declared in another letter : " The near approach of my great change is not the occasion of any particular dread." When he came to the scaffold he walked, never faltering in his step, to the platform and waited in silence. To the end he was calm and dignified in bearing, gentle and resigned, meeting his death with perfect composure. At the time of his execution, December 2, 1859, his family was residing on a farm at North Elba, Essex County, N. Y., in the Adirondack Mountains. To this spot his body was conveyed for burial. He had made the request, " When 1 die, bury me by the big rock where I loved to sit and read the Word of God," and here he was laid in the frozen ground, on Thursday the 8th, a bleak December day.* " The body was borne by six of his neighbors from his own roof to the rock near by, under the shadow of which he had directed it laid.' The coffin had been previously placed in front of his door- step, where sympathizing neighbors came to take a last look. Before leaving the house John Brown's favorite hymn, 'Blow ye the Trumpet, Blow,' was sung, and an impressive prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Young of Burlington, Vt., who with others of that city had ridden all night to be present. Remarks were then made by J. M. McKim of Philadelphia, followed by an address by Wendell Phillips of Boston, amid the strong emotion and deep sympathy of the family and friends. It was deeply touching to see the three widows, his wife and the wives of his two sons, Watson and Oliver, leaning on the arms of strangers and reliev- ing their broken hearts by sobs." 1 " Life and Letters of John Brown," by F. B. Sanford, p. 586. 4 The " John Brown Farm," at North Elba, was purchased in 1869 by a syndicate, Kate Field, Sinclair Tousey, the sons of William Lloyd Garrison, and several other admirers of John Brown, and held as a reserve till January, 1896, when it was transferred to the State of New York to be used as a public park, the old homestead and his grave to be preserved. A monument is to be erected. The place is annually visited by hundreds of tourists. 3 The epitaphs inscribed on a tombstone near the bowlder are as follows : " In memory of Capn John Brown [See Captain John Brown, chapter xlix. p. 378], who died at New- York Sept. ye 3, 1776, in the 48th of his age." Below this is the following inscription : "John Brown, born May 9, 1800, was executed at Charlestown, Va., Dec, 2, 1859." Close to the ground is still another inscription: "Oliver Brown, born March 9, 1837, killed at Harper's Ferry, Oct. 17, 1859." ^ n the other side of the tombstone is the inscription : " In memory of Frederick, son of John and Dianthe Brown, born Dec. 21, 1830, and murdered at Ossawattomie, Kansas, Oct. 30, 1856, for his adhesion to the cause of freedom." Still another inscription on this side of the stone reads : " Watson Brown, born October 7, 1835 ; wounded October 17, and died October 19, 1859." DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, \ST. 3 8 7 Says the Rev. Dr. Lundy : " His simple gravestone in his old favorite resort behind a great bowlder in his beloved North Elba, where he came to read his Bible, pray, and meditate, is the noblest monument through which to perpetuate the name and the memory of human greatness. " As a prophet, he foresaw and foretold the great war of the Rebellion. . . As a hero he did what he could, almost single- handed, both in Kansas and Virginia, to rouse the nation, or at least the servile portion of it, to make this Republic in reality what it was only in name a land of freemen. "His confidence in the negro character being misplaced and mistaken, there was no uprising as he had expected, and John Brown suffered a capital sentence. " It was unquestionably one of the most remarkable executions that has ever occurred in history. It produced a profound im- pression throughout this country and Europe, and did much to make John Brown one of the foremost figures of the Western World. His tragic end did as much as anything else to pre- cipitate the final and distressing conflict between Slavery and Freedom." " One of the most dramatic acts of the life of Henry Ward Beecher belonged to this epoch. It was in the old Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, which was packed from floor to ceiling. The chains with which John Brown had been bound had been brought into the meeting, and lay upon the table upt>n the platform. The orator kindled as he spoke; the chains before him became a symbol of the chains that bound the wrists of three million slaves, 1 and in an outburst of passion he seized upon them, cast them upon the floor, and ground them beneath his heel as though he would then and there grind the whole power of slavery to dust beneath his feet. The effect was indescribable. The whole audience cheered till the roof rang, and all hearts took a new vow to march on till every chain should be broken and every siave set free. " " Let us sit down by his grave at North Elba, and read his last touching letter written to his kinsman, the Rev. Luther Hum- phrey, twelve days before his execution: CHARLESTOWN, JEFFERSON Co., VA., isth November, 1859. " MY DEAR FRIEND Your kind letter of the twelfth inst. is now before me. So far as my knowledge goes as to our mutual kindred, I suppose I am the first 1 Three millions and upward. * " Life of Henry Ward Beecher," by Lyman Abbott, D. D.,p. 145. 388 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. since the landing of Peter Brown from the Mayflower that has either been sen- tenced to imprisonment or the gallows. But, my dear old friend, let not that fact alone grieve you. You cannot have forgotten how and where our grandfather (Captain John Brown) fell in 1776,' and he too might have perished on the scaffold had circumstances been but very little different. " The fact that a man dies under the hand of an executioner, or otherwise, has but little to do with his true character, as I suppose. . . Whether I have any reason to be of ' good cheer,' or not, in view of my end, I can assure you that I feel so. . . I feel neither mortified, degraded, nor in the least ashamed of my imprisonment, my chains, or my near prospect of death by hanging. . . I should be sixty years old were I to live till May gth, 1860. I have enjoyed much of life as it is, and have been remarkably prosperous, having early learned to regard the welfare and pros- perity of others as my own. I have never, since I can remember, required a great amount of sleep, so that I conclude that I have already enjoyed full an average number of waking hours with those who reach their ' three score years and ten.' I have not as yet been driven to the use of glasses, but can still see to read and write quite comfortably. But more than that, I have generally enjoyed remark- ably good health. I might go on to recount unnumbered and unmerited blessings, among which would be some very severe afflictions, and those the most needed blessings of all. And now, when I think how easily I might be left to spoil all -I have done and suffered in the cause of freedom, I would hardly dare risk another voyage, even if I had the opportunity. It is a long time since we met, but we shall now soon come together in our Father's house, I trust. Let us hold that fast which we already have, remembering that ' we shall reap if we faint not.' " Thanks be ever unto God, who giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. "And now, my old, warm-hearted friend Good-bye. "Your affectionate cousin, "JOHN BROWN." 2 "And now, indeed," writes Doctor Lundy, "his 'soul goes marching on.' Under the shadow of the grand mountain peak old Whiteface " ' John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave,' as the most precious treasure held in the trust and keeping of those everlasting hills. His name shall for ages to come connect the Adirondacks and human liberty together." Thus John Brown laid down his life, giving lofty expression of his faithfulness and sincerity to the grand principle of human rights and justice. He did not live in this life to see "the sword cut the fetter," but from the height of some far away celestial hill, out of reach of the clank of chains, the jeers of the hooting crowd, and the turmoil and ghastly sights of war, he saw the 1 See sketch of Captain John Brown, chapter xlix. p. 378. a From the original letter. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, \ST. 3 8 9 complete fulfillment of his purpose, and the end which his clear, far-away vision had traced. Only three years, less one month, from the day of his death the shackles of more than three mil- lions of slaves in the United States of America were loosened by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. NOTE. A marble bust of John Brown, executed by E. A. Brackett, was unveiled on Emancipation Day, January i, 1863, in Medford, Mass. It was afterward placed on exhibition in the Boston Athenaeum. A handsome memorial gold medal in honor of John Brown, modeled by the Brussels artist, Wurder, was presented to Mrs. Brown by distinguished French citizens in 1874. Among those who did this graceful act were Victor Hugo and Louis Blanc. The presentation was accompanied by a highly gratifying address. The inscription is as follows : " A la memoire de John Brown, assassine juridiquement a Charleston, le 2 decembre 1859. Et a celle de ses fils et de ses compagnons morts, victimes deleur de'vouement a la cause de la liberte des noirs." An iron steamer built at London, which plies on the coast of West Africa for the use of the colored missionaries at British Sherbro, fitly bears the name of John Brown. 26 CHAPTER LI. HESTER HIGLEY CASE. Continued from chapter xviii. p. 100. Hester, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Love I esteem more strong than age, and truth more permanent than time MRS. JAMESON. HESTER, the fifth child of Brewster Higley, ist, was born December 3, 1719, and married in 1740 Captain Josiah Case, whose father, the Hon. James Case, was a member of the Con- necticut General Assembly for a number of years. Captain Case was born 1717. Of the Case family there were many members in successive generations who bore military titles. Its ancestors settled in Simsbury as early as 1669, and founded a numerous and highly respected family line. There have been numerous intermarriages with the Higleys and their relations among the descendants. Captain Josiah Case and Hester first settled at Terry's Plain. Great difficulties and disagreements in the old parish at Sims- bury led to the formation of a new settlement and church society in West-Simsbury, now Canton. To this neighborhood Captain Case, with his wife, removed about the year 1743, becoming the owners of lands which, since that time, have been held by their descendants their grandson, General Jarvis Case, having occu- pied the old homestead on Chestnut Hill 1 till after the middle of the present century. During a married life extending through a period of nearly half a century, they dignified human existence in their domestic relations by the practice of love and sweetness of temper. It is recorded of them that they lived together in the full enjoyment of uninterrupted happiness, and that they were constantly spoken of by their friends and neighbors as a living example of conjugal felicity. Captain Josiah Case died November 21, 1789. Hester Higley, his wife, died September 15, 1807, aged eighty-eight years. Their children : Lois, born 1741, died March 21, 1759. James, born April 2, 1 Known also as East Hill school-district. 390 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,\ST. 391 1744; married first, Phebe Tuller, second, Lydia Case. He died January 7, 1822. Hester, born May 16, 1745; married first, Thomas Case; her second marriage was to Carmi Higley, her first cousin, and her third, to Abram Pinney. Hannah was born June 23, 1749, and married Amos Wilcox; she died September 5, 1833, aged eighty-three. Betty, born April 26, 1752, married John Barber; she died May 26, 1817. Captain Fithen, born Sep- tember 17, 1758, married Amarilla Humphrey; he died 1829. The last-named were the parents of General Jarvis Case of Canton, who distinguished himself by organizing the "Canton Cadets " which, it is said, took precedence as being the finest military company in Connecticut. General Case was first captain of this company, then colonel, and afterward was promoted to the rank of general under the old militia law. CHAPTER LII. JOHN HIGLEY, SR. Continued from chapter xviii. p. 100. John, Sr., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. " Sic transit gloria munde." > THE sixth child of Brewster Higley, ist, was baptized John. His birth, which took place at Simsbury, Conn., is thus recorded : "John Higley, Ye fourth son of Bruster Higley was born febuary iyth 1722."* He was trained in the home circle to the same sound principles and example of industry which characterized the heads of that well-governed household. Of his youth there is little trace. Later on his life is found to have been one of stimulated energy. There are many signs of him having borne his full part in the responsible public interests of the town. " At ye Town meeting of the Inhabitants of Simsbury Regularly assembled for the Choice of Town Officers on the Third monday, being the Twentieth day of Decem- ber A. D. 1756, John Higley was chosen a Collector to Collect ye Town Rates of the Inhabitants of Salmon Brook Society for ye year Ensuing ; Alsoe, John Higley was chosen Constable for the year ensuing." Appointments of minor importance, from the time he was yet a young man, fell to his lot, such as fence-viewing, leather- sealer, grand juror, etc., and as has been stated in the narrative of his sister Elizabeth (Higley) Mills, he was intrusted with the collection of the Church society tithes. He was well-to-do in the world, receiving lands by deed from his father while his father was yet living, and at his decease he inherited a legacy of additional lands, and two hundred pounds in money. Being one of the heirs to his mother's property, he received his portion of her estate at her decease. During the war between Great Britain and France, the com- 1 "So passes away the glory of this world." * " Simsbury Records," book iii. p. 261. 393 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY, 1ST. 393 bined forces of the French and Indians, approaching from Canada, did savage work. The Colony of Connecticut gave noble service. The State militia about this time was very numerous, according to the population. It is stated that early in 1759 Connecticut had more than six thousand men in actual service. On April 18, 1758, John Higley, together with his half cousin, Samuel Higley, 1 joined the Provincial troops, enlisting in Captain Nathaniel Holcombe's company of six-months' men. Whether he re-enlisted at the expiration of his time, the following November, has not been ascertained. When the War of the Revolution required men, though he was now a man of fifty-four years, lacking only one year of the limit in age, he again served his country, enlisting in Company 8, i8th Regiment of the Connecticut Militia, under Captain John Brown, his cousin by marriage. He arrived in New York and joined the army August 19, 1776. John Higley married, about 1745, the exact date not appear- ing, Apphia, the daughter of Colonel Jonathan and Mercy (Ruggles) Humphrey, and great-grandchild of Michael Hum- phrey of Windsor, Conn., the ancestor of all the Connecticut families by that name. Apphia Humphrey was born May 9, 1726. They resided on the line between old Simsbury and what was afterward the town of Canton, though the most of his lands lay within the Simsbury boundary. The parish of Canton was established, and the first Congrega- tional church organized, in 1750. It does not appear that John and Apphia Higley joined this parish, but continued their con- nection with the old church at Simsbury. Apphia Higley died August 27, 1762. Her tombstone is still standing in the ancient burial ground in Simsbury. John Higley's second marriage was with a "Widow" Clark. He appears about the time of this marriage to have been baptized into the Church of England at St. Andrews, Bloomfield, five miles distant. He died May, 1802, aged eighty years. On the 7th of June, 1802, his son, John Higley, Jr. (or 2d), and two men of New Hartford were appointed administrators to his estate. They gave bond for two thousand dollars. The inventory * amounted to $1740.90. 1 Son of Nathaniel Higley. * " Simsbury Probate Records," book vi. p. 223. 394 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. John and Apphia (Humphrey) Higley had children as follows : Apphia, born March 27, 1746; John, Jr. (zd), born February i, 1748; Carmi, born May 16, 1749; Rosanna, of whom no data is found and probably did not survive infancy; Isaac, born June 22, 1753; Obed, born October 25, 1757; and Eber, baptized July 17, 1763. By second wife: Roger, baptized January 13, 1765; Martha, baptized June 29, 1766; and Job, baptized July 31, 1768. APPHIA, the eldest, born March 27, 1746, married, March n, 1767, Jared Mills of Canton, and became the mother of ten chil- dren. She died 1783. Her husband, Elder Jared Mills, was afterward twice married. In 1808 he was ordained by the Baptist Church to preach. JOHN HIGLEY, Jr. (2d), the eldest son of John, Sr., and Apphia (Humphrey) Higley, was born February 14, 1748. His- torical information concerning him is very meager. He married Dibble, 1 probably during the year 1772. The given name of his wife cannot be discovered. They resided on the farm which had belonged to his father, which lay in the northwest part of the Farm's school district in West Simsbury or Canton. The " ear-mark " granted him for his cattle, sheep, and swine was placed upon the town records February 3, 1784. John Higley, Jr., was one of three administrators to his father's estate. He died in 1802, a few months after his father's decease. Five children were born to John Higley, Jr. (2d), and his wife, viz. : Hannah, born March 25, 1773; John, 3d, born November 12, 1774; Lois, born October i, 1776, who died in childhood; Timothy, born November 30, 1781; Dan, born December 22, 1789. HANNAH, the eldest child, born March 25, 1773, married Abraham Barber, Jr., the grandson of Sergeant Thomas Barber, a leading character of his day. Abraham Barber was born 1767. They resided in Canton. JOHN HIGLEY, 3d, and eldest son of John Higley, Jr. (or 2d), and the third in this line, was born November 12, 1774. He married, in 1796, Lodama, the daughter of Simeon Messenger of Barkhamstead, one of the old Simsbury families. Simeon Mes- 1 The Dibbles were descendants of Thomas Dibble, an early settler at Dorcester, Mass., and of Windsor, Conn. John Higley, Jr.'s wife probably belonged to one of the families then residing at Salmon Brook, a few miles from Simsbury, Conn. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER IIIGLEY,\ST. 395 senger was the fourth of the fifteen children of Isaac Messenger, 1 whose father, Joseph Messenger, removed to West Simsbury in 1742, being the first by the name who settled there. Lodama Messenger was born April i, 1780. John, 3d, and Lodama Higley settled upon the farm in Canton that had been occupied by his grandfather and father. John Higley, 3d, though he had some unfortunate habits, was known as a hardworking man, and bore the reputation in the community for being clever and talented, and capable of accomplishing almost any sort of handicraft. Lodama (Messenger) Higley died March 28, 1830. The Rev. Jarius Burt preached her funeral sermon from the text, Hebrews xii. 14. John Higley, 3d, died in Canton May i, 1833, on the farm upon which he was born. His funeral sermon was preached from the text, Ecclesiastes xii. 7, by the same minister : "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley had a large family eleven children. They were as follows : Apphia, Pamelia, Jasper, Dency, William, Alanson, Jfayden, Harriet, Coy, Charles, and Julina. APPHIA HIGLEY, the eldest, was born at Canton, Conn., August 23, 1798, and married, 1817, Amos Oviatt of Milford, Conn., where they resided. She died November 5, 1820. They had one child, viz. : ORIN W. OVIATT, who was born May, 1820. He was an infant six months old at the time of his mother's decease. He became the ward of his uncles, Alanson and Hayden Higley. When he became of age he went to Ohio, and on the 1st of December, 1842, married Delia Wadsworth of Monroe Falls, Summit County, in that State. They resided in the towns of Edinburg and Wadsworth, O., till the spring of 1852, when they removed to Battle Creek, Mich., and lived there twelve years. They then removed to St. Joseph, where they remained till 1887, when they returned to Mr. Oviatt's native town, Milford, Conn. They finally went to Chicago, where Mrs. Delia Oviatt died December n, 1888, aged sixty- six years and eleven months. She was buried at St. Joseph, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Oviatt were the parents of two daughters, Marion Annett and Delia Irene. MARION A., the oldest, married, in 1866, Captain John H. Langley, and resides in St. Joseph, Mich. They have three children, viz.: John H. Langley, Jr., Marion Bernice, and Ruth. DELIA IRENE married, in. 1878, George Crafton, and has one child a son named Robert W. They reside, in Chicago, 111. 1 Isaac Messenger was one of four residents of Canton, living neighbors, who had forty sons between them, thirty nine of whom lived to manhood. 39 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. PAMELIA HIGLEY-STURDIVANT, the second child of John Hig- ley, 3d, and Lodama Messenger, was born May 25, 1800. She married John Sturdivant of Simsbury, Conn., in 1821, and died January 26, 1888. They had eight children, all born in Sims- bury, viz. : EMELINE, born 1822, who died at Chicopee Falls, Mass., 1842. DENCY, born 1823, who married Loren Worster of Naugatuck, Conn., 1840. They had two sons, Charles Worster, who was accidentally killed by an explosion in a powder mill, and Orin, who resides at Naugatuck. ELIZA, born 1825, married John Potter 1842. They had one child Antonette, who married Luzern Gunn and resides in Union City, Conn. JULINA, born 1827 and died 1829. HARRIET, born 1828, married Ruggles Baker, 1846. They had two children : Ella, who married James Wright, and one son James Baker. Harriet L. Baker died, 1885, at Naugatuck. HENRY, born 1830, married Augusta Turner, 1859. They had daughters : Ida and Carrie, who died , and Clara P., who died August, 1879. Henry Sturdivant resides at Miles Grove, Pa. CHARLES, born 1832, married Nettie Watson of Columbus, O., 1860. They had two sons, Charles Watson and Frank, who reside in Miles Grove, Pa. Nettie Watson Sturdivant died August 23, 1875. SUSAN, born 1838, married Alonzo H. Turner, and resided at Union City, Conn. She died September T2, 1887, leaving no children. JASPER HIGLEY, the third child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley, was born at Canton, Conn., March 9, 1802, and married Laura Haskins, 1825. She was born September, 1805. He served an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith, after which he was for a few years in the employ of the Kelloggs, machine builders, of Hartford, Conn. He then went into busi- ness for himself in Simsbury. He embraced religion while yet a young man, and united with the Methodist Church. Later on, an unfortunate internal injury destroyed his health, causing him much suffering the remainder of his life. This stopped his busi- ness, and brought his family into reduced circumstances. He died August 20, 1840. He was known as an honest-hearted citizen. His wife died December 16, 1893, aged eighty-eight years. She had married a second time. Jasper and Laura (Haskins) Higley had two children, viz. : Wilson and Elizabeth P. WILSON HIGLEY, born March 27, 1827, married July 8, 1849, Sabra A. Tuller. They had five children : Franklin P., Eugene, William, Rosa, who died young, and Charles. His wife, Sabra A. Higley, died March 9, 1879. DESCENDANTS OF BRE WSTER HIGLE Y, 1ST. 397 ELIZABETH P., born January 9, 1836, married, September II, 1853, Dwight Gates, and had four children : Juliette, Ida, Emily, and Laura. They reside in Simsbury. DENCY HIGLEY, the fourth child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley [page 395], was born December 13, 1803, and married Orin Case of Barkhamstead, Conn. They emigrated to the State of Ohio in 1822, making the journey of six weeks with an ox team. They settled at Ridgeville, O. Later in life they removed to Iowa. Their children were Seymour, Alanson, and Austin. AUSTIN CASE resides in Milford, la. He married [date not given] and has an interesting family. He is a highly respected and influential citizen. His son, Eugene, who is postmaster of the town, is a clever, enterprising young man of excellent standing. Mrs. Dency (Higley) Case died of pneumonia, in Iowa, Janu- ary 24, 1879. From the Okoboy paper the following is taken : " Mrs. Dency Case was the mother of Austin Case, Esqr., and was highly respected and esteemed by all who knew her. She was a consistent member of the Congregational Church, and died in the full assurance of life beyond the grave. Few women lived who possessed a warmer heart or more lovable nature ; endowed with purest womanly virtues, she was ever sympathizing, genial, and a faithful friend. Of her it may truly be said, ' The world is better for her having lived.' " WILLIAM HIGLEY, the fifth child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley, was born at Canton, Conn., June 25, 1806. He married Lydia J. Matson of Granby, Conn., about 1825. They resided in Hartford County, Connecticut. He died, 1839. They had four children, viz. : JULIA ANN, born 1827, who married Truman A. Case, and has two daughters, Nellie and Rosie. They reside in Milwaukee, Wis. MILES PORTER, born October 7, 1830 ; served in the late Civil War with the Federal forces. He died before the close of the war of disease contracted in the field. WILLIAM EMERSON, born in Hartford County, Connecticut, October 7, 1835 ; married, March I, 1870, Clara S. Ingham of Middletown, Conn. They reside in Chicago, where the following children were born : William Lewis, born February I, 1871 ; died September 10, 1871. Clara Julia, born April 15, 1872. Walter, born October 12, 1874 ; died May 4, 1884. Arthur Montague, born June 9, 1876, and Clinton Emerson, born July 12, 1879. WILBURT J., the youngest child of William and Lydia J. (Matson) Higley, born 1838 ; married , and has five children. They reside in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. No data furnished. 39 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ALANSON HIGLEY, the sixth child of John, 3<3, and Lodama (Mes- senger) Higley [page 395], was born in Canton, Conn., July 26, 1808, and married November i, 1830, Mary Carlton of Derry, N. H. She was born June 20, 1811. Alanson Higley was a man of 'fine physique, full of animation and hilarity, popular with his friends, and counted a "jovial good fellow." The responsibili- ties of bringing up a family of nine children fell largely upon the excellent wife and mother, a woman of sterling qualities, gifted with wise strength, uniting action with much thoughtfulness and lovableness of character. Alanson Higley died December 29, 1869. They resided at Candia, N. H., where their children were born, viz. : Mary Ann, Harriet, JohnH., Charles W., Harriet W., 2d, Eben N. , Albert A. , Sarah J. , and Hannah N. MARY ANN, the eldest, born October 4, 1831 ; married William Benson, May 8, 1851. She died December 29, 1852. They resided at South Berwick, Me. They had one child, Sallie, born June I, 1852 ; died an infant. HARRIET, the second child, born November 6, 1832 ; died September 25, 1836. JOHN H., the third child, born November 21, 1834, at Candia, N. H. ; died January 10, 1855. CHARLES W., born February, 1837 ; left home at the age of sixteen, and never was heard of after. HARRIET W., the fifth child of Alanson and Mary (Carlton) Higley, was born April 22, 1839, and married June 18, 1859, Ira T. Warren. They reside at Cape Elizabeth, Me., where Mr. Warren has accumulated a considerable property, and is the owner of a goodly portion of real estate in the town in which they live. He is a man of sterling integrity, and a staunch Republican in politics. For near thirty years he has been an engineer on the Boston and Maine Railway. His wife, Harriet W. Higley, is an amiable Christian woman, a friend true to the core, possessing marked stability of character. Their children are : Mary Ella, born July 22, 1860, and died January 25, 1875 ; George F., born March 9, 1862, and Mamie E., born July n, 1875. EBEN N., the sixth child of Alanson and Mary (Carlton) Higley, was born in Westford, Mass., May 20, 1843. His parents removed to Candia, N. H., in 1847, when he was four years old. Here his younger years were spent. At the age of twelve he was " bound " to a farmer in the same town, with whom he re- mained four years. He then secured a situation in a cotton factory at South Ber- wick, Me., remaining with his employer till the year 1861. At the age of eighteen he went to sea before the mast, enlisting on June I, 1861, in the United States Naval Service for one year, from which he was honorably discharged, July 9, 1862. Soon after the last date he entered the Navy Yard at Kittery, Me., but deciding upon joining the forces in the Civil War, he enlisted in Company B, 27th Maine Volunteers, for nine months' service. The wing of the army to which his regiment was assigned served mostly in Virginia. On being mustered out, July 17, 1863, he DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,\ST. 399 went to Lake Village, N. H., to learn the trade of machinist. Here he remained more than a year. Before the close of '64 he again entered the United States Naval Service, and was transferred from the receiving ship to the United States Sloop-of- War San Yacinto. While on a voyage she was shipwrecked, January I, 1865, on No-name Key, the Bahama Banks, an uninhabited island, where the officers and marines were obliged to remain nineteen days before being taken off. Mr. Higley was then transferred to the United States Ship Fort Henry, and was on board when she was sunk in the St. Marks River, Florida. He received his dis- charge July 6, 1865, after the close of the war, having served honorably. In March, 1866, he went to Great Falls, N. H., engaging with a large manufac- turing company. Here he remained three years. March, 1869, he began the ma- chinist business for himself, in which he continued till 1882, when he sold out, and being given to practical thinking, he entered with some enthusiasm into inventions, in which he succeeded by virtue of his natural genius and perseverance. In the course of a few years his experiments had resulted in him taking out above thirty patents, which, together with mining interests, brought him a comfortable fortune. Some of his enterprises were of a scientific character. Mr. Higley is at present the treasurer of the Beaver Dam Mining Company of Nova Scotia ; the president of the Golden Gate Mining Company of South Carolina, and president of the Deer Creek Gold Mining Company of Idaho. On December 28, 1868, he married Hannah B. Morrison of South Parsonfield, Me. They have resided much of their married life at Somersworth, N. H., but spent a few years in New York City. Eben and Hannah (Morrison) Higley are the parents of three children, all born in Somersworth, N. H., viz. : Winfield C. , born May 12, 1870 ; died August 14, 1871. Maud, bom February 7, 1875 ; and Florence, born June I, 1879 ; died January 13, 1884. ALBERT A., the seventh child of Alanson and Mary (Carlton) Higley, was born February 22, 1845. When the emergency of the Civil War demanded men, he enlisted in the 8th Maine Regiment, Company F, August 14, 1861. He fell ill early in the following autumn, and received an honorable discharge on the I5th of December, 1861, at Hilton Head, S. C. After remaining a few months on the coast, he returned to his home in Maine. His health having improved, he again enlisted September 10, 1862, in the 27th Maine Regiment, Company B, and served his time, at the expiration of which he was honorably discharged, July 17, 1863. His health, however, became permanently impaired during his war service. He now resides in Eliot, Me. SARAH J., the eighth child of Alanson and Mary (Carlton) Higley, born August 26, 1849^ married David Stewart Worster, July 4, 1878. Mr. Worster served his country during the Civil War, enlisting in the 14th Maine Regiment, Company E, in 1861, and continuing throughout the conflict, received an honor- able discharge at Augusta, Me., September n, 1865. He was promoted to the office of sergeant, and took part in six battles. He conducts a business in carriage and sign painting in Deering, Me., where the family now resides, and where Mr. Worster has attained deserved popularity both in his line of business and as a citizen. His wife, Sarah J. Higley, is bright, energetic, full of glowing feeling, exempli- fying in her tasteful home and love of home interests, to a large degree the strongly 400 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. marked characteristics of the New England woman. The study of music has been her specialty, in which she has made successful progress. Not having children of their own, their active sympathies led them to receive into their home two motherless boys, upon the training and guidance of whom they have spent much faithful endeavor ; and in 1889 they adopted a daughter, eight years of age, whom they call Florence M. Worster. HANNAH N., the youngest child of Alanson and Mary (Carl ton) Higley, was born December 13, 1851. From her childhood she suffered from scrofula, which, as she grew in years, foreshadowed an early death. Her life, during which she exhibited a lovable, patient nature, closed at twenty-three years of age, February 8, 1875- HAYDEN HIGLEY. CHAPTER LIII. HAYDEN HIGLEY. Continued from page 395. Hayden, John, 3d, John, Jr., John, Sr., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. There is an unfading glory in the labors of good men ; and though death is permitted to draw a dark shadow over their persons, they will live in the just reputation of their good works. R. BARCLAY. HAYDEN HIGLEY, the seventh child and fourth son of John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley, was born at the old farm home in Canton, Conn., September 13, 1810, where his father and grandfather had spent their lives. The large family which made up the household, together with limited means, caused his parents to place this son in a situation, at the early age of eight years, away from home. He lived in different places doing "chores," till he was sixteen, when he went to Ansel Humphrey of Canton to learn the clothier's trade, with whom he remained two and a half years, receiving the first year twenty-five dollars, and thirty- five dollars for the second year. From the time that he began earning for himself, a deep longing took possession of his heart to do something for the aid of his younger sister Harriet, who was a deaf mute. Resolving that she should be educated at the asylum for deaf mutes founded by the Rev. Thomas Gaudalet at Hartford, Conn., he put forth his best efforts to raise the required means, and by untiring zeal and earnest labor he met with success. She entered the school and was supported by him for three years. Under the preaching of the Rev. Jairus Burt, and during the time of a great revival in Canton, Hayden became a professor of religion, uniting with the Congregational Church in Novem- ber, 1827. On the same day 130 persons were received into membership. The year 1829 he traveled in New Hampshire as a trunk sales- man, afterward entering the house of Freeman Parker of Candia in the clothing business, with whom he continued two and a half 401 402 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. years. Two years later he rented the woolen mill belonging to Mr. Parker, and began business for himself. On the 3ist of December, 1835, he married Sabrina Fitts, the daughter of Abraham and Susanna (Lane) Fitts. She was born in Candia, N. H., May n, 1813. April i, 1837, he purchased one-half the interest in a woolen mill in West Epping, N. H., where he remained, with David Bunker as his partner, nine years, in the business of carding wool and dressing cloth. While here he attended the Congregational Church at Raymond, N. H., his wife uniting with the same church on profession of her faith. In 1846 he purchased Mr. Bunker's interest in the mill, conduct- ing the business himself for two years. He then accepted Jacob E. Prescott as partner, enlarging the mill and extending the business. For twelve years their affairs. prospered. In 1860 he retired from this branch of business. Later on he purchased additional lands to property he already owned, fitted up a pkasant home, and opened a small grocery business, which proved successful, till August 29, 1878, when his two business-houses and his dwelling were suddenly destroyed by fire. Mr. Higley, now well on in years, and having had the burden and care of an active business life for a long period, did not re-enter business, but erected a business building on one of the lots, which his son-in-law now occupies. As his age ad- vanced he enjoyed open air exercise on the farm and in the garden. On February 5, 1858, Hayden Higley was unanimously elected to the office of deacon of the church at Epping, N. H. For twenty years he was superintendent of the Sabbath school. On the 28th of December, 1866, he and his wife severed their con- nection with the Epping Church, after their removal to Raymond, N. H., the town adjoining. His pastor, the Rev. Josiah Stearns, says: "Deacon Higley was highly respected by the community as a man of enterprise and integrity in business, ever acting the part of a man of firm Christian principle. This gave him weight of character which was felt for good in all his efforts for the welfare of the people. Though his home was three miles from the church, he was very constant at all the services, both week days and Sun- days. In pecuniary matters, whether for the support of religious institutions at home or abroad, he aided with such cheerful readi- ness as to stir others to well doing. He was, in fact, a pleasant friend and valuable helper to every pastor." DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLE Y, SR. 43 Sherburne P. Blake, clerk of the church at Raymond, N. H., of which Deacon Hayden Higley is a member, writes: " He was chosen superintendent of our Sabbath school in the spring of 1864, and held the position with honor for five consecutive years. On the lyth of May, 1867, he was elected deacon in this church, and is at the present time one of its most worthy officials. He was elected treasurer of the society in 1872, holding the position five years, and for many years has served on committees in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the church and society. His life in this connection has been'one of steady labor in the Master's vineyard, the church and society having been regularly, almost without an exception, honored by his presence at all their meetings. " His noble heart has at all times beaten in unison with God's true followers, and his purse has always been open wide and deep to aid in every good word and deed. He is found always stand- ing ready with a kind persuasive word to any who are grieved or wounded; always charitable in judgment, and in his admonitions he evinces a Christian spirit seldom equaled. That he may be spared to us for many years to come is the prayer of every mem- ber of the Congregational Church in Raymond, N. H." The one-hundredth anniversary of the organization of the First Congregational Church in Raymond, N. H., was celebrated Octo- ber 22, 1891. It was a noteworthy occasion of deep interest to Deacon Hayden Higley, as well as to every citizen of the town. Deacon Higley was chosen one of the three speakers to represent "Personal Reminiscences " at the evening session. For turning the leaves of the past he was singularly qualified, as his speech gave evidence, having left the burden and heat of many years behind him, spent in this and the adjoining town since he was a very young man, and lived a life fraught with much experience, a life now clothed with the wisdom of years in a green and peaceful old age. After having spent his long and useful life in the practice of "sweet mercy, nobility's true badge," the chord that linked his earth-life to heaven was severed and his spirit went to God who gave it, December 6, 1894. His wife, Sabrina F. Higley, died March 5, 1880, having sus- tained a lovely Christian character. They were the parents of two children, Elma A. and Harlan P. Higley. THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ELMA A. , the eldest child of Deacon Hayden and Sabrina (Fitts) Higley, was born in Candia, N. H., January 27, 1837, and baptized the 1 5th of the follow- ing October, after the removal of her parents to Raymond. In 1860 she learned the milliner's business. After she had gained some experi- ence, her father purchased the business house and stock of goods of Charles E. Eaton of Raymond, of which she took entire charge on her own responsibility, and conducted the business successfully seven years. She married Charles A. Shepard, October 23, 1866. They reside in Raymond, N. H., where Mr. Shepard is a merchant and the postmaster of the town. Charles A. Shepard served three years during the late Civil War, belonging to Company A, nth New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment. During the entire period of the war he was not absent a single day from his post of duty. They had two children, viz.: Charles S., born April 4, 1867, and Abby Ho-we Shepard, born May 19, 1874. CHARLES S. SHEPARD is in the employ of the Boston and Maine Railroad Co., which position he has held since the year 1887. ABBY HOWE, the only daughter, died May 29, 1891, aged seventeen years. Her young life was clouded by chronic disease. She was a constant invalid ; her last years were years of great suffering. She possessed natural excellent abilities, was of an affectionate disposition, and especially attached to her " dear grandfather." To her it was a joyous release when the day came that she was freed from earth's pain and struggle with infirmity, and entered the realities of the heavenly realm. HARLAN P., the second child and only son of Hayden and Sabrina (Fitts Higley, was born June 27, 1839. When the late civil conflict of war began he had just reached the full tide of young manhood, and life before him was bright with promise. He espoused the Union cause, and volunteered his services in the army, November 14, 1861, joining Company D, the 8th New Hampshire Volun- teers, which was mustered into service on the 2Oth of the same month. After a year's gallant services he died of fever in an army hospital at Carrolton, near New Orleans, November 21, 1862. HARRIET, the eighth child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Mes- senger) Higley [page 395], was born at Canton, Conn., March 19, 1813. From her birth she was a deaf mute. As has been already narrated, she was educated by her next older brother, Hayden Higley, in the asylum for deaf mutes founded by the Rev. Thomas Gaudalet in Hartford, Conn. Here she received a fair education, which added greatly to her enjoyment of life. She married, 1839, when twenty-six years old, Ephraim McEwen, who was also a deaf mute. They resided at Bridge- port, Conn. Harriet Higley McEwen died of pneumonia, February 4, 1890. Ephraim McEwen died of cancer, the date not given. They had three children, viz. : Mary Ann, David, and Martha. MARY ANN, born February 13, 1845, married, first, Theodore Dutton, February 16, 1862. They had one child, Nellie, born March 12, 1863, and married William DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 405 Blackburn, September 13, 1886. Theodore Button was a soldier in the late Civil War and died in the service October 10, 1864. His wife married, second, Charles Frear, December 6, 1865. They had one child, flattie, born May 28, 1866, a woman of quick perception and attractive qualities. She married Frederick Stickle, June 27, 1887. They reside in Worcester, Mass. DAVID McEwEN, the second child of Harriet Higley and Ephraim McEwen, was born July 7, 1847, and married, 1870, Lizzie Shay. They had three children: Willie, died 1872; Emma, died 1874; and Minne, born 1875. MARTHA, the third child of David and Harriet (Higley) McEwen, born April 15, 1854; married, first, Albert Wiggins, May 2, 1870. He died April 6, 1873. They had one son, George H., born August 25, 1871. Martha married, second, Charles A. Gould, July 17, 1875. They reside in Bridgeport,, Conn. Coy, John, 3d, John, Jr., John, St., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 395. COY HIGLEY, the ninth child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Mes- senger) Higley, was born at Canton, Conn., February 10, 1815. When quite a young man, scarcely twenty-one, he went to Merri- mac, 1 Mass., and there married Sarah Kendrick, a native of that town. She was born April 12, 1817. They settled in a home of their own, where they resided in quiet habits in the same house and on the same spot, fifty-seven years, respected and beloved by the whole community. Mr. Higley, during his active years, was engaged in a lucrative business. The tranquil married life of Mr. and Mrs. Coy Higley, which was a treasure of happiness and sympathetic companionship, was celebrated at their fifty-first wedding anniversary, June 9, 1887. A golden wedding is always an event which claims genuine interest. Thackeray says: "To see a young couple loving each other is no wonder; but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight of all." The added year in this instance the fifty-first did not dimin- ish the lively pleasure taken by their friends and kinspeople from far and near, on the occasion of a large reception which they gave at their home on the date above named, at which the aged couple received notable assurance of the affectionate esteem in which they were held. Gifts in great variety, in silver, china, and glass, and valuable bric-a-brac, together with a purse of gold, were presented. A brother, aged seventy-five, of the bridegroom of fifty-one years, was present; also a sister of the bride, aged eighty-one. During 1 This town was formerly known as West Amesbury. 27 46 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. the evening the pastor of their church, Rev. Mr. Lunt, and guests from Newburyport, Haverhill, and other adjacent towns, made congratulatory addresses, wishing the "happy pair" many more years of conjugal bliss. The exercises of the evening were interspersed with old-time songs, and were closed with a fervent prayer by their pastor. But they were destined to but few more years of married hap- piness in this life; the time of separation finally came Coy Higley died March 29, 1893. Coy and Sarah (Kendrick) Higley had one child, a son, viz. : OILMAN SMITH HIGLEY, born July 9, 1837. He married, March 3, 1861, Ellen, daughter of R. Leach, of Hallowell, Me. Early in the late Civil War he enlisted for a term of three years in the 23d Regi- ment, Company A, Massachusetts Volunteers, called the Salem Zouaves. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted in Washington, D. C., in Company K, 1st Regiment, United States Veteran Volunteers, General Hancock commanding, and bravely served his entire time in both enlistments, remaining in faithful service till the bells of peace rang out their glad chimes over war and carnage ended. Oilman S. and Ellen (Leach) Higley had children, viz.: Sadie Smith, born July 7, 1862 ; George ., born July 18, 1867 ; LilKe, born October 22, 1869, died September 12, 1870 ; and Nabbie, born August 30, 1871. Oilman S. Higley met his death by accidental drowning in the Merrimac River, August, 1873. CHARLES HIGLEY, the tenth child of John, 3d, and Lodama (Messenger) Higley, was born April 6, 1817. He went to South America, and it is supposed he died in that country, no tidings having been received of him for full forty years. JULINA HIGLEY, the eleventh and youngest child of John and Lodama (Messenger) Higley, born August n, 1819, died an infant, May 21, 1820. Continued from page 394. We now return to the direct line of the family of John Higley, Jr. (or 2d), in the person of his second son. TIMOTHY HIGLEY, the second son of John Higley, Jr. (2d), whose wife was Dibble, was born in the farm homestead which had descended from father to son in the line of the "Johns" Higley, which lay in the "Farm's school district in Canton, Conn., November 30, 1781. He married Polly Allen, who was born 1787. They resided for a number of years till DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 407 later than 1822 in West Hartland, Conn. Subsequently they removed to Pennsylvania, taking a family of children, and settled on a farm in Athens Township, Crawford County. Here they and their descendants spent their lives as plain farming folk. Timothy Higley died 1868. His wife died many years before 1845. They lie buried in a private burial plot on a farm that has been owned in the family for two or more successive generations, five miles from Townville, Crawford County, Pa. Timothy and Polly (Allen) Higley had four children, viz. : MARIA, who married Solomon Sturdivant, both of whom died many years ago. CHESTER, married Bulah Vanzcise. Not living. ALVIN, little is known of him. He married and had one child. SYLVESTER, born 1814, married Eliza Vanderhoof, who was born the same year. They resided at Townville, Pa. , and had five children, viz. : Aha, James, Emily, Milo J., Mary. ALVA HIGLEY, born August 27, 1838 ; married Martha Lilibridge. Alva Higley served in the Civil War, and was killed in battle. They resided in Spring- field, 111., and had one child, named James C., born March n, 1862. JAMES HIGLEY, son of Sylvester and Eliza Higley, was born August 10, 1840, married Julia A. Lilibridge. James Higley served twenty-two months in the Civil War. They had two children : Eva J. and Alva E., who was born April 2, 1861, and married Mary E. Ralston. She was born October 27, 1858. Alva E. and Mary (Ralston) Higley have three children, as follows : Cornelius J. born July II, 1882 ; Julia E., born May 6, 1887 ; and Thomas IV., born April 22, 1889. They reside at Townville, Crawford County, Pa. EMILY HIGLEY, born December n, 1842, married Charles Bromley. She died February 20, 1883. No children. MILO J. HIGLEY, born July 2, 1845, married Ellen Lilibridge. They reside at Townville, Pa., and have twelve children (two of whom are not living), viz.: Nettie, Timothy, Mary, Henrietta, Teressa, John, Charles, Jennie, Paulina, George E., Alva, and Mack. MARY HIGLEY, born April 7, 1851, married Hugh Bromley. They reside at Riceville, Crawford County, Pa. They have no children. DAN HIGLEY, the youngest child of John Higley, Jr. (or ad), and his wife Dibble, was born in Canton, Conn., Decem- ber 22, 1789. He was thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and being a minor, Ezra Adams, Esq., was appointed his guar- dian. Mr. Adams bound the boy as an apprentice to Theopolis Humphrey of Canton. In course of time, when scarcely eigh- teen, Dan married and soon afterward absconded, on or about November 17, 1807; in consequence of which Mr. Humphrey brought suit against his guardian for damages to which he thought he was subjected. The sum of $163.43 was awarded him, and the court authorized the guardians to sell seven acres of the land belonging to Dan Higley, a legacy from his father, 48 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. to satisfy the claim. 1 The town of Canton was also reimbursed for expenses attending his young wife. What became of young Dan is not known. Among the few miscellaneous characters bearing the Higley name who appear to have been connected by heredity was : JOHN A. HIGLEY, who was born either in Simsbury or Canton, Hartford County, Connecticut, in the year 1793. During the second war with Great Britain, 1812-14, he served under Com- mander Isaac Phelps, enlisting August 18, 1814, and was honor- ably discharged with the troops, October 25, 1814. During the early wars of our country the terms of enlistment were short; many however re-enlisted, and John A. Higley may have been among that number. For many years he received a United States pension. He married at Simsbury, Jerusha Fuller. They resided in Simsbury, Conn. John A. Higley died November 17, 1841. His wife died March i, 1861, aged seventy-four. They were interred in the Simsbury cemetery. Their children : George Byron Higley, born October 14, 1823; Sabria, born April 2, 1826. Both are living and are unmarried. They reside in Simsbury. 1 Simsbury Probate Records, book vi. p. 183. CHAPTER LIV. / CARMI HIGLEY. Continued from page 394. Carmi, John, Sr., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. " And yet he was not alone. About him stood the mighty spirits of the past, who fought and became immortal in the cause of Liberty." CARMI HIGLEY, son of John Higley, Sr., and Apphia (Hum- phrey) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., May 16, 1749. He married his cousin, Hester, the widow of Thomas Case, and daugh- ter of Captain Josiah Case and his wife, Hester Higley. 1 She was born May 10, 1745. They resided in Canton. Carmi Higley joined the army of the Revolution in 1776, Colo- nel Huntington's regiment, Captain E. Fitch Bissell's company. After the battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, he was reported* " missing." a Subsequently it was found that he was taken pris- oner of war, and was for some time confined in one of the New York churches, which was used as a prison ; but his lot finally fell with the large number more than twelve thousand men* who were placed in the wretched hulks of British prison-ships moored near the site of where the United States Navy Yard at Brooklyn, N. Y., now is, and were starved to death. Historical record tells that from these " floating dungeons their bodies after death were taken on shore." One of the Revolutionary poets thus describes the manner in which their remains were disposed of : " Each day at least six carcasses we bore, And scratched their graves along the sandy shore ; 1 Page 391. 2 "Colonel Huntington's regiment was reorganized for the year 1776. After the siege of Bos- ton it marched under Washington for New York, via New London, at which point it boarded schooners and passed through Long Island Sound. It remained in the vicinity of New York from April to the close of the war, assisting in fortifying the city. August 24 it was ordered to the Brooklyn front and engaged in the Battle of Long Island, Augusta?, fought near where Greenwood Cemetery now is, and being surrounded by the British, lost heavily in prisoners." Record of Connecticut Men in War of tke Revolution. * " Of this number the ' Society of Old Brooklynites,' Brooklyn, N. Y., have obtained from the records of the British War Department eight thousand names." 409 410 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. By feeble hands the shallow graves were made, No stone memorial o'er the corpses laid ; In barren sands and far from home they lie, No friend to shed a tear when passing by." For thirty-two years these noble dead lay in their unmarked and unnoticed graves, the bones of some being washed out of their shallow sepulchers by the tides which swept the beach, till a move- ment was made in the year 1808 by the "Columbian Order" of New York City, which resulted in having them collected and buried with imposing ceremonies, " in which the governors of sev- eral States, mayors of cities, and civil, military, and ecclesiastical dignitaries from all parts of the country took part." Ultimately the Park Commissioners of the City of Brooklyn "prepared with great care and expense a permanent tomb for the reception of these sacred remains, on the historic ground of Fort Green, a charming elevation in Washington Park, overlooking the scene of their sufferings and death to which they were carefully removed and deposited." Here our national colors float over them on all national holi- days and public days of consequence. The debt of gratitude which our country owes to the memory of these gallant heroes, who sacrificed their lives in horrible prisons, under circumstances which tested their loyalty to the cause of liberty even more than that of the soldier who fought in the excitement of the battle-field, meeting death as they did under slow and torturing fate, and when persistently importuned to choose between the prison-ships and enlistment in King George's army, exclaimed : " GIVE us THE PRISON-SHIPS AND DEATH, OR WASHINGTON AND LIBERTY ! " should be forever recorded in the hearts of a grateful country, and preserved in imperishable granite. Carmi and Hester Higley had one child a son who bore his father's name. Hester Higley settled the estate of her husband, exhibiting an inventory in court, March 2, 1779. She died in 1790. CARMI HIGLEY, 2d, son of the above, was born about 1775. He married Sally Kelsey, who was born in 1783. He perished at sea in the prime of life, in 1814. His wife died January 25, 1850. They had three children, viz. : Sally, Carmi, 3d, and Festus. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLE Y, SR. 411 SALLY HIGLEY, the eldest child, was born 1809. She married, first, Wadsworth Brown, and second, Hiram Webster. No children. She died, 1849. CARMI, 3d, the second child of Carmi, 2d, and Sally (Kelsey) Higley, was born 1810. He married a widow, Coates. They resided in Bloomfield, Conn., where Mr. Higley owned a neat property, and followed the trade of builder. They had no children. He died October 2, 1859. FESTUS HIGLEY, the third child of Carmi Higley, 2d, and Sally (Kelsey) Higley, was born 1814. He married Theda Burr, July 25, 1842. She was born April 15, 1817. They had one child, a daughter named Lura. Festus Higley died May i, 1869. His wife died April 4, 1884. LURA HIGLEY, daughter of Festus, was born August 4, 1846, and married, Decem- ber 25, 1884, William J. Pease. He was born May 6, 1837. The only child of William J. and Lura Higley Pease is named Carrie Florence, born January 25, 1886. They reside in Hartford, Conn. Continued from page 394. ISAAC HIGLEY, son of John, Sr., and Apphia (Humphrey) Hig- ley, was born in Canton Conn., June 22, 1753. Well established family tradition states that he was a Revolutionary soldier, join- ing Colonel Belden's regiment in company with his brother, Obed, in 1777, which is probably correct, as he was then twenty-four years of age, but no recorded facts are furnished. He married Anna Clark and resided in Simsbury. His name is found in the town records 1 as " Fence Viewer," December 1,1800. In the year 1808 he purchased a tract of 128 acres of land, at two dollars per acre, in the town of Elba, Genesee County, New York, to which he removed with his family. Here he died two years later 1810. Isaac Higley, Sr., and Anna (Clark) Higley had seven children, viz. : Isaac, Jr., Abby, Ruth, Adah, Anna, Hannah, and Candace, all born at Simsbury, Conn. ABBY, the eldest daughter, born September 15, 1783, married Elias Pettibone ; died October 4, 1806. RUTH, born September 12, 1784, married Daniel Mills and lived in Elba, N. Y. She died October 10, 1870. ADAH, born June 26, 1791, married, first, Zebulon Woodruff; second, Reuben Norton. She died July 29, 1824. ANNA, born March 17, 1793, married Samuel Lampson, and lived in Onondaga County, New York. She died January 8, 1873 ; he died September 6, 1855. HANNAH married William Knapp, and lived in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Both were buried in Andover, O. CANDACE, born October 9, 1793, married John Hawkins and lived at Alexander- N. Y. She died May 18, 1864. 1 Simsbury Town Records. 412 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ISAAC HIGLEY, Jr., the only son and eldest child of Isaac, Sr., and Anna (Clark) Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., July 21, 1779. He married Dorothy, placed upon record "Dolly," 1 daughter of Timothy Kilburn of Wethersfield, Conn., afterward of Sims- bury. She was born in 1783. She received a bequest from her father's estate, August, 13, 1814. Isaac, Jr., and Dorothy Higley emigrated to Genesee County, western New York, in 1808, with Isaac Higley, Sr., and his family. Here they lived and died. After his father's decease it fell upon Isaac to assume the remaining debt upon the land which they had taken on contract from a land agency, to be cleared and paid for in eight years. The fine and beautiful Genesee country was at that time an uncultivated forest. But despondency had no place in his nature, and with a stout heart he proceeded to conquer the difficulties of the task before him. A comfortable farm was in due time under cultivation, and the price of the land nearly trebled in a very few years. When the war of 1812 was declared, the men of his neighbor- hood were ordered to the front. Isaac Higley, with his uncle and nephew, reported for service at Buffalo, taking blankets and three days' provisions. It was, however, found that the Govern- ment had not sufficient equipments for all the men, and he, being among a number who had left young families behind them, was sent back to his home. He was one of three commissioners appointed to divide the township of Batavia, N. Y., into two townships, and it was he who gave the town of Elba its name. In 1820, at the first town meeting which was held in Elba, he was elected commissioner of schools, and served in this capacity for many years. His life stood the test of trial and time. He lived to make a name and a place respected among the early settlers of Genesee County. He died July 31, 1832. His wife died November 4, 1852. Isaac, Jr., and Dorothy (Kilburn) Higley had seven children, viz. : Emily, Horace, Maria, Eber, Anson, Isaac Newton, Alvira. EMILY, the eldest, born February 28, 1802, married Walter Holbrook, and lived in Leon, Ashtabula County, O. They had a family. Names not given. 1 Simsbury Probate Record, book vi. p. 266. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 4*3 HORACE HIGLEY, born September 20, 1803 ; never married. Died December 28, 1828. MARIA, born December 10, 1805, married Isaac Tinkham. They lived and died in Ashtabula, O., leaving a family of seven children. EBER HIGLEY, born June 18, 1808, married Abigail Lester of Tiffin, O. They reside in Prescott, Wis., no data furnished. ANSON HIGLEY, the fifth child of Isaac, Jr., and Dorothy (Kil- burn) Higley, was born in Elba, N. Y., November 13, 1811. He was but eighteen years of age when death deprived him of his father's care and counsel. Although young, he was capable of rendering valuable assistance to his widowed mother in settling the estate. His educational advantages were limited, but having a great desire for knowledge, he resolved to supply the need he felt, and used every opportunity within his reach.' Being a diligent reader, his mind became stored with a large amount of general information, especially on historical and Biblical subjects. Polit- ically Mr. Higley was an old time Whig, and later on a pro- nounced Republican, taking an active interest in public affairs. He grew up in league with the advancing interests and growth of the section of Genesee County in which he lived, faithfully serving his town and county in public appointments. He served four terms as supervisor, was repeatedly elected assessor, and acted as commissioner of highways sixteen years. He was always actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was one of the best known agriculturists in western New York. For several years he was the president of the Genesee County Agricultural Society. At one time he owned and managed over four hundred acres of land. Till the close of his life he held a farm of 156 acres in the town of Elba, which was noted for its great productiveness and beauty of situation. During the last few years he resided in Batavia, the county-seat of Genesee County, New York, where he owned a handsome residence with grounds sur- rounding. In 1885 Anson Higley and his wife united with the First Baptist Church of Batavia on profession of his faith. He had believed himself a Christain for fifty years, but for certain reasons had not entered a denominational communion. He fully identi- fied himself with all of the active interests of his church, and was a regular attendant. Anson Higley was twice married. His first wife was Lydia C. THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Newkirk of Byron, N. Y., whom he married January 24, 1838. She died October 5, 1867. On the i$th of April, 1875, he mar- ried Lizzie Cassidy of Rochester, Vt. He died, after a brief illness, February 8, 1894. Anson Higley and his first wife, Lydia C. Newkirk, were the parents of the following children, viz.: Mary Pamelia, Sarah Ellen, Isaac Anson, Elizabeth Wakeman, John Osborn, and Emma Gertrude. MARY PAMELIA, the eldest, was born February 22, 1840. She was educated in the schools of Elba, N. Y., her native town, and at the Genesee and Wyoming Seminary. On the i6th of March, 1865, she became the wife of Milton M. Browne. Mr. Browne was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1861, and is now a prominent lawyer. They have resided for thirty years at Osage, Mitchell County, la. They are members of the Congregational Church, and residents honored and esteemed. They have one child, viz.: GALEN HIGLEY BROWNE, who was born March 15, 1872. He was graduated from the Cedar Valley Seminary, a flourishing institution of learning located in the town in which they reside, June, 1890. SARAH ELLEN, the second child of Anson Higley and his first wife, Lydia (New- kirk) Higley, was born at Elba, N. Y., April 12, 1842. She married Francis P. Terry, March 15, 1860. They resided at Batavia, N. Y., for many years. Their home is now in Buffalo. Mrs. Terry is an active member of the Woman's Chris- tian Temperance Union. They have five children, viz. : George Higley Terry, born November II, 1863, who married Myrta Loomis, September 15, 1882; reside in Batavia, N. Y. Fred Raymond, born April 17, 1866; died October 29, 1876. Earl Gordon, born June 22, 1870. John C., born July 6, 1874. And Grace E., born November 12, 1879. ISAAC ANSON, the third child of Anson and Lydia (Newkirk) Higley, was born at Elba, N. Y., November 18, 1843, and married, March 22, 1870, Louise Campbell. They reside near Elba, N. Y., where Mr. Higley owns a fine farm of 148 acres. He engages in the political questions of the day, belonging to the Republican party. Their children : Levi C., born March 18, 1871; Frank Chase, born October 6, 1872, died Jan- uary 17, 1876; Anson Holbrook, born January 28, 1874; Irving Wilson, born May 7, 1879; Leicester Charles, born February 26, 1886. ELIZABETH WAKEMAN, the fourth child of Anson and Lydia (Newkirk) Higley, was born February 24, 1846, and married Burr Humphrey. She died Sep- tember 20, 1879. They had one child, viz.: Clarence Anson, born January 23, 1871. JOHN OSBORN, the fifth child of Anson and Lydia (Newkirk) Higley, was born at Elba, N. Y., February 19, 1849, and married Almedia Churchill, March 11, 1875. He owns 97 acres of fine farming land, which lies on the town boundary between Batavia and Elba, Genesee County, N. Y. He takes DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 415 part in political matters, supporting the Republican party. They have one child, viz.: Homer D., born August 30, 1880. EMMA GERTRUDE, the sixth child of Anson and Lydia (Newkirk) Higley, was born April i, 1851, and married William F. Robe, December n, 1873. They reside at Elba, N. Y. They have three children, viz. : Gertrude Abbie, born March 19, 1875; Mary Eva, born August 13, 1878; Guy Higley, born January 16, 1891. Continued from page 412. ISAAC NEWTON HIGLEY, son of Isaac, Jr., and Dorothy (Kilburn) Higley, was born May 4, 1814, and died on his twenty-fifth birthday, May 4, 1838; unmarried. ALVIRA, the seventh and youngest child of Isaac, Jr., and Dorothy (Kilburn) Higley, was born at Elba, N. Y., February 16, 1817. She married Charles Ames, March 7, 1837. Charles Ames was born March 20, 1812. They removed to Republic, O., May 13, 1843, taking a family of three children with them. Here they have since resided, having six more children. Their children : Andrew Judson, Henry, Louisa, William Waller, Emily Ann, Maryetta, Joseph, Charles, and David Erwin. ANDREW JUDSON AMES, the eldest, was born at Elba, N. Y., January 18, 1838, and married Theby Burge, a widow, September 21, 1864. He entered the War of the Rebellion, and fought with bravery. At the battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863, he received a severe wound in the leg, which caused a lameness for the remainder of his life. SERGEANT HENRY AMES, the second child of Charles and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born July 24, 1840, at Elba, N. Y. He was an early volunteer soldier in the late Civil War, re-enlisting in the 66th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was one of the veteran victors with General Sherman on his march to the sea. For his meritorious service he was ele- vated to office of sergeant. Receiving a gun-shot wound, he was sent to Chatta- nooga, Tenn. , where he died from its effects, and was interred in the national cemetery at that place. LOUISA, the third child of Charles and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born at Elba, N. Y., December 27, 1842, and married , November 2, 1865. They live near Republic, O. WILLIAM WALTER, the fourth child of Charles and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born at Republic, O., August 21, 1844. He resides at Fargo, N. D. EMILY ANN, the fifth child, was born at Republic, O., November 20, 1845, and married , April 10, 1866. MARYETTA, the sixth child, was born at Republic, O., September 25, 1848, and married Joseph An way, December 1 6, 1869. They reside in her native town. JOSEPH, the seventh child of Charles and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born at Republic, O., July 12, 1850. He lives at Fargo, N. D. CHARLES ALBERT, the eighth child of Charle*- and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born at Republic, O., October 8, 1855. He resides at Fargo, N. D. DAVID IRWIN, the ninth child of Charles and Alvira (Higley) Ames, was born at Republic, O., February 8, 1858. He lives at Fargo, N. D. CHAPTER LV. " DEACON " OBED HIGLEY, SR. Continued front page 394. Obed, Sr., John, Sr. (or ist), Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. " There is not a human life that is now potent for good, which is not shaped and swayed in a large measure by the influence of lives which have passed from earth." OBED HIGLEY, SR., son of John and Apphia (Humphrey) Hig- ley, was born at Canton, Conn., October 25, 1757, and always lived there. He was a man in his day of much force of character, and of considerable prominence, mingling in church and public affairs; his life being apparently marked by respectability, thrift, and fore- sight. He joined the Army of the Revolution, Colonel Belden's regi- ment, Captain Abel Pettibone's company, March 26, 1777, and received at the end of his service an honorable discharge. His name was placed upon the list of United States pensioners, the act of 1832, "who served two years or more"; he drew a pension till his death, at eighty-four years of age. December 14, 1801, he served as grand juror, and in the set- tlement of an estate, December, 1813, he is upon record as "Attorney." The old church in Canton, of which he was deacon, was a part and parcel of his special interests. According to the old New England custom, he was always known as " Deacon " Obed Higley. His first wife, Rebecca Mills, whom he married about 1786, and who was the mother of his children, was born August 13, 1766. She died October 15, 1827. His second wife was Phebe Hum- phrey, for whom he provided in his will, which indicates that he had a comfortable property for support in his old age. In his declining years he was cared for by his son, Alson Higley. He died January 24, 1841. His will was produced in court, February 3, 1841, in which he mentions, besides his wife, Phebe, his nine children. A private letter written to the Higleys of Vermont by the Hon. Jeffrey O. Phelps of Simsbury, about the year 1852, contains the DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 4*7 following remark: "Obed Higley left a large family, many of them now living in Simsbury and Canton, and most of them wealthy and respectable." Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, his first wife, were the parents of ten children, viz. : Sally, Theda, Obed, Jr. (or 2d), Alson, Luther, Correll, Pomeroy, Amelia, Almenia, and Emeline. SALLY, their eldest child, was born September 30, 1787 ; married Allen Case of Canton. He was born 1785. She died in 1815, at thirty years of age. He married the second time. Allen Case died 1849. THEDA, the second child of Obed and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born August 10, 1789, and married Benjamin Goff. She died 1853. Hon. OBED HIGLEY (2d), the eldest son of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., January 5, 1791. He was a brickmaker by trade. He married, December n, 1811, Mary Dickinson, who was born August 9, 1793. Their married life covered a period of nineteen years, during which they had a family of four children. She died August 23, 1830. Feb- ruary 4, 1831, he married Anna Hastings. The same year Obed Higley was chosen by his townspeople as representative from Simsbury in the Connecticut General Assembly, and was again a member in 1835. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church in Can- ton, and, like his father, he was designated as " Deacon Obed " by all who knew him. He always resided in Canton, Conn. He died March 21, 1878. His second wife, Anna (Hastings) Hig- ley, died December 13, 1870, at the age of seventy-five. Chil- dren of Hon. Obed Higley (2d) and Mary Dickinson : Mary Ann, born March 16, 1814 ; died April 17, 1817. Lyman Owen, born May 26, 1816. Marietta, born April 4, 1818 ; died January 17, 1819. Marietta (ad), born January 30, 1822 ; died March 9, 1825. LYMAN OWEN HIGLEY, the only son of Hon. Obed (2d) and Mary (Dickinson) Higley, and the only child who lived to maturity, was born in Canton, Conn., May 26, 1816. He married Sarah A. Woodford, who was born December 26, 1817. The marriage took place November 16, 1837. They resided in Canton. He died November 30, 1884. They had four children, viz. : Lyman Owen Higley, Jr., born July 18, 1839; died October 2, 1839. Burton Obed, born September 30, 1842. Anna Maria, born August n, 1845 ; married 41 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Orlando Miner, June 10, 1873. Maiy Gertrude, born October 8, 1847 ; died November 4, 1860. BURTON OBED HIGLEY, son of Lyman O. and Sarah A. (Woodford) Higley, was born at Canton, Conn., September 30, 1842. He married, September 3, 1867, E. Josie Woodford. She was born February 27, 1847. Mr. Higley is a man of con- siderable prominence in his town, bearing the respect of the entire community. He is a farmer and resides in Canton, Conn. No children. ALSON HIGLEY, the second son and fourth child of Deacon Obed, Sr. (or ist), and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born at Can- ton, Conn., February 20, 1793. When about eighteen years of age he went to Genesee County, New York, and was residing with his uncle, Isaac Higley, Sr., when the War of 1812 was declared. The men of that part of the country were ordered into service. Alson Higley, with his uncle, Eber Higley, and his cousin, Isaac, Jr., taking with them blankets and three days' rations, reported for duty at Buffalo. Arms and ammunition being scarce, the volunteer soldiers could not all be supplied, and a number of men who had young families were sent back to their homes. Among these was Isaac Higley, Jr. Alson entered the ranks and was forwarded with the troops to Queens- town Heights. Here he was taken prisoner by the British in the severe engagement fought October 13, 1812, and conveyed to Halifax, where he was held fourteen months. Before leaving his uncle's home at Elba, N. Y., he concealed thirty dollars, sewing it up inside of his shirt pocket. With this money he procured by stealth, during his imprisonment, sufficient necessaries for immediate subsistence, which prevented him shar- ing the sad fate that met so large a number of those noble sol- diers death by starvation. His family and friends at his home in Canton, Conn., obtaining no tidings of him during the long months of silence, gave him up for dead and had his memorial sermon preached. To their utter astonishment he one day appeared at the door. There followed, as a matter of course, great rejoicings among kith and kin. On the ist of January, 1816, he married Christian Robbins at Avon, Conn. She was born at Farmington, Conn., July 27, 1795. They settled in Canton, and finally resided in the homestead of his father, Deacon Obed Higley, Sr. , administering to his needs during the declining years of his old age. Farming was the occu- pation of Alson Higley's life. The old residents of the town who lived during his time will DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 4*9 never fail to recall the great contest in the courts which occurred at a much later period, about 1844, involving a long and try- ing litigation in which he was a party. It was an event that produced a powerful influence in the community and great ex- citement and feeling. The case called out Mr. Higley's untiring and relentless defense, into which he put all the energy of his strong nature, giving his opponents a lot of trouble. It was probably at this period of his life that his strongest personal characteristics were exhibited. He and his friends were in the end gratified by the final decision of the courts being in his favor. He died in Canton, September i, 1863. His wife died at Bloomfield, Conn., July 23, 1870. They had nine children, all of whom were born at Canton, Conn., viz. : Sally, Erastus, George, Willard, Oliver, Adelene, Angeline, Eliza Ann, and Willard Alson. SALLY, the eldest, was born May 30, 1817. She married William A. Curtis, September 12, 1838. They resided at Meriden, Conn., where she died March 24, 1847. ERASTUS, the second child, was born July 8, 1822 ; married Mary A. Belding, March, 1847. He died at Meriden, where they lived, December 2, 1869. GEORGE, the third child, was born February 6, 1824, and married Ruth E. Cook, June 5, 1854. She was born September 7, 1831. He died June 13, 1868. She died March 3, 1863. They were interred at Meriden, Conn. They had one child : GEORGE E., born February 16, 1856, at Meriden, Conn. George E. Higley married, March 20, 1877, Susan N. Dolph, who was born at Guildford, Conn., September 4, 1856. George E. and Susan (Dolph) Higley have children, viz. : William C., born April 19, 1878 ; George E., Jr., born September 12, 1880 ; Raymond C., born August 5, 1882 ; Bertha L., born February 17, 1884 ; LenaM., born February 4, 1886. They reside at Stony Creek, Conn. WILLARD, the fourth child of Alson and Christian (Robbins) Higley, was born April 13, 1825 : died when twelve days old. OLIVER, the fifth child of Alson and Christian (Robbins) Higley, was born January 27, 1827 ; married Phynetta Rice. He died at Windsor, Conn., Septem- ber 28, 1866. They had two children, Frank and Eva. Frank died . Eva married Martin Bidwell. They lived at Hartford, Conn. ADELINE, a twin daughter, the sixth child of Alson and Christian (Robbins) Higley, was born February 24, 1829. She married, August 22, 1847, William A. Curtis, the former husband of her sister Sally. They had one child, Willis Curtis, born July 24, 1848. ANGELINE, twin sister to Adeline, born February 24, 1829, married, November 21, 1855, Norris Holcombe of Canton. He was born 1829. They have no children. 420 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ELIZA ANN, the eighth child of Alson and Christian (Robbins) Higley, was born January 24, 1831 ; married May 30, 1853, Wells A. Lawton. He was born at Goshen, Conn., September 19, 1830. Their children are : Eliza A., born May 10, 1865, died June 2, 1865. Freddie Higley, born April 8, 1867. And George Clark, born October 3, 1869. WILLARD ALSON, the ninth child of Alson and Christian (Robbins) Higley, was born January 2, 1834, and died at Canton, Conn. , October i, 1860, unmarried. Continued from page 417. LUTHER HIGLEY, the fifth child of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Re- becca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., November 9, 1794, and spent the greater part of his life there. He worked at manual labor on his father's farm during his early years, and received an ordinary education in the country school. His think- ing mind was afterward the cause of him obtaining a special knowledge of law, to which he devoted himself with recognized ability in years later on. . In the year 1818 he began selling "Yankee" clocks, traversing the States of Maine, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Mary- land, and the Carolinas, which gave him a store of knowledge of every kind. In this business he continued more or less till 1839, accumulating from this source alone about twenty thousand dollars. He also at one time owned an interest of considerable value in a powder mill, engaging in shipping powder over an extensive territory. About the year 1820 he purchased a farm in his native town, which was his home till the year 1856. Here his children were born. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1825, which office he. held with little exception as long as he resided in Canton town- ship. In 1850 he was appointed by Governor Thomas H. Sey- mour judge of probate for the district of Canton, continuing in this service for a number of years. From the time of his first appointment as justice till his removal from Canton, thirty-one years, he was constantly engaged in important actions, and there was probably tried before him as many cases during those years as before any other justice in Hartford County. In one special case, a litigation in which his brother was involved, he devoted the greater part of his time for one entire year. In 1850 he purchased, together with his brother, Pomeroy Higley, several thousand acres of land in the States of Illinois DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 421 and Louisiana. This enterprise was successful. He held large quantities of Illinois land till his decease. August, 1856, he sold his farm in Connecticut and bought farming lands at Bainbridge, Chenango County, N. Y., to which place he removed the following November, and there resided till his death, which took place on the 3ist of December, 1857. Judge Luther Higley was three times married, his last two wives being sisters. His first wife, whom he married October 8, 1816, was Electa Woodford, who was born November 24, 1794. She died February 4, 1818, in little more than a year after their marriage, leaving no child. He married, second, Flora Bidwell, who was born October 24, 1796. She became his wife April 14, 1819. She died February 24, 1826, leaving two children. His third wife was Sarah F. Bidwell, born January 3, 1801. Their marriage took place November 13, 1826. Sarah (Bidwell) Higley died June 19, 1874. She was the mother of four children. Children by second wife: Luther Bidwell and Thomas Baxter. By his third wife: Walter, Edwin, Rollin, and Truman. LUTHER BIDWELL HIGLEY, the eldest son of Luther and his second wife, Flora (Bidwell) Higley, was born in the town of Canton, Conn., April 25, 1821. Here he resided with his parents till the year 1840, having been engaged since reaching manhood in the delivery of powder manufactured by his father in his powder mill. About this time he became acquainted with Phylecta Wood- ford, the daughter of Lyman and Jane (Boyd) Woodford of Lincolnton, N. C., who was attending a school in Hartford, Conn. Their congeniality of tastes ended in a happy marriage, which took place on the 2ist of November, 1842. Phylecta Woodford was born February 19, 1828, and was at the time of her marriage scarce fifteen years of age, while the young bride- groom was only turned of twenty-one. Luther B. Higley very soon took his youthful bride to her native State, and there they established their home on a plantation of six hundred acres, which lay about seven miles north of Lincoln- ton, Lincoln County, N. C., adjoining that of her father. Here they resided till the year 1866, soon after the Civil War, and it was here that eight of their family of eleven children were born. 28 422 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. From early life Luther B.Higley was fond of fine horses, which became a well-known characteristic. It was his good fortune, while yet in his prime, and until his death, to gratify this predi- lection, spending his money in a liberal and enterprising way in his favorite fine-blooded animals, and eliciting applause, from everybody interested in this line, by his fine driving. His love of music was another leading characteristic which was deep-rooted from his early life. It always kindled his higher emotional faculties. He was a fond husband and father, and never was he better or in happier mood than when his large family were gathered about him, singing together and having cheery "goings-on." When Fort Sumter was fired upon in his neighboring State, and the Civil War began, Luther B. Higley, at no time an ex- treme partisan, did not incline to enter the ranks of the Con- federate Army. From the Southerners' point of view, and in sympathy with the people and land of his adoption, he took sides with his State; but the strong natural affection he bore toward his family, and the thought of encountering danger when sepa- rated from them, together with his natural regard for his Northern kindred, caused him to withhold from volunteering for active service. He was, however, twice drafted and twice marched to the front. The nearest scenes of the war lay full fifty miles away from his home. But the plantation owners were greatly harassed by detachments of cavalry from the Confed- erate army, which galloped through the surrounding country, collecting horses and provisions, and stripping the farmer of every conceivable thing upon which they could lay their hands, which made occasion for Mr. Higley to exercise vigilance over his stables and property. In his military service the last two years of the war he was fortunate in securing, through the influence of a Southern colonel who was his personal friend, a position unattended with danger, being detailed to superintend a large forge, located within a few miles of his home, belonging to the Confederate Government. Each time that he was ordered to the front he was absent less than two weeks, the engagements in which he took part amount- ing to little more than mere skirmishes. When the war was over, the despoiled plantations and houses, and the generally impoverished state of the South, brought on by the failing Confederate cause, presented a discouraging pic- DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 423 ture for the future, and Luther B. Higley early determined on removing his family to one of the rich farming Middle States. He chose Illinois. Selling his Southern plantation, with all of its appointments, at a great sacrifice, he purchased a farm six miles west of Waukegan, Warren Township, to which he removed with his family, leaving North Carolina October 15, 1866. There the family afterward resided. He died December 29, 1879. His wife, Phylecta (Woodford) Higley, was born at Lincolnton, N. C. Her mother died when she was seven years of age. She lived for a few years under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Timothy Case, and was then placed in a young lady's seminary in Hart- ford, Conn. As has been already stated, she married before she reached her fifteenth birthday. As she was the only surviving child of her father, he was earnest that the young couple should settle near to him in North Carolina. After her bereavement by the death of her husband in 1879, Mrs. Higley, with the assistance of her younger children, con- ducted the farm near Waukegan, 111., till the year 1890, when she removed with her family to Libertyville, 111. During these years she had an ample field for the exercise of her exceptional virtues and fine capabilities, pressing forward, embracing hope and courage, and preserving a calm temper of mind as she occupied herself with the responsibilities of a large family of fatherless children, now left upon her to bear alone. Together with her husband she had lived and walked in the midst of her loved ones in bonds of unrestrained affection; never was her joy so expanded and complete as when her family was gathered about her; she made the home the center of all that was tender and true. With her children she maintained the most intimate maternal relations, and from them she derived abundant sources of com- fort. They were devotedly fond of their mother, and were accustomed to minister to and support her with the profoundest sentiments of filial love. After a long and painful illness, she fell asleep to awaken in a better world May 9, 1892. " ' Blessed,' saith the Spirit, ' are the dead Who in the Lord do die. For they from labor rest. No more of strife Of cares, no more to sigh Over shortcomings many. All fears have fled And now is perfect day.' " JOSEPHINE BIDWELL. 424 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Luther B. and Phylecta (Woodford) Higley were the parents of eleven children, viz. : Isadore, Theodore Luther, Lyman Baxter, James Edward, Almena, Lauraett, Willisburton, Anna, Jennie, Clarence Pinkney, Walter Fred. ISADORE, the eldest child, born September 5, 1846 ; married, January 6, 1876, Thomas H. Williams. They are farmers, residing at Platte Centre, Neb. Children : Arthur, Maud, George, John, Earl, Edward, Bessie. THEODORE LUTHER, the second child, born July 24, 1849; unmarried. He is a farmer ; resides at Platte Centre, near Stuart, Neb. LYMAN BAXTER, the third child, born January 24, 1851; unmarried. He is a farmer ; resides near Stuart, Neb., adjoining his brother. JAMES EDWARD, the fourth child, born near Lincolnton, N. C., April 15, 1854, and removed with his parents to Waukegan, 111., when he was twelve years of age. He received a common school education at the district school. He is an enterprising man, possessing quickness of perception, excellent business ability, and bearing a fine character. He resides at Russell, 111., where he has for some years held the position of station agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Mr. Higley is a Master Mason ; also an active member of the " Modern Woodmen of America," a popular and growing organization, with a membership covering a broad field, and fast increasing in power and influence. He was administrator to the estates of both his parents. He married, September 27, 1882, Hattie S. Sherman of Shermanville, 111., daughter of Joel S. Sherman and his wife, Harriet Read Botsford, both natives of Connecticut, who settled in Chicago in the year 1843, an( i there became a prominent family. Mr. Higley owns a neat home at Russell ; also property in the city of Chicago. Like his father he is a lover of high-blooded horses and is the owner of some very good stock. They have one child, viz. : Howard James Higley, born August II, 1884. ALMENA, the fifth child of Luther B. and Phylecta Woodford Higley, was born May 20, 1856, died November 28, 1857. She was interred beside her grand- parents on the family plantation in Catawba County, N. C. LAURAETT, the sixth child, was born near Lincolnton, N. C., October 27, 1858. She married, September 12, 188-, Charles Herbert Galloway, who was born October 6, 1856, in Northfield, Cook County, 111., son of Job Galloway, formerly of Erie County, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Emma Millen, a native of Syracuse, N. Y. Mr. Galloway has the habit of pleasant expression and agreeable manners. These traits, associated with a most estimable character, together with good business ability, doubtless contribute largely to his present business success. Those who come within his orbit know him to be straightforward and of high principle. He is the president of the Galloway Glass Co. of Chicago, an enter- prising firm doing a prosperous business. Mr. and Mrs. Galloway own a pretty home at Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. They have one child, viz.: Clayton Higley Galloway, born February 13, 1893. WILLISBURTON HIGLEY, the seventh child, born August 7, 1862, married Carrie Lux, September 12, 1889. He is acting as General Station Agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and resides at Gray's Lake, 111. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 425 ANNIE, the eighth child of the family of Luther B. and Phylecta (Woodford) Higley, was born November 25, 1864. She grew to young womanhood one of those favored and attractive souls whose amiable qualities, warm natural impulses, and purity of spirit, caused hearts to open to her " as flowers do to the sunshine." She was a member of the Presby- terian Church, and devoted to its interests, acting as the church organist, faithful in the Sunday school and in the Young People's Association. She was summoned from this life by a tragic death. While on a visit to a married sister in Chicago, on the evening of June I, 1889, she went with a friend to a railway station. While on the platform she unfortunately came too near a track on which a fast-going train was swiftly passing, when her clothing was sud- denly caught by the strong suction, and in a twinkling flinging her with tremendous force under the train, killed her instantly. At her funeral services the Rev. Mr. Frothingham paid a glowing tribute to her memory, testifying to the high esteem in which she was held in her wide circle of acquaintance, her useful life, her gentle, affectionate, and sunny disposition, and her beautiful and unwavering devotion to her widowed mother. "Sure when thy gentle spirit fled To lands beyond the azure dome, With arms outstretched God's angel said ' Welcome to heaven's home, sweet home.' " JENNIE, the ninth child, born February 28, 1867, near Waukegan, 111., married, August 10, 1893, Henry Charles Morgan. Mr. Morgan, the son of George and Harriet Morgan, was born in Tunbridge, County Kent, England. They reside at Highland Park, near Chicago. CLARENCE PINKNEY HIGLEY, the tenth child of Luther B. and Phylecta (Wood- ford) Higley, born March 12, 1869, married, May 18, 1893, Amelia Taylor. They reside in Chicago. He is a mechanical engineer. WALTER FRED HIGLEY, the eleventh and youngest child, was born March 4, 1872. He resides at Geneseeo, 111., where he is engaged in the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad service. He is unmarried. Continued from page 421. THOMAS BAXTER HIGLEY, the second child of Luther and his second wife, Flora (Bidwell) Higley, was born at Canton, Hartford County, Conn., March 14, 1824. He went to California in the early history of the gold excitement in that State, sailing "around the Horn " in 1849. He died on the 26th of December the same year, and was interred on the banks of the Sacramento River. A monument to his memory was erected at his native town Canton, Conn. WALTER HIGLEY, the eldest child of Luther and his third wife, Sarah (Bidwell) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., April 9, 1828. He married, first, Flora Bidwell, March 16, 1854, who 426 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. died ten months later, January 19, 1855. He married, second, December 13, 1859, Alice C. Wade. Mr. Higley is a prosperous farmer, owning and residing upon the farm which his father purchased in 1856, at Bainbridge, Chenango County, N. Y. x By his first wife he had one child, a daughter, Viroqua, who died April 28, 1875. By second wife : Homer ff., born April i, 1861; William IV., born March 14, 1863, died October 21, 1881; Sarah A., born February 3, 1865; Mary Elizabeth, born April 8, 1868; and Sterling F. Higley. HOMER H. HIGLEY, the eldest child, married, February 4, 1892, Cornelia M. Martin. He is engaged in a general hardware business, and resides at Nor- wich, N. Y. EDWIN HIGLEY, the fourth son of Luther Higley and the second child by his wife Sarah (Bidwell) Higley [page 421], was born in Canton, Conn., November 6, 1831; married Harriet Underwood of New Marlborough, Mass., February u, 1859. She was born January 7, 1837. Edwin Higley served three years in the late Civil War, under General Sherman, in a New York cavalry company. Their children were : LUTHER E., born January 23, 1861, at Sidney, N. Y., who married, November 3, 1886, Carrie Rich of Hobart, N. Y. CHARLES A., born June 27, 1863, at Franklin, N. Y., who married, October 15, 1884, Carrie E. Emmonds of Sidney, N. Y. They have a son named Luther E. Higley, Jr., born in Sidney, March n, 1886. ROLLIN HIGLEY, the third son of Luther and his wife Sarah (Bidwell) Higley [page 421], was born in Canton, Conn., March 29, 1835, and married Henrietta Sisson, March 23, 1858. He died, November 25, 1870. They had children, viz. : Ida V., born August 10, 1861, who married James M. Gladwin, December 5, 1883. Addie IV., born April 7, 1864; died Septem- ber, 1884. TRUMAN HIGLEY, the youngest child of Luther and his wife Sarah (Bidwell) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., April n, 1837. He resides at Bainbridge, N. Y., retired from a farming life. He is unmarried. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 4 2 7 Continued from page 417. CORRELL HIGLEY, the sixth child of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., February 12, 1796, and married Nancy Phelps. They first resided at Avon, Conn., afterward removing to Indiana (the name of the town not given), in which State they both died. Correll Higley served in the War of 1812, entering the ranks under command of Captain Isaac Phelps, August 18, 1814. His company was discharged October 25, 1814. Correll Higley died in 1865. They had two children, viz.: Catherine, who married Allen E. Phelps, and died ; and Phelps Higley, who resides in Lafayette, Ind. CHAPTER LVI. POMEROY HIGLEY, SR. Continued front page 417. Pomeroy, Sr., Obed, Sr., John, Sr., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. Thus learned I from the shadow of a tree, That to and fro did sway upon the wall : Our shadow-selves, our influence may fall Where we can never be. A. E. HAMILTON. POMEROY HIGLEY, Sr., the seventh child of Deacon Obed and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Hartford County, Conn., November 10, 1798. He married, August 7, 1821, Eunice Delight Humphrey of Canton, who was born April 2, 1803. They always resided in their native town, occupying a homestead which stood in Canton village, and which is still occupied (1892) by their youngest son, Howard Higley. They were both members of the Baptist denomination. For energy and business capacity Pomeroy Higley was excelled by few men. He possessed both brain power to project measures for the realization of his ambitions and capability to execute them. Life to him was one persistent and constant pressure for gain. He devoted himself almost entirely to the accumulation of lands and property. He had a prime constitution. Physically, he required but few hours sleep. Rising long before day, it was his habit to rouse the whole household and have things sprouting and growing by sunrise. While he never sought public honors, he won his way to a degree of prominence, and was no inconsiderable man in the community, his fellow-citizens having full confidence in his integrity and'indomitable energy. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1842, and served as deputy sheriff of Hartford County for a term of years. All through life he cut his way with a two-edged sword. His concise, commanding force of character caused most people to interpret him as austere, yet he had a quick appreciation of gentleness and possessed kindly impulses. In his family his word was law. He disliked to be trammeled. His restless ambition craving a 4*8 POMEROY HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HISLEY, SR. 4*9 larger opportunity for accumulation and business than a Con- necticut farm afforded him, he identified himself, while yet a young man, with business interests which took him traveling much of the time for several years in the South. During these absences, even then, while sitting in hotels in distant cities and towns, his clear head kept pace with every detail of the farm work, and he wrote explicit directions as to what work each son and farmhand was to do in a given period of time. These directions he ex- pected to be strictly carried out. His energy and practical knowledge of business brought him much success, and he dred, having accumulated, for those times, a comfortable fortune, leaving a property of fifty thousand dollars, besides lands, etc. His decease took place November 7, 1868. The interment was in the cemetery at Canton. The virtues of Eunice D. Higley, his wife, shone throughout a life conspicuously beautiful in her home and to all who knew her. Her bosom concealed a. heart full of gentleness of temperament. She was a woman in every way worthy to be remembered. Gifted with wisdom and intelligence, an efficient helper of her husband, patient with his peculiar personalities, rising at a very early morning hour and busying herself till late at night in active work for the household, with a vast amount of care devolving upon her, her noble nature and the Christian spirit she manifested in her relation to life was all the while inspiring her children to ideas of right living, and a sense of something higher than the simple daily round of life's unremitting toil. She departed this life September 27, 1875. Pomeroy Higley, Sr., and Eunice Delight Humphrey were the parents of nine children, viz. : Pomeroy, Jr., Warren, Clarissa, Eunice, Mary, Martha Ann, Caroline, Howard, and Susan. POMEROY HIGLEY, Jr., the eldest child of Pomeroy, Sr., and Eunice Delight (Humphrey) Higley, was born in Canton Centre, Hartford County, Conn., June 8, 1823. His early years were spent in the daily plow-boy life usual to the sons of well-to-do New England farmers; he attended the country school in Canton when opportunity afforded, which was mostly in the winter season, and remained at his parents' home till he was twenty-four years old. 43 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. From his father he inherited the natural ability and aptitude for business which insures success, together with the kindly dis- position his mother possessed, her agreeable social air, and many of her pleasing qualities. Mr. Higley has followed the business methods of his father, but devoted himself less to money-making. He is a man who has a good knowledge of human nature, bearing an excellent reputa- tion for integrity, and managing his affairs with prudence and coolness. He is unassuming, having no wish for empty honors, and is of thoroughly domestic tastes. About the year 1847 he purchased a farm in the town of Bloomfield, Conn., where he resided ten years, then sold it and removed to his present homestead. He received by inheritance a goodly share of his father's estate, which by successful management he has gradually in- creased. He is now the owner of an estate containing two hun- dred acres of land. The farm home in which he resides is one of substantial comfort, and stands a little north of the hamlet and post office of West Simsbury, Conn., and about five miles from the ancient village of Simsbury. Besides agricultural pursuits, Mr. Higley pays considerable attention to fine blooded stock- raising, making throughbred Jerseys and the dairy a specialty. Both Mr. and Mrs. Higley are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church at North Canton, having joined by letter from the church at Bloomfield, with which they united on profession of their faith. In August, 1890, Pomeroy Higley contributed largely as a member of the committee of arrangements to the very successful and pleasurable event of the Family Reunion and "clam-bake," which was held by the Higleys at Old Simsbury; his well arranged plans, practically carried out, together with his genial presence, reviving the old-time forcibleness of character borne by the ancient ancestry of Higley-town. He is almost the last living representative of the Higleys living in the precincts of Simsbury. On the 6th of November, 1845, Pomeroy Higley, Jr., married Minerva Shepard of Simsbury, daughter of Whiting Shepard, Esq., a noteworthy family of good old Connecticut stock. She was born October 13, 1822. To a delicate organization is linked in her a well-balanced mind, serene in temper and much natural refinement. Possess- ing a benevolent and catholic spirit, and taking an interest in the CLAYTON W. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 431 questions of the day, she is the center of their well ordered Chris- tian home, giving it the inspiration of contentment and peace. Mrs. Higley received a comfortable estate by legacy from her father, Whiting Shepard. Pomeroy and Minerva (Shepard) Higley have one child, viz. : CLAYTON W. HIGLEY, born August 10, 1850, at Bloomfield, Hartford County, Conn. He studied music under masters who imparted to him a thorough knowledge of the science. On the pianoforte he is a performer of no small ability, and has acquired well-merited success as an instructor. Professor Higley possesses refined tastes, is cordial and agreeable in his bearing, of fine physique, and esteemed for his genuine character. He is unmarried, and resides with his parents at West Simsbury, Conn. Continued from page 429. WARREN HIGLEY, son of Pomeroy Higley, Sr., and Eunice D. (Humphrey) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., May i, 1825. He is a farmer in good circumstances, and has always resided in his native town. December 13, 1854, he married Caroline Mills, who was born May 24, 1831. Their children: Warren Higley, Jr., and Carrie. WARREN HIGLEY, Jr., born December 25, 1857, married, January 18, 1884, Anna L. Hayden. He died October 7, 1886. CARRIE, born October 22, 1862, married, July 26, 1882, Byron G. Fenn. CLARISSA HIGLEY, the third child of Pomeroy, Sr., and Eunice D. (Humphrey) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., August 21, 1826. She married, first, John Robertson, and, second, Isaac Alcott She had five children, viz. : Frank, Theodore, Charles, George, and^Otiver. No children by her second marriage. EUNICE A., their fourth child, was born in Canton, Conn., September n, 1828; married Sherman A. Wilcox. She died Sep- tember 13, 1865. They had one daughter, named Emma, who married Frank Case. MARY, the fifth child, born April 25, 1830, died December 25, 1840. MARTHA ANN, the sixth child, born May 3, 1833, married Edwin F. Wilcox. They had one child, named Harriet, who died many years ago. CAROLINE, the seventh child, born March 10, 1835, married Giles A. Sisson. Their children were : Ella, Addie, Frank, and Arthur. 43 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Continued front page 429. HOWARD HIGLEY, the youngest son and eighth child of Pome- roy Higley, Sr., and Eunice D. Humphrey, was born at Canton, Conn., February 12, 1837. He married, March 31, 1858, Mary Etta Case, who was born February 22, 1838. They reside in Canton in the old family homestead of his father. Mr. Higley follows agricultural pursuits. Their children are : Mary A.; Loyal H., born March 13, 1868; and Ellen M., born July i, 1872. MARY A., the eldest child, born February I 1863, married, December 25, 1883, Frederick M. Mills. He died October 23, 1886. SUSAN HIGLEY, the ninth and youngest child of Pomeroy Higley, Sr., and Eunice D. Humphrey, was born April 3, 1839. She married Edmund Hough. They had one son, Eddie, who died in infancy. Continued from page 417. AMELIA HIGLEY, the eighth child of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., October 7, 1801. She married Colonel Austin N. Humphrey. No further data has been furnished. ALMENA, the ninth child of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., April i, 1805. She married, April 25, 1831, Leonard P. Swett of Rockland, Me. He was born December 7, 1801. They resided the latter part of their lives in West Bay City, Mich. Mr. Swett died in that place October 7, 1879. Almena Higley Swett died February 8, 1884. They had four children, viz.: HENRY WARREX SWETT, born August 31, 1834, in Collinsvllle, Conn., married, November 30, 1858, Antoinette Burrows of Freedom, Portage County, O. She died April 15, 1874. He resides in Oakdale, Neb. Their children were : Lena A., Henry B., Leonard C., and Jennie L., who died in infancy. Henry Warren Swett married, second, Sarah E. Kidder. By her he has a daughter, named Antionette^ born June 13, 1877, and a son, born February 14, 1879, wno died. MARY AMELIA SWETT and a twin sister, daughters of Almena Higley and Leonard Swett, were born April 20, 1842, at Collinsville, Conn. The twin child died in infancy. Mary Amelia married, September 6, 1860, Seth Bourn of Den- mark, Tuscola County, Mich. He was born February 6, 1833, in Savoy, Mass. They ha've three children, viz.: Eliza Maria, born September 25, 1861, in Vassar, Mich.; Henry Dwight, born DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLE Y, SR. 433 May 29, 1863, and died January 21, 1865; Minnie Almena, born July 27, 1877, died in West Bay City, Mich., October 7, 1878. ELIZA MARIA BOURN, the eldest child, married, December 23, 1879, Henry A. Hawgood, who was born January 20, 1848, in Wales. They have two children, a son named Harry Bourn, born April 5, 1887, and a daughter, deceased. Continued from page 417. EMELINE HIGLEY, the tenth and youngest child of Deacon Obed, Sr., and Rebecca (Mills) Higley, was born in Canton, Conn., November 4, 1808. She married, first, Luke Fuller, who lived but seven years after. She married, second, Zachariah Kempton of Simsbury, September 12, 1836. Mr. Kempton was born in Plymouth, Mass., July 27, 1793. Emeline Higley Kempton died 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Kempton had four children, viz. : EMELINE, born in Bloomfield, Conn., June 25, 1837 ; married Captain Mark C. Turner, December 20, 1869. REBECCA, born in Simsbury, Conn., August 13, 1841 ; married Stacey Daniels. They have one son, Albert Daniels. EMILY LOUISA, born in Hartford, October 30, 1846 ; married J. B. Sawyer ; died August 29, 1879. They had three sons : Burt, Mark, and Earnest. JENNIE, the youngest child of Zachariah and Emeline Higley Kempton, was born in Hartford, Conn., November 4, 1848 ; married James P. Francis, October 25, 1870. They reside in South Norwalk, Conn. They have one child, viz.: MAUD KEMPTON FRANCIS, born in New Britain, Conn., September 23, 1873, She married September 27, 1894, Richard Hadlock Bulkley. The South Norwalk (Conn.) Sentinel, the day after the marriage, contained the following : " The ceremony which united in the bonds of matrimony Miss Maude Kemp- ton Francis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Francis, and Richard Hadlock Bulkley of Southport, took place yesterday afternoon at 4.30 o'clock. The bridal party stood in front of an altar trimmed with smilax, and under a most artistically arranged wedding bell of carnations and smilax, while in the back- ground were banks of palms and other potted plants. The Episcopal ceremony, with ring, was performed by Rev. Olin Hallock, rector of Trinity Church. The bride was given away by her father, and the groom's best man was his brother, William M. Bulkley of Southport. The bride wore a costume of stone blue broadcloth, with hat to match. Following the ceremony was served an elaborate wedding repast. The floral decorations were very beautiful. The groom's present to the bride was a diamond marquise. The young couple are well known and very popular in local society, and have a wide circle of friends. This was attested by the magnificent wedding gifts received, representing in value several thousand dollars." Mr. and Mrs. Bulkley reside in Bridgeport, Conn. 434 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. EBER HIGLEY. Continued from page 394. Eber, John, Sr., Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. EBER HIGLEY or Heber, according to his baptismal record was the seventh child of John Higley, Sr., and was baptized July 17, 1763. Whether or not he was a son of the first wife, Apphia Hum- phrey, who died nearly a year previous to his baptism, is not clearly shown. Eber and the younger children of John Higley, Sr.'s, family were baptized by the Rev. Mr. Veits, at St. Andrews, the old parish known as Scotland, now Bloomfield, five miles from Canton. It would appear that Mrs. Clark, John Higley's second wife, was a member of the Church of England, and it may have been through her influence that her husband was baptized into the same communion, his name appearing on the record of baptisms in 1764.' Little is known of the personal history of Eber Higley except that he emigrated to Elba, western New York, after having Jived for a time in Burlington, Conn. No record or date of his mar- riage is found. Of his wife, who was buried in western New York, few facts are known. But his name is indelibly engraved in our country's annals in connection with the stormy period of the Revolution and the War of 1812. He could not have been more than sixteen or seventeen years of age when he entered the Revolutionary Army, joining in 1778 the regiment of the Connecticut Militia commanded by Colonel Roger Eno, Captain (afterward Colonel) Amasa Mills' company. They arrived in camp July 4, 1778. Colonel Mills, who was a neighbor of the Canton Higleys, was in command in nearly all of the campaigns of the Connecticut soldiers during the War of the Revolution. On July i, 1780, Eber Higley re-inlisted in the 2d Connecticut Regiment, receiving, with the troops, an honorable discharge five months later, December 19, 1780. When the second war with England was declared, he was among those men of valor and determined courage who gave the loftiest expression of patriotism that a soldier can offer his country that of death by starvation; " and this in face of alluring 1 From the parish records of St. Andrew's Church, Bloomfield, Conn. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLE Y, SR. 435 promises of liberty and plenty if they would but forswear the flag of liberty." In company with his nephews, Isaac and Alson Higley, he went from the town of Elba, N. Y., and reported at Buffalo for service. He was then forty-nine years of age. At the unfortunate battle of Queenstown Heights, October 13, 1812, he was captured a prisoner of war by the British, and taken to Halifax, N. S., where he met his sad fate. In the language of General Veazey : " Through weeks and months they dragged out the weary, joyless, and hopeless days in hunger, and in lingering torture, death stalking daily among them; martyrs as well as heroes, yet martyrdom without the accompaniment of the glorious thrill and the inspiring impulse of the fury and incense of battle." Thus by supremest sacrifice thousands of high-souled men laid down their lives that our country might "assume among the powers of earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle her." Eber Higley and Miriam Smith had one child, viz. : HOSEA HIGLEY, who was born January 8, 1799, in Burlington, Conn. He married, October 19, 1820, Huldah Heath of Sandisfield, Mass., daughter of Roswell Heath, an American Loyalist, a nephew of General Heath of Revolutionary fame, and a family of high standing. Huldah Heath was born June I, 1801. They resided at New Marlboro, Mass., where all of their children were born. Hosea Higley died January 15, 1858. Huldah, his wife died January 7, 1881. Children of Hosea and Huldah (Heath) Higley : CYNTHIA MARIA, born March 23, 1822, married, first, William Cowles, Jan- uary I, 1839; second, J. H. Shields, October 5, 1854. They reside at Moulton, la. HARRIET, born January 27, 1825, married Lewis G. Sage of Sandisville, Mass., November 19, 1854. She died November 18, 1855. EDWIN ROSWELL, born May 6, 1827, married Sarah Lorilla Cone of Sandis- ville, Mass., 1854. He removed to Allerton, Wayne County, la., in 1851, where he now resides. ALBERT J., born October 18, 1829, died November 23, 1846. HORACE WARREN, born December 12, 1831, married, first, Alsenia L. Cook of New Marlboro, Mass., July 24, 1853. His second wife, whom he married August 27, 1866, was Martha Ann Coburn of Lowell, Mass. He married, third, Margaret Coffee, July 6, 1887, of New Britain, Conn. He resides at Windsor Locks, Hart- ford Ccunty, Conn. The children are as follows : By first wife, John A., born May 5, 1854; Warren Hosea, born December 15, 1855; Ida Alsenia, born January 6. 1858; Frank ., born 1860. By second wife. Mary, born March 25, 1868; George Edwin, born October 14, 1871; Annie, born August n, 1874; Jennie, born November 26, 1876. ANDREW NELSON, the youngest child of Hosea and Huldah (Heath) Higley, was bom December 31, 1833 ; married, first, Mary S. Harmon of New Marlboro, Mass. ; second, Huldah Heath of Sandisfield, Mass. He resides at Allerton, la. Children : Mary A. and Albert R, 43 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Continued from page 394. ROGER HIGLEY, the sixth son of John Higley, Sr., and his sec- ond wife, Clark, was baptized January 13, 1765,' by the Rev. Robert Veits at St. Andrew's Church, Scotland (now Bloomfield), Conn. As this is the only time his name appears on record, and nothing is known of him by the descendants of John Higley, Sr., it is supposed that he did not survive infancy. MARTHA, the third daughter of John Higley, Sr., and his sec- ond wife, Clark, was baptized at St. Andrew's Church, June 29, 1766. She was known by the name of " Patsey." She married Job Mills, a brother of her sister's husband, Elder Jared Mills. JOB HIGLEY, the youngest child of John Higley, Sr., and his second wife, Clark, was baptized at St. Andrew's Church, Bloomfield, Conn., July 31, 1768.' He married, about 1778, a wife whose name cannot be discovered, by whom he had two children. On May 9, 1792, he married Dorcas Eggleston of Wintonbury, Conn. He became a cattle drover, selling his cattle in Balti- more. In this business he accumulated property and became very well to do. Afterward he was a marine shipper from the port of Baltimore, and was killed by accident on board ship about the year 1808. By his first wife Job Higley had two children, viz. : Semira, born in Bridgewater, N. Y., 1789, and Carlo, born 1791, of whom nothing more is known. By his second wife, Dorcas Eggleston, he had six children, viz. : Edwin, born 1793, died unmarried. Nelson, born 1795, who married Wealthy Myers, of whom no further account has been furnished. Clarissa, born 1797, never married. Olive, born 1799, died November, 1819, unmarried. Myron Spencer, born Decem- ber 29, 1 80 1. And George, born 1803. MYRON SPENCER HIGLEY, the son of Job and Dorcas Eggleston Higley, was born December 29, 1801, and married, about the year 1826, Priscilla Eberson. They resided ten years in Leeds, Canada, then removed to Iowa. That country was then very new. Here they remained till the year 1852, when they went to Utah, and settled in Salt Lake valley, living in Morgan and Davis Counties till the year 1872, when they removed to Hooper, Weber 1 From the Parish Records. DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLEY, SR. 437 County, where they resided till their deaths. His trade for several years was that of turning bowls; he was afterward an agriculturist. He died in 1887. His wife, Priscilla, lived to a great age, and died February, 1892. They had eleven children, viz. : Nelson, born April i, 1827, died 1828. Clarissa, born in Leeds County, Canada, October 21, 1829, died 1873. George IV., born November 20, 1831. Ediuin, born November 12, 1833, died April 10, 1852. Adelia, born June 23, 1836. Abigail, born at Port Leyden, N. Y., October 6, 1838. James, born July, 1841, died the same year. Dorcas, born December 2, 1843, died Octo- ber, 1864. Mary Jane, born February 13, 1847, at Benton Port, la. Elizabeth Ann, born April i, 1850, and Myron, Jr., born February 6, 1853, at Uintah, Weber County, Utah. GEORGE W. HIGLEY, the eldest surviving son of Myron S. and Priscilla Eber- son Higley, was born in Leeds County, Canada, November 20, 1831. He married Nancy Ellen Wadsworth, July 24, 1855. She was born July 23, 1839. He preceded his father and the family in their emigration to the then " faraway wild West," arriving in the Salt Lake valley with a merchant train from the Missouri River, in the autumn of 1851, having only twenty-five cents in his pockets when he reached Salt Lake. There were at that time between three thousand and four thousand white people in Utah Territory. He found employment in Salt Lake City until the following spring, 1852, when he went to the Green River ferry, on the overland route to California, and bought a one-fifth interest in the ferry. During that autumn he met his parents at Laramie, Wyo. (five hundred miles from Salt Lake City), and brought them to the Salt Lake valley. He made this journey through an Indian country on horseback and alone. In the following spring he went to Marsh valley in Idaho, 125 miles north of Salt Lake City. Here he built a bridge over the then called Marsh Creek, and owned a trading-post on the " Hedge Pith Cut- off," on the emigration road to California. He returned in the fall and spent the winter in Utah. While at Marsh valley bridge he bought some cattle from the emigrant trains, and succeeded in obtaining a thoroughbred Durham bull, which was one of the finest ever brought to the Territory. He built and kept a trading- post on the old emigration road at Goose Creek Mountains in Idaho, during the summer of 1854. After his marriage to Nancy Wadsworth in the year 1855, they removed to Weber valley, Utah, now Morgan County, and built the third house erected in the valley. It was during this same summer that Little Soldier, a Snake Indian chief, endeavored to drive the settlers from the valley. One morning this chief, with thirty of his warriors, all in war paint, surprised Higley and several settlers, by coming suddenly upon them, striking them over their heads and on their faces with their whips, and trying to trample them under their horses' feet, and in every manner sought to pro- voke them to some action whereby they would have a pretext for massacring them. An agreement was reached, however, and hostile intentions suspended till a mes- senger could be sent to Salt Lake City with a son of Little Soldier to confer with 29 438 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, Brigham Young. The Indians were finally pacified by a contribution of beef for the braves and clothing for the chief. In later years, after the Indians became civilized, Little Soldier, in recounting the incident, said it was the bravery of the settlers that saved them; that had they shown signs of fear they would have been slain, for he and his warriors had in council determined to do so. Higley helped to build the first saw-mill in Morgan County, and to survey and dig the first irrigation ditch. This was in 1856. He lived in Morgan County till 1859, when he removed to his farm in Weber County, near where Ogden City is now located, but the high water in the spring of 1860 completely destroying it he was left almost without means. He returned to Morgan County, where he resided until 1871, when he went to Hooper, where he now resides on a farm. Mr. Higley belongs to the Mormon Church. The twelve children of George W. and Nancy (Wadsworth) Higley are as follows : George Edwin, born September 28, 1857, married Adeline Johnson. Charles Washington, born June 22, 1859, married Deseret Johnson. Eliza Ann, born May 4, 1861, married Smith Johnson. William Carlos, born March 21, 1864. Abiah Alonzo, born November I, 1867. Lucinda Ellen, born January 7, 1869, married Frank Naisbitt. Joseph Warren, born April 16, 1871. Franklin Spencer, born November 19, 1873. Olive Deseret, born January 20, 1875. Ida Elenora, born November 25, 1877. Walter Leonidas, born December 3, 1879, died September IO, 1890. Mabel Edner, born November 7, 1887. ADELIA, the eldest surviving daughter of Myron Spencer and Priscilla Eberson Higley, born June 23, 1836, married David B. Bybee, August 27, 1854. Mr. Bybee died February 22, 1893. They had fourteen children, viz.: David Byron, born October 12, 1855, married Emma France. Annis Adelia, born April 22, 1857, married Nathan Robison, who was killed in Arizona by the Indians. William Marion, born January 23, 1859, married Lucinda Becksted. George Myron, born September I, 1860. Mary Olive, born October 13, 1862, married Brigham Stowell (his first wife); they reside in Mexico. Dora Minerva, born May 2, 1864, married Joseph France. Francis, born November 13, 1866, died January, 1868. Rhoda Maria, born May 28, 1867, married Brigham Stowell (second wife). Heber James, born June 17, 1871, died June 17, 1871. Joseph Mack, born June 28, 1872, married Alice King. Priscilla, born August 12, 1874, died January 31, 1875. Dorcas Ophelia, born February 2, 1876. Frank, born May 10, 1878, died April 20, 1881. Charles Edwin, born September 4, 1881, died April 20, 1887. ABIGAIL, the sixth child of Myron Spencer and Priscilla Eberson Higley, born at West Leyden, N. Y., October 6, 1838, became the first wife of Joseph Wads- worth in 1853. They have thirteen children. According to the custom of the Mormon Church in those times, Joseph Wadsworth afterward married a second wife. When the United States law relating to polygamy went into effect in 1891, he was imprisoned six months in the Utah Penitentiary for adhering to his religious tenets. On his release he and his first wife took up their residence in Hooper, Weber County, Utah, where they now reside on their farm. Their children : Joseph W., born December 27, 1855, married Sarah Haynes, and lives in Hooper. Olive Abigail, born August 6, 1857, died . William M. , born July 23, 1858, married Martha Hardy, and resides in Hooper. Edwin A., born February DESCENDANTS OF JOHN HIGLE Y, SR. 439 16, 1860, married Elizabeth Hunt, and resides at Idaho Falls, Idaho. Mary R., born February 2, 1863, married Ephraim Garner, and resides in Hooper. Hiram S., twin brother to Mary, died . Annie P., born October 2, 1865, married John Simpson, resides in Hooper. Samuel, born February 3, 1867, died. Orson, born September 2, 1868, married Carrie Gwilliams in 1892, and resides in Hooper. Or/in, his twin brother, married, 1892, Violet Parker, and resides in Hooper. Clara E,, born July I, 1871, died 1886. Alice, born February 28, 1874. Nora, born May 31, 1878. DORCAS, the eighth child of Myron Spencer and Priscilla Eberson Higley, was born December 2, 1843. She married, in 1 860, Leonidas Clark, and died October, 1864, leaving two children, viz.: Frank Clark, born August 14, 1861, who resides in Ogden City, Utah ; and Ida, born February 4, 1864, who married William Arave, and lives at Idaho Falls, Idaho. MARY JANE, the ninth child of Myron Spencer and Priscilla Eberson Higley, was born February 13, 1847, at Bento-Post, la. She married Nephi Hardy, and is the mother of thirteen children. They reside at Hooper, Utah. (The names of this family have not been furnished.) ELIZABETH ANN, the tenth child of Myron Spencer and Priscilla Eberson Higley, was born April I, 1850, at Pottowatomie, la.; married her brother-in-law, Leonidas Clark, in the year 1868. They reside at Hooper, Utah. Their children : Elizabeth Flora, born 1868. Nellie, born October 9, 1869, married Lew Hampton, and resides at Ogden City. John T., born May 2, 1871. Catherine, born December 10, 1872, married Frank Munsee. Leonidas, born September 12, 1874. Ann, born January 19, 1876. Adelia, born September 10, 1878. Henry, born November 3, 1880. Nettie, born August I, 1882. Julia, born March 3, 1890. Eugene, born February 3, 1893, and died a few days after his birth. Continued from page 436. GEORGE HIGLEY, the second son of Job and Dorcas (Eggleston) Higley and brother to Myron Spencer Higley, was born in the year 1803. He married and had two children, viz. : Mahala, who married Thomas Moor. The name of the other child is not given. George Higley was accidentally killed in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1834, by falling from a building upon which he was at work. CHAPTER LVII. ELIZABETH HIGLEY MILLS. Continued from chapter xviii. p. 100. Elizabeth, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. " Who that bears A human bosom, has not often felt How dear are all the ties that bind our race In gentleness together, and how sweet Their force, let Fortune's wayward hand the while Be kind or cruel." THE birth of Elizabeth, the seventh child of Brewster Higley, ist, took place in the year 1723, at Simsbury, Conn. Of her life very little is discoverable. It would be interesting to the reader to investigate the prominent elements in her character as well as her personality, virtues, and imperfections, could they be brought to light, since she was the ancestress of many descendants who have shown characteristics and tempera- ments directly traceable to the motherly loving fragrance of her good life. It is fair to conjecture that she possessed excellent faculties and a strong individuality. Wordly wealth, as estimated in those times, always surrounded her; she inherited, as did her brothers and sisters, a comfortable property from her father's estate. Her marriage is placed upon record thus : "The Revd. Mr. Gideon Mills and Elizabeth Higley were joined in Marriage the asth of November, A. D. 1748.'" Her husband, the Rev. Gideon Mills, born in 1716, was of Dutch descent, and of a family of high standing. He was graduated from Yale College in 1737, and settled in Simsbury. It was near the close of the year 1743, five years previous to his marriage to Elizabeth Higley, that he began preaching. He was ordained to the ministry September, 1744, and entered the Simsbury pulpit. But during the years of his ministry the parish was in a painful 1 " Simsbury Records," book iii. p. 160. 44 DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HIGLEY,\ST. 441 state of bitter controversy and feud. The warring factions in the Church had not abated their contentions. Whether the common aim of religious teaching and its dissemination was eventually furthered by this divergence of spirit, and the con- sequent planting of other parishes, we cannot say. Finally, in March, 1754, Mr. Mills was dismissed, though he continued to preach for some months later. One of the results was the forming at "Scotland," a few miles distant, of an Episcopalian parish, St. Andrews, which was the first founded in the Colony of Connecticut. The Rev. William Gibbs, a clergyman much loved and revered, who came repre- senting the London Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, officiated as rector. A domineering, Puritanic spirit ruled in the old church at Simsbury. As to a " unity of spirit and the bond of peace," between the two parishes there was a great gulf. The Simsbury Society, while Mr. Mills was yet its pastor, appointed its usual committee to collect its church "rates," or tax. John Higley, Sr., the brother of Elizabeth Higley Mills, was chosen " to gather the amount of ;6oo for the necessary expenses of the Society to pay for preaching." " On the refusal of the Rev. William Gibbs," says the Rev. Mr. Heald, "to pay the tax laid upon him for the support of the Simsbury minister, Gideon Mills, Gibbs was seized by persons representing Mr. Mills' party, thrown over a horse, and with hands and feet bound together in such a manner as to make his limbs supply the place of a girth, he was conveyed to jail. The result of such harsh treatment was far more serious, no doubt, than his persecutors intended. His mind received a shock which threw him into a state of insanity, from which he never recovered." ' Elizabeth Higley Mills shared the humiliations of her hus- band's unhappy ministerial career at the Simsbury Church. \Vhether the animosities ever led to an estrangement among the Higley families is not known. There is no indication that they did. From old Simsbury, the Rev. Gideon Mills and his wife, with their family, removed to West Simsbury, where Mr. Mills was installed as pastor of the church in 1759, and where they resided the remainder of their lives. Mr. Mills died of cancer in 1772. 1 From Historical Address by the Rev. Mr. Heald. 442 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Elizabeth Higley, his wife, died 1774. They were the parents of six children, viz. : Gideon, Jr., Samuel, Elizabeth, Jedediah, Anna, Faith. GIDEON, Jr., born 1749 ; a lieutenant in the War of the Revolution, married Ruth, daughter of Oliver Humphrey, the first magistrate of West Simsbury, and till 1800 resided on the farm in Canton (or West Simsbury) left him by his parents. They became the grandparents of John Brown,' their daughter Ruth marrying her second cousin, Owen Brown^ the son of Captain John and Hannah Brown, and grandson of Hannah (Higley) Mills. Of Ruth, her husband wrote in after years: "Never had any person such an influence over my conduct as my wife, and this was without the least appearance of usurpation or dictation. If I have been respected in the world, I ascribe it to her." SAMUEL, the second son of the Rev. Gideon and Elizabeth (Higley) Mills, born 1751, was graduated at Yale College and entered the American Army of the Revolution as lieutenant of cavalry. He was taken prisoner and carried to Philadelphia, having received, from a horseman's sword, a deep and dangerous wound in his forehead, the scar of which he carried through his life. While a prisoner and an invalid in a hospital, he became acquainted with Miss Sarah Gilpin, "a lady of culture and high refinement," who became his first wife. They had a family of eight children. Lieutenant Mills afterward entered the ministry, and was pastor of the church in Chester, Conn. ELIZABETH, the eldest daughter of Rev. Gideon and Elizabeth (Higley) Mills, born 1753, married Gideon Curtis. JEDEDIAH, their fourth child, born 1755, was named for his uncle, the Rev. Jedediah Mills, a minister of much note, who published a number of works. He married Wells. ANNA, born , married the Rev. William Robinson. She died 1789. FAITH, born 1765, married, first, Roswell Spencer; second, Eber Alford. She died 1850. NAOMI HIGLEY HUMPHREY. Continued from chapter xviii. p. TOO. Naomi, Brewster, ist, Captain John Higley. NAOMI, the eighth and youngest child of Brewster Higley, ist, was born in the old homestead of her grandfather, Captain John Higley, at Higley-town, after her father had taken possession of that farm.' Her birth took place in 1726. She lived to the great age of ninety-one, her death occurring in 1817. Her marriage to Solomon Humphrey, when she was about the age of twenty, brought about a second marriage alliance in her family with the Humphreys, her husband being a brother of Apphia, the wife of her brother John. 1 See Sketch of John Brown, chapter 1, p. 380. a Page 100. DESCENDANTS OF BREWSTER HICLE Y, 1ST. 443 In 1742 Solomon and Naomi Humphrey left the old parish of Simsbury, where they first resided, removing to Wes Simsbury (Canton). Their home farm lay on the east side of the mountain, bordering on the town of Simsbury. Solomon Humphrey, St., was born in 1722 and died in 1798. They had six children, viz. : , Solomon, who died in childhood. Naomi, born 1749, who married Andrew Mills. Ruggles, born 1751, who married Lucy Case (daughter of Amos). Solomon, Jr., born 1752. Esther, born 1758, married John Owen. And Augustus, born 1771, who married Barber. SOLOMON, Jr., the second son of Solomon Humphrey, Sr., and Naomi Higley, married, first, Lucy (daughter of Ezekiel) Case, and, second, in 1778, his cousin Hannah Brown, a granddaughter of Hannah Higley, his mother's sister. He and his second wife, Hannah, became the parents of thirteen children, the eldest of whom was the Rev. Heman Humphrey, who was born March 26, 1779, and married Sophia, daughter of Dr. Noah Porter. HEMAN HUMPHREY, D. D., was thus the grandson on his paternal side of Naomi Higley, and the great-grandson on his maternal side of Hannah Higley, daughters of Brewster Higley, ist. He was graduated at Yale College in 1805, and ordained to the ministry. While settled as pastor of a church in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1823, he accepted the presidency of Amherst College (founded in 1821), which had not yet secured a charter. Principally through his exertions and influence an act of incorporation was granted by the Legislature of Massachusetts, February 21, 1825. He continued in the presidency of the college till 1845, when he resigned and devoted the remainder of his life to literary pursuits. " He was one of the earliest advocates of the temperance cause, and in 1819 drew up a report to the Fairfield Association which, as far as is known, was the first tract published on the subject." ' He bore characteristics which made him greatly beloved. Someone remarked : " Everybody knows, whoever enjoyed the high privilege of spending even an hour in President Humphrey's company, that he was the embodiment of every quality which constitutes a perfect gentleman." And Deacon Terry of Hartford said that "he never closed an interview with Dr. Humphrey without feeling that he was a better man than before." He died in Pittsfield, Mass., April 3, 1861. 1 " American Encyclopedia." CHAPTER LVIII. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. Continued from chapter xix. p. 108. Hannah, Captain John Higley. A long and well spent life, in the service of his country, places Governor Trumbull among the first of patriots. GEORGE WASHINGTON. THE children of Joseph and Hannah Higley Trumbull were as follows : JOSEPH, born at Lebanon, Conn., March 27, 1705; married Sarah Bulkley, November 20, 1727. They resided in his native town. He was lost at sea, June, 1733. Children: Sarah and Kate. JONATHAN, born October 12, 1710; married Faith Robinson. MARY, born August 21, 1713; married Joshua Fitch. Children: Jonathan, Mary, and Joseph. HANNAH, born 1715; died the same year. HANNAH, 2d, born September 18, 1717; married Joseph Sher- man, February 25, 1735; died November 7, 1736. ABIGAIL, born March 6, 1719; married Backus. JOHN, born 1722; died in infancy. DAVID, born September 8, 1723; was accidentally drowned July 9, 1740. GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL, SR. Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., Hannah Higley, Captain John Higley. JONATHAN TRUMBULL, Sr., the second child and second son of Joseph and Hannah Higley Trumbull, was born at Lebanon, Conn., October 12, 1710. It is impossible to chronicle, in the limited space that can be allotted in these pages, the life of a man who lived a long career of exceptional public prominence and distinguished usefulness a life which Stuart, his biographer, says "was profoundly and most honorably interwoven with the American Revolution." It was a life left as a legacy to the living, and one which our PAINTED BY JOHN TRUMBULL. By courtesy of BELKNAP & WARFIELD, Publishers, Hartford, Conn. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 445 nation in its annals of distinguished men will never suffer to be eclipsed. This future "Revolutionary War Governor" was four years old at the date of Captain John Higley's decease, and too young to retain any clear recollection of his maternal grandfather. The instruction in the schools for young men was in his youth thorough, for the ministers and tutors were men of learning, and laid in their pupils an excellent foundation for a higher education. At a very early age Jonathan found himself prepared for col- lege, being but thirteen years old. He evinced a remarkable aptitude for acquiring the languages, which were a favorite study, and he became conversant with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. It is said that "he became an expert" in the latter, and that "he was able to compile, chiefly for his own use, a grammar of the language and to use its phrases freely in after years in his correspondence with learned men." In all his studies he was noted for his very marked intellectual progress. He took his degree in 1727, at the age of seventeen, and returned from college to the home of his parents in Lebanon. He came back under profound religious feeling, and very soon united with the church, which was then under the ministration of Rev. Solomon Williams. His example ever after, during the course of a long life, carried the lesson that amid the busy scenes of both a public and private career, a man might live and act from the elevated standpoint of a Christian life, characterized not by mere form, but by the essence of its true spirit. He gave himself to earnest research of the Bible, which to his latest day was the chief of his favorite studies, and so intent he was upon giving himself wholly to a religious life, that he entered upon the study of theology, was licensed to preach, and invited to occupy the pulpit at Colchester. But the utter short-sightedness of all human calculations marked his destiny. He was called to abandon his purpose. The loss of his eldest brother at sea, in June, 1732, turned the whole tide of his life. The failure of his father's health under the bereavement brought about the necessity for him to leave the field of the ministry and enter an active business life. He was now twenty-two years of age. His contact with men soon introduced him into the broader field of politics and legislation, for which his natural gifts eminently fitted him. During every 44 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. interval of his busy days, he made civil jurisprudence and history his special studies, and from this time onward, until he came to the summit of his life of energy and action, he steadfastly pursued these studies. Added to these, and his daily research of the Scriptures, " he made himself specially familiar with chronology, became acquainted with astronomy, and knew much of mathe- matics and natural philosophy." " Yet he did not," says Stuart, "avoid the lighter paths of literature." He was, in after life, honored by both Yale College and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, conferring upon him the honorary degree of LL. D. He counted time valuable to the highest degree was jealous and scanty of his leisure, and did not omit a spare moment which could be appropriated to gaining freshness and knowledge in the cultivation of his mind, or the promotion of some valuable end. Traits of character, which may easily be traced to an inherit- ance, developed themselves more and more as he grew in age and experience. His remarkable amiability of disposition and compre- hensive mind, his indefatigable industry and vigorous activities, his indomitable energy, his splendid constitution and power of endurance, were a part and portion of the blood which circulated through his veins, and achieved for him repeated successes. There is no question but he was familiar with public and politi- cal affairs from early childhood, through the traditional stories of his maternal sire and grandsires, which would naturally leave in- delible traces upon his character and give his mind a public bent. His father, too, had been at one time "one of y e Fathers of y e towne," and his uncle, John Higley, Jr., a man of wealth and dignified position, had left his seat in the General Assembly of the Colony scarcely two years before he was elected by his fellow-citizens to that body. His first representation in the General Assembly was in the year 1733, when he was but twenty-three years of age. "And from this onward to May, 1754, the town repeated that choice for fourteen sessions." As has already been stated, he married, December 9, 1735, Faith, the daughter of Rev. John Robinson of Duxbury, Mass. "At the May session, 1739, when under twenty-nine years of age, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, and again filled the same office in 1752 and 1754. In 1740 he was chosen by the freemen of the Colony to the post of Assistant and Member of the Council of the Colony, and re-elected to the same DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 447 important office until he was chosen Lieutenant-Governor in 1766 (except four years while Judge of the Superior Court); serving as Assistant twenty-two years." * In 1744 war was declared between the English and the French, and hostilities were begun in the American Colonies. "It was indeed," says Stuart, "a stirring and an anxious time, this whole period of the war, to all of New England, to no part of it more, except a portion of the east bordering more nearly on the seat of contest, than to Connecticut, and among the citizens of this Colony, save to its Governor and the general officers in immediate command of its forces in service, to no one hardly so much as to Assistant Jonathan Trumbull. . ." Into all the war measures, consequently, taken by Connecticut, he en- tered with alacrity for at the outbreak, in 1739, when the militia of the Colony was organized into thirteen regiments, Trumbull had been appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Twelfth. "It became his duty, therefore, as forces were ordered from time to time by the General Assembly, to aid in raising the quotas required from his own regiment, sometimes to beat up for volunteers, and, as requested specially by the Colonial Authori- ties, to ' urge upon the people motives for enlistment ' to furnish those who did enlist with supplies to see to the distribution of their bounty and wages sometimes to impress men, arms, accoutrements, and clothing to appoint places for the rendezvous of the soldiers, and see them ultimately marched, under proper officers, to their destination for actual service." "He was frequently charged by the Colony with important general services in regard to the war, and sometimes with vital negotiations. He was called upon to supply arms and military stores for expeditions at large, and settle military accounts but more than all, and conspicuously, with Commissioners from other Colonies, and British Commanders of highest rank, he was designated to act as a principal counselor in the chief enterprises of the war to decide when and how they should be undertaken, and with what outlay and disposition of men and means."* "In 1745 he was chosen Assistant Judge of Windham County Court Lebanon then belonging to Windham County; and in 1746, Chief Judge of that Court, which office he held, by annual elections, for seventeen years. In 1749 he was chosen Judge of *" Early Lebanon," p. 88. a ' Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, pp. 37, 38. 448 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Probate for Windham district, and continued in that office nine- teen years." ' " Besides his ordinary duties as legislator and member of the Governor's Council, which he fulfilled with regularity, he was often called upon to deal with the finances of the Colony and other matters of public concern. In 1751 he was appointed to deal with the Pequot Indians, in relation to intrusions upon their lands, and in 1760 with the Mohegans, within whose lands he was directed to lay out highways. He was appointed at one time to allay difficulties in the Church at Middletown, and fix the site of a meeting-house there; and at another time in Windsor, whither, with Hezekiah Huntington, he repaired, and heard the parties at variance, and there also staked out the site for a new meeting- house. Besides all this he occasionally had to look after Houses of Correction to see to their construction, and to appoint masters for the same, and superintend their discharge of duty. The public expenses of this period, because of the renewal of the French war, were extraordinary, and Trumbull's services in auditing accounts, in adjusting them with subordinate collectors and commissaries, and in paying over to the Colony its loans and debts due, were more than ever called into requisition." "Trumbull's chief activity, during the period from 1755-63, was again in the sphere of war of that second long, perilous, and wasting French war, which, renewed again by formal decla- ration in 1755, was crowned finally by a triumphant and lasting peace on February 10, 1763.* " In 1765 he was chosen Assistant Judge of the Superior Court of the Colony, and in 1766, was elected Deputy Governor, and re-elected annually until 1770 ; and during this period of four years he held also the office of Chief Justice of the Superior and Supreme Courts, and as such discharged with ability the high functions of that office." * It was in the year 1756, and again in 1758, as before stated, 4 that "he was earnestly requested by the General Assembly, in a formal note, 'with all convenient speed to repair to the Court of Great Britain,' and there solicit an adjustment of some expenses incurred on the part of Connecticut in the late expedition against Crown Point," also to consult upon other important matters. 3 1 " Early Lebanon," p. 89. a He had now been advanced to colonel-in-chief of the Twelfth Regiment, p. 47, " Life of Jona- than Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart. s " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, pp. 53, 116. 4 See chapter xix. p. 106, Hannah Higley Trumbull. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 449 During all these years Trumbull had carried on an extensive business career as the head, since 1733, of three different partner- ships. "His commercial transactions extended to the West Indies, England, Ireland, and Holland, exporting home produce, and importing foreign commodities in exchange; chiefly in ships and vessels owned wholly or in part by his firm." 1 "And so God send the good sloop to her destined port in safety Amen," concluded many a bill of lading signed by Nathaniel Shaw of New London in behalf of the firm VTrumble, Fitch & Trum- ble." a About 1764 he fitted and sent out four or five whaling vessels. But in 1766 Lieutenant-Governor Trumbull met with sad busi- ness reverses. His youngest son says in his autobiography : "When I was nine or ten years old my father's mercantile failure took place. . . In one season almost every vessel, and all the property which he had upon the ocean, was swept away, and he was a poor man at so late a period of his life as left no hope of retrieving his affairs. My eldest brother was involved in the wreck as a partner, which rendered the condition of the family utterly hopeless. My mother and sisters were deeply afflicted, and although I was too young clearly to comprehend the cause, yet sympathy led me to droop." ' "Trumbull never recovered his fortune. However, he continued his mercantile persuits in a home and country trade to the begin- ning of the Revolutionary war, when he virtually gave it up." "In 1770 he was elected Governor of Connecticut, which office he afterward continued to hold by annual re-elections, until he declined, in 1783, two years previous to his death, any further elections." It was "a period of novel and startling experiences to the American world when the Colonies and the Mother Country . . . fell into those collisions between themselves, which sharpened by time, " ' With wrath, and hate, and sacred vengeance. Soon indissolubly linked,' produced at last the American Revolution.'" The State of Connecticut secured a charter specially favor- able to her interests through the younger Winthrop, then her 1 " Early Lebanan," p. 89. * "Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, pp. ja, 116. " Reminiscences of His Own Times," by Colonel John Trumbull. 4 " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, pp. 74, 108. 45 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Governor, in the year 1662 from King Charles II., granting privilege of choosing her own Executive, and this charter had been preserved by quick-witted citizens at the time of the Andros invasion, claiming their territory in 1687. ' Governor Trumbull therefore held his position by the choice of the people, not by the king's appointment, and was the only governor in the thirteen colonies thus elected; and the only one who espoused the American cause. The natural consequence was that few of the distinguished patriots who were conspicuous during the Revolutionary period held a position of higher responsibility, nor one in which greater service to the country was rendered, nor one in whose service was reposed more confidence and appre- ciation by General Washington. During the entire war of seven years he stood steadily "at the helm of Connecticut, guiding her ship of state." "In addition to the vast and incessant duties which the war heaped upon him as chief commander of all the military forces of the State, he was also, by special Act of the General Assembly of Connecticut, in 1775, made chief officer of all the naval forces of the State; and the whole power of raising volunteers, grant- ing letters of marque and reprisal to privateers, and commissions to regular officers; of furnishing supplies and equipments, and of establishing prize courts, and settling prize claims, devolved on him; and was most ably and efficiently exercised during the whole war. " Among the very large number of war vessels fitted out by this State, two notedly successful ones bore his own honored name, viz. : the frigate Trumbull, and the audacious privateer Governor Trumbull, the latter bearing aloft on her pennant the Trumbull motto, ' Fortuna Favet Audaci.' * Two frigates were also built and equipped under his special direction, at the request of Congress, for the national service; one of them, of thirty-six guns, was built on the Thames, and the other, of twenty- eight guns, at Chatham on the Connecticut." * " The public confidence in his prudence and ability extended," says Stuart, his biographer, " over the Union. It was specially manifested by Congress, whose consultations with him, in one form and another either as a body, or through correspondence by members was almost habitual. It was manifested by exec- utive magistrates, and councils, and committees of surrounding 1 See chapter xi. pp. 56, 57. * " Fortune favors the daring." * " Early Lebanon," pp. 89, 90. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 45 l States, that sought steadily his advice. But more than all, it was shown by the Father of our Country, the illustrious Washing- ton, who never failed it may almost with exactness be said, upon every occasion of emergency during the entire War of the Revolution to lean for counsel upon Trumbull's gracious mind, as strongly as he leaned for material co-operation upon Trumbull's stalwart arm. " So frequently did the Commander-in-Chief appeal to the latter for his deliberation and judgment, that not only when any con- jecture of difficulty or peril arose, but often when simply facts and circumstances hard of solution were under his consideration he was in the habit of remarking : ' We must consult Brother Jonathan ' a phrase which his intimate relations of friendship with the Governor of Connecticut fully warranted. . . From the marque and council-rooms of the Commander-in-Chief, the phrase, l We must consult Brother Jonathan, passed out to the soldiery. " From the camp the expression passed to the adjacent neigh- borhoods, from neighborhoods to the States, and through the medium of returning soldiery became propagated through the country at large, until finally it was universally appropriated, through its two closing words, ' BROTHER JONATHAN,' as a sobri- quet, current to the present day." ' That there was sometimes a difference of opinion between his colleagues and himself about national policy is no surprise, though it never amounted to serious import. That he excited animosities, especially with the British, would naturally be expected. " The press in England heaped upon him savage denunciations, titled him 'the Rebel Governor,' seized and imprisoned one of his sons who was studying art in London, busied itself in sneering at his ' fanaticism ' and intolerance in religion, gossiped about his business affairs, and accused htm of 'an abundant share of cunning.' " But his noble character lay too deep to be moved by maligning pens or tongues, and his courage was not of the stamp to be deterred from his lofty and patriotic motives. The Tory prisoners were forwarded to the custody of his State by thousands. In Governor Trumbull's treatment of them he subjected them to the prison's gloom with the unbending severity the circumstances in each case, in his view, required; or gave them mild and lenient treatment, or sanctioned their release, according as the qualities of his manly nature dictated. At one 1 " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, pp. 696, 697. 45 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. time, in his mercantile career, a correspondent residing in Halifax, N. S., whom he had never seen, sought business relations with him because he had heard of him as "a lover of mankind." He had this fame, and justly so. There was a firm, unflinching side to his nature; yet notwithstanding the apparent inhumanity in permitting many of these forlorn subjects of King George to be placed in the noted subterranean caverns, the Newgate Prison mines at Copper Hill, 1 Simsbury, it was a necessity from which no doubt he frequently recoiled. In dealing -with the captive Tories at this critical juncture, "when the scales were trembling in the balance," the leading officials were brought into great straits because of the limited and insecure prison accommodations the country afforded. The reader will remember that this was a period previous to the new era of prison reform, and that Trum- bull was simply acting according to the spirit and usages of the age toward prisoners, and under an absolute necessity toward the foes of the Federal cause who were bound to the British yoke. In Governor Trumbull's immediate jurisdiction there were other war-prisoners who, though strictly guarded, were under fore- bearing and generous treatment, and received attentions more like guests than prisoners. The feeling of brotherhood between General Washington and Governor Trumbull was marked by many interesting incidents, and expressions of personal esteem. Washington was more than once the guest of his stanch Connecticut ally. From that morning in the month of May, 1774, when in view of the threaten- ing aspect of affairs, and the general convulsion and agitation of 1 The caverns were first occupied as a place for the confinement of Tories about the beginning of the Revolution. The Colony of Connecticut first used them as a prison in 1773. A committee had been appointed by the General Assembly to explore the place, who reported that by expending about thirty-seven pounds, the caverns could be so perfectly secured that " it would be next to im- possible for any person to escape." The excavations to the prison-mines were upon the summit of Copper-Hill. There were two perpendicular shafts, dug principally through solid rock. One of these is nearly eighty feet deep, and the other thirty-five. At the bottom of these shafts we find the caverns, extending in various directions, several hundred feet. These caverns were used as a prison for fifty-four years. In December, 1775, Washington, on sending a lot of prisoners to be confined in this dungeon, addressed the following letter to the " Council of Safety." " GENTLEMEN : The prisoners which will be delivered you with this, having been tried by a court-martial and deemed to be such flagrant and atrocious villains, that they cannot by any means be set at large, or confined in any place near the camp, were sentenced to Simsbury in Con- necticut. You will therefore be pleased to have them secured in your prison, or in such other manner as you shall deem necessary, so that they cannot possibly make their escape. The charges of their imprisonment will be at the Continental expense. " I am, etc., " GEORGE WASHINGTON.'' Phelps 1 " Newgate of Connecticut." DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 453 the people, Governor Trumbull issued a proclamation appoint- ing a day of public fasting and prayer, soon after followed, with significant forecast, "by an order to all towns to double the quantity of their powder, balls, and flints"; and further followed by a set of resolutions adopted by the Connecticut General Assembly boldly denouncing British usurpation, of which, says his biographer, "there is some reaso- to believe Trumbull him- self was the author," until the final close of that memorable war, which founded the grandest republic in the circle of nations, the Commander-in-Chief well knew that in the Connecticut Governor he had a steadfast and unflinching patriot supporting him with strictest fidelity, "invariably pursuing the grand end in view, and trusting God Almighty to carry it into effect." On the i8th of June, 1776, sixteen days before the Declar- ation of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia, Governor Trumbull, deciding that the time was ripe for such a measure, issued in the form of a proclamation a remarkable document the Connecticut Declaration of Independence : " Proclamation by the Hon. Jonathan Trumbull, Esq., Governor and Commander- in-Chief of the English Colony of Connecticut in New England* " The Race of Mankind was made in a State of Innocence and Freedom subjected only to the Laws of God the Creator, and through his rich Goodness, designed for virtuous liberty and Happiness, here and for ever ; and when moral Evil was intro- duced into the World, and Man had corrupted his Ways before God, Vice and Iniq- uity came in like a Flood and Mankind became exposed, and a prey to the Violence, Injustice, and Oppression of one another. God in great Mercy inclined his People to form themselves into Society, and to set up and establish civil Government for the Protection and security of their Lives and Properties from the Invasion of wicked men. But through Pride and ambition the Kings and Princes of the World appointed by the People the Guardians of their Lives and Liberties, early and almost universally degenerate into Tyrants, and by Fraud or Force betrayed and wrested out of their hands the very Rights and Properties they were appointed to protect and defend. But a small part of the Human Race maintained and enjoyed any tolerable Degree of Freedom. Among those happy few, the nation of Great Britain was distinguished by a Constitution of Government wisely framed and modelled to support the Dignity and Power of the Prince, for the protection of the Rights of the People, and under which that Country in long succession enjoyed great Tranquility and Peace, though not unattended with repeated and powerful efforts, by many of its haughty Kings, to destroy the Constitutional Rights of the People, and establish arbitrary Power and Dominion. In one of those convulsive struggles our Forefathers, having suffered in that their native Country great and variety of Injustice and Oppression, left their dear Connections and Enjoyments, 1 " Colonial Records of Connecticut," Hon. Chas. J. Hoadly, D. D. 30 454 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. and fled to this then inhospitable land to secure a lasting retreat from civil and religious Tyranny. " The God of Heaven favored and prospered this Undertaking made room for their settlement increased and multiplied them to a very numerous People, and inclined succeeding Kings to indulge them and their children for many years the unmolested Enjoyments of the Freedom and Liberty they fled to inherit. But an unnatural King has risen up violated his sacred Obligations and by the Advice of Evil Counsellors attempted to wrest from us, their children, the Sacred Rights we justly claim and which have been ratified and established by solemn Compact with, and recognized by his Predecessors and Fathers, Kings of Great Britain laid upon us Burdens too heavy and grievous to be borne, and issued many cruel and oppres- sive Edicts, depriving us of our natural, lawful and most important Rights, and subjecting us to the absolute Power and Control of himself and the British Legisla- ture ; against which we have sought Relief, by humble, earnest and dutiful Com- plaints and Petitions. But, instead of obtaining Redress, our Petitions have been treated with Scorn and Contempt, and fresh Injuries heaped upon us, while hostile armies and ships are sent to lay waste our Country. In this distressing Dilemma, having no Alternative but absolute Slavery or successful Resistance, this, and the United American Colonies have been constrained by the overruling laws of Self Preservation to take up Arms for the Defense of all that is sacred and dear to Free- men, and make this solemn Appeal to Heaven for the Justice of their Cause, and resist Force by Force. " God Almighty has been pleased of his infinite Mercy to succeed our Attempts, and give us many Instances of signal Success and Deliverance. But the wrath of the King is still increasing, and not content with before employing all the Force which can be sent from his own Kingdom to execute his cruel Purposes, has procured, and is sending all the Mercenaries he can obtain from foreign countries to assist in extirpating the Rights of America, and with theirs almost all the liberty remaining among Mankind. " In this most critical and alarming situation, this and all the Colonies are called upon and earnestly pressed by the honorable Congress of the American Colonies united for mutual defense, to raise a large additional number of their militia and able men to be furnished and equipped with all possible Expedition for defense against the soon expected attack and invasion of those who are our Enemies without a Cause. In cheerful compliance with which request, and urged by Motives the most cogent and important that can affect the human Mind, the General Assembly of this Colony have freely and unanimously agreed and resolved, that upward of Seven Thousand able and effective Men be immediately raised, funiished and equipped for the great and interesting Purposes aforesaid. And not desirous that any should go to a warfare at their own charge (though equally interested with others) for defense of the great and all-important Cause in which we are engaged, have granted large and liberal Pay and Encouragements to all who shall voluntarily undertake for the Defense of themselves and their country as by their acts may appear, I do therefore by and with the advice of the Counsel, and at the desire of the Representatives in General Court assembled, issue this Proclamation, and make the solemn appeal to the virtue and public Spirit of the good People of this Colony. Affairs are hastening fast to a Crisis, and the approaching Campaign will in all Probability determine forever the fate of America. If this should be successful on DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 455 our side, there is little to fear on account of any other. Be exhorted to rise there- fore to superior exertions on this great Occasion, and let all that are able and neces- sary show themselves ready in Behalf of their injured and oppressed Country, and come forth to the help of the Lord against the Mighty, and convince the unrelent- ing Tyrant of Britain that they are resolved to be Free. Let them step forth to defend their Wives, their little Ones, their Liberty, and everything they hold sacred and dear, to defend the Cause of their Country, their Religion, and their God. Let every one to the utmost of their Power lend a helping Hand, to promote and forward a design on which the salvation of America now evidently depends. Nor need any be dismayed : the Cause is certainly a just and a. glorious one ; God is able to save us in such manner as he pleases and to humble our proud Oppressors. The Cause is that of Truth and Justice ; he has already shown his Power in our Behalf, and for the Destruction of many of our Enemies. Our Fathers trusted in him and were delivered. Let us all repent and thoroughly amend our Ways and turn to him, put all our Trust and Confidence in him in his Name go forth, and in his Name set up our Banners, and he will save us with temporal and eternal salvation. And while our Armies are abroad jeoparding their lives in the high Places of the Field, 1 let all who remain at Home cry mightily to God for the Pro- tection of his Providence to shield and defend their lives from Death, and to crown them with victory and success. And in the Name of the said General Assembly I do hereby earnestly recommend it to all, both Ministers and People, frequently to meet together for social prayer to Almighty God for the outpouring of his blessed Spirit upon this guilty land That he would awaken his People to Righteousness and Repentance, bless our Councils, prosper our Arms, and succeed the Measures using for our necessary self defense disappoint the evil and cruel Devices of our Enemies preserve our precious Rights and Liberties, lengthen out our Tranquility, and make us a People of his Praise, and the blessed of the Lord, as long as the Sun and Moon shall endure. " And all the Ministers of the Gospel in this Colony, are directed and desired, to publish this Proclamation in their several churches and congregations, and to enforce the Exhortations thereof, by their own pious Example and public instructions. "Given under my Hand at the Council Chamber in Hartford, the i8th day of June Anno Domini 1776. "JONATHAN TRUMBULL." In this act he was fully indorsed by the War Council and "the Representatives in General Court assembled." A few years later, in acknowledging a copy of Governor TrumbuH's last address to the Connecticut General Assembly, which had been forwarded to him, George Washington wrote from Mount Vernon the following : " The sentiments contained in it are such as would do honor to a patriot of any age or nation ; at least they are too coincident with my own, not to meet with 1 The use of these words is very striking, seeing that in Governor TrumbuH's own State the monument now standing, opposite New London, in honor of the victims of the massacre of Groton Heights, bears most appropriately the entire verse (Judges v, 18) : " Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field." 456 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. my warmest approbation. Be so good as to present my most cordial respects to the Governor, and let him know that it is my wish, that the mutual friendship and esteem, which have been planted and fostered in the tumult of public life, may not wither and die in the serenity of retirement. Tell him, that we should rather amuse the evening hours of our life in cultivating the tender plants, and bringing them to perfection, before they are transplanted to a happier clime." ' The amount of indefatigable labor accomplished by Governor Trumbull during the struggle with Great Britain can scarcely be touched upon in these pages. The venerable War Office still stands in the town of Lebanon, Conn., as a relic of his indomita- ble zeal and devotion to his country. "At the May session, 1775, the General Assembly established a Council of Safety, to assist the Governor in the general conduct of the war." 2 This Council held its first meeting June 7, 1775, at the War Office, Governor Trumbull and every member of the Council being present. Stuart says that it appears from a memorandum in Governor Trumbull's handwriting, that he was personally present at 913 sessions of this Council during the war, but Hinman, late Secretary of State, after searching the State records and archives in his official custody, states that " this Council held over 1200 sessions; . . . and it is more than probable there were about 1145 sessions of this great, impor- tant, and illustrious Council, held under the humble roof of that old War Office; every rafter, and every shingle which covers it, on all sides, from roof-tree to sill, radiant in memory with the glorious light of our morning of liberty." * "The threshold of this notable building has been crossed by Washington, Lafayette, Count Rochambeau, Baron de Montes- quieu, the Duke de Lauzun, Admiral Tiernay, Generals Sul- livan, Putnam, Samuel and John Adams, John Jay, Thomas Jeffer- son, and by Benjamin Franklin; and a host of other patriots and high worthies taking council together in ' the days that tried men's souls.' There it stands," says Lebanon's historian, "pre- served with sacred care at public charge forever set apart from all ignoble or common uses, a consecrated Memorial ! " * At last the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown brought final triumph to the gallant and persevering American army, and " caused the liveliest sensations of joy and gratitude throughout the country." " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 614. * " Early Lebanon," pp. 69, 70. " War of the Revolution," p. 321. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 457 Negotiations for peace occupied the ministry during 1782, and early in 1783 official information of the general peace was announced by General Washington. Soon after his second election as Chief Executive of his State, Governor Trumbull was requested by the General Assembly to examine into the rights of the State to certain lands lying west of the western boundary of Pennsylvania, whose boundaries were now questioned, and about which there was disturbing territorial dispute. This special act of statesmanship, aside from his ordinary duties, may here be noted, inasmuch as his support of the claim of Connecticut to that valuable section afterward known as the " Western Reserve of Ohio," and the establishment of her rights, brought hither and founded, a few years afterward, an entire branch of Captain John Higley's his grandfather lineal descen- dants, who for three generations have enjoyed the advantages of homes in this favored district. This claim of Connecticut required long and patient investiga- tion on the part of Governor Trumbull, accompanied by able and persistent effort, which covered a period of several years, to which he/^r.sw?d!//yapplied'himself. "It resulted at last save in regard to a small strip of territory at present included in Penn- sylvania in an acknowledgment by Congress, after the Revolu- tion, of that title which rescued for old Connecticut that fine tract of country known as New Connecticut known also, in honorable bap- tism, as Trumbull County ',' Ohio. And it secured the means, in con- sequence, for the establishment of her magnificent School Fund." Says a descriptive writer of that county: 5 "No better name than Trumbull could have been selected for this Western Con- necticut. The name is imperishably stamped on almost every phase of history of the present State, and represents distinguished achievement in Statesmanship." Governor Trumbull was now coming on to venerable years, but it was not until the conflict was ended and the sword of the country had been laid down, that this old partisan thought of re- laxing his stiff energies, or gave a moment's consideration toward closing his able and remarkable executive and military career. The October following the official proclamation of Peace, 1 " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr, " by I. W. Stuart, p. 135. * " New Connecticut," or Trumbull County, was afterward divided into Ashtabula, Trumbull, and other counties. 458 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. he gave a parting address to the Connecticut General Assem- bly. 1 " To the Honorable Council and House of Representatives in General Court con- vened, October, 1783. " GENTLEMEN : "A few days will bring me to the anniversary of my birth ; seventy-three years of my life will then be completed ; and next May, fifty-one years will have passed since I was first honored with the confidence of the people in a public character. During this period, in different capacities, it has been my lot to be called to public service, almost without interruption. Fourteen years I have had the honor to fill the chief seat of government. With what carefulness, with what zeal and attention to your welfare, I have discharged the duties of my several stations, some few of you, of equal age with myself, can witness for me from the beginning. During the latter period, none of you are ignorant of the manner in which my public life has been occupied. The watchful cares and solicitudes of an eight years' distressing and unusual war, have also fallen to my share, and have employed many anxious moments of my latest time, which have been cheerfully devoted to the service of my country. Happy am I to find that all these cares, anxieties and solicitudes are compensated by the noblest prospect which now opens to my fellow-citizens, of a happy establishment (if we are but wise to improve the precious opportunity), in peace, tranquillity, and national independence. With sincere and lively gratitude to Almighty God, our Great Protector and Deliverer, and with most hearty con- gratulations to all our citizens, I felicitate you, gentlemen, the other freemen, and all the good people of the State, in this glorious prospect. " Impressed with these sentiments of gratitude and felicitation ; reviewing the long course of years in which, through various events, I have had the pleasure to serve the State ; contemplating, with pleasing wonder and satisfaction, at the close of an arduous contest, the noble and enlarged scenes which now present themselves to my country's view ; and reflecting at the same time on my advanced stage of life, a life worn out almost in the constant cares of office, I think it my duty to retire from the busy concerns of public affairs ; that at the evening of my days I may sweeten their decline, by devoting myself with less avocation, and more attention to the duties of religion, the service of my God, and preparation for a future happier state of existence ; in which pleasing employment I shall not cease to remember my country, and to make it my ardent prayer that Heaven will not fail to bless her with its choicest favors. "At this auspicious moment, therefore, of my country's happiness when she has just reached the goal of her wishes, and obtained the object for which she has so long contended, and so nobly struggled, I have to request the favor from you, gentlemen, and through you, from all the freemen of the State, that, after May next, I may be excused from any further service in public life ; and that from this time I may no longer be considered as an object of your suffrages for any public employment in the State. The reasonableness of my request, I am persuaded, 1 We can here give but mere extracts from such portions of the Address as relates to himself, the document being too lengthy to introduce into these pages. It contains Governor Trumbull's part- ing advice and counsel to his constituency, and, says one : " It is a patriarchal document worthy of the admiration of the lovers of their country." Eo. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 459 will be questioned by no one. The length of time I have devoted to their service, with my declining state of vigor and activity, will, I please myself, form for me a suffi- cient and unfailing excuse with my fellow-citizens. "At this parting address you will suffer me, gentlemen, to thank you, and all the worthy members of preceding Assemblies, with whom I have had the honor to act, for all that assistance, counsel, aid and support, which I have ever experienced during my administration of government ; and in the warmth of gratitude to assure you, that till my latest moments, all your kindness to me shall be remembered ; and that my constant prayer shall be employed with Heaven to invoke the Divine Guidance and protection in your future councils and government. "Age and experience dictate to me and the zeal with which I have been known to serve the public through a long course of years, will, I trust, recommend to the attention of the people some few thoughts which I shall offer to their con- sideration on this occasion, as my last advisory legacy. " I commend you, gentlemen, and the good people of the State, with earnestness and ardour, to the blessing, the protection, the counsel, and direction of the great Counsellor and Director ; whose wisdom and power is sufficient to establish you as a great and happy people ; and wishing you the favor of this divine benediction, in my public character I bid you a long a happy adieu. " I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant, "JON TRUMBULL." ' This resignation received the careful consideration of the General Assembly, and a set of appropriate resolutions, express- ing, "in terms of the most sincere gratitude, the highest respect for his Excellency, for the great and eminent services he had rendered the State during his long and prosperous administra- tion; more especially for that display of wisdom, justice-, forti- tude, and magnanimity, joined with the most unremitting attention and perseverance, which he manifested during the late successful though distressing war, which must place the chief magistrate of the State in the rank of those great and worthy patriots who have eminently distinguished themselves as the defenders of the rights of mankind." The Assembly went on "to consider it a most gracious dis- pensation of Divine Providence, that a life of so much usefulness has been prolonged to such an advanced age, with an unimpaired vigor and activity of mind. " These resolutions were placed upon public record, and unstinted congratulations flowed in upon him from all the inhabited sections of this land and lands across the seas. It was fitting that this great patriot should thus close his public life. 1 " Life of Jonathan Trurabull, ST.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 604. 460 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Neither receding time nor distance have either magnified or dimmed the luster of our "Brother Jonathan's" life service. He remains a fixed star of glittering brightness among the group of sages who guided the councils of the times. As a result of their defiant confidence in the triumph of their belief that "all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights," the earnest labor they accomplished was but a faint prophecy of the outgrowth of a century the little republic of thirteen States has, in process of time, developed and expanded into a circle of forty-five great commonwealths; its peoples then numbering three millions have now become a nation of seventy-five millions. It is a superior eulogy upon Governor Trumbull that he served his country during these years for no selfish advantage or private gain. "That he should have gone through the entire Revolu- tionary War loaded down almost each hour with labor labor that snatched him often from repast, often snatched him from sleep without compensation, the while, to meet either his ordinary or his extraordinary expenses with nothing to depend upon for support except a little produce from lands, which, weighed down with mortgages, were the property of his cred- itors, and a little income perhaps at first, from a country trade, which the war, taxes, and the general poverty of the people rendered soon comparatively insignificant, and which he soon abandoned altogether is truly surprising." 1 " I have received but two half-years' salaries since the beginning of our contest with Great Britain," he wrote, April 29, 1785, to his son John in England," 8 which speaks well for the patriotism of the old hero. On the zpth of May, 1780, Mrs. Faith Trumbull, his wife, died at the age of sixty-one. She had been in delicate health for several years. She became the wife of Governor Trumbull when full of juvenile life, at the age of seventeen, and developed into an interesting woman of elevated character, who maintained social dignity and earnest Christian purpose. 1 "Life of Jonathan Tnimbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 659. 3 Governor Trumbull collected in 1 784 the back payments due for his annual salary three hundred pounds a year. He died insolvent. He never recovered the heavy losses by his ships in 1766. The deterioration of his landed estates, the disturbance of business caused by the troubles preced- ing the Revoluion, and total interruption of trade which followed, cut him off forever from the chance of repairing his fortunes." Stuart's " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," pp. 659, 660. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 461 The original portraits of Mrs. Trumbull (painted by her son John) represent her to have been a woman of much personal beauty, and she is said to have possessed a gentle and affec- tionate disposition, having the faculty of making many friends; and, says the obituary notice in the Connecticut Courant, June 9, 1780: "She was eminently qualified for and adorned the honorable station in which Providence placed her." She did not lose the large opportunity which her life by the side of her husband gave her during the War of the Revolu- tion, for manifesting great generosity in her deeds, and she was constant in practical sympathy and aid in the cause they held dear. Her remains are in the Trumbull tomb at Lebanon, Conn. The dawn of 1785 brought Governor Trumbull to the last year of his noble life. For two years after his retirement from public duties, he enjoyed the pleasures of a serene and undisturbed resting-time, engaging himself in his favorite pursuits and studies, chiefly of a religious nature. He was hale and hearty. But the day came when he was to leave "the infinite beauty of earth," and a life crowned by distinction. It was on the i7th of August, 1785. Early in that month he was utterly prostrated by a violent fever, which assumed a bilious form, and destroyed his vitality, making him its victim in less than a fortnight. He scarcely ever had had, from a natural cause, a day's illness in his life. He was tranquil and content amid all of the raging of fever. " Not a murmur from his lips," says his biographer, " disclosed the least resistance to the dispensation of Providence." His last hour of human infirmity was one of peace a holy quiet reigned. His spirit passed away almost imperceptibly. Heaven's gate opened and he glided softly into " The sweet fields of Eden," "as one would fall into a deep slumber"; leaving behind him a name fragrant with truth and honor, and "the inheritance of a great example." His mortal remains were followed to the church, where inter- esting sacred services were held on the igth, by a large and representative gathering of people, and consigned to a resting- 462 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. place beside his beloved wife in the ancient Lebanon burial- ground. 1 "The sister States of America," as the worthy divine truth- fully predicted at his funeral, "joined in a 'mournful concert' of sorrow with the near relatives and friends of the deceased. Thousands among 'European friendly powers,' who had heard of his good name and fame, now sighed on hearing the tidings of his death. Obituary notices, letters of condolence, Sabbath- day discourses, election sermons, and other addresses made touching references to the public loss and vied in expressing the public sorrow." 1 The expression of condolence penned, on the receipt of the sad news at Mount Vernon, by his honored friend " the immortal Washington," and addressed to his son Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., is a fitting message with which to close this sketch, which illus- trates but in part the impressive life of this great historic figure. " Mr. VERNON, October i, 1785. " MY DEAR SIR : " It has so happened that your letter of the first of last month did not reach me until Saturday's post. " You know too well the sincere respect and regard I entertained for your venerable father's public and private character, to require assurance of the concern I felt for his death ; or of that sympathy in your feelings, for the loss of him, which is prompted by friendship. Under this loss, however, great as your feelings must have been at the first shock, you have everything to console you. " A long and well-spent life in the service of his country places Governor Trum- bull among the first of patriots. In the social duties he yielded to no one ; and his lamp, from the common course of nature, being nearly extinguished, worn down with age and cares, yet retaining his mental faculties in perfection, are blessings which rarely attend advanced life. All these combined have secured to his memory unusual respect and love here, and, no doubt, unmeasurable happiness hereafter. " I am sensible that none of these observations can have escaped you, that I can offer nothing which your own reason has not already suggested upon the occasion ; and being of Sterne's opinion, that ' before an affliction is digested, consolation comes too soon, and after it is digested it comes too late, there is but a mark between these two, almost as fine as a hair, for a comforter to take aim at,' I rarely attempt it, nor should I add more on this subject to you, as it will be a renewal of sorrow, by calling afresh to your remembrance things that had better be forgotten. " My principal pursuits are of a rural nature, in which I have great delight, especially as I am blessed with the enjoyment of good health. Mrs. Washington, 1 A fine portrait of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., is to be seen in the State House, Hart- ford, Conn. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 463 on the contrary, is hardly ever well ; but, thankful for your kind remembrance of her, joins me in every good wish for you, Mrs. Trumbull, and your family. " Be assured that with sentiments of the purest esteem, I am, Dear Sir, " Your affectionate friend and obedient servant, " CEO. WASHINGTON." 1 Governor Jonathan Trumbull, ist, and his wife, Faith Robinson, had children as follows: Joseph, born March n, 1737; Jonathan, ad, born March 26, 1740; Faith, born January 25, 1743; Mary, born July 16, 1745; David, born February 5, 1751; John, born June 6, 1756. * " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.,' by I. W. Stuart, pp. 676, 678. CHAPTER LIX. DESCENDANTS OF GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL, SR. Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., Hannah Higley, Captain John Higley. Each man is a bundle of his ancestors. EMERSON. THE grandchildren of Hannah Higley Trumbull (chapter xix. p. 108), the group of six children belonging to her son, Governor Jonathan, Sr., and Faith Trumbull's household, "were distinguished for remarkable ability and were all destined to notable careers." Governor Trumbull, Sr., was a painstaking and affectionate father, who looked after the training of his children, and to their environments, with unremitting attention. He bestowed upon them a liberal education, and interested himself in the develop- ment of their whole nature. To this end he made it one feature of his busy life to provide for an advancement in the standard of education, as a preliminary to a college and boarding-school course, and became one of the founders of the celebrated Tisdale School at Lebanon, Conn. JOSEPH TRUMBULL, the eldest, born March n, 1737, was gradu- ated at Hartford in 1756, and became a business partner in his father's mercantile house. He spent the year 1763 in London, "promoting the business of the firm," and again, later on, after the failure of their business house, he resided abroad for some time. Colonel Joseph Trumbull was Representative in the General Assembly of Connecticut, for his own town and for Norwich, for a number of sessions, beginning with October, 1769; and in April, 1775, the Assembly appointed him State Commissary-General. Early in the Revolution he was elected by the National American Congress one of the members of its board of war. Soon after his appointment by his State as commissary, the same year, he received "the appointment by Congress as the first Commis- sary-General of the American Army, an office then of the highest importance in the struggle for independence, and bringing with it a crushing weight of perplexing labor and responsibility. 464 DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 465 He continued in this office until July, 1778, when, broken down with unremitted ardor in these duties, he returned home for a short rest, but his vital powers had been fatally overstrained on the 23d of July, at the age of forty-one years, he sank into his final rest; a martyr to the cause of his country." J He left a young wife, Amelia, to whom he had been married but four months. His body was placed in the family mausoleum at Lebanon. JONATHAN TRUMBULL, JR., LL. D., the second son, and the second Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, was born March 26, 1740. He passed from the Tisdale School to Harvard College, and was graduated, "with unusual reputation," in 1759. He served for a number of sessions as a member of the State Legislature, his first election taking place in 1774, and twice was speaker of the House. "At the opening of the Revolutionary War, in 1775, he was appointed by the Continental Congress pay- master-general of the northern department of the army under General Washington." In April, 1781, Colonel Trumbull succeeded Colonel Alexander Hamilton as private secretary and first aid to Washington, from whose distinguished hand he received the following letter: " The circle of my acquaintance does not furnish a character that would be more pleasing to me as a successor to him than yourself. I make you the first offer, therefore, of the vacant office, and should be happy in your acceptance of it. The pay is one hundred dollars a month ; the rations those of a Lieutenant-Colonel in the army, which in fact are additional, as the value thereof is received in money. No perquisites appertain to the office. The secretary lives as I do, is at little expense while he is in my family, or when absent on my business, and is in the highest con- fidence and estimation from the nature of his office." * Colonel Trumbull served in this important position until near the close of the war. In 1790, he was chosen a representative in Congress from his State, and in 1791, was speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and continued in that office until 1794, when he was elected to the United States Senate. From 1796 to 1809, fourteen years, he was annually elected one of the twelve of the Council of Assistants of the State under the charter, and as such, a member of the Senate, or " Upper House." In 1796 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut, and in 1798 Governor of the State; and w^s annually re-elected to 1 " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 554. 466 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. this office for eleven years, and until his death in 1^09. While holding this office he was also Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Errors of his State. Governor Trumbull, Jr., " was a man cultivated and intellec- tual, of amiable temperament, and was distinguished for his social virtues. He long enjoyed the high confidence of the public in a very eminent degree." He married Eunice Backus of Norwich in 1767, and they became the parents of five children. Of these their only son and one daughter, Mary, died young, leaving three daughters, Faith, Harriet, and Maria, who lived to womanhood. 1 He died August 7, 1809, at sixty-nine years of age. His remains are preserved in the Trumbull tomb at Lebanon. Their children : FAITH, the eldest daughter, born February, 1769, married Daniel Wadsworth, the only son of Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, " the foremost and wealthiest citizen of Hartford, Conn., during the Revolutionary period and years following." Daniel Wadsworth ' ' did much for the growth and prosperity of that city. The Wads- worth Atheneum is a lasting memorial of his desire to promote literary and artistic objects. They lived for many years in the mansion on Prospect Street now occupied by the Hartford Club." * They left no children. HARRIET, born September 2, 1783, married Professor Benjamin Silliman, Septem- ber 17, 1809. Professor Silliman held the position of first Professor of Chemistry and Geology in Yale College, revered and beloved, for fifty consecutive years. MARIA, the youngest, born February 14, 1785, married Henry Hudson, Esq., of Hartford, Conn. FAITH TRUMBULL, the eldest daughter of the Trumbull house- hold, was born 1743, and married, May, 1766, Jedediah Hunt- ington of Norwich, who was afterward a distinguished general of the war of the Revolution, and at one time was one of General Washington's aids-de-camp, and a member of his household. His intelligence, bravery, and fidelity as an officer secured to him the attachment and lasting friendship of his illustrious Com- mander-in-Chief. Faith Trumbull Huntington was a person of marked refinement and culture. "She too like her brothers," says Stuart, "had a Revolutionary destiny to fulfill one of singular and startling import." ' She arrived at Boston, where her husband and brother John were in camp, "just as the thunders of Bunker Hill broke over a scene of horrible carnage a majestic and tremendous 1 "Early Lebanon," p. 94. 8 Trumbull's " History of Hartford County." 1 " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 194. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 467 scene, with its blaze of more than five hundred houses in Charles- town, added to the continual blaze and roar of artillery a scene whose havoc, in full view from the heights of Boston and its neighborhood, was witnessed by thousands of intensely agitated spectators, and among the rest by the eldest daughter of Governor Trumbull." Her brother, Colonel John Trumbull, in his autobi- ography, tells the sad story: " About noon that day [the day of the battle] I had a momentary interview with my favorite sister, the wife of Colonel, afterwards General Huntington, whose regiment was on its march to join the army. The novelty of military scenes ex- cited great curiosity throughout the country, and my sister was one of a party of young friends who were attracted to visit the Army before Boston. She was a woman of deep and affectionate sensibility, and the moment of her visit was most unfortunate. She found herself surrounded, not by ' the pomp and circumstances of glorious war,' but in the midst of all its horrible realities. She saw too clearly the life of danger and hardship upon which her husband and her favorite brother had entered, and it overcame her strong but too sensitive mind. She became insane." l It was on the 24th of November, 1775, five months after the terrific battle scene which filled her with unaccustomed terror, and suddenly dethroned her reason, that her beautiful life closed, at the age of thirty-two years and ten months. Governor Trumbull, when speaking of their daughter, used to say:* "The tenderness and affection of my daughter Faith, I am apt to think, are without parallel." And her husband, in a letter addressed to her brother Joseph, who was absent at the time, remarked : " You have seen the thousand agreeable and tender scenes in which I have passed with the dear partner of my soul, your lovely sister. The law of kindness was ever on her tongue and heart She was one whose benevolence, obligingness, and affec- tion had no comparison my tears must flow." Her husband, General Huntington, survived every general officer of the Revolutionary War with but one exception. He died September 25, 1818. They had but one child a son, Jabez Huntington, born Septem- ber, 1767. MARY TRUMBULL, the second daughter of the senior Governor Trumbull, was born July 16, 1745. Like her sister, Faith, she was * " Reminiscences of His Own Times," by Colonel John Trumbull, p. aa. * " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr," by I. W. Stuart. 468 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. an educated woman. Her earlier school years were spent in. the Tisdale Academy, and her education was afterward finished at a Boston school. On February 14, 1771, she married the Hon. William Williams of Lebanon. Mr. Williams was a son of the Rev. Solomon Williams, who for fifty-four years was the pastor of the Lebanon Church, and a "long-endeared neighbor, friend, and supporter" of Governor Trumbull. William Williams held the office of town clerk for a period of forty-four years. "He was chosen to repre- sent the town in 1757 in the General Assembly, and with few rare exceptions was continued in this office until 1784 twenty-seven years. He was nine times Speaker of the House. In 1776 he was chosen by the electors of the State at large one of the Assistants and transferred to the Upper House, to which office he was twenty-four times elected. It is recorded of him, that for more than ninety sessions he was scarcely absent from his seat in the General Assembly. He was a member of the Council of Safety which regularly met at Lebanon during the war." He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1776 and 1777, and signed the Declaration of Independence ; and lived to be the last survivor of the four signers from the State of Connecticut. He was ardent and full of patriotic fervor. "With tongue and pen and estate he gave himself to the cause of the Colonies. He was a sincere Christian, exercising the spirit of benevolence, and full of private virtues." His widow, Mary Trumbull, survived him twenty years, and died at Lebanon, February 9, 1831, aged eighty-five. They had three children : Solomon, Faith, and William Trumbull Williams. The latter married his cousin, Sarah Trumbull, and was for many years a distinguished attorney in Lebanon, Conn. He died December 16, 1839. DAVID TRUMBULL, the third son of the senior Governor Jonathan Trumbull, was born February 5, 1751. He was the only son who failed to pass through a collegiate course, and this was "because, at the period when otherwise he would have taken this course, the sea had wrecked his father's fortune." Two marriages took place between the families of the Trum- bulls and the Backuses of Norwich, David Trumbull marrying Sarah Backus, sister to his brother Jonathan's wife, on the 6th of December, 1778. Like the other members of the family, he DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HICLEY TRUMBULL. 469 served with distinction in the American cause. He was always active in all the local affairs of the town, and was twice its Repre- tative in the General Assembly. " The services which he rendered to his country in her trying struggle for liberty, though less conspicuous, were as devoted and patriotic, and even more constant, than those of either of his brothers. He was the only son reserved by his father to aid and counsel with him in the discharge of the herculean task which the war devolved upon him, in raising and equipping troops, and furnishing and forwarding supplies, etc., not only to the land and naval forces of the State, but to the whole northern army. The minutes of the ' War Council ' show him to have been not only ' the right hand ' of his father, but of the council also, as the able, ready, and trusted executive of their important measures. " For these constant services, rendered often by night as well as by day, he seems to have received no regular compensation only his expenses were paid, except on a few special cases." l He served also, for some time, as Assistant Commissary-General of the United States, under his brother Joseph. He spent the last years of his life upon a farm at Lebanon, and at his death was laid in the tomb where the family are gathered. He died January 17, 1822, aged seventy-one. His wife died June 2, 1846. Their children were Sarah (who married her cousin, William Trumbull Williams), Abigail, Joseph, John, and Jonathan G. W. The sons all received a college education. Of the above family: JOSEPH TRUMBULL, the third Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, and eldest son of David and Sarah Trumbull, was born December 7, 1782. He was graduated from Yale College in 1801, and admitted to the bar in 1803. He practiced his pro- fession first in Ohio. On his return to Connecticut he was conspicuous in public use- fulness for many years. He served eleven years from June 1828 as President of the Hartford Bank, and was Representative in the United States Congress, 1839-43. He was elected to the chief executive office of the State, serving the years 1849 and 1850. He married Eliza, the daughter of Lemuel Storrs, December i, 1824. He died in 1861. Their only child, Eliza, born October 10, 1826, married Lucius F. Robinson, a prominent member of the Hartford County bar, and a high literary character. JOHN TRUMBULL, the youngest son of the senior Governor Jonathan Trumbull's family, born June 6, 1756, was probably more j ' " Early Lebanon," p. 100. 470 THE HI G LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. nearly the reproduction of his father than any of the children. He was eminent for the diversity of his talents. Against his own wish he attended college not that he desired to evade a higher education, but his longing was to study art. However, his father did not for some time enter into this natural ambition of the son : seeing that he had a mind richly equipped with noble gifts, he chose for him first a college training. John entered the junior year at Harvard at the age of sixteen, and was graduated the following year, 1773. But the will of neither parent nor tutor could stifle the natural genius of the youth, "he never surrendered his purpose." Be- fore he was nineteen the sable cloud of revolution was rising, and his blood tingled with loyality to the Colonial cause. " My father," says he, "was now Governor of the Colony, and a patriot of course surrounded by patriots, to whose ardent con- versation I listened daily; it would have been strange if all this had failed to produce its natural effect upon me. " 1 John set about collecting the young men of the village, and they began to practice military exercises and get into training. Very soon he joined the ist Connecticut Regiment and was adjutant, stationed at Roxbury, Mass., April, 1775. He soon attracted the attention of General Washington, and was em- ployed by him in sketching the enemies' position, and was ap- pointed his aid-de-camp. In August, 1775, he was appointed major of brigade, and in 1776 adjutant-general on Washington's staff. "These instances of kindness," his father wrote to General Washington in July referring both to his son Joseph's appoint- ment, and to that also of his son John as a member of Washing- ton's military family "justly claim my most grateful acknowl- edgments." * "The same year, 1776, Colonel Trumbull was sent to the northern army for the invasion of Canada, and joined General Gates at Crown Point, to whom he had been appointed adjutant- general." After some important service, in which he evinced marked military ability, "he returned in 1777 to Boston, and with the approbation of his father and Gen. Washington, resumed there the study of that art which had ever been the passion, and was destined to be the glory, of his life; but still holding himself in readiness for any pressing emergency in the service of his 1 " Reminiscences of His Own Times," by Colonel John Trumbull. * " Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.," by I. W. Stuart, p. 422. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 47 1 country. The emergency came when in 1778 he acted as aid- de-camp to General Sullivan in the attempt to dislodge the British army and navy from Newport, R. I. His bravery on this occasion; the cool valor and daring with which he led his troops into the most deadly of the fierce encounters of that unequal contest, commanded not only the admiration, but the astonishment, of Gen. Sullivan and all who witnessed it." ' "He was the natural and pre-eminent military genius of the family; and, had fate led him to follow the profession of arms, would doubtless have been renowned as a military chieftain." x In 1780 he went to London to become a pupil under the cele- brated artist, Benjamin West; but soon after his arrival "great excitement prevailing, on account of the execution of Major Andre as a spy, he was arrested on the charge of high treason, as a pendant for him," and imprisoned eight months in the famous Bridewell prison, where he "was very civilly treated but care- fully guarded." Upon his release through the efforts of distin- guished gentlemen, he left England for Holland, where he assisted in negotiations for a loan for the American Congress. When the war was over he returned to London, and pursued his studies under West. His first great historical picture, "The Battle of Bunker Hill," was produced in 1786. He returned to America in 1789. In George Washington's diary, dated "Tuesday, July 8, 1790," is found the following entry : "Sat from nine o'clock till after ten, for Mr. Jn- Trumbull, who was drawing a portrait of me at full length which he intended to present to Mrs. Washington," and again under the dates "Monday i2th," and "Tuesday i3th," "again sat for Mr. Trumbull from nine until half- past ten o'clock." Many years after this date, Colonel Trumbull wrote to a friend, of this picture, which is "whole length standing, three-quarters left, the right arm resting on a white horse 20X30 inches," the following : " In the year 1775 I had had the honor to be one of the General's aids-de- camp ; and afterward had received from him many civilities, which added the endearment and affection of personal feelings to the reverential respect which his public character always commanded from all men. " I had also been honored by much civility from Mrs. Washington ; and this picture, painted ' con amore ' in my best days, was intended as an offering of grate- 1 " Early Lebanon.*' 4?2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ful respect : and was accordingly presented by me to Mrs. Washington. The portrait, tho' of small size, preserves accurately the resemblance of the face the proportions and manners of his Figure, and the style and minutiae of his military dress. It is painted on fine cloth." * Within the next few years Colonel Trumbull produced other portraits of Washington; also of Alexander Hamilton, General Philip Schuyler, and many other historical characters. He again went to England in 1794, as secretary to John Jay, envoy extraordinary to the Court of Great Britain, and " in 1796 was appointed a commissioner in the execution of the seventh article of Jay's treaty." He returned to the United States in 1804, and again pursued his art. From 1817 to 1824 he engaged himself in painting, by contract with the United States Congress, his four great histori- cal pictures that fill compartments in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, representing respectively : " Signing the Declara- tion of Independence," the " Surrender of Burgoyne," the " Sur- render of Cornwallis," and the " Resignation of Washington at Annapolis," for which Congress paid him thirty-two thousand dollars. When eighty-six years of age, speaking of the past, he wrote : " At three score years and ten my hand was steady, and my sight good, and I felt the vis vita strong within me why then sink down into premature imbecility ? " " Many of his national pictures, together with interesting por- traits of distinguished characters, and several copies from old masters, fifty-four pictures in all, he finally gave to Yale Col- lege, where they were deposited in the 'Trumbull Gallery,' specially erected for their reception. The Wadsworth Gallery at Hartford contains, also, fourteen of his paintings; all of heroic size, nine by six feet, besides other of his valuable pictures, 'which have always formed the central feature of interest in the Gallery.'" Colonel John Trumbull was President of the American Academy of Fine Arts from its foundation, and spent his latter years in New York City. He married in London, in 1800, Sarah , an English lady, who is said to have been possessed of much refinement and marked personal beauty. Of his wife he records in his auto- biography a tender and beautiful tribute. 1 A full length picture of George Washington, painted after the above (1790) size, 72 X 108, is owned by the City of New York, and may be seen at the City Hall. DESCENDANTS OF HANNAH HIGLEY TRUMBULL. 473 They had no children. At his decease he was interred beneath the gallery which bears his name in New Haven, Conn. The epitaph reads : Colonel 3obn Grumbull patriot ano artist, Jfrieno anD BID of TimasbfnQton. 2>ieo in Tftew 12or&, Uov>, 10, 1843 BE. 88. fee reposes in a Sepulcbre JBuilt bB bimself, beneatb Gbts Monumental Oallerg; "Cdbere be deposited tbe remains of Sarab bis wife, wbo oieo in flew J^orfc, Bpril 12, 1824, BE. 5t. Co bis Country be gave- bis Sworo anD bis pencil. CHAPTER LX. Continued from chapter xxi. p. 134. JONATHAN HIGLEY. Jonathan, Samuel, ist, Captain John Higley. A whisper from his dawn of life ? a breath From some fair dawn beyond the doors of death Far far away ? TENNYSON. JONATHAN, the eldest child and only son of Dr. Samuel and Abigail Higley, was born June 21, 1721, as will be seen by the fac-simile production of his birth record on the opposite page, taken from the Simsbury, Conn., town records. 1 Jonathan was a boy of sixteen when his father met his death at sea, and his mother died when he was a young man of twenty-six. Little is known of his earlier years. Early in the year 1747 he married the only daughter of a family of high stand- ing Mary, the third child of the Rev. Edward Thompson, 2 a young woman of unusually bright capacities. She was born 1721. 1 Book iii. p. 261. See also chap. xxi. p. 122. a The Rev. Edward Thompson was one of the able and distinguished clergyman who embraced Puritanic views and came from England. He settled at Cape Ann, Mass., where he resided till about 1687. In June of that year he " was employed " to preach in Simsbury, Conn. He preached till 1691. The following was the agreement between " the inhabitants " and himself : " We doe promise and engage that we will by the assistance of Divine Grace render that honor, love, and obedience, to him [the Rev. Edward Thompson] that is due from us, as he is our Shep- herd and watchman according to gospel rules. And we doe hereby promise and engage that dur- ing the time he shall continue the work of the ministry we will pay to him, his heyrs and assigns, the sum of .50 per annum, in good and currant pay, viz; One third in good and merchantable wheat at 4 shillings per Bushel, J^ in pease or Ry at 31! per Bu., and % in Indian corn, or pork, the Indian corn at 28 6d per Bu. and the pork at 3, ios per barrell, full gaged and well repacked : and alsoe a sufficiency of wood shall be by us provided and laid by his house for his necessary uses at all times during his continuance amongst us in ye work of ye ministry." He was also " allowed the use and improvement " of the parsonage lands that are in the Township. One home lot was given him " containing four acres with the dwelling house at present standing, which we do prom- ise to finish at our own cost and charges and to add a new room to it of about 18 feet square and 13 feet between joints, completely built and finished, the said Thompson finding nails, ironwork and glass for the said new end. Also 18 acres of meadow land lying in Hopp Meadow [now Simsbury], alsoe 20 acres at Salmon Brooke added to a first piece of 8 acres or more " ; all of which was to belong to him and his heirs forever. In April, 1688, a large tract of land was " set off " to the Rev. Edward Thompson lying in Turkey Hills (now East Granby) a part of which is owned to this day by his lineal descendant, the Hon. Isaac W. Thompson, who resides upon it. At the close of his ministry in Simsbury, Mr. Thomp- son returned to Cape Ann, Mass., where he died December 8, 1724. His wife, Hannah Thompson, was probably his second wife. She died at Turkey Hills, Simsbury, June 13, 1769, aged seventy- five years. 474 FROM THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF SIMSBURY. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, M. D. 475 She returned, in 1739, after the decease of her father, from Cape Ann, Mass., to Simsbury, Conn., with her widowed mother, Hannah Thompson, and her two brothers Edward and Samuel. They made the journey, which was then a long and tedious one through the wilderness, on two horses, the mother and Edward upon the back of one animal, and Samuel and Mary, or Mollie, as she was familiarly called, riding the other. On their arrival in Simsbury they settled upon the land "set off," full fifty years before, to the husband and father, the Rev. Edward Thompson, on which they built a log house and dug a well. This well, from which the waters have been drunk to this day (1896), one hundred and fifty-two years still remains a fountain of refreshment to the visitor to the hospitable home of a descendant, the Hon. Isaac W. Thompson. A comfortable frame house afterward took the place of the first built cabin, made of logs. Mary Thompson was a quick-witted, active girl, and developed into a forcible woman. She was a great favorite with her father. He had brought from England a violin a fine instrument, which he offered to present to any one of his three children who would first learn to play it well. Mary being left-handed, he slyly favored her by stringing the instrument left-handed; and by her patience and diligence she was the successful competitor. Her jolly temperament made her popular at " house-warmings " and the social gatherings in the neighborhood, and the aged aunts, in after years, told of many an evening dance in days past at which Mary Thompson was the " fiddler." She was known far and near as ''the left-handed fiddler." She appears from the records to have been much engaged in trading in land, and to have added materially to her already com- fortable estate. Besides several exchanges in land, little mention is made upon the public records concerning Jonathan Higley. On coming of age he became the owner of property from his father's estate, and was the purchaser, in 1744 and 1747, of adjoining lands which are described as "lying on the north side of the river, on the east side of the mountain, near a place called Salisbury plain, on the road that leads to Turkey Hills." The home they occupied was "in Turkey Hills, near Spoonville bridge." January 18, 1765,116 gave deeds of lands in Simsbury to his two minor children, 1 " Simsbury Book of Deeds and Conveyances," p. 683. 47 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Jonathan, Jr., and Mary. Having received by inheritance a liberal property, and his wife being a woman of landed estate, it is probable that he spent his days in easy circumstances, living a quiet, unassuming life. However, some time before his decease he appears, through reverses, to have lost his share of the property. His sudden death by drowning in the Farmington River, about three-quarters of a mile below the present site of Tariffville, Conn., was a shock to the community." The distressing event occurred Monday, July 8, 1771, when he was fifty years of age. For more than a mile above the fatal spot (Alderman's canoe place) the river dashes angrily over great rocks, forming rapids which terminate in a ledge known as "Eel Rock"; here the waters are very swift and deep. It is a wild, romantic spot. An old mill still stands close by, with the rough, thickly wooded mountainous banks in the background forming a scene of rare picturesque beauty. The following was preserved in the private memoranda of his brother-in-law, Edward Thompson, Jr. : "Brother Jonathan Higley was drowned in attempting to Swim across Ye river with his frock on, Att Alderman's canoe place on Ye 8th of July, and was taken up about 6 Dayes after on a Small island neigh Ye Saw-Mill ; Ye island about 3 or 4 mile Down Ye river." The verdict of the "Jury of Inquest" was: "Drowned by accident." ' The "funeral charges" for the simple obsequies, as exhibited by his son Jonathan, who was appointed his administrator by the Court of Probate held in Simsbury, August 6, 1771, amounted to but eighteen shillings. Jonathan Higley died insolvent. The report to the Court of Probate of the distribution of the estate to his creditors says: " It appears as an average there is four shillings on the pound to distribute to the Creditors."* The inventory of personal effects amounted to ^28 75. gd. The debts ^45 75. 6^d. His wife, Mary, however, managed to retain a comfortable home and property, the inventory showing a long list of house- hold goods and farm belongings which the Court of Probate ordered "set out to Wid w Mary Higley, Relict of the Deceased." 1 " Simsbury Town Records," book iv. p. 214. - a " Simsbury Probate Records." DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, M. D. 477 Among the list of articles named are: "2 Hives of Bees, various tools, Spectacles, saddle Bags, 2 Jack Knives, Pigeon Net, Great Wheel and Spindle, 2 feather beds, bedsteads, etc., and one 'Truckle Bed,' 'Curtains and Vallains,' 3 Swine and Neces- saries to Support, 'and 3 old Snow Shoes.'" These snowshoes were in the possession of her descendants as relics for one hundred and fifteen years. They were two feet in length and twelve inches broad, covered with leather. Mary (Thompson) Higley survived her husband twenty-four years. She died October 26, 1795, at the age of seventy-four. Her will was as follows: " I give, and devise, and bequeath to my three grandsons, Samuel Higley, Jonathan Higley Jun. and Thompson Higley, the sum of sixty pounds lawful worth of my land, or Twenty pounds of money worth a piece to be set out to them as each of them shall arrive to the age of Twenty-one years at the apportionment, and if either of them die before he arrive to the aforesaid age, then the other two are to have his part between them. " And further, my Will is, that if my son Jonathan doeth well and truly pay said Twenty pounds apiece to said grandsons at their several arrivals to the above age of twenty-one years, and get their legal receipts therefore, that then my said son shall have the whole of my said lands to him and his heirs and assigns forever after my Decease, and after the aforesaid grandsons arrive to the age of twenty-one years other ways to be out as aforesaid and at such a part of my said lands as my said grandsons shall choose so as not to interfere on each other. Item: I give and devise to my son Jonathan Higley, all the remainder of my whole estate both real and personal after my decease And I do make, ordain, constitute, and appoint my son Jonathan Higley of Granby, to be my executor of this my last Will and Testament, ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament in Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal " etc., etc. " MARY HIGLEY. " Witnesses : " ABNER PHELPS, " Received, proved, and approved, " EDWARD THOMPSON, Jr., Nov. 27th, 1795." " MARY COOK, 2d. Jonathan and Mary Thompson Higley were the parents of two children, viz. : Jonathan, Jr., born December 6, 1747; Mary, 2d, born June 9, !75o. MARY HIGLEY (2d), the only daughter, married her second cousin, David Higley, Jr., about the year 1772. He was the son of David Higley, ist, and grandson of Brewster Higley, ist. (See sketch of David Higley, 2d, pages 282, 283.) The young cousins had lived in the same neighborhood from their childhood, both 478 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. having been born and brought up in Turkey Hills parish. It was not long after the sad affliction came to the family of the acci- dental death of her father that her marriage took place. From the time she was a girl of fifteen she held bonds in her own right. It is supposed that her decease took place previous to the year 1795, as she is not mentioned in her mother's will. She had two children who survived her, David Higley, 3d, and Huldah. JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. Son of Jonathan and Mary (Thompson) Higley. Jonathan, zd, Jonathan, Samuel, ist, Captain John Higley. Jonathan, Jr. (or 2d), the only son of Jonathan and Mary (Thompson) Higley, was born at Turkey Hills, Simsbury, Conn., December 6, 1747. The first glimpse that we have of him upon record, after his birth, is a conveyance of land given him by his father, January 18, 1765, when he was eighteen years of age. Four years later, 1769, at twenty-two, he married Rachel Negus. They settled in Turkey Hills. The accidental death of his father, the summer of 1771, left his mother and sister Mary to his care. He was appointed by the Court of Probate administrator on the estate, which he proceeded to settle, taking bond with James Alderman of Sims- bury of fifty pounds. On the 27th of February, 1780, he was admitted to commun- ion "w't y e Church" in Turkey Hills, and on the 27th of June, the following year, 1781, they had three children publicly baptized Samuel, Jonathan, Jr. (or 3d), and Rachel. There being no record of his wife having united with this church, it is more than probable that she was then a communicant of the Church of England, as she was a true Episcopalian in after years. Soon after Mr. Higley's admission into the Turkey Hills church, he became useful in its work, and a man of influence in the community. The principal business of the church meetings in those days was making appointments for the collection of church rates, arranging the minister's salary, and the consideration and super- vision of school matters. 1 1 When the town of Simbury was divided into ecclesiastical societies, the business relating to schools was done at these meetings, till the Connecticut State Legislature, about the year 1795 or DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, M. D. 479 From the year 1785, for the succeeding ten years, he was appointed annually on the school committee. The same year he was appointed to make out the lists for the parish of Turkey Hills, his oHvn rates amounting that year to ^30 25. On the 7th of November, 1785, he served as moderator at the annual meeting of the society. At a freeman's meeting held September 18, 1787, he was made freeman, which entitled him to a franchise; and on the 4th of January, 1792, he was appointed, with Bothers named, "to frame a model Church Discipline," and also "to form a fund for the support of the Gospel." Mr. Higley acquired a fair legal education by the study of law books which he owned, though he did not, strictly speaking, fit himself for a regular legal career by pursuing a systematic course in law. He however gained a local reputation, and did a fair business in giving legal advice to his neighbors, making out writs in civil cases, etc. The aged people relate that it was his custom, when he was studying a case, to lie at full length upon the floor with his papers about him. One day a woman client came to his house and made statement of a claim that she thought was hers against certain parties in Boston. Mr. Higley, after hearing her through, deciding that she had an undoubted right, took the case into hand, agree- ing that his fee, if he was successful, should be one-half of the amount he should collect. Not deeming himself presentable in Boston with the clothes he then had, he borrowed a suit, and set off on the journey afoot, to save stage fare. On reaching Boston, and prosecuting the parties with much argument and many threats, he succeeded in collecting about thirteen hundred dollars, which he brought to his client and received his fee, having made the journey at little or no expense to himself. While he laid no claim to poetic genius, he had a poetic nature and was animated by a sentiment of rhyming. Some of his verses, possessing considerable merit, have been preserved. These supply glimpses relating to the family history, and through them some of his personal characteristics are made clear. He not only possessed excellent abilities, but was a man of deep sympathetic feeling; his elegies and memorial poems upon the death of his daughter and some of his near kindred are full 1706, enacted that " all business relating to District or Common Schools should be transacted in School Society meetings, the location of these Societies being the same as the Ecclesiastical Societies."" Simsbury School Society," book i. 480 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of fervor, overflowing with tender emotions; others again inspire feeling, and evidence that he often dwelt in the higher atmos- phere of human thought. It was known that he spent much time in contemplation, and that he took unqualified happiness in the study of his Bible and in the wonders of nature and her loveliness. Possessed of an amorous disposition, he had an admiration for the fair sex which is a marked characteristic of his lineal race. This sometimes swayed his heart. From his own confession, we may be led to believe that he was jovial, and sometimes indulged in convivial occasions, but in the broader and wider steps of his life and action it is very clear that his inner thought lifted itself high above the ordinary instincts of his appetites. By the year 1795 Jonathan Higley, Jr., was the father of a family of eight Children three sons and five daughters. This year his aged mother, Mary Thompson Higley, whose home had been with him, died. The attention of the farmers of Massachusetts and Connecti- cut was about this time directed with considerable of excited interest to the desirable lands in the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio, which lay just west of Pennsylvania on the shore of Lake Erie. Simeon Griswold, a resident of Simsbury, had been interested in the Connecticut Land movement 1 from its inception, and had drawn a large share in the Western Reserve. He belonged to the old and distinguished family of Griswolds of Windsor and Simsbury, Conn., which had then been well- known to the Higleys for more than one generation. Through this channel, no doubt, and the influence of Judge Solomon Griswold, brother of Simeon, who was also a member of the Connecticut Land Company, and who determined about this under the name of the " Connecticut Land Company." This company organized September 5, 1795, and made a deed in trust of the entire tract to three trustees for the purpose of convey- ing it in severally. The tract contained 3,000,000 acres. In May, 1796, the company sent surveyors to divide the lands into townships. This survey was completed in 1797. On the first Tuesday in April, 1796, the members of the land company met and drew by lot their shares. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, M. D. 481 time to emigrate to the new country now open for settlement, Jonathan Higley saw a favorable opportunity for the exchange of his farms in Turkey Hills for lands in the Reserve, together with that which his sons received by bequest from their grandmother, Mary Thompson Higley, as well as better prospects conducive to the future interest of his children. Emigration began now bending its course toward the center of the country. His friend Solomon Griswold removed to " New Connecticut " (afterward Trumbull County, Ohio) in the year 1800, and George Phelps, also of Simsbury, a son of Noah Phelps, had gone in June, 1799. By this time a few scattering members of the Higley-town community had left the old scenes of their fore- fathers and their childhood, emigrating mostly to Vermont and Central New York. With the exception of Brewster Higley, 4th, who had migrated from Vermont to the southern border of Ohio in 1797, none had gone to the then "far West," which yet lay behind a thick veil of forests, and was an undisturbed and seem- ingly limitless Indian hunting-ground. By the spring of 1804 the spirit of Western enterprise had taken strong hold in the breast of Jonathan Higley. That year proved an eventful period in the family life. On the 26th of July he, together with his son Samuel, purchased 254 acres of land of Simeon Griswold, in Windsor Township, Ohio, for which they paid $580.' A strong additional incentive to removal was 1 The following deed is on the Records, at Jefferson, Ashtabula County, O., vol. i. p. 299 : " SIMEON GRISWOLD TO JONA. AND SAMUEL HIGLEY. " WARRANTY DEED. " To all people to -whom these presents shall come : " GREETING : Know ye that We Simeon Griswold and Lucretia Griswold both of Simsbury in the county of Hartford, for the consideration of five hundred and eighty dollars received to my full satisfaction from Jonathan Higley and Samuel Higley both of Granby in said County do give, grant, bargain, sell and confirm unto the said Jonathan Higley and Samuel Higley and their heirs and assigns forever one certain Lot of Land lying in Connecticut Western Reserve so called in the State of Ohio, in the county of Trumbull and Town called on the general map of said Reserve by the name of Windsor, said lot being the seventh Lot in the first tier of Lots and contains one hun- dred and sixty-two acres of Land. Also one other piece of land containing ninety-two acres of Land lying and being the eastwardly part of Lot number seven in the sixth tier of Lots in said Township and bounds east on the first mentioned lot and makes one entire piece and said piece extends so far west as to make said ninety-two acres and both of said pieces of Land contains two hundred and fifty-four Acres of Land. And I Reserve the Crops now growing on the cleared land and liberty to gather the same when it shall come to maturity. To have and to hold the above granted and bargained premises with the appurtenances thereof unto them the said Jonathan Higley and Samuel Higley & his heirs and assigns forever to them and their own proper use and behoof in such proportion that the said Jonathan is to have one hundred and twenty acres of said entire pieces and the said Samuel is to have one hundred and thirty-four acres of said entire pieces to have and to hold as tenants Jointly and undivided between them. " And also, We, the said Simeon and Lucretia do for ourselves and our heirs, Executors, and 482 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. no doubt found in the fact that his daughter Abigail, with her husband, Samuel Forward, Jr., had emigrated from Granby to New Connecticut with their father, Samuel Forward, Sr., the year preceding 1803. Early in the month of September, 1804, he set out with his wife and six of his children, his daughter Mary remaining with her aunt, on a six weeks' journey to the Western Reserve. Samuel, the eldest son, was now a young man of twenty-six, and Jonathan, 3d, was twenty-three ; Thompson, the third son, was a youth of eighteen; Lydia was a girl of fifteen, and Laura and Fanny were children of twelve and nine years. The mother, Rachel (Negus) Higley, a woman of fifty, was of fine physique and of robust health. Their mode of conveyance was an ox wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen, to which a cow was tied behind, the faithful family dog following. Into the wagon was loaded the articles required for the bare necessities of the long journey before them, such as bedding, utensils for camping out, some provisions, etc., the members of the family finding seats on the boxes and bundles as best they could. Taking the route direct to Albany, N. Y., they moved from thence in a southwesterly direction toward Pittsburgh, crossing the Allegheny Mountains, and finally entering the Western Reserve on its southern border. This was a route frequently taken in those times, though there was yet no highroad for tourists' travel. On reaching the Reserve they found "no roads Administrators covenant with the said Jonathan and Samuel and their heirs and assigns that at and until the unsealing of these presents, we are well seized of the premises as a good indefeasible estate in fee simple, and have good right to bargain and sell the same in manner and form as is above written and that the same is free of all incumbrances whatsoever. " And furthermore, we the said Simeon and Lucretia do by these presents bind ourselves and our heirs forever to Warrant & defend the above granted and bargained premises to them the said Jonathan and Samuel and their heirs and assigns against all claims and demands whatsoever. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the 26th day of July, Anno Domini 1804. " SIMEON GRISWOLD. (L. S.) " Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of " LUCRETIA GRISWOLD. (L. S.) " DANIHL HUMPHREY. "DUDLEY HUMPHREY. "Hartford County, (L. S.), Simsbury, July 26th 1804. Personally appeared Simeon Griswold and Lucretia Griswold signers and sealers of the foregoing instrument and acknowledged the same to be their free act and deed before me. " DANIEL HUMPHREY, Justice of the Peace." The above deed is entered by John L. Edwards, Recorder, at the City of Hartford, State of Connecticut, the soth day of August, A. D. 1804. ED. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLE Y, M. D, 483 of any description, nor even 'blazed' trees to mark the way." 1 When crossing the mountains they made a brake for the wheels by cutting down a tree when necessity required, stripping it of its limbs, and securing the log firmly to the wagon behind. Their progress was slow and tedious on account of deep mud, jolting over roots of trees and great fallen limbs, and passing through extensive swamps; so that when night came they had made but short distances. One of the oxen died on the way, and the milk- cow was doomed to do double duty, being hitched beside the other ox to help pull the wagon. On the 2oth of October, 1804, after a journey of forty-two days, they reached the spot in Windsor, O., where they expected to spend the remainder of their lives. A rough, bare log house with a split timber roof, which had been put up for temporary protection from the weather and wild beasts by one Ira Forest, a young man who had now left the county, stood ready for a shelter. This they entered, and dignified it by the name of home. There were but two white families for miles and miles away nothing but the dark dense forests. These families were their old Simsbury friends and neighbors, Solomon Griswold's and the Phelpses. Jonathan Higley, Jr. 's, family was the third to enter the township. But they found, within thirty rods of their log shel- ter, a large wigwam occupied by Indians. These Indians a with others, numbering about three hundred, who were living on the banks of Grand River and Phelps Creek in the vicinity, proved friendly and rendered them valuable aid during their first winter, by liberally sharing with them the game taken in their hunting excursions, bringing them plenty of elk, deer, and bear meat, for which they wished no compensation. In after time, when Mr. Higley had raised grains, he took pleasure in making presents to the Indians of food, grains, and other articles that they liked to obtain. But the savages did not prove in most respects agreeable neighbors. They were accustomed to practice all sorts of unceremonious liberties. They pulled the latch-string and walked in at the door either in the day or night whenever they 1 From the Journal of the Rev. Joseph Badger, December, 1803. NOTE. " At the August term in Warren, held 1801, a committee, consisting of Solomon Griswold and Henry Lane, which had been appointed to lay out a road from Harpersfield to Warren, passing through Windsor and Messopotamia, reported, it ' had caused the same to be surveyed.' " " Records Trumbull County" book i. This road had not yet been opened. ED. * These Indians were of the Seneca, Cayuga, and Chippeway tribes. 484 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. chose, stretched themselves at full length upon the floor before the fire, or helped themselves to food as they might incline. It was no unusual thing for three or four at a time to lodge unin- vited, lying upon the floor before the big fire-place. The family, however, managed to live in peaceful and friendly relations with them. When they were under the influence of whisky they were hostile and treacherous. To obtain liquors they were forced to go to Warren, twenty-five miles away, the nearest trading point where drink could be obtained. One day, when Mr. Higley and his sons had been absent from home, on returning they found the house filled with drunken Indians, who had destroyed many articles. Mrs. Higley and the girls had fled in great terror, secreting themselves in a cave not far away. Higley managed to get them dispersed, without excit- ing their violence. Besides the trading-post at Warren, the one at Painesville on Lake Erie was equally distant. From these two points all of the salt, for which they paid $25 a barrel, was carried on horseback, as well as all other household supplies procured from stores of merchandise. For white flannel they paid 76 cents per yard, and black sewing-silk was 37^ cents a spool ; yard wide cotton cloth cost 75 cents a yard, and wheat flour cost $28 a barrel. 1 During their first winter of pioneer life the family once found itself out of breadstuff. Each member was called into grave council as to the choice of purchase, whether it should be flour or Indian meal. Finally the decision fell upon the meal, because a larger quantity could be purchased with the amount of money to be e'xpended. Samuel, the eldest son, was at once dispatched upon horseback, riding through the tangled thickets of the wilder- ness to Warren for a fresh supply. " How we watched the growing wheat in those days," said an aged pioneer to the writer ; " wheaten bread was such a luxury and so scarce. When the grain was barely yet ripened, we carefully gathered the earliest ripe and driest stalks, and flailed them on the ground, for we had no barn floors or threshing machines, then we hurried off to the nearest grist mill to get it ground. Oh, how good that bread tasted ! " The winter following their arrival the cow and oxen subsisted by browsing on the buds and tender twigs of the trees that were 1 Taken from bills of that date found in 1889 among Judge Solomon Griswold's old papers. ED. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLE K, M. D. 485 felled to the ground, but before the spring time, it became an absolute necessity to sacrifice the straw beds in order to provide sufficient provender for the cow. During this winter Jonathan Higley and his sons began a task which must have seemed well- nigh hopeless, setting to work at cutting the forest trees, burning the logs and tangled brush, and making clearings ready for the spring seed sowing. By the first mild days of 1805 tne Y had addi- tional ground ' ready, in which corn was planted between the stumps and logs. This was done by chopping a hole into the earth with an ax, dropping in the seed, and pressing it down with the foot. It being impossible to cultivate these fields with a plough on account of the numberless stumps and their roots, the use of the hoe was essential. But the ground being exceedingly rich a fair crop was gathered in the early autumn. Like all wooded new countries, the wilderness was infested with wild beasts, carnivorous, as well as a great variety of other, birds, and swarms of reptiles. During the first few years the settlers at Windsor could keep no sheep on account of the depre- dations of packs of wolves which made destructive raids on their sheep-folds, as well as attacking their cattle and hogs. The loss was frequently alarming. When the time came that effort was made at sheep-raising, to protect his sheep the farmer constructed a strongly built pen by cutting saplings into lengths of twelve to fourteen feet and planting them close together endwise, thus making a secure inclosure into which he put his flocks of nights. One venerable pioneer relates that when it snowed early after dark, there was usually found the next morning a hard trodden path encircling the sheep-pen, made by these ferocious wolves whose hideous howls had made the forests ring all through the night. Within a year from the time the Higleys arrived at Windsor, O., there came other families, the Aldermans, Skinners, and Loomises, from Simsbury, Conn., and, in 1805, Jonathan Higley's daughter Mary, who had in the meanwhile married John White of Granby, Conn., emigrated with her husband and joined the home circle in the new settlement. It was but a few years till there was a marked growth in the population of the colony, as many as eighteen families alone coming from Hartford County, Connecticut. The breadstuffs upon which the early families subsisted, for A small clearing was there already when the land was purchased. 32 486 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. more than four years was ground at the home of Jonathan Higley, Jr., in a hand-mill which he purchased soon after coming to Ohio, the use of which he freely granted to his neighbors. By this primitive method they sometimes ground two bushels of meal during one evening. These gatherings were enlivened by jokes and stories recalling the old by-gone days of Connecticut, and proved occasions of hilarity and enjoyment. For many years this hand-mill was preserved among the pioneer relics at Jefferson, the county seat, 1 but it was finally destroyed by fire in the burning of the court-house. . The pioneers were governed in their isolated forest -life by principles of honor, and "were a law unto themselves." They enjoyed social simplicity and were in thorough good fellowship, assimilating in all of their interests and efforts in the problem of their lives. As time advanced they had plenty to eat ; it was coarse food, but there was no lack of quantity. Their Indian neighbors continued to furnish their supply of wild game, wild turkeys, and fish, as well as sugar from the sugar-maple trees, in payment for which they accepted almost any agricultural product, or trinkets, which was offered to them. These Indians continued to live near the settlement till the War of 1812, when they sud- denly disappeared without any previous intimation, the inhabi- tants awakening one morning to find they had all stealthily cleared out, and they were never heard of afterward. In the year 1803, a few months before Jonathan Higley, Jr., and his family arrived in the Reserve, a United States mail-route was established northward between the two trading-posts, Warren and Painesville, passing through Windsor. Judge Solomon Griswold was postmaster. The mail-carrier came once a week afoot. "The through mail was contained in a small bag, while the way- mail was tied up in a pocket-handkerchief." The deep streams were crossed by cutting down a tree, causing it to fall across from bank to bank. When a freshet came and the high waters had swept away this foot-log, the postman fastened the mail-bag on his head and swam across. After a time, in the march of prog- ress, the United States mail was brought on horseback. But letters were generally sent by private individuals whenever opportunity offered, as the postage was twenty-five cents, and quarter-dollars were scarce in those times. The Land Records 1 Jefferson is the county seat of that division now known as Ashtabula County, Ohio. A grist- mill was built in a few years, at Mesopotamia, six miles distant, by Captain Crawford. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL H1GLE Y, M. D. 487 show that Jonathan Higley made additional small purchases of land in the spring of 1805. The very first deed found upon the Trumbull County, Ohio, Records is one given by Solomon Gris- wold to Jonathan Higley, Sr., for twenty-two acres of land, range 5, lot 7, " for the consideration of $45, money received." ' As early as June, 1803, Solomon Griswold, who was a rigid Episcopalian, had a church service conducted in his dwelling by the Rev. Joseph Badger, a faithful missionary sent out by the Connecticut Missionary Society. There were no white people present but Judge Griswold's own family and the family of George Phelps; a number of Indian squaws, arrayed in wampum, silver-bands, and brooches, and leaden ornaments hanging from their noses and ears, attended, who were quiet and well-behaved, and showed much delight with the singing. After the accession to the settlement of Jonathan Higley, Jr., and his family, church services were held pretty regularly on Sabbath at Mr. Higley's house, his Episcopalian wife probably mollifying, to some degree, his rigid sectarian Presbyterian prefer- ences. If the little room of the log dwelling was overcrowded, which was sometimes the case, the service was held in the woods outside, the people seating themselves on the fallen trees, and on the ground. Judge Griswold read the beautiful church-service, in which both Churchmen and Presbyterians joined. But Jona- than Higley was a true Calvinist at heart. A few years later on, he had a public theological discussion with Judge Griswold, the judge taking strong ground for the organic structure and tenets of the episcopal body, while Higley was equally zealous for Puritan dogmas. The old MS. of this discussion is still preserved. In 1811, after John Norris, a local Methodist exhorter, had joined the colony, Mr. Higley wrote a religious address, which he brought to Mr. Norris to examine. At a single glance Norris saw that it was a "rank Calvinistic sermon," as he afterward pro- nounced it, so he proposed that they should begin the interview concerning it with prayer. Both men reverently went to their knees, when Norris prayed loudly and with great fervency that "this sermon may never be published," whereupon Higley flew to his feet and left, in a tempest of anger, taking his sermon with him. In process of time a well built log house took the place of the rude shelter Mr. Higley and his family first entered. This > Book H, p. 82. 488 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. stood near a small stream of running water on the original pur- chase lot 8, range 7. In this he lived the remainder of his days. Jonathan Higley, Jr., fully sustained the military instincts of his ancestry, and, quite alive to military services, was ready to give it impulse. It was on "the green" which was about his dwelling that the first military company of the Ohio National Guard which was organized in the town practiced on training days. The declaration of war in 1812 found him beyond the age for soldiering; but two of his sons represented him in the ranks. At the general term of court held March 16, 1806, in Warren, then the county-seat of the entire Western Reserve or Trumbull County, it was enacted " that a number of justices of the peace be allowed" for the new townships "set off at this term," one of those named being "Troy." The electoral district of which Windsor was then a part was at that time called Troy. 1 But there appears to have been no justice elected till after the follow- ing order of the court held, " June 13, 1807," more than one year later. " Be it remembered that at this Term, the Court ordered that there be one Justice of the Peace allowed to the Township of Troy in Trumbull Co. and State of Ohio." Jonathan Higley, Sr., was the first to hold his office. After this he was known as long as he lived as " Squire " Higley. The township of Windsor was organized in 1811. At the meet- ing convened for this purpose in Judge Griswold's house, Esquire Jonathan Higley was chosen to preside. He was then still holding the office of justice of the peace. At this meeting, among the officers chosen, his son Samuel was elected one of the trustees, and Samuel and Jonathan, 3d, were made appraisers. His son, Thompson Higley, was appointed supervisor. The few remaining years that Squire Higley lived were spent coping courageously with the difficulties to be encountered in a new and isolated region. Though he may not have been con- scious of it, he was laying the foundation of a noble common- wealth. Rachel Negus,* whom Squire Jonathan Higley married in 1769, 1 The country being yet thinly settled, the population of Windsor, Mesopotamia, and Farming- town Townships was required to form an electoral district, and this electoral district was named Troy. a The Neguses were at Boston, Mass., as early as 1634, where Jonathan Negus served as clerk of records. He had a family. Israel Negus resided at Windsor, Conn., the middle of the eighteenth century. It is supposed that Rachel Negus Higley was a child or descendant of Israel. It is a well authenticated fact that her mother was Rachel Alderman of Granby. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLE Y t M. D. 489 was a tall, slender, clever girl, whose birth took place in 1754. Her father died when she was a young child, and her mother marrying the second time, this daughter was confided to the kind care of her grandparents the Aldermans. She was scarcely beyond the age of fifteen when she became the wife of Jonathan Higley, Jr. She proved an industrious, prudent wife, developing into a woman of unusual energy, and with a forcible character, firm in purpose and possessing a well-balanced mind. On coming to the primeval forests of Ohio, she was cheerful in the denial of the things of her past life and associations. Her life, which was prolonged far beyond the number of years allotted to mankind, was attended to the last with sound health, and such remarkable vitality and activity that in her presence the thought of old age was dispelled. From her girlhood she was a great pedestrian, and thought nothing, while making the journey from Connecticut to Ohio, of walking twenty miles a day. After she was in advanced years, she sometimes walked to Burton, a like distance, and back again. Just before leaving her Connecticut home, her provident spirit prompted her to go to the cider mill and gather up a little bag of apple seeds. Her neighbors ridiculed the thought that she would ever see fruit from them. But the seeds were planted in the rich fresh soil of Ohio the following spring, and grew and flourished. Seven years afterward she was allowed to enjoy the fruit produced from them. It was the first fruit grown in the township. By careful culture this apple nursery yielded a choice variety, which has since become somewhat famous, to which was given the name of "the Jonathan apple." This fruit takes its place in the nursery catalogues of to-day among the finest assortments. 1 One noble, thrifty tree in particular stood sixty years, a speci- men of fine stature and wonderful beauty, blossoming and bring- ing its annual crop of luscious fruit, and contributing to the happiness of the whole settlement. So well known did this souvenir of old Connecticut and a part of the youth of Windsor township become, that it may be recorded as having been one of the famous trees of the county. It was felt to be an enduring calamity when it was destroyed by a pitiless windstorm, being 1 The original fruit bearing this name is claimed by a horticulturist in Central New York, at much later date. The writer, however, has conversed with a number of aged persons who clearly recalled the fact that Mrs. Rachel (Negus) Higley gave her first apples, in 1811, her husband's given name. ED. 49 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. torn up by the roots in the year 1865. A group of twenty or more of its companions are yet standing (1893), now crooked and distorted into ungainly shapes, true witnesses of the past and likenesses to " withered age, as it stoops to the caresses of time." Rachel (Negus) Higley was confirmed in the Episcopal Church during her younger years, and ever afterward remained a stanch adherent to her religious faith. It was not till the year 1816 that a church building was erected in Windsor. She survived her husband thirty years, and died from the breaking up of her natural powers, at the advanced age of ninety-three. The last illness of Squire Jonathan Higley was a fever, and was brief. His death took place May 3, 1817. The funeral services were held in the orchard of apple trees just east of his dwelling A carpenter's work-bench was neatly covered and converted into a temporary pulpit, from which the Rev. Mr, Humphrey of Burton preached the funeral sermon. It was a charming bright May day, and an impressive scene. Shrub and tree and sod served beautifully to emphasize the symbol of the resurrection life. The apple trees were robed in the perfection of fresh verdure, with the beauty and perfume of a canopy of white blossoms. Heaven could not have given a more fitting or higher expression to the assurance that earthly shadows rise into celestial joys. The funeral procession was a striking spectacle. He was car- ried to his last resting-place on a bier upon the shoulders of six of his neighbors, followed by a train of mourners, all on foot. Almost all of these were his old Connecticut friends who, like himself, had removed hither with bright ideals of the possibilities of progress on the fertile soil of the Ohio wilderness. It was a wild romantic spot where they laid him; and though three-quarters of a century have now passed, little change in the surroundings of his rural resting-place has taken place. Belted by a deep green wall of native forest, away from the centers of human habitation, and " undefiled by human passions and little- ness," a plot of two acres has all of these years held its pioneer dead in calm and silent keeping. 1 1 Judge Solomon Griswold " set apart " two acres from his estate, in the year 1801, for a burial- ground. This plot was placed in the hands of trustees of the Township of Windsor, when it was organized. The warrantee deed was not given till April Q, 1822, and was placed upon record May 4, 1827. (Public Records, Jefferson County, Ohio.) This burial ground lies near to Windsor Corners, Ashtabula County, O. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY.M. D. 49 * The inscriptions upon the stones which mark the last resting- places of these worthy pioneers are as follows: f n memory of 3otv fjieleg wbo fceparteo tbfs life d&as 3* 1817. -Rachel, Traife of B0eo 69 sears & 6 montbs, wbo emigrated to tbis State Sonatban Hn tbe gear 1804. EXeo Ye mortals who are standing by You'r born for dust as well as i CtObet 5tb 1847 As I am now so you must be Prepare for death and follow me. SgeO 93 The age of man Is but a span. A part of the original home farm descended to Esquire Higley's son Jonathan, whose land lay adjoining it. Esquire Jonathan Higley, Jr., and his wife Rachel were the parents of nine children, all born in Turkey Hills parish, Sims- bury, Conn.: Abigail, born April 9, 1772;' Rachel, born 1775; Samuel, born July 6, 1778; Jonathan, 3d, born March 17, 1781; Mary, born September 13, 1783; Thompson, born June 2, 1786; Lydia, born April 18, 1789; Laura, born September 7, 1792; Fanny, born 1795- > Book iv., " Simsbury Records." CHAPTER LXL DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. Abigail, Jonathan, Jr., Jonathan, Samuel, M. D., Captain John Higley. Who's now on top, ere long may feel The circling motion of the wheel. THOMAS ELLWOOD. ABIGAIL HIGLEY FORWARD, the eldest child of Esquire Jon- athan, Jr., and Rachel Negus Higley, was born in Turkey Hills parish, East Granby, Conn., April 9, 1772. She was baptized in the Turkey Hills Church, October 6, 1777. She married, about 1795, Samuel Forward, Jr., the son of Samuel Forward, Sr., 1 an old neighbor of the Higleys, and grandson of Joseph Forward of Granby. Samuel Forward, Jr., was born November 23, 1775. He was made freeman at a freeman's meeting of the Turkey Hills Society, held April 9, 1800. It is stated that Samuel and Abigail removed the year after their marriage to Stephentown, N. Y., where they remained three years, then returned to East Granby. They emigrated to the Western Reserve, Ohio, in company with the elder Samuel Forward and his family in the year 1803, taking up their residence in Aurora Township, Portage County. Here Samuel, Jr., taught the first school in the town, opening it the winter of 1803-4, in a small log building at the center of the township. He also engaged in farming during the summers for two years. He then removed with his family to Warren, O., where he was teacher in the academy six years. Later on they removed to Auburn, Geauga County, O. It is recorded that Mr. Forward had fine natural abilities, and that they were persons 1 Samuel Forward, Sr., was born in Simsbury, Conn, fthe division which is now East Granby), May i, 1752. He married Susannah Holcombe, the only daughter of Hezekiah Holcombe. They resided in East Granby, one mile north of the center, where, the ancient town and church records show, Samuel Forward was an active, substantial man. He emigrated with his family to Aurora, O., reaching their destination, then in the wilderness, July 27, 1803. Here he resided until his death, May 3, 1821. His wife died December 31, 1832. He was elected Judge of Portage County Court, was universally respected, and his counsel was highly valued. A monument erected to his memory stands in Aurora. The Editor concludes, from the records examined, that he was the son of Joseph Forward, and not of Abel, as some have supposed. 492 DESCENDANTS OF JON A THAN HIGLE Y, JR. 493 of just principles. He died January 4, 1835. His wife, Abigail, died April 15, 1855. Samuel, Jr., and Abigail Higley Forward had children as follows: ORCEY, born in Granby, Conn., August 29, 1795, married Henry Baldwin, and settled in Aurora, O. They had one child. Orcey Baldwin died March 28, 1850. Her husband died at Niles, O., June 24, 1875, aged 83. ORLIN, born in Stephentown, N. Y., June 13, 1797, died July 28, 1797. SEMIRA M., born October 29, 1798. LURA, born in Connecticut, November 17, 1800, married Hascal. She died February 2, 1877. SAMUEL, 3d, born in Granby, Conn., November 8, 1802, married Fedelia M- Hubbard, December 24, 1846. They resided at Riverdale, Rock Creed Township, Ashtabula County, O., and had a family. He was a highly respected citizen. He died February 18, 1888. JONATHAN, born in Ohio, December 7, 1804 : died March 23, 1863. JULIA, born August II, 1807, married Frost ; died September IO, 1837. ROLLIN, born April 13, 1809, married and resided in Ohio. SUSAN, born January 5, 1811, married Hadsell ; died November 7, 1858. CHAUNCEV, born December 30, 1813 ; resided in Trumbull County, Ohio; died March 5, 1873. SEMIRA, the third child of Samuel, Jr., and Abigail Higley Forward, was born in Granby, Conn., October 29, 1798, and was brought by her parents to Ohio in 1803. She married, January 8, 1818, James Frost. He was born February 8, 1791. The year previous to her marriage she procured the first mirror she ever owned, by planting with her own hands a patch of broom-corn which she cultivated and harvested ; her father manufactured it into brooms and sold them for her. This mirror, which in those days in the wilderness was a rare luxury, she preserved for about sixty years as a relic of her bridal outfit. James and Semira Frost settled in Mantua, Portage County, O. Here they resided three score years, living honored and useful lives. James Frost died Sep- tember 18, 1877. Mrs. Frost survived her husband nearly eleven years. The following tribute to her worth and character is taken from the Chagrin Falls Exponent: " Mrs. Semira Frost, an early pioneer of this town (Mantua, O.), died at the home of her son, Madison Frost, June 22, 1888, at the advanced age of eighty- nine*years. She was a woman of large mental capacity, possessing great strength of mind and purpose, and retained these powers to the day of her death. Her life was one of simple correctness. She was a true and faithful wife, a mother kind and affectionate, whose children fondly loved her. Her funeral services, for which she herself arranged and left instructions, were conducted by the Rev. A. Wilson of Ravenna, O." The children of James and Semira (Forward) Frost were, viz. : Charles, Frank, John, Elmer, Madison, Mary S. , George, Benton C. CHARLES FROST, the eldest child, was born, September 9, 1819. He was acci- dentally drowned by the capsizing of his skiff in the Straits of Macinaw, Mich., while there on a business engagement. His body was washed ashore and discovered by 494 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. two Indians, Mixanassa and Bird, who carefully cared for it, as well as to return to the family the money they found in the pockets. His death took place Septenv ber 10, 1840. He was interred at Macinaw. He was a promising young man, bearing a fine character. FRANK FROST, the second child, born, March 9, 1821, married, first, Rhoda C. Bumps. She died October, 1865. His second marriage was to Marcia A. Michell, August 26, 1868. He settled on a farm, given him by his father, in the northern part of Mantua. Here he resided till about the year 1889, when he re- moved to Mantua Station. He died April 24, 1892. No children. JOHN FROST, the third child, born March 21, 1823. He never married. At the funeral of his brother Elmer and his wife, he was seized with illness, which resulted in his death three days afterward, February 22, 1884. ELMER FROST, the fourth child, was born October 22, 1826. He married Rhoda A. Reed, November 8, 1848. He owned a farm given him by his father, adjoin- ing his brother Frank, where he lived, and died on the I4th of February, 1884. His wife died the third day following, February 17, 1884. The funeral services and interments were held at the same hour. MADISON FROST, the fifth child of James and Semira Frost, was born May 6, 1829. He married Maria Powell, May 26, 1858. April, 1859, he purchased a farm in the western part of the township of Auburn, Geauga County, O., where they now reside (1894), highly respected citizens. They have four children, viz. : MIRA M., born August 28, 1859, who married, January i, 1876, B. L. Stafford, who resided in Leroy Township, Lake County, O. She died April 24, 1882. LUNA J., born December 29, 1864, married November 3, 1884, C. D. Jewell. They owned a farm on which they resided in Newberry, Geauga County, O. Mr. Jewell died January 26, 1892, in the Christian's faith, trusting his fatherless little ones to the God of the widow and the orphan. Their children are Frances Pearl, Charles Clyde, and Forest Lyle. HENRY LLOYD, the third child of Madison and Maria Powell Frost, born April 16, 1872, married, May 17, 1893, Florence S. Herrick of West Farmington, O. His profession is that of dentistry. They reside at Chagrin Falls, O. GLENN M., the fourth child, born July 6, 1880, resides with his parents and is pursuing his studies. MARY S. FROST, the sixth child of James and Semira Frost, born February 8, 1834 ; married Nelson Blair. She resides in Parkman, O. Her husband died . She has two daughters, the eldest married Smith ; the second, May Blair, married Ora Hoxon. GEORGE FROST, the seventh child, born September 19, 1836, died March 4, 1837. BENTON C. FROST, the eighth and youngest child of James and Semira Frost, born July 6, 1840* He married Perlea E. Gallia, November 17, 1870. They settled in Auburn, Geauga County, O., where Mr. Frost is the owner of a large farm. He also owns the flour mills at Mantua Station, O. He is a well-to-do, prosperous citizen. Their children are Frances and Charles. Continued from page 491. RACHEL, the second child of Jonathan and Rachel (Negus) Higley, was born in Turkey Hills, Simsbury, Conn., May, 1774. She died in the bloom of young womanhood, January 16, 1796. The tenderly affectionate heart of her father mournfully lamented her death. Such was the sharpness of his grief, that he declares in his writings: "I am left behind to mourn 'tis enough to break a human heart my sorrow I cannot forget ! " He after- DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. 495 ward seems to have struggled to submit his loss unto God, in view of the inconceivable heavenly joys into which she had entered, and the thought that her presence was among " the happy dead who die not." She was interred in the burial-ground at Turkey Hills. SAMUEL HIGLEY. Samuel, ad, Jonathan, Jr., Jonathan, Samuel, M. D., ist, Captain John Higley. SAMUEL HIGLEY, 2d, the eldest son and third child of Jonathan, Jr., and Rachel (Negus) Higley, was born at Turkey Hills, Sims- bury, Conn., July 6, 1778, and was baptized in the Turkey Hills Church, June 27, 1781. Upon the death of his grandmother, Mary (Thompson) Higley, when he was seventeen, he received a legacy of land located in the same parish. His early years appear to have been spent in industrial labor after the manner of the Connecticut farmer boys of his times, attending school during the winter. He acquired a common school education beyond the average, and on reaching manhood entered Harvard College. When his college days were finished he entered the legal profession, and was admitted to the bar at Hartford, Conn. He possessed an original and comprehensive mind, with good natural powers and shrewd insight, and developed an element of humor which constantly overflowed, giving great relish to hi life. He took the freeman's oath on the isth of September, 1800. In July, 1804, he joined his father in the purchase of land in the Western Reserve, Ohio, and emigrated with the family in the autumn of that year. For the first few years, until the country was opened and the population had increased, he engaged him- self in paying attention to clearing his land, also in making some exchanges in land. 1 But his bent was never for agriculture, and he would not devote himself exclusively to it. The winter of 1805 he taught a school in Mesopotamia, the town adjoining Windsor, which was the second school-term taught in that town; and in 1806 he taught in Warren, O. The year 1807 found him teaching in Allegheny, Pa., after which he returned to Windsor and was admitted to the Ohio bar, taking up the 1 These transfers are entered on record at Warren, Trumbull County, O., book i. 49 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. practice of His profession in his own county. He occupied various public appointments, taking a helpful part in the organization of the Township of Windsor in 1811, when he was made one of the first appraisers, and afterward served as county surveyor for a number of years. He filled the office of commissioner for nine years, being first elected in 1831 and re-elected in 1834. His mettle was thoroughly put to the test during the War of 1812, by being drafted for service that summer, but he proved neither independent nor heroic. When he was served with the notification, he stepped into a small bedroom which was on the ground floor, pretending that he must change his clothing, and slipping out of the window he escaped military duty by making quick time through the forests to the State of New York. Nothing was heard of him for some months. Finally, on the 3oth of the following January, 1813, he wrote a private letter from Chatauqua County, New York, to Judge Solomon Griswold, saying that he was in that county, twenty-five miles from'a post office, and asking him to inform his father concerning his welfare. He reported himself "in good health and spirits, and doing some- thing at pettifogging, and earning money faster than he could at home." 1 He did not return to Windsor till the war had closed. From this time onward he'was branded as " the coward " of the neighborhood ; but the derision never affronted him, nor did it even seem to disturb his naturally reckless and easy-going, merry temperament. He was remarkably clever, and loved books on all topics, pro- curing them in every way that he could. Being humorous and able to gratify that sense in others, and always ready to spring a witty story on his hearers, he was popular and won the local bar. There was a touch of quaintness and originality about his life on all its sides, which, with his dry wit and comical sayings, won him some renown, furnishing by-words and quotations for the country roundabout. It was his peculiar way of speaking in nasal tones, when uttering these droll sayings, that added every- thing to their effectiveness, which it is impossible to represent in print, for it was not only what he said, but his manner, his face, and his voice, that were a good part of the fun. He was fond of a moderate glass, in which he pretty regularly indulged, though not to excess, nor was he ever guilty of offen- sive language in his jollifications or in ordinary conversa- ' Extract from the original letter. DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. 497 tions, nor was it ever said of him that he stepped into oblique courses. On the bench he was no grave judge : his varied powers of mind, good sense, and good judgment winning him much sub- stantial favor in his profession. Many anecdotes are related of his shrewd ways. On one occasion a friend came, desiring to retain him as counsel in a suit at law. After listening to his statement, Higley said, "I can better serve you by sitting in the case," strictly charging his client not to mention the fact of having consulted him. When the day came for trial, " Squire Sam" arose early, mounted his horse, and rode several miles to quite another part of the township, returning leisurely about the time for the court to open, from quite an opposite direction to that which he would naturally have come, as though he was incident- ally happening by. Riding up to a group of men gathered about the door of the town house, he inquired, "What's going on?" " The case of is to be tried," was the reply. " Why is it to-day that comes on ? " feigning surprise. Just then Justice Clapp came along, who invited him to dismount and come in. Squire "Sam" took out his old-fashioned watch, and looking at the time, slowly, with a half absent-minded air "guessed that he could spare an hour," and went into court. The justice, seeing that he was not retained as counsel, invited him to "sit" with him. He, of course, accepted the suggestion, and the case was soon won for his friend. Samuel Higley, 2d, was never interested in church matters, seldom if ever entering a religious service, and he paid but little attention to politics. His political leaning was with the Demo- cratic party. During the agitation upon the question of slavery his sympathies were with the Anti-Slavery party, and in heart he was a true friend to the black man, but he took no active part in the cause. He never seemed ambitious to increase his posses- sions, nor did he accumulate property beyond a comfortable competency, though he had a good legal practice and was the owner of excellent farms. He held his original estate of one hundred acres till near his decease, owning it about fifty years. On the i;th of October, 1818, he married at Mesopotamia, O., Maria Miser, daughter of Cornelius and Hannah Miser, who came from Schoharie County, New York. She was born July 2, 1797. 49 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. She is said to have been a woman of unusual beauty. They settled on his Windsor farm. For many years " Squire " Samuel Higley suffered with asthma, which, however, did not incapacitate him for active practice of the law. His life and activities, full of the flavor of amiability and hilarity, ran pretty much in the same groove the last fifty years that he lived, and was almost barren of incident. He died of inflammation of the lungs, April 5, 1853. His wife died October 22, 1863. Samuel and Maria (Miser) Higley were the parents of six children, viz. : Samuel, Jr., born July 2, 1819; Harriet, born June 13, 1821; Hannah, born December 10, 1823; Dexter, born March 16, 1826; Hiram, born May 25, 1829; Sarah, born March 16, 1834. SAMUEL HIGLEY, Jr., the eldest son of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., July 2, 1819. He married March 27, 1844, Hetty Ann Brooks, who was born February n, 1825. They resided at Windsor upon a part of the lands originally owned by Samuel Higley, Sr. Their children : JANE, born December, 10, 1846; married Peter McAboy, who was born 1846. They reside in Garrettsville, O. They are the parents of twins, Alivilda and Alzada, born May 29, 1854. Alivilda married, February 22, 1876, Charles Crane, who was born February 27, 1853. They have two children : Ethel and Ralph. Alzada, married Judge Harrington, May, 1873. He died July, 1886. JsaMborn November 9, 1856. Wesley J. and Sarah, twins, born March 22, 1859. Wesley J. married, 1884, Clarissa C. Stone, who was born 1860. They reside in Hudson, O. Sarah, his twin sister, married, February 7, 1878, Wesley Kinney, who was born July 28, 1854. They reside in Windsor, O. Samuel (3d), born May 5, 1861 ; died, unmarried, 1892. Frank Allen, born April 1870, died 1871. HARRIET, the second child of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born June 13, 1821 ; and married George Abrams. They are the parents of three children, two daughters and one son. They reside in Painesville, O. HANNAH, the third child of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born December 10, 1823 ; married Walter Roe. They reside in Ravenna, O. No children. DEXTER, the fourth child of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born March 16, 1826 ; died February 10, 1844. HIRAM HIGLEY, the fifth child of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., May 25, 1829. He resided with his parents till they both died, not settling upon his own farm until his marriage at forty-five. Mr. Higley owns 104 acres of well improved farming land located in Windsor. He pays some attention to fish raising, and also to the culture of apple trees, of which he has a fine variety. He is a man of pushing ability, a respected citizen of the township, large-hearted, and benevolent in spirit. He married, October II, 1874, Mrs. Saphronia Herrick (formerly Miss Simmons), a young widow, who was the DESCENDANTS OF JON A THAN HIGLE Y, JR. 499 mother of four children. She was born February 10, 1844. The highest testimony is given by her children and their mother's family to the kind foster-father's care which Mr. Higley has faithfully bestowed upon them. To each of these step- daughters he gave a liberal "setting out," at the time of her marriage. SARAH, the sixth child of Samuel, Sr., and Maria (Miser) Higley, was born March 16, 1834, and married Walter Sisson. Three children were born to them, none of whom survived. They reside at Hamden, Geauga County, O. CHAPTER LXII. HON. JONATHAN HIGLEY, 3D. Hon. Jonathan, 3d, Jonathan, Jr., Jonathan, Samuel, M. D., ist, Captain John Higley. " He saw that out from the darkness, out from the depths, the human race had struggled toward the ever-glowing light. He felt that the living are indebted to the noble dead, and that it was but his duty that he should pay it, by preserving to the extent of his power, by adding to the knowl- edge of the world, and by giving better than he had received." JONATHAN HIGLEY, 3d, the second son and fourth child of Esquire Jonathan, Sr., and Rachel Negus Higley, was born in Turkey Hills (now East Granby), Simsbury, Conn., March 17, 1781. His father, strongly upholding popular education and being actively interested in the town school, gave his sons a fair educa- tion for the times. His grandmother, Mary (Thompson) Higley, by special bequest, left him "Sixty pounds lawful money worth of my land," * which he received on coming of age, and which he applied in part payment for lands in the Connecticut Western Reserve, Ohio. He was a stalwart young man of twenty-three, endowed with a good mind and sound health, when he removed with his parents to "the Reserve" and began his career. They reached their destination the aoth of October, 1804. With his parents household he shared the experiences usual to the pioneer, the same new scenes and conditions which all pioneers of the forest- lands have met. These experiences are summoned up by Charles Dudley Warner, who says : " The want of roads, the lack of bridges, the primitive con- ditions of the dwellings, and the domestic economy, the necessary struggles with nature to wrest a living from the ground, the dangers from wild beasts; and the restrictive privileges of schools, churches, and books, the free hospitality and the unpolished manners of society, in a thinly settled new country, produce always a good deal the same results." * For the first few years Jonathan Higley, Jr., labored vigorously 1 "Simsbury Probate Record Book," 1794-1800, p. 266. 8 " History of Hartford County, Connecticut," vol. i. p. 349. 500 DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. 501 helping to clear and work his own and his father's lands, working day after day with the heroism of practical common life, for their lives were now made up of common things, and encounter- ing difficulties through which there was always found some way to safely pass. These years were not marked by partic- ular incidents, except his marriage, but he was all the while engendering character by his experience, and gaining in moral courage. At the same time he was an attentive observer of the progress of events, not narrowing his vision to know nothing beyond the details of his present surroundings. The cause of education early began claiming the attention of the little group of colonists of Windsor, O. Judge Solomon Griswold's daughter, Kesiah, a sunny maiden full of bright intelligence, opened a primitive school the winter of 1804-5, near to Esquire Jonathan Higley's house, and within easy walking distance of her own home. Was it surprising that young Jonathan, 3d, and Kesiah, both susceptible to the charms of buoyant youth, soon found themselves in the meshes of a love adventure ? " Behold The ruddy damsel singeth at her wheel While by her side the rustic lover sits Perchance his thought Is calculating what a thrify wife The maid will make." After several months of courtship Jonathan, Jr., came to his father one day, who was then justice of the peace, and declared to him that they wished the ceremony of marriage performed. "It is high time you were married," replied "Squire" Jonathan. Even to this day some of the aged residents of the neighbor- hood, who were then children, recall with clearness that demon- strative courtship. This was in the year 1806, and it was the first marriage in the township. The union proved a congenial and happy one. They began life together in primitive style, in a scantily furnished home, 1 but being of similar tastes and adapting themselves to their circumstances, they used th 1816 32 sears, 3 montbs anD 21 Dags. Reader, your glass will soon be run Are you prepared to die ? Not all the god's beneath the Sun Your wants at death supply. The following May, 1817, "Squire" Higley's father, Jonathan Higley, Jr., departed this life. His mother and sister Laura now took charge of his motherless children and the domestic affairs of his home. It was about two years after the death of his wife that a friend one day remarked to him: "Squire, there is a pretty blue-eyed young widow down at Kinsman, just the wife for you." "Squire" Higley early made it convenient to make a trip to that town, and it was not long afterward that Martha Kinny Lewis, who had then only passed her twenty-first birthday, became his wife. They were married September 20, 1818. Mrs. Lewis entered the home of Jonathan Higley, 3d, undertaking the duties DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. 505 of wife, and second mother to four children, in a cheerful, hope- ful spirit, the eldest child, Hume, being a lad of eleven, and the youngest child now three years of age. She became the mother of twelve children of her own, and was foster-mother to an orphan grandchild of her husband, whom they reared from six years of age, numbering in all seventeen children over whom she had the care and to whom she held the place of mother. In his domestic life Esquire Jonathan Higley ruled his fireside with firmness, and expected obedience from his children. What- ever he said was law and rule in his home. He exacted deferen- tial conduct on the part of one toward the other, and strictly required his children, when spoken to, always to affix the conven- tional expression of respect, " sir," to their replies. He was not a person to look after matters of detail concerning his numerous family, or to permit the heavy weight of his large household to rest upon his shoulders, leaving these responsibili- ties almost wholly upon his wife. During a period covering several years he gradually made pur- chases of lands, accumulating his acres till he became the owner of about five hundred. His business capacity and management were good, and in keeping with his practical sound sense and the genuineness of his character. In addition to his agricultural interests he was for many years engaged largely in the manufacture of cheese, an industry car- ried on in the first half of this century in the Western Reserve, which brought to it a large share of its wealth and prosperity; the superior quality made here finding a ready market far and wide over some of the Eastern and in most of the Middle States. Mr. Higley kept forty cows. He sold his cheese to the regular buyers, whose business it was to purchase and forward it to the markets. In his large family of surviving children, eight sons and seven daughters, with a grandson whom they brought up, he had a large force of helpers to work and manage the farm and dairy, and all were expected to perform their share. It was his custom to have the hides of his cattle tanned, then employ a cobbler to come to the house twice a year and make their boots and shoes for the season, boarding him the meanwhile. In person Jonathan Higley, 3d, was a well-built fine figure, full six feet; he was broad, with a strong forehead, and weighed 506 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. one hundred and eighty pounds. He had an earnest nature, but found difficulty in showing it, his speech being somewhat ob- structed by a slight stammer. His presence was one that com- manded respect, and, while he was full of gentleness and kindness of manner, he preserved a dignity that kept those about him from undue familiarity. By the mysterious and peculiar law of heredity he caught the poetic spirit of his father, and in his after years became rather a prolific verse writer, his rhyming generally touch- ing upon the theme of slavery, a subject which lay close upon his heart. While he was of a high, impulsive temperament and not easily provoked to excessive words, when once aroused he was not afraid to use clear-cut English; but for kindliness of nature and true benevolence of spirit few men have exceeded him: he was given to big-hearted conduct on every side of his life. His noble devotion to those who crossed his pathway, both his friends and those in distress or in poverty, is worthy of special mention. Rich or poor, bond or free, he responded to any appeal made by humanity in need of practical aid or sympathy; his money and means were at their disposal. Nothing excited his disgust and anger sooner than an intimation by act or spirit that " all men were not created free and equal." His highest principle was to help the man to a point where he could help himself. He was generally astir in the morning before anyone in the house. In those days the corn-cribs were built of logs, leaving on one side an aperture of two or more feet square through which to get the corn. Higley, once observing that his corn was disappearing faster than he himself was using it, one evening set a bear trap just inside the opening. Rising early as usual, he went out in the gray of the morning, and looking toward the crib he saw a man standing very close to the open space. He approached him at once. " Good-morning! " said Squire Higley cheerfully. The man eyed him timorously and askant. "Won't you come into the house and warm this is a chilly morning?" "I can't," said the man. "Why, what's the matter?" "Matter! my arm is fast." Mr. Higley stepped up and loosed him at once and insisted that he must come into the house. The thief was too much frightened not to obey. " No one is up yet you don't need to feel anxious," said Squire Higley, as he handed him a seat. "Now," he continued, as he took a chair beside him, "why were you stealing my corn?" The man DESCENDANTS OF JON A THAN HIGLE Y, JR. 507 responded that he "had nothing to live upon," adding: "My wife and family are nearly starving for some meal." "Well," said Higley, with emphasis and somewhat sternly, "never steal again; when you want corn come to me. For the sake of your family I will not tell of this. You must stay and have some breakfast with us." The guilty man, tortured with his kind- ness, remained and sat at table with the family. The incident made an honest man of the thief. He became a good citizen, Squire Higley furnishing him provisions from that time onward whenever he required them, for which the man worked faithfully and paid up. Higley never told his family of how the stranger happened to take breakfast with them that morning, or that the setting of the bear-trap had proved a success. It leaked out a few years afterward from the man him- self, the household well remembering the mysterious stranger at that morning meal. In relation to his profound generosity, it was exercised in the most unostentatious manner, and was strictly secretive on his part. His immediate family generally learned only of his beneficence from those who might happen to express their gratefulness in a way that reached the ears of outsiders. "His charity was like the snow, Soft, white and silent in its fall ; Not like the noisy winds that blow From shivering trees the 'leaves a pall For flower and weed, Dropping below." A stranger appeared at his door one day, who had walked twelve miles through the forests to seek his aid. He had left his household a wife and four children in sore distress. They were very poor. A debt had come due and their only cow, an animal which furnished the subsistance for the family, had been driven away to satisfy the creditor's claim, leaving them to depend upon the wild game he chanced to catch, and corn meal, for their only living. This man had heard of "Squire" Higley, and determined to find him, but he had never seen him. Clad in a hunting shirt, and gun on his shoulder, he left his home at daylight that morning without telling what he intended to do, but trying to comfort his wife by saying: "I'll bring you a cow to-night." She, however, knowing the hopelessness of their poverty, sat down and wept. 5S THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. "You are an entire stranger to me," said "Squire" Higley, when the man had laid his trouble before him; "yes; I will let you have a cow to take home. If you wish to keep her, take your own time for payment; if you find that you don't want her, bring her back when you get out of your difficulty ; there will be no charges." The relieved husband and father, driving the cow before him, made his way back through the woods to his home, redeeming his promise that he had made that morning to his wife. He afterward related how not only his wife, but the entire family, wept together on his return wept tears of gratefulness at the touching kindness received from one to whom they were perfect strangers. They blessed his memory as long as they lived. A neighbor of Squire Higley, who was in straitened circum- stances, came one day to him in the hay-field where he was standing near a harnessed team which was hauling the hay. "Higley," said he, "my wife is ill. I haven't any money. Can you let me have a dollar ? I want to go to town for some medicine and and," hesitatingly, "I want to borrow a horse, too." "Certainly!" said Squire Higley cheerfully, at the same time putting his hand into his pocket and handing him a dollar. "Boys ! " said he, " unhitch these horses ! Neighbor, you take that one. Boys, take the other to the barn we will rake hay while he is gone with the horse." A year afterward the neigh- bor called, saying, "Squire, I owe you a dollar; I have come to pay you." " No," said Higley, " I don't remember that you owe me anything." The entire circumstances were carefully related to him before he could be made to accept the money or recall the kind favor he had done. But his neighbor never forgot it. Esquire Jonathan Higley was never known to begin legal action in court, nor was he ever sued at law. If he could not collect a debt, he never compelled payment, but let it go; and as to other business transactions that brought difficulty, he sought some other way for an amicable adjustment. At his death he left small promissory notes and petty sums due him, amounting to full one thousand dollars in value, which he had loaned here and there, and which he had never made any legal effort to collect. Esquire Jonathan Higley was elected Representative to the Ohio Legislature in 1829. He went to Columbus in December of that year. It was in the old staging days, and his journey was DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN HIGLEY, JR. 509 through the opening new country. He was absent from home three months that winter, the affairs of his family being taken in charge by his brother, Thompson Higley. He was a Federalist by heredity. After the founding of the Whig party in 1824, he was one of its close adherents. But dur- ing the year 1826, the alleged killing of Morgan at Batavia, N. Y., 1 wrought public sentiment in that section of Ohio to a high pitch upon the subject of Masonry. This feeling in Mr. Higley's district drifted into political and party issue and became the contest of the day, resulting in a general political movement against the fraternity. Spirited meetings were held in Higley's house, as well as in other private homes, and in the district schoolhouses. During this agitation, when he was called upon in public, he always responded in a few well chosen words, which were to the point, but his speeches were generally brief. An Anti-Masonic party which Esquire Higley joined ruled the county for seven years. He was chosen to represent it in the Legislature for the reason that he was a man of tried integrity of purpose, an honest supporter of the law, and one who was thor- oughly able to hold his argument, more than because he was able to make a great speech his difficulty of readily giving expression to his views, because of the slight impediment in his speech, probably causing him to remain silent when he otherwise might have entered forcibly into discussion. It was in the old days when practical men, who were actuated by a sincere desire to do justice and serve with earnestness of conviction, were sent to our legislative assemblies. Higley had little sympathy with men who were managing politicians and more eager for personal success than for the promotion of their cause. While his career in the Ohio Legislature was a very manly one, it was not one of any marked prominence, his chief service being in the committee rooms, dealing with the customary interests of the day. 1 William Morgan of Batavia, N. Y., who had announced his intention to print a pamphlet exposing the secrets of Masonry, was arrested on a charge of larceny the summer of 1826, made by the master of a Masonic lodge, but found not guilty ; then he was arrested for debt, and imprisoned in jail at Canandaigua. He was taken secretly from the jail and conveyed to Fort Niagara, where he was kept until September, when he disappeared. The Masons were charged with his abduction, and a human body found in the Niagara River was produced as proof that he was drowned to put him out of the way, though Weed, an editor in Rochester, N. Y., was charged with mutilating it to make it resemble Morgan. The disappearance of Morgan became the chief topic of partisan discussion. Front "American Commonwealth" (New York), by Ellis H, Roberts, p. 580. 510 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. He remained in political sympathy with the Whig party, though a decided outspoken Abolitionist, till the year 1848, when, seeing that his party was doing nothing toward a scheme for opposing slavery, he broke away and supported his personal friend, Joshua R. Giddings, who represented Higley's congressional district in the United States Congress, and became a pronounced Free- soiler. Higley, however, maintained a strong standard against Mr. Gidding's Masonic connections. On the formation of the Republican party in 1856 he became identified with it, and remained devoted to its principles as long as he lived. In Esquire Jonathan Higley's early married life he sometimes attended religious services with his wife, Kesiah, which were held by the Episcopalians in a schoolhouse District No. 6. Church services were also occasionally conducted in his own house by a clergyman who was his intimate friend. But he never became a member of any religious body, though his religious sensibility was strong. In after years he not only completely separated himself from church organizations, but his strong prejudice against them was well known. He was still in the prime of life when he made up his mind on the question of slavery, and on this question he bore a vigorous individuality, retaining a horror of the system to the end of his fourscore and seven years. It was not from a religious stand- point that he took this stand; his whole moral nature revolted at holding in bondage a fellow-man. He hated oppression. From his standpoint he felt from the day and time that the sub- ject was first publicly touched upon, that the Church should be the first great moral power to protest against it, and that it should be a mighty warrior to crush its power. Instead of this, the door of the little church in his immediate neighborhood was closed to the advocates of freedom, and the clergyman, from Ken- tucky, who had been a slaveholder previous to his settlement in the parish at Windsor (Ohio), boldly and openly preached sermons declaring that slavery was a divine institution. And when Esquire Higley looked abroad he saw convulsions within the "borders of Zion," disputes, and volleys of words wasted in unpractical dis- cussion, a fierce state of feeling and divisions in place of united concentration of energy upon practical measures for its overthrow. The Higleys are a people not fond of contention. Squire Jonathan was no exception in this respect to his ancestors or their descendants. The bitterness fostered in the Church, and its lack DESCENDANTS OF JON A THAN HIGLE Y, JR. 511 of standing true to the cause of liberty, repelled him entirely from its doors. He lost all faith in its ministers. Since old theologies had never had a deep place in his belief, and his religious convictions had never yet settled into the sharpness of denominational lines, it was easy for him to sever himself forever from its immediate atmosphere, leaving his religion mostly one of meditation and solitude. He took hold of the cause of the slave early in the days of the agitation of the subject, with all the energy and force that his strong, vigorous mind and influence commanded, and worked faithfully, fearlessly denouncing the Church and its slave- holding sympathizers; yet he labored on with results, laboring disinterestedly, having no ends of his own in view. His antipathy to the institution was so strongly grounded, that he could not maintain patience while even holding conversation with those who differed from him, frequently losing his temper at the outset. He was one of the first to open his house for anti-slavery meetings and discussions upon the slave question. As the subject got deeper hold in the community, Squire Higley, with his coworkers, began getting up meetings in the district school- houses throughout the county, for which they secured the ablest lecturers and speakers of the day, who addressed the crowds which came. In these meetings fugitives were often present who told thrilling stories of their narrow escapes, and their great sufferings and flight from tyranical masters. Higley stood loyally by the black man in other ways than in public demonstration and effort for his freedom from bondage. He was always welcome to his hearthstone and helped forward, and never did a fugitive come to his threshold but he took him in, befriended him, and rendered him substantial assistance in making his escape to the protecting flag that waved over Canada. And all this while these earnest labors, which were touching deep issues in the history of the black man in our nation, were far-reaching, beyond the mere local boundaries of his county, for, politically, he stood among those in the forefront of the sup- porting constituency behind his friends, the Hon. Joshua R. Gidding and Benjamin F. Wade, who represented their district in the United States Congress, in their persistent and unflinch- ing fight, at the seat of the nation, against the slave power. Without such men as the Hon. Jonathan Higley and his coad- 512 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, jutors to support them, it would not have been possible for these distinguished legislators to have accomplished, even with their rare powers, what they did for the cause of freedom. During all the long struggle Higley was a subscriber and close reader of the anti-slavery papers of his day. Garrison's Liberator, from the time it was started, in the year 1838, and Frederick Douglass' National Anti-Slavery Standard, published by the American Anti-Slavery Society of New York, were, among other periodicals regularly found upon his table from the time they were first issued. His family never forgot how carefully and with what absorbing interest he perused them, sitting up late of nights holding a tallow candle in one hand and his .newspaper in the other. And when they had been thoroughly read he saw to it that they were circulated among friends and acquaintances far and near. It will be forever placed to his credit, and to the honor of his memory, that the abolition of the slave trade was ever uppermost in his heart from the time that his gaze became fixed upon its evils, and the ear of his inmost soul heard the " Voice of a people suffering long ! The pathos of their mournful song, The sorrows of their night of wrong." ' Though the progress toward the ultimate end he longed and prayed for was of slow growth, he was never known to slack his earnest labors, up to the time he heard the cannon echo from shots fired on Sumter. The Emancipation Act which ransomed the race was the signal event of his life. He lived to see the "travail of his soul" satisfied, and the dream of years come to pass. As Squire Higley advanced toward age, his habit of life became more and more devotional. He spent much time in reading, and was often absorbed in reflection. Nature and his Bible were his companions. Members of his family sometimes found him searching the Scriptures far into the night, and he frequently spoke of the comfort they gave him. As all his children came to mature years, he presented each one with a well-bound copy of the Testament. His advice to his children was ever whole- some and wise. "Live in peace with all mankind," he wrote to his son Harrison, "and always live with eternity in view." i Whittier. DESCENDANTS OF JON A THA N HIGLE Y, JR. 513 He died August 13, 1866, at the age of eighty-six years and five months, in the consolation of knowing that he had not lived in vain, breathing his last in the Christian's hope, " having cast his anchor in the land that lies beyond death." He was interred in the village cemetery at Windsor Corners. Esquire Jonathan Higley divided his estate among his large family of children while he was yet living, retaining the home farm at Windsor, then containing about one hundred acres, for the support of his wife and himself, together with the lots of land given below, 1 which he devised by will at his death. His sons, Allen and Jonathan Higley, 4th, were appointed executors of his will by a codicil made August 10, 1866, the will having been executed June 22, 1861. The will was admitted to probate May 17, 1867. MARTHA (KINNEY) LEWIS, the second wife of the Hon. Jona- than Higley, whom he married September 20, 1818, was the daughter of Isaac and Sally Kinney, who came from Worthing- ton, Hampshire County, Mass., arriving March 15, 1815, at Kins- 1 " To his ' well-beloved wife Martha ' in lieu of dower he gave ' all his personal property and the use and improvement of the home farm containing about 100 acres, and the improvement of all the land he gave to his grandchildren by the name of Graves and the privilege of cutting the wood on 30 acres of land lying in Hartsgrove which he devised to his sons Hume and Allen during the life of his wife.' Out of this legacy she was to pay his daughter Achsah forty dollars. " To his sons Hume and Allen. ' in addition to what they have had, 30 acres of land lying in Hartsgrove in Lot No. 144 ; also 25 acres lying in Windsor in Lot 9, Range 5.' Out of this legacy they were to pay the heirs of his deceased daughter Martha Decker, $25.00 to each when they became of age. " To his son Harrison, ' in addition to what he had had, 36 acres or all the land in Lot No. 144 in Hartsgrove lying east of that given to Hume and Allen." " To his son Homer, ' in addition to what he has had,' one-half of the land lying on the east side of Lot No. 8 Range 2, in Windsor. " To his son Lewis, ' in addition to what he has had," the remaining half of land on the east side of Lot 8, Range 2, in Windsor. " To his son Jonathan, ' in addition to what he has had,' 30 acres lying in Hartsgrove in Lot No. 58, the west end, ' the land on which he now lives.' " To his son Hector, ' in addition to what he has had,' 20 acres lying east of the land given to Jonathan in Hartsgrove in said Lot No 58. " To his son Aaron, ' in addition to what he has had, all the promissory notes I hold against him.' " To his daughter Ursula, ' in addition to what she has had, a note of about $30 I hold against her husband Henry Townsend.' " To his daughter Jane. ' in addition to what she has had, 17 acres of land lying in the N. W. corner of Lot 10, Range 8, in Windsor.' "To his grandson, ' Orwin Graves, 10 acres of land lying in the S. W. corner of Lot 8, Range a, in Windsor.' " To the heirs of his late daughter, Mary Graves, ' 20 acres lying north of the land I gave to Orwin Graves.' " To his sons, ' Hume, Allen, Jonathan, Hector, Homer, Harrison, and Lewis Higley, he devised his home farm lying in Lots No. 8, sth and 6th ranges (Windsor) containing about one hundred acres.' "Taken from the original will of Esquire Jonathan Higley, 3^. 514 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. man, O., where they settled. She was born December 18, 1796. At twenty she married Jedediah Lewis. By his sudden and acci- dental death their lives together closed the year following 1817. As has been stated, the responsibility of becoming the second mother to four children fell upon her when she became the wife of " Squire " Higley. To these were added twelve children of her own, and a grandchild they brought up. Except one infant, who died of whooping-cough about the year 1836, all of these children remained at home until they were full-grown men and women. Right faithfully did she perform her mission as wife and mother to this numerous family. As a second mother she was character- ized by a close attachment, and an unvarying kindly bearing, toward the children of the first wife, the outcome of her gentle and indulgent heart. The children to whom she gave birth well remember that the preference, however insignificant the matter might be, was always given to their half brothers and sisters in questions of differences or the settlement of childish disputes, and that it generally fell to their lot to get the second choice. This happened frequently to their discomfort, and naturally sometimes kindled in their spirits a secret vexation, a state of feeling which their mild-eyed mother overcame by showing them the beauty of a sweet and yielding temper. The government of her family was entirely by persuasion. In the generous hospitality of their home Mrs. Higley was well mated by her husband. She was at all times found ready to receive and welcome visitors and guests, who came in season or out of season, and she never was averse to cheerfully preparing an extra meal for the stranger at any hour of the day, and often late at night. Her generous instincts were evidenced in various ways, sometimes leading her, to the amusement of the family, to act directly in violence to her natural will. Her hatred of domestic animals was well known. Yet if she saw a hungry dog or cat appear in the door-yard, she would immediately lay aside her work and go to the cupboard and get food for it. This of course invited all of the hapless and stray cats roundabout to repair to the premises where, perching themselves upon fences and sheds, they awaited in expectancy her benevolence. When once fed something like anger would fall over her face, and her usually mild tongue would give vent with surprising volubility to a tirade against the "pesky " intruders. DESCENDANTS OF JON A THAN HIGLE Y, JR. 515 The routine of her daily life was the same as that which occu- pied the women of her day. She had little time to fret or worry. Naturally quick motioned ancft>f remarkable activity and dispatch in what she undertook, she accomplished marvels in the amount of labor that she performed. Nothing among the old-time proverbs could be more fitting than the text she chose for her daily living: " Her candle goeth not out by night." She received the wool from the sheep's back, which she carded, and the flax in its rough state, which she hatcheled, spinning and weaving these into material for clothing and household uses, out of which she cut and made all of the garments worn by her large family. Manufactured products were seldom purchased. The cooking, washing, ironing, and churning, together with considerable atten- tion paid to cheese-making, were a part and parcel of her round of employments, and it must be remembered that during most of these years she was constantly bearing or nursing an infant. Of evenings she sat before the fire and knitted the family supply of socks and stockings, her nimble fingers flying with almost the swiftness of a machine. She easily knitted a man's sock on a winter's evening. None of her energy was wasted. Her children cannot recollect of ever having seen her busy hands unemployed during one wak- ing moment, except it might have been a part of a Sunday. She rarely employed female help, unless there was illness in the family, but thoroughly trained her daughters in domestic duties as they grew to womanhood. With all her manifold duties, she found time to tenderly visit her sick neighbor, and to do much in cheer- ing the look and lightening the step of the needy. Her life, which was made up of detail, was entirely unostentatious and quiet in its movement, and was mainly spent within the precincts of her own hearthstone. She survived her husband five years and two months, and was administered to by her daughter, Jane (Higley) Barnard, the last three years of her life. During the last year she lived her mind was in process of dissolution, and was so enfeebled that she was unable to deal with anything that required thorough judgment. She died October 15, 1872, in the old Higley homestead the same home that she entered fifty-four years before, when she became the wife of the Hon. Jonathan Higley in the year 1818. She was interred in the village cemetery at Windsor Corners. THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. >. w The sons and daughters of Jonathan Higley, 3d., were as follows: Hume, born February 17, 1807. Allen, " January 14, 1809. Achsah, " February 5, 1811. Mary, " February 18, 1813. Kesiah, " August 19, 1815. Achsah, " October 26, 1819. Jonathan, 4th, " Thursday, June 21, 1821. Hector, " Tuesday, September 10, 1822. Ursula, " Tuesday, September 15, 1824. Aaron, " Monday, May 29, 1826. Martha, " Friday, May 24, 1828. Homer, " Saturday, January 30, 1830. Olive, " Wednesday, September 17, 1832. Harrison, " Saturday, May 17, 1834. Infant, born early in 1836, died of whooping-cough, 1836. Lewis, born Tuesday, May 16, 1837. ^ Jane, " Monday, July 15, 1839. PQ CHAPTER LXIII. HUME HIGLEY. Hume, Jonathan, 3d, Jonathan, Jr., Jonathan, Samuel, ist, Captain John Higley. These struggling tides of life that seem In aimless wayward course to tend, Are eddies of the mighty stream That rolls to its appointed end. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. HUME HIGLEY, the oldest child of Esquire Jonathan Higley, 3d, and Kesiah Griswold, was born February 17, 1807, on the old Higley farm which was a part of the original purchase of his grandfather at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O. Industrial labor and manual training went hand in hand in his farm life during his childhood. He acquired his education of winters at the country district school. When a boy of but nine years he was deprived of his mother by death, yet she left so clear a photograph upon his young heart that it became an enduring impression, lasting as long as he lived. He always recalled her as a mother who was. endowed with a strong brain, lively intel- lect, and cheerful spirit. By the time that> he was a well-grown lad, the forest clearings in the "Western Reserve" showed comfortable farm?, fairly well stocked, and a colony of growing prosperity. Fo' one year, when he was about twenty, he taught a district school. On the loth of December, 1829, he married Betsey Norris, who came from Tolland, Conn. They settled upon a farm given him by his father, a part of lot 9, 7th range, which lay in the near vicinity of the home of his birth. This farm he held about forty years. But his leaning was toward a business life, and later on he almost entirely gave up plowing the ground and sowing the seed, engag- ing in other enterprises, some of which involved the outlay of considerable amounts of money, as well as necessitating his absence from his home and family. In business relations, he was known as a man of strict integrity, possessing a vigorous and a thoroughly honest mind. About the year 1852 he took a large contract for the construc- 34 5*8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. tion of the Lake and Trumbull County plank road, a work attended with a vast amount of heavy labor, a part of his section passing through the original forest. This required that the trees should be felled and the stumps removed, which in those days, when the aid of mechanical labor-saving machinery was yet in rude form, required a courageous heart and persevering effort to accomplish. He filled the contract faithfully, and to the entire satisfaction of the contracting company. About the year 1847 he began purchasing live stock, more especially swine, and driving them in large numbers to Brighton, the live stock market of Boston. This brought him into com- mercial transactions with business men of the cities and towns, as well as with the farmers of Northern and Central Ohio and Indiana, which gave him a wide experience with men, and made him an excellent judge of character. He finally acted for a number of years as buyer for a large Boston commission house, David Collins'; and also became the purchaser and shipper of butter and eggs for the firm of Rockwell & Higley of Boston. He was elected justice of the peace for Windsor, in the year 1859, and served for some years, discharging the duties of his office with wisdom and fairness. His conciliatory temperament a marked characteristic of Hume Higley gave him ample oppor- tunity, while holding the office, to exert his noble faculty in striv- ing to harmonize or check contentions, and it was a singular result, though a common one applied to very many cases, that the differences of the opposing parties, brought before Squire Higley, were, through his influence, harmoniously compromised and satisfactorily settled without legal action. About the year 1855 he began prospecting for coal, having for some time previously held the opinion that there were valuable mineral deposits in that section of the State. Whether it was an imaginative genius that he acted upon, with a seer's fore- sight of the unfailing quarries of beautiful building-stone and fountains of natural gas which were as yet hidden and undis- covered beneath the earth's surface in Northern Ohio, or whether he had some clew for his good dreams, no one now living can tell; but he went energetically about his search, spending much time and effort, with considerable outlay of means, during the follow- ing five years. At different points he excavated to the depth of thirty feet and over, more than once making a find of coal, but the layers being thin, he abandoned them. In Newberry Town- DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. 519 ship, Geauga County, he dug eighteen feet, and claimed that he had discovered a fairly good deposit, sufficient to warrant him in taking a lease of almost five hundred acres of land where this coal was located; here he began developing a mine, but the opera- tions on the whole, proving unsatisfactory, he gave them up on the expiration of the lease. Hume Higley, like his father, Jonathan Higley, 3d, was ever a friend to suffering humanity. He possessed unusual tender- ness of nature. He was a young man in the prime and vigor of life when the subject of slavery began to be discussed, and soon began to see the need of earnest labor and active exertions in behalf of the enslaved blacks of the South. It was in the days when there was much odium attached to the Abolition cause, yet the general opposition which at that time prevailed in the North toward the unpopular controversy had little weight with him, and he went straightforward in the "dauntless battle," fearlessly advocating unconditional emancipation ; nor did he cease his prac- tical friendly aid to the slave, or his outspoken word and action in his behalf, till he saw the day when human liberty was pro- claimed, reaching the shores of our great land from its rising to its setting sun, and from the Gulf to its northernmost boundary. Hume Higley was an exceptionally fine specimen of manhood, standing six feet two inches in height, broad in proportion, and finely shaped, weighing two hundred and sixty pounds; with a confident bearing and manner. He possessed immense mus- cular strength. During his experience as schoolmaster when a young man, it happened one day that a "big boy," who was the size of an ordinary man, was caught in a misdemeanor. On being reproved the pupil began making a display of bravado, and defied the master. Higley ordered him to come from his seat to the center of the floor. This the young man refused to do. Higley then starting toward him, the chap clutched to a door close at hand, holding on with unyielding grip, when the stalwart teacher, with- out any apparent effort, grasping him by the seat of his trousers, lifted him to his shoulder, together with the door broken from its hinges, and bearing both out to the road, the pupil all the while kicking and squirming, set him on his feet and ordered him to leave the premises; the young man left at double-quick pace. Higley never made use of his powerful strength for combative 520 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. purposes, and used himself to declare that " he could scare more persons than he was willing to whip." He thought nothing of lifting from the ground, over the sideboards of a wagon, a barrel filled with cider and placing it therein, and was known to take a barrel of oil from a wagon which stood in front of a store- house, carry it up four steps and to a wareroom in the rear of the building. He never showed any apparent extra exertion in performing such feats. Hume Higley was not a church member. He was a thorough believer in and practiced the spirit and essence of the true religious sentiment contained in the precept, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." With his sons he made himself so genial and confidential that he was their most intimate friend till long after they had gone out into the world. The thought of fear of their father never possessed them, for he was always considerate of their temptations and surroundings, reasoning with them for their best good. Mr. Higley's good qualities of courage and good fellowship were characteristically prominent till his strong constitution and vigorous good health gave way, about the year 1863, to a nervous disorder, epilepsia, leaving him as the winter of life advanced an almost confirmed invalid. He died April 7, 1879, at the age of seventy-two years and two months. The interment was in the village cemetery at Windsor Corners. Betsey (Norris) Higley, the wife of Hume Higley, was the daughter of Benjamin and Betsey Norris, of Tolland, Conn. Her birth took place May 15, 1808, on her father's home-farm, which was located three miles north of the court house on Tolland Street. It is said by her old friends who remember her from her childhood, that she was a healthy lassie, with well- rounded figure, remarkably red cheeks, and winning ways. Her father, besides devoting his attention to his farming operations, for many years had charge of the toll-gate on the turnpike road, of ninety-six miles, which ran from Boston to Hartford. These were in the old stage-coach days of traveling, and during the times when great quantities of produce were hauled between these cities by large two-horse teams. Stage horses in those times trotted at a lively pace there was no lagging. It can well be imagined that the full rosy-cheeked little girl may have often been seen scampering to look on as the DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,IST. 521 great event of each day came to pass, when the stage horn was blown and the Boston coach came rushing by with its four spirited horses, loaded inside with passengers, and a lot of them on top; and this sight, together with the constant coming and going of the intelligent hardy teamsters, who used to stop and hold long drawn out conversations with her father while their horses drank at the public watering trough by the roadside, and rested a bit, gave to the little maiden her first perceptions of this great revolving world, and brought to her knowledge nearly all that she knew of its commerce and activities. But Betsey was yet a child when her father died of "white swelling " in one of his legs, leaving a family of seven children * to be brought up by their widowed mother. This heavy care brought upon her a hard struggle with life. In the year 1812 the brothers of Benjamin Norris, John and Cornelius, emigrated from Tolland, Conn., to Windsor Township in the Western Reserve, Ohio, and in 1813 their old neighbor and friend, Elijah Grover, followed, all removing their families with them. This emigration, with others from their town, had acquainted Benjamin Norris and his wife with this fertile region of increasing good fortune and prosperity, and when the Widow Norris' daughter Deborah married Orin Grover, they too, to- gether with her 'son Samuel, decided to make it their future home. It happened a few years later that the wife of Elijah Grover died, and finding himself desolate, Mr. Grover set his heart upon the Widow Norris, who was still living in her old Connecticut home. In due time he returned to his native*place and married her, about 1824, bringing her the same year, with her remaining children, among whom was Betsey, to his farm at Windsor, O. They made the journey to Albany, N. Y., by the usual route, taking the then great waterway for travel the Erie Canal they came to Buffalo, where they embarked on a sailing vessel and sailed for Ashtabula, O. Here they landed, and coming by ox-team twenty-eight miles southwest through the woods, they arrived at their future home. Young Betsey was now a girl of sixteen. Connecticut had a fair educational system in those times, and she had acquired a 1 The names of the children of Benjamin and Betsey Norris were as follows : Deborah, Ben- jamin, Samuel, Sally, Martin, Greenleaf, Increase, and Betsey ; all of whom were born in Tol- land, Conn. 522 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. pretty thorough knowledge of the ordinary English branches. From her early childhood she had showed signs of cleverness and talent. She early developed into a finely proportioned woman, amiable and thoughtful. She was never a person given to many words. Her mother, Mrs. Grover, died four years after she became the wife of Elijah Grover. About the year 1826 Betsey began teaching a school in the eastern district of Windsor. She afterward taught at Harts- grove. On the loth of December, 1829, she married Hume Higley, and became the mother of twelve children. Her married life was engrossed with the over-weight of domestic cares which have always been imposed upon the farmers' wives of our country an endless round of unfinished toilsome duties from which they have but little respite. It was not many years after her marriage till the charge of her family devolved almost wholly upon her owing to the fre- quent absences of her husband in his business relations. In this responsibility she managed the family and its affairs with pru- dence and energy. The Norrises of Connecticut were Methodists in their religious creed, and her preference in church connections was with that body. Mrs. Betsey Higley was a good woman and a good mother. She was made acquainted with a large share of the burdens of life, which tested her equanimity and courage. As the flight of years went by, she ennobled them in the presence of her family with a meek and quiet spirit. Her last days upon earth were smitten with severe pangs of physical suffering, rendering her a helpless invalid. She died of cancer, August i, 1875, and was laid to rest beside her husband. Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley were the parents of twelve children, viz. : Cicelia, Henry Anson, Martin TV., Addison N., Elizabeth, Charles, Mary, Emory, Emory, ad, Greenleaf W., Lucy Exnie, and Harriet. CICELIA HIGLEY, the first child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., October 30, 1830. She received a fair education for the women of those times who lived in agricultural districts. She grew up to be the companion and main assistant of her mother in the labor and care of her large DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY t \ST. 523 family. Her entire life was spent in the home domestic circle. She died unmarried, March 19, 1864. HENRY ANSON HIGLEY, the second child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., April i, 1832. His earlier years were spent in alternate periods of practical agricultural pursuits and in learning. He received his education at the district school, afterward attending a local academy at Windsor Corners with Professor Wakefield as its principal. But he abandoned farm life at an early age to enter a different sphere. When he reached his majority his father gave him a twenty- dollar gold piece, with which he went to Boston, Mass. This was his first step into commercial life. Arriving in that city an utter stranger, save one young man whom he had seen in Ohio, and lodging over night 'at a hotel, he set out next morning to find his friend, who was then in the employ of A. P. Ellis & Co., commission merchants. Soon finding the business house and, after some conversation with his friend, he made application for employment. To this application he did not receive an assuring answer; however, before night he found himself engaged by the firm. The day following was Saturday. His employer seeing something in the verdant young man that interested him, invited him to be his guest over Sunday at his country residence at West Newton, an invitation gladly accepted, espe- cially as his traveling expenses and hotel bills had relieved his pocketbook of all of his funds except one shining fifty-cent piece. At Mr. Ellis' country home he 'was highly entertained with the horses, the various riding vehicles, the gardens, conservatories, and the beautiful appointments of a fine country seat. He seemed, too, to find favor with his employer's family, for Mr. Ellis ex- tended his invitation for a week. But there is no romantic account that the young man fell in love with his employer's daughter ! When ten days were passed, young Higley was installed into his business life. He entered with zest into his work, and served six months, living in the meanwhile as economically as he possi- bly could. As yet not a word had been said concerning his salary. Mr. Ellis then one day, calling him into his private office, asked him if he was satisfied with his position. Receiving an honest assurance that he was, he offered him six dollars a week for his past services and seven for the future. The offer was 524 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. abundantly satisfactory. This was in the year of 1853. His salary was, however, gradually increased, till within his first year his wages were raised to ten dollars weekly. This amount was then considered a fine salary for a young man in this business. Two years later 1855 Mr. Ellis retired from active business and the firm dissolved. Mr. Higley then received a proposition from L. W. Rockwell, whose acquaintance he had made in Boston, to form a partnership in the same line of business, which offer Mr. Ellis advised him to accept. Young Higley had by this time laid up five hundred dollars. The partnership united under the firm name of Rockwell & Higley, produce commission mer- chants. Higley set out speedily and visited the old patrons of A. P. Ellis & Co., securing the most of the trade which had belonged to that house, while Rockwell, who was a Nova Scotian, set off to his native province; the result being that a large and lucrative trade in potatoes, eggs, wood, and plaster was built up, the young firm shipping flour in return. In the meanwhile the Western trade of the house in butter, eggs, and poultry had largely increased, mainly through the efforts of Hume Higley, the father of the subject of this sketch, who had become a purchaser and shipper for the firm. The business met with success for ten years, when in 1865, Rockwell & Higley dissolved partnership; the reciprocity treaty being repealed, a heavy duty was laid upon Canadian produce, and that branch of the business became unprofitable. The best of relations had always existed between the partners, but one instance of a slight misunderstanding having ever occurred, and it was with feelings of mutual regard and respect that their business relations were severed. In January, 1866, Mr. Higley removed to New York City, join- ing in partnership with his brother Charles, in a commission house, the firm being known as H. A. & C. Higley & Co. He withdrew from this firm in a short time, and A. H. Hamilton became his partner, the firm doing a good business for three years. He then found opportunity for entering the firm of Hicks & Hathaway, flour and grain merchants, an offer which he accepted. In 1875 he returned to the firm of Chas. Higley & Co., his brother Charles and Mr. Hamilton both having died, leaving his brother, Greenleaf W. Higley, the only surviving part- ner in that house. The two brothers continued business under the old firm name till the year 1878 when, being caught in a finan- DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 525 cial flurry, the house was compelled to suspend. The following year Mr. Higley turned his business energies to the grain and provision brokerage business. The following extract is taken from the New York Produce Exchange Review, five years later : " Among the well-established and enterprising members of the grain and provision trade of New York is Mr. H. A. Higley of Broad Street. He became a member of the New York Produce Exchange in 1865. Mr. Higley has continued his busi- ness alone since 1879, and has during the intervening period met with a flattering degree of success, and is highly spoken of by his fellow-members as a broker of ability and strict integrity. He has direct connections with Chicago, and has developed a large trade in the line of grain options, having every possible facility for the prompt filling of all orders. Mr. Higley has ever given a conscientious support to all measures best calculated to advance the permanent welfare and prosperity of the Exchange, and it is such enterprising gentlemen as he who have so materially built up the organization to its present high degree of usefulness. Mr. Higley is a native of Ohio, but has been a permanent business resident of the East thirty years, and has built up a trade and a standing for himself of a character alike creditable to himself and to the worthy institution of which he has so long been a member." It was during the summer of 1884 that Mr. Higley made an extended journey to the Pacifice coast, traveling northward to Whatcom, Wash., and southward to California, thoroughly acquainting himself with the resources and prospects of the great grain fields of the West Minnesota, Dakota, Montana, and Oregon. These observations he put into clever articles which appeared in the columns of some of the leading New York financial and commercial journals, and which gained much acceptance with his business associates "on 'Change." Mr. Higley has traveled extensively throughout the United States and been a sensible and close observer. On removing from Boston to New York he took up his residence in Brooklyn, where he has since resided. For many years he owned a pleasant cottage seaside home at Ocean Grove, N. J., being one of the first purchasers of lots when that well- known resort was founded. He also held for a number of years the title deed to the old Family farm at Windsor, O., which had belonged to his father for a period of forty years. In 1875 he became a member of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn the distinguished Plymouth pastor, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, had few firmer friends or more ardent supporters than Henry A. Higley. 526 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Mr. Higley has experienced many " ups and downs" in life, and passed through trying ordeals; some of these perhaps aris- ing out the stronger and nobler, as well as from his weaker, characteristics. In a case in point, when maliciously assailed, he met the difficulty with cool and unyielding courage, having the nerve to hold with loyal and admirable devotion by those who shared the stress of storm with him. Of generous impulses and easily moved by sympathy, he possesses a singularly marked and strong sense against injustice and wrong done to others. Conciliatory in temperament and moderate in tone, he is seldom willing to listen to useless wrangle, but when his temper, which is slow to take fire, is aroused he knows how to couch his language in strong, and sometimes offensive, terms. He has always been known as a man of energy and activity, having great confidence in whatever he undertakes. With a genial merriment flowing through his nature, he can always tell a story singularly adapted to match any that are told in his presence. Unassuming and courteous in manner, of commanding figure and ample proportions, six feet and one inch in height, and weighing two hundred and thirty- five pounds, his presence is easily distinguished wherever he is. January 14, 1853, he married Sarah Nye. Of this marriage there were born three children, two of whom died in infancy. The only surviving child is one son, viz. : HENRY ALLEN HIGLEY, M. D., who was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., September 13, 1866. His boyhood was spent with his parents in their Brooklyn home and at their sea- side residence at Ocean Grove, N. J. October i, 1873, he began his studies at Lockwood's Academy, Brooklyn, and two years later entered the Brooklyn Poly- technic Institute, in which collegiate school he passed the various courses of study. On the ist of October, 1884, he entered the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale Uni- versity. The following year he relinquished his studies there, and devoted himself to the study of medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, from which he received the degree of doctor of medicine, May, 1888. On the ist of October of the same year, having been a successful candidate, he entered the New York Charity Hospital, from which he was graduated April I, 1890. From that time to the present he has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Brooklyn, N. Y. On the 1 5th of September, 1884, Dr. Higley married, in the church of St. Chrysostom, New York, Harriet A. Welter, daughter of Isaiah and Nancy Welter, then of Brooklyn, a bright and amiable young woman possessing freshness of char- acter and lovable natural qualities. They are the parents of two children, viz.: Florence J., born November 29, 1887. CJiarlotte, born December 6, 1893. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY t \ST. 527 Continued from page 522. MARTIN NATHAN HIGLEY, the third child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., January 20, 1834. With the exception of one year, while in the employ of the firm of Charles Higley & Co. of New York City, he always resided in his native county. He followed various pursuits, was a man possessed of good natural abilities, but not having turned them to the best uses, he never accumulated prop- erty. For some years he devoted considerable attention to casual writing for different country newspapers. He married, first, Sarah E. Rawdon of Windsor, who was born December 22, 1841. The marriage took place December 31, 1857. His wife became a victim of consumption, bearing a protracted period of physical suffering with remarkable patience. Had the " Unser " Fritz's impressive words, 1 " Learn to suffer and not complain" written two days before his death, been then inscribed and placed as a motto before her, she could not have more fully amplified them. She was a woman well-beloved by a large circle of friends. She died February 22, 1871. Mr. Higley married, second, Adelia C. Jourdan, January i, 1872. She was born February 16, 1845. Martin N. Higley died November n, 1895. He was interred in the village cemetery at Windsor Corners. Children by first wife: Two infants who died young; Deetta, born January 14, 1859, who married Martin Mills, 1892. They reside in Windsor, O. By second marriage: Allen Edward, born September n, 1872; Cora Betsey, born December 27, 1874; and married Irwin Sommers, June, 1893 ; Harry Doune, born December 15, 1878. ADDISON NATHANIEL, the fourth child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., August 22, 1835. He resided in his native town till he was twenty-five. May 6, 1860, he married Sarah E. Jackson, at South Thompson, Geauga County, O. She was born November 7, 1839. They settled in South Thompson, where Mr. Higley occupied himself with agriculture and the purchasing and shipping of poultry to Boston. August, 1864, he removed with his family to that city, where he was for one year in the employ of the firm of 1 The German emperor wrote these words beneath his photograph, which he presented to a friend, two days previous to his death from a cancerous affection : " Lerne Zu leiden ohne klagen.'' 528 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. which his brother Charles Higley was the leading partner. Later on he formed a partnership with his younger brother, Greenleaf W. Higley, under the firm name of A. N. Higley & Co., pro- vision dealers. But not caring for the push and flurry of an Eastern city life, he chose to close out the business and return to his native town in Ohio. This was in the spring of 1868. Here he engaged with Hillard & Hamilton as an advertising agent. This business Mr. Higley successfully followed a number of years, traveling in thirty States and Territories. On severing his connection with the firm early in the seventies, he devoted himself to the care of his invalid father, Hume Higley, who now required the constant attention of one of his sons. Mr. Higley was an extraordinary somnambulist. Among many incidents in which he betrayed strange actions during a state of sleep he, one night in 1867, while residing in Boston, owing to a nervous condition of the system, thought the house on fire. He was at the time occupying a chamber in the third story of his dwelling. Promptly clambering out upon the roof, he walked on the eaves-spouting to the corner of the building and, stepping off, fell to the pavement below, awakening from the state he was in to find both of his ankles broken and the bones protruding through the flesh. He suffered for many tedious weeks afterward. Addison N. Higley died September 22, 1876, after having lived a vigorous and respected life. His widow married Ezra Rawdon, a much respected citizen of Windsor, O. She was a Christian professor, and availed herself of the privilege of a membership in the Universalist Church. It was her chief joy to aid the sick and unfortunate. Her kind and obliging ways won the affection of an abundance of friends. The last years she lived, in the midst of her suffering, which was lengthened to ten weary months duration from paralysis, her Christian fortitude was made beautifully evident. She died January 5, 1883. The Rev. Charles Shipman conducted the funeral services. Addison N. and Sarah E. Higley were the parents of one child, viz. : HENRY GARRISON HIGLEY, who was born at South Thompson, Geauga County, O., April 24, 1861. He attended first the district school at Windsor, O., his parents having removed there in 1868. He afterward was a student at the Austin- burg Ohio Institute, under Professor Tuckerman, a school of considerable note for DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, 1ST. S 2 9 its excellent system and facilities for instruction. At the age of fifteen he was deprived by death of his father's care. January 24, 1883, he married Jennie A. Rawdon, daughter of Ezra Rawdon. She was born June 14, 1862. While Henry G. Higley has always been practically familiar with agriculture, and carried it on to some extent, he has engaged from time to time, and with an almost invariable degree of fair success, in a variety of enterprises : sometimes his time and interests have been connected with a large stone-quarry at Windsor Mills, again in the purchase and sale of lots of land, etc., etc. He resides in a substantial home which he built and owns at Orwell, Ash tabula County, O., and where he is at present (1896) engaged in the purchase and shipping to New York of farm prod- uce, making a specialty of nuts and poultry. He is a man of strong physique, possessing a well-balanced mind and kindly dis- position ; thoroughly upright and honorable in his business relations, energetic, and of untiring diligence, and has many friends. Mr. Higley has belonged to the Order of Odd Fellows since he was twenty-one years old. He is now a " Past- Grand," having taken three degrees. Henry G. and Jennie Rawdon Higley are the parents of three children : Leonard Addison, born January 30, 1884 ; Richard Ezra, born December I, 1886 ; and Amarett Helen, born August 4, 1888. ELIZABETH HIGLEY, the fifth child of Hume and Betsey (Nor- ris) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., December 13, 1836. She died, unmarried, at sixteen years of age, , 1852. " Time had set No silvery signet on her yet, The crown of womanhood but now Rested upon her placid brow." Continued from page 532. CHARLES HIGLEY, the sixth child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., August 18, 1838. He received a common school education, chiefly during the winter months, working during his boyhood on his father's farm of summers. When seventeen he began assisting his father in buying farm products, butter, eggs, and poultry, and shipping the same to the firm of Rockwell & Higley of Boston. In this employment he was engaged till he was twenty, gaining all the while habits of self-reliance and an experience which proved invaluable to his future business career. He had a good busi- ness head, and was gifted with great mental energy, capable of quickly grasping and deciding upon a measure, and was a tire- less worker. He was good-natured, yet withal, shrewd, honest, and upright, having steady purposes and good habits. 53 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. At twenty he went to the city of Boston, engaging as salesman with Rockwell & Higley, the firm of which his brother Henry was then a partner. This position he held three years. He then, in 1861, entered into a partnership with James P. Emmerson in the produce commission business, under the firm name of Charles Higley & Co. In about two years this firm was dissolved by mutual consent, and a new firm was formed under the name of Higley, Bennett & Co. This house did a large and successful produce commission business, and was very popular with the trade, Charles Higley winning his way to prominence by his inde- fatigable industry and enterprise. Finding that many of their heaviest Western shippers preferred to forward their produce to New York City, and believing that it would be to his best business advantage to remove there, Higley decided to close out in Boston and open a house in the commercial metropolis. This was early in 1865. Entering into partnership with O. W. Paine, they opened a house in Washing- ton Street, New York, July 4, 1865, in the same line of business which Mr. Higley had so successfully conducted in Boston. The enterprise was prosperous. The following year, 1866, a new combination was formed, composed of Henry A. Higley, Charles Higley, and A. H. Hamilton. Henry A. Higley and A. H. Hamilton withdrew by mutual consent after continuing in the business one year, Charles Higley and O. W. Paine continuing under the style of Charles Higley & Co. till 1870, when Mr. Paine withdrew, and A. H. Hamilton was again admitted. Mr. Hamilton died in the spring of 1873, and Greenleaf W. Higley became a member of the firm. During these several changes, the business had continued to increase, the house becoming one of the largest produce com- mission houses in New York. The spring of 1874 found Charles Higley in failing health. He had always till now enjoyed a strong and robust constitution; handsome in personal appearance, of magnificent physique, weighing two hundred pounds, and in height six feet two inches, the warning could scarcely be accepted by his family and his friends that so much vitality and power and spirit could ever cease ; but his decline was rapid. His physicians, who pronounced his disease enlargement of the heart, advised change of climate, and complete rest from business cares. Arrangements were made for him and his family to go to the White Mountains, but on the very eve of setting off hemorrhage DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 531 set in; however, he soon rallied, and some two weeks were spent in the exhilarating mountain atmosphere, from which at first he appeared to receive benefit. Again beginning to fail, and longing for his home, to gratify him the family started for Brooklyn, N. Y. ; he was, however, destined never to cross his threshold again. The railroad passengers looked on with a sort of tender- ness, as a fit of prostration came suddenly over him, in which he expired, about four o'clock on the afternoon of August 10, 1874, just as the train was nearing Springfield, Mass. His age was thirty-six years. The body was brought to Brooklyn, and the burial took place in the family lot in Greenwood cemetery. He left a comfortable estate to his family. Charles Higley married Sarah Francis Taylor in Boston. Three children were born of the marriage, viz. : Edward, Adelaide T., and Charles. The family reside in Brooklyn, N. Y. MARY HIGLEY, the seventh child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., May 8, 1840. She lived at home with her parents till her marriage, July 17, 1863, to Levi Smith of Monteville, O. During her brief married life they re- sided on a small farm at Monteville. She died, July 16, 1864, just one year, lacking but one day, from the date that she became a bride. The burial took place in the village cemetery at Windsor Cor- ners. Her husband survived her but a few years. There were no children. EMORY HIGLEY (ist), the eighth child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born February 24, 1842, and died the follow- ing October, aged six months. Continued from page 522. EMORY HIGLEY (zd), the ninth child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., June 29, 1843. Here he spent the first nineteen years of his life. He received his education at the District School, No. 6. Early in 1862 he joined the forces banded together for the pres- ervation of the Union, enlisting in Company B, 23d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment of which ex-President Hayes was at that time the major, and afterward the general-commanding. Emory Higley served with the regiment one year, when he re- S3 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ceived an honorable discharge on account of general disability. Soon after his return from the Civil War he went to Boston and entered the employ of H. L. Lawrence & Co., commission merchants, remaining with the concern two years. From Boston he removed in 1865 to Butler, Ind., having a favorable prop- osition of a partnership with Samuel Haverstock in the sale of general merchandise. The firm did an extensive and profitable business under the firm name of Haverstock & Higley. The year following, May 13, 1866, he married the daughter of his partner, Mary Haverstock, a most estimable young woman possessing excellent qualifications for a good wife. Her father was a man of wealth. He died some years later, leaving her a valuable property. But Emory Higley's tastes inclined to journalism. He estab- lished The Banner of Liberty, the first newspaper published in the town of Butler, and finally giving up his excellent business oppor- tunities, and severing his connection with the mercantile firm at Butler, he removed to Vallisca, la., and there started a bright and successful journal. On the 22d of May, 1872, he married Eliza Blakesley of Mal- com, Poweskiek County, la. He afterward removed to New York City, where he took a position in the house of his brother, Charles Higley & Co. This position he held a few years, when he returned to Iowa, and settling at Red Oak, established a weekly journal the Red Oak Record, which he successfully conducted for some time. Afterward he went to Le Mars, la., where he became the assistant editor and solicitor of the Le Mars Daily Globe, a newspaper of considerable standing and influence in the State. He remained in this connection till his decease. He had great adaptability and versatility, traits which enabled him to work in many directions. His death was untimely, for he was a man in the very prime of his days. It came suddenly and without any warning. On the evening of November 29, 1885, while spending an evening with a friend, he was seized with a fit of apoplexy, and life soon became extinct. The press, in its editorial obituaries, speaks of him as having been "a man with faults and errors, but possessing a big heart, generous impulses, and a bright intellect." He was interred in the Union Cemetery at Le Mars, the funeral being conducted by the G. A. R., of which order he was a member. GREENLEAF W. HIGLEY AND FAMILY. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 533 By his marriage with Mary Haverstock he had children, viz. : Luther J?., born October 30, 1867; and Lever ett Graver, born December 31, 1870. By second marriage: Ray IV., born April 7, 1873; Hume, born January 22, 1877. LUTHER H. HIGLEY, the first child, was born at Butler, Ind., October 30, 1867. He is a man possessing admirable traits of character, and is a citizen of excellent standing. He was chosen principal of the Butler High School, 1893, acceptably filling the responsible position. Professor Higley is also the editor and publisher of The Butler Record. He married, February 9, 1889, Carrie D. Palmerston, who was born April 2, 1869. Their child, Ethel Adeline, was born November 13, 1892. GREENLEAF W. HIGLEY, the tenth child and youngest son of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashta- bula County, O., May 10, 1845. His early plow-boy life on his father's farm, among the various haunts of field, stream, and woods, made him physically strong, which, with the inheritance of brains and practical good sense, laid an excellent foundation upon which developed natural energy and stirring qualities of force and courage, elements which his character conspicuously disclosed in later years. He, as well as his brothers, was among the shrewd and honest young men who come to our great cities from the rural districts, with their only capital their brains and good health, their pluck and industrious habits, and comprehending the intricate steps of commerce, become geniuses of trade. Greenleaf acquired a common school education at the district public school; from early life he wrote a good hand, and was always bright in figures. During the years of his boyhood his father was absent from home the larger proportion of the time, engaged in buying provisions for Boston commission houses, and his older brothers had gone out to make their way in the world. This brought opportunity for him to display some of the promising qualities of his youth, and his capacity for taking responsibilities. When but a lad of thirteen he was accustomed to being sent to Painesville, O., twenty-one miles distant, to transact business matters for the family, such as getting drafts cashed, etc. It was the intelligence and aptness of the boy that attracted the attention of Mr. Osborne, an elderly gentleman, cashier of the Lake County Bank, with whom these business transactions 35 534 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. were conducted, which caused him to frequently speak words of praise and approval to the lad, and this it was that first inspired him to grasp a wider idea of the world, and begat an ambition to look beyond the quiet life of the country farm. At sixteen his father requested him to meet him at Attica, Ind., and accompany him in his business engagements. Greenleaf set off with much enthusiasm on this his first traveling experience, walking to Painesville and there taking a railway train. During the next five years, 1861-65, ^ e was away from home much of the time, associated with his father in the purchase and shipping of provisions, traveling in Indiana, Illinois, and Southern Ohio. Hume Higley was finally, in 1865, forced, from failing health, to give up business, and Greenleaf, having reached his twentieth year, was not long in making his way to Boston. He first engaged with the produce commission house of Rockwell & Higley, and remained in its employ two years. Left now to his own resources, life was far from being dull and monotonous to the young man. Genial, social, and of a cheery natural temperament, he was at no loss in a large city to find plenty of entertainment. He joined a Good Templars' lodge, where the young people enjoyed lively evenings. Here he met Helen Simpson, his future wife, whom he married January 21, 1867. Mr. Higley's older brother, Addison N. Higley, opening a prod- uce commission house in Boston about this time, Greenleaf joined him under the firm name of A. N. Higley & Co. This firm was afterward styled Higley Brothers & Adams. The concern was rather short-lived, though the enterprise met with fair success, doing business in a small way; however, they wound it up honorably. Addison Higley returned to Ohio, and Green- leaf and his wife went to Butler, Ind., where Mr. Higley entered the mercantile store of Haverstock & Higley, of which his brother Emory was then one of the partners. Not liking the position, Mr. Higley remained only a few months, and, returning to Bos- ton, engaged again in the commission business. This time he began in a modest way on his own responsibility. In the meanwhile his brother, Charles Higley, having in the year 1865 opened a house in the same line of trade in New York City, and business increasing, he made a favorable offer to Green- leaf, which was accepted. Surrendering his lease and winding up his Boston concern with a fair balance in his favor, Mr. Higley DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, \ST. 535 removed to New York, November, 1868, settling his family in Brooklyn. After the first year he received twenty-five dollars a week and five per cent, of the profits. In 1870 a change in the firm of Charles Higley & Co. took place, one of the partners withdrawing, giving place to A. H. Hamilton. The death of Mr. Hamilton occurring in 1873, Green- leaf W. Higley became a member of the firm. On the roth of August, 1874, his brother Charles died, leaving Greenleaf the only surviving member of the firm. It was at a time of the firm's greatest prosperity. He continued alone in sole charge of the business for one year, the trade of the house all the while increas- ing. The burden of the business falling too heavily upon him, his brother Henry A. Higley entered the partnership, the firm continuing its original name, Charles Higley & Co. On the i5th of June, 1878, a sudden misfortune caused the house to suspend. Mr. Greenleaf Higley was advised by Canadian friends to go to Manitoba. Having young children whose future interests he considered, he decided upon making the experiment, and during the autumn of 1878 he set off on the long journey, taking his family with him. He located, on their arrival, at Gladstone, 104 miles northwest of Winnipeg. This was before the days of rail- ways in the far northwest of the United States and Dominion. The romantic adventures and perils of this journey would make an interesting chapter. Mr. Higley soon opened a trading-post with the Indians and settlers. He did a good paying business. A former shipper and patron of his New York house, who resided in Iowa, approached him concerning returning to New York, wishing him to take charge of the sale of his produce in that city. Mr. Higley, realizing the deprivations to which his family were subjected and the lack of educational facilities for his children, decided to return, and early in the spring of 1880, he, with his wife and flock of five young children, retraced their long journey and found themselves again settled in the great commercial center of trade, their home being re-established in Brooklyn. Mr. Harry Dowie, a Scotchman, and a brisk practical man of experience, who had been in the employ of Charles Hig- ley & Co. for some years, made a meet person with whom Mr. Higley should again enter into the general commission business. The firm was styled Harry Dowie & Co. The improved facilities for forwarding stock from the West during all seasons of the year in refrigerator cars, which were 53 6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. constantly being extended to new territory, opened a wide field for obtaining supplies, and brought to New York market immense quantities of provisions. The house of which Mr. Higley was now practically the head, making a specialty of poultry and the cold storage and freezing process, increased to large proportions, exceeding any predic- tions that might have been made for such a trade. It was this firm which originated, to some extent, the method of preserva- tion of poultry and perishable goods by refrigerating in cold air chambers, and the house became among the large dealers in New York City, successfully controlling the market in its particular product. The personal popularity of both members of the firm, coupled with their tact in dealing with men with whom they were brought into business relations, together with their indefatigable industry and close attention to business, to which were added G. W. Higley's thorough and practical experience and extended acquaintance in the trade, were elements which contributed largely to their success. Mr. Dowie, after having been inti- mately associated with him in business relations for twenty years, asserts to the writer that " My partner is a salesman with- out an equal; possessing most remarkable traits for business, keen in perception, an unusually well balanced mind, ready to listen to all arguments, yet firm and decided in his convictions, cool and discriminating, and always cheerful, he is the most congenial man with whom to hold close relations, I candidly state, that I ever knew." Another business friend says : " He is spoken of everywhere by both shippers and buyers as a practical business man of marked ability, whose judgment is to be respected." In person Greenleaf W. Higley is six feet one inch in height, broad-shouldered, and has a weight of two hundred and nine pounds. He is light complexioned, with a prominent forehead and open brow, is of a highly sensitive nervous organization, unpolished except by natural instincts, singularly unassuming, and unaffectedly modest. For fame he has never cared. No man has fewer foes than he; everybody who really knows him is his friend : and no sentiment can more appropriately describe his most prominent characteristic than the immortal legend, "With MALICE toward none, with CHARITY for all." But the best test of a man's whole life is in his own home. The writer of these pages, DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY, \ST. 537 who was a member of his household at intervals covering a period of several years, does not hesitate to frankly declare that his noble bearing and thoroughly unselfish ways in his domestic circle, his gentle and naturally kind disposition, are marked phases of his character worthy of imitation and example. Mr. Higley has never been active in politics, though he has always been a decided Republican. His originality of character and his subtle intellect is given to forming and asking abstruse questions upon religious subjects. He has never identified him- self in membership with a church, though he has been a ready contributor to church finances when called upon; his retiring nature has kept his many generous deeds from public knowledge. He is a man who keeps pace with the current of the times, and possesses a large fund of general information. Of sociable habit when with personal friends, in his relaxation he likes his cigar, and is fond of story-telling, always having a fitting one at his tongue's end. Besides owning for some years a valuable city residence in Brooklyn, N. Y., he became the purchaser, from his brother, in 1 886, of the old homestead farm at Windsor, O. , where he was born. Here Mr. Higley built a country residence, which his family have occupied as a summer home a part of each year the last seven years. It was at this country place that he and his wife enter- tained the first general reunion of the Higley Family of this coun- try, a memorable event which socially proved of great personal satisfaction, the result of which was to awaken a wide-spread and lasting interest in the past history of the Higley Family. It was to Greenleaf W. Higley's inception that the Higley kith and kin are indebted for this volume, a work in which he has taken an unflagging interest, from no other motive except his desire that the record of his progenitors should be collected and preserved. He has encouraged the measure in every possible way, and, independently of the families themselves, meritoriously assumed almost the entire expense of collecting the material. And it was the outgrowth of G. W. Higley's large natural resource' of suggestion and origination, that in the year 1874 the New York Daily Market Report was established, Frank Barry, publisher, the journal giving a daily review of the produce market. There was at that time no special daily paper published which was devoted alone to this object. Higley's firm financially sus- tained the enterprise, beside sending out several hundred copies 53 8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. each day to its patrons. The little journal prospered and met with success, having now a wide circulation among the general commission houses of New York, which they distribute to their customers. In the spring of 1890 Mr. Higley's health suffered prostration consequent upon long over-taxation in business ; hemorrhage of the stomach set in, and his vital forces well-nigh collapsed under nervous prostration. It was decided by his physicians that if he regained his health, to relieve the physical and mental strain he must give up the active duties of commercial life and retire to his country home to recuperate. Remaining there for a period of more than two years, he apparently recovered, and in 1893 again entered into active business life in New York City. His wife, Helen Simpson, of sturdy, courageous Scotch stock, a woman independent in thought, intense in her emotions, and of great practical energy, was brought by her parents, with a Scotch colony that came to America and settled at Valcartier, twenty miles north of Quebec, Canada, when she was seven years of age. She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, August 18, 1844. She has always retained a warm attachment for the people of her nativity, and a thoroughly loyal feeling to the land of her birth and kindred there. Strong in character and person, she grapples difficulties with no slumbering or uncertain hand, throw- ing herself unflinchingly into any situation in which circum- stances are unfavorable, pressing her way through, and inspiring all about her with hope and courage. Full of humane impulses, she will go out of the way at any time to do a kindness ; her hospitality is free and hearty. She has a taste for reading, and keeps pace with the current events and popular books of the day. When she was at her best she sang with deep pathos the old Scotch ballads which she had been trained in and taught from childhood ; many has been the evening when with perfect accent and expression she has moved those around her fireside with "My Ain Countrie," together with " And there's a hand, my trusty frere, And gi'e's a hand o' thine ; And we'll talc' a richt guid-willie waught For auld langsyne. For auld langsyne, my dear," etc. In the province of her home Mrs. Higley is the efficient basis of the domestic system. She is a member of the Lewis Avenue DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 539 Congregational Church, Brooklyn. Her father, John Simpson, a typical Scotchman who retained to a wonderful degree to the end of his life the marked characteristics of his race, writes in his native Scotch dialect of her ancestry as follows : "VALCARTIER, Q., C., December 5, 1886. " DEAR MISTRESS JOHNSON : I see ye wish an ootline o' the hist'ry o* my fore- bears an' mysel', but I fear it wad tak' ower lang to tell, an' fill up too muckle room ; forbye, I doobt it wadna be very interestin' readin' ; hooever, I'll try to mak' the lang story short. " My gran'feyther wis William Simpson, a sma' farmer frae the pairish o' Beath, Fifeshire, an' my gran'mither's name was Marget Macgregor. They hed twasons an' ae dochter John, Davie, an' Elspeth, or ' Eppie,' as she wis aye ca'ed. John wis my feyther. He mairrit ane Helen Reid, a dochter o' George Reid, wha wrocht i' the agriculturist wey aboot Cooriss [Culross], near Clackmannan, an' eemi- gratit to Delhie, 1 mair than saxty-five years syne. This Cooriss, ye ken, used to be lang famed for its girdles forbakin' bannocks on, an' is situatit on an ootlyin' little bit o' Perthshire [recently added to Fifeshire by the Boundary Commissioners]. 44 Efter their mairrage John and Helen my feyther and mither took a fairm in Fife. They hed a lairge faimly Davie, Willie, Geordie, John (mysel'), Jamie, an' a wheen dochters, but a' the lassies deid in infancy excep' Marget, wha is still alive. Willie becam' a shoemaker, an' Jamie a baker. As for mysel' I followed agricultural pursoots till I wis fifteen years of age. Then I went to the ' lang toon ' o' Kirkcaldy (Fifeshire) to learn to be a millwright an' engineer. I ser'd an apprenticeship o' near seeven years at it. Whan my time wis oot I gae'd to Enbrugh [Edinburgh], an" efter workin' there a while I mairret Mary Younge, a dochter o' Jeems Younge, cairragemaker. He wis a hard-workin' airtisan an' belanged to Dollar, Clackmannanshire, but Mary hersel' wis born in theCanongate o' Enbrugh. My feyther-in-law hed a lairge faimly, but he's been deid for mony years noo. " Mary (my wife) an' me, efter oor mairrage lived for quite a number o' years in Enbrugh. There she brocht hame to me twa dochters an' ae son. The dochters are still alive, but the son " is not " he deid while young. Ane o' my dochters, Mary, mairret George Todd, potter, noo an agriculturist here at Valcartier ; an' my ither dochter, Helen, mairret Greenleaf W. Higley of New York. I left Enbrugh for this Province on loth April, 1851, an' on l8th July landed at Port- neuf, in the river St. Lawrence, aboot thirty-six miles abune Quebec. My lassie, Helen, will aye min' weel aboot it, for there, durin' a squall, she fell owre the wharf into the river and wis near droon'd. " Whan I wis young they werena sae very partick'lar as they are noo in Scotland aboot registerin' births et sitra, but a' weel-livin' folk there made a pint o' gettin* their little anes bapteesed, an' the meenisters were carefu' in keepin' an' preservin' reg'lar lists o' them ; sae there wad be nae deeficulty o' gettin,' at least, certeeficates o' the bapteesms o' my forebears, mysel, an' faimly. I wis born at Dothan fairm, pairish o' Auchterderran, Fifeshire, on 3lst July, 1815. My wife (wha wud be three years aulder than me) wis bapteesed in Nicolson Street United Secession Kirk, Enbrugh. Oor bairns were a' born in Pleasance Street, Enbrugh, and were bapteesed in Broughton Place United Secession Kirk, there. Mary wis born on 1 State of New York. 54 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY, 26th April, 1839 ; John, on 3ist December, 1841, an" Helen, on i8th August, 1844. John died on 26th June, 1843. " Yours truly, "JOHN SIMPSON." ' As has already been stated, Greenleaf W. Higley and Helen Simpson were married in Boston, Mass., January 21, 1867. They are the parents of the following children: John Greenleaf, born November 22, 1868; Ida Mary, born February 27, 1870; Harriet Salome, born March 23, 1872; Charles Windsor, born November 14, 1874; Helen Ruth, born August 31, 1876; Alice M., born February 3, 1878; died February 13, 1878; Joseph L., born November 23, 1882, died an infant; Elizabeth Alice, born April 9, 1886. JOHN GREENLEAF HIGLEY, the oldest child, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., November 22, 1868. He was an apt student in the Brooklyn public schools, giving his teachers per- fect satisfaction, graduating in 1885, after which he entered the Brooklyn High School, from which he was graduated June, 1887. He then began his experience in commercial life, entering his father's business house in New York City. From March, 1891 , to January, 1893, he was with a firm in New York City, largely engaged in the butter and egg business. Later on he connected himself with the house of H. Dowie & Co. Mr. Higley has from his boyhood been characterized by his excellent capa- bilities, his thorough methodical habits, together with stirring industry and faith- fulness to duty, traits which face his life toward a rising and successful career. On the 3d of December, 1889, he married Belle Hamilton, daughter of the late Elwood Hamilton and his wife, Angeline Lyons. She was born January 8, 1870, near Windsor Mills, Ashtabula County, O. Her primary education was received at the district school. While yet at a tender age she was left motherless. At fourteen she went to Ravenna, O., where she attended the public graded school and then attended the high school at Marlboro', O. After the death of her father she became a student at the New Lyme Institute, Ohio, a collegiate preparatory school. Here she remained two years. She is a member of the " Christian" Church. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Higley established a tasteful home in Brooklyn, N. Y. Their children : Alice Isabel Higley (adopted babe), born December 21, 1892 ; died August i, 1893. El-wood John, born March 8, 1894. IDA MARY HIGLEY, the second child of Greenleaf W. and Helen Simpson Higley, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., February 27, 1870. From childhood she was practical and earnest, and was early distinguished for her pure and quiet spirit and high moral purpose, as well as the " Martha-like" care that she took upon herself in the things of the home and over the younger members of the family. 1 John Simpson died June 2, 1888. His wife, Mary Younge Simpson, died April 16, 1888. They were interred side by side in the Presbyterian churchyard at Valcartier, St. Gabriel District, Quebec. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 541 Endowed with a philosophic and comprehensive mind, she was always inclined to intellectual pursuits, which led her during her schooldays not only to diligent and close application to her studies, keeping abreast with her class, but to snatch hours whenever she could for reading and the further cultivation of her mind. She has never been a person to pore over books without absorbing and thinking for herself, taking pleasure in thoroughly digesting what she reads. Miss Higley frequented Plymouth Church and listened with ardent interest to the eloquence of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, by whom she was baptized. She was admitted to membership at the age of seventeen. After she was graduated from Brooklyn Public School, No. 3, in 1886, and when she became mistress of her own time, she went through the full course of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, receiving a diploma. She has faith- fully pursued the study of music, in which she has made excellent progress, and possesses exceptional ability as a music teacher. In 1891 she spent ten weeks at the Normal School at Fremont, Neb., passing an examination in August of that year, at Stanton, in nineteen branches, obtaining a Normal diploma, also a first grade teacher's certificate. She afterward took up the second course of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. Eminently qualified for the work, her services now became valuable as a teacher, and the same year 1891 found herteaching in Curtis, Neb. On the close of the school year she accepted a favorable offer in the town of Medical Lake, Wash., where she took charge of the intermediate department. There she played the organ in the Congregational Church, and on Sunday afternoons for two years conducted the music in the State Insane Asylum. She singularly delights in her chosen work of instructing the young, and to this calling she is now (1895), devoting herself, filling most acceptably a place of rare usefulness at Mannington, W. Va. HARRIET SALOME HIGLEY, the third child of Greenleaf W. and Helen Simp- son Higley, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., March 23, 1872. She was a vigorous, high-spirited, generous-hearted child, and is now a diligent, practical, and active woman, well acquainted with, and efficient in, all of the various phases of the house- hold domestic interests, and capable in business qualifications. She was graduated from Brooklyn Public School, No. 3, in the year 1889. She is a member of the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church and of the Christian Endeavor Society. She married Floyd Traver Loucks of Brooklyn, N. Y., October 24, 1894, who was born in Potsdam, N. Y., September 28, 1872. They reside in Brooklyn. They have one child, Howard Simpson Loucks, born July 9, 1895. CHARLES WINDSOR HIGLEY, the fourth child of Greenleaf W. and Helen Simpson Higley, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., November 14, 1874. He attended the public schools in that city and was graduated June, 1889. He is engaged in business with a leading commission house of New York City, and resides with his parents in Brooklyn. HELEN RUTH HIGLEY, the fifth child of Greenleaf W. and Helen Simpson Hig- ley, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., August 31, 1876, and was graduated from Public School, No. 43, New York City, June 20, 1893. She is a diligent and dutiful daughter, exercising at all times within the sphere of her home generous and amiable qualities of heart worthy of remark. Possessing a natural disposition for books and their contents she turns her spare hours to profit by a constant course of read- 542 THE NIG LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ing. To this practice may be attributed her familiar acquaintance with the works of many authors. She is a member of Lewis Avenue Congregational Church, and resides with her parents. ELIZABETH ALICE HIGLEY, called " Bessie," the youngest surviving child of Greenleaf W. and Helen Simpson Higley, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 9, 1886, and is now attending Public School No. 35, Brooklyn. Continued from page 523. LUCY EXNIE HIGLEY, the eleventh child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, O., September 10, 1848. She was a brunette, with charming brown eyes. For some years she was in a delicate state of physical health, which resulted in the weakening of her mental faculties. She died, unmarried, May 26, 1872, and was interred in the cemetery at Windsor Corners. HARRIET HIGLEY, the twelfth and youngest child of Hume and Betsey (Norris) Higley, was born at Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., September 2, 1851. She has spent, with little exception, her entire life upon the farm where she was born and reared. During the last years of the lives of both of her parents, through a protracted period when they were bowed with ill health, she was dutifully at hand devoting herself incessantly in administer- ing to their comfort, and faithfully .managing the housewife affairs. In substantial acknowledgment of this faithful attention to their parents, her brothers voluntarily released their right and inheritance to the old homestead where most of them had been born, together with sixteen acres of land, presenting her with a clear title-deed to the property. On this property she now resides with her husband. November 10, 1880, she married Andrew M. Cruse, who was born in Svaneke, Island of Bornholm, Denmark, December 3, 1851. He was the son of Anders and Margrethe Kruse. 1 His father died in 1858, leaving his widow with three children, the eldest being Andrew, who was but just turned of seven years of age. The boy attended the national schools in his native town until he was fourteen, and was confirmed, according to the custom of the country, in the Lutheran Church. The mother seeming naturally to lean much upon this son, 1 In the Danish language the name is spelled with a " K " Kruse. DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL HIGLEY,\ST. 543 Andrew grew to manhood in intimacy with her, and under a sense of the responsibility of the home and its household. Attracted, when about the age of twenty, by the golden oppor- tunities and advantages he heard of in America for business prosperity, he sailed for New York from Copenhagen, August, 1870, and landed on the zoth of September the same year. In less than twelve months after his arrival in the United States he went to Windsor, O., where he made an engagement in connec- tion with a quarry of fine building stone, in which business he has continued since. He is a man of substantial character and excel- lent business abilities, well respected in the community. Their children: Henry A., born August 14, 1881, died October 2, 1881; Alma Pearl, born April 21, 1883; Lawrence A., born , 1889. CHAPTER LXIV. ALLEN HIGLEY. Family of the Hon. Jonathan Higley ^ $d served in the engagement at Plattsburg, N. Y. He married, about 1816, Sally Esterbrook, in Jay, Essex County, N. Y. They emigrated to Fredonia, Licking County, O., in the year 1840, where they brought up their family. Joel Higley was a tanner by trade. He died at Fredonia, O., in 1848, aged fifty-six. The date of the decease of his wife has not been ascertained. Their children were : Elvira^ Eton, Edwin, Artnini, Darwin, Julian, Oswin, Perley. ELVIRA, the eldest child, born January 7, 1817, married J. F. Rich of Potsdam, N. Y. They reside in Barnum, Minn. Mr. Rich is a farmer. ELON, the second child, married Mary Tipton. He is a farmer. EDWIN, the third child, married Catherine Lown. He was a shoemaker by trade. He died 1891. They resided in Iowa. ARMINI, the fourth child, died at the age of sixteen. DARWIN, the fifth child, married, first, Susan Reed, and, second, Sheldon. He was a farmer. He died at Highgate, Vt., February 14, 1893. JULIAN, the sixth child of Joel and Sally Esterbrook Higley, was born April 27, 1828, in the Adirondack region of eastern New York. In 1851 he emigrated to Fredonia, Licking County, O., joining his father who had gone thither about ten years previous. Early in the year 1853, at Fredonia, he married Selvina M. Cur- rier, daughter of Samuel and Mehitable (Stevens) Currier. She was born May 9, 1826. After removing from Fredonia, O., to Springfield, 111., Julian Higley re- turned with his family, in March, 1861, to his native State, New York, and for two years lived near Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, where he engaged in the manu- facture of pearlash and saleratus. In 1863 they removed to Plain City, Union County, O., and from there, in October, 1864, to Monroe, Wis. March, 1872, found him again settled near Potsdam, N. Y., where he has since resided near Crary's Mills, following agricultural pursuits. Both Mr. and Mrs. Higley with all of their family are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Their children will always recall the fact of their parents having ever been careful to instil high moral principles into their minds, teaching them that " the main riches after which to seek, is the priceless wealth that enriches and purifies the heart." As a citizen Julian Higley stands with those who hold the respect of the commu- nity, and who "though unknown to fame, nevertheless possess the sturdy virtues that go to make up the completest character." Their children : Eva M., Lellie C., George 0., Frank J., Charles A. 628 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. EVA M. the eldest child of Julian and Selvina M. Higley, was born in Potsdam, St. Law- rence County, N. Y., November 8, 1853. She married, December 31, 1878, at Potsdam, Leslie P. Severance, who is a successful farmer. They reside at Crary's Mills, N. Y. They have three children, viz. : Herbert J., Frederick H., and Wilmer F. LELLIE C., the second child of Julian and Selvina M. Higley, born at Springfield, 111., February 25. '855, died April 5, 1856. GEORGE O., the third child of Julian and Selvina M. Higley, was born at Jersey, O., August 19, 1858. He applied himself to his studies, following which he was elected principal of the Gibbon High School at Gibbon, Neb., resigning his position to take a college course at Ann Arbor, Mich. He was graduated from the University Class, '91, and is .at present professor of chemistry in Ann Arbor University. He married, December 28, 1880, Alice L. Wood of Potsdam, N. Y. They reside at Ann Arbor, Mich. They are the parents of three children, viz. : Irvin J., Frank C., who died in childhood, and Bertha L. FRANK J., the fourth child of Julian and Selvina M. Higley, was born at Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., June 16, 1861. He married, August 25, 1886, Hattie E. Bailey of Pots- dam. They have no children. Mr. Higley is the general agent of, as well as a director in, the Na- tional Deposit Safe Company of the United States of America, and has traveled extensively in the business interests of his firm since the year 1881. He is enterprising and is pursuing a successful career, sustaining an excellent reputation in business circles. Cordial and genial in all of his associations with men, he is popular because of his good qualities. His residence is Canton, N. Y. CHARLES A., the fifth child of Julian and SeWina M. Higley, was born at Monroe, Green County, Wis., July 29, 1865. After graduation he engaged in teaching in the public schools of Ilion, Herkimer County, N. Y. He married Ethel Wendell. They had one child, who is not living. OSWIN, the seventh child of Joel and Sally (Esterbrook) Higley, was born about the year 1830 in Potsdam, N. Y. He was a manufacturer of wagons. He married Mary Holler. Resides in Iowa. PERI.EY, the eighth child of Joel and Sally (Esterbook) Higley, was born . He married N. W. Parker. The date of his death not given. Continued from page 627. JERRY HIGLEY, the second child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born March 3, 1794. He married Hannah Austin, September 4, 1819. She was born March 22, 1799. They resided at Richmond, Chittendon County, Vt. Jerry Hig- ley lived to the ripe age of eighty-one, and died April 14, 1875. His wife, Hannah Higley, died August 31, 1888. They had eight children, viz. : Austin, born May 28, 1820, who died in childhood ; Nathan ; Lucy ; Hannah M., born June 18, 1826, died young; Elvira; Caroline, born June 21, 1832 ; Austin, 2d, born July 24, 1834, died in childhood ; Carlos. NATHAN HIGLEY, the eldest surviving child of Jerry and Hannah Austin Higley, was born at Richmond, Chittendon County, Vt., February 23, 1822, where he has always resided, following agricultural pursuits. He married Ellen Obrien, October 4, 1852. They were the parents of one child Albert, who was born March 22, 1855. He died November 28, 1874. LUCY, the second surviving child of Jerry and Hannah Austin Higley, born April 19, 1824, married Cyrus Allen. ELVIRA, the fourth surviving child, born June 29, 1830, remained unmarried. CARLOS, the eighth and youngest child of Jerry and Hannah Austin Higley, was born April 21, 1838. He married, December 13, 1857, Betsey Jane Sherman. Carlos Higley died December 19, 1882. They had children as follows : Fred ; Frank, born September 13, 1862 ; Jerry, born February 16, 1864 ; Carrie, born November 7, 1866; Lida, born October 10, 1868 ; Royace, born October 26, 1870 ; Lulu, born July 4, 1872 ; Varney, born January 13, 1874. FRED HIGLKY, the oldest child of Carlos and Betsey Jane Sherman Higley, born January 6, 1859, married, November 8, 1876, Nancy Wright. They have three children. DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 629 Continued from page 627. ESTHER HIGLEY, the third child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born at Richmond, Vt., June 29, 1796. On the I7th of November, 1817, she married Benjamin Hall Estes, who was born January i, 1796. They resided the greater part of their married life in Chittenden County, Vermont. Benjamin Hall Estes was a soldier of the War of 1812, belonging to Captain Beman's Company, nth Regiment, United States New York Infantry, and fought in the conflict at Plattsburg in 1814. Mrs. Esther Higley Estes was possessed of good intellectual faculties and an active mind. She was a woman observant, taking a lively interest in the passing affairs of life, both public and private, and during the protracted period of her lengthened career, which reached to upward of ninety- four years, she was the witness of many varied and important events of which she took note. Possessing a remarkable memory for historical dates, she could give them to her latest day with the utmost readiness and precision. After she had passed her four score and ten, her recollections of prominent people and happen- ings, covering a period of more than seventy-five years, were both striking and valuable. Her eyesight at ninety-two was clear, and she enjoyed rare good health. She never lost pleasure in reading, and at this advanced age she would write an occasional letter. It was her habit to rise early in the morning and spend some time in reading her Bible before the breakfast was served. The later years of her life were spent in the home of her son, Elihu B. Estes, in Brooklyn, N. Y. She died January, 1892, aged ninety-four years and six months. Benjamin Hall Estes, her husband, died December n, 1866. He was a pensioner of the War of 1812. Their children : Koxie, Annin Elizabeth, Emeline, Benjamin Whiteman, Ranson Henry, Elihu B., Norman F., Esther Louisa, Cyrus H. ROXIE, the eldest, born November 9, 1818, married Lorenzo Dow Winter. ANNIS, E., born March 16, 1820, died an infant, May n, 1820. EMELINE, born February 13, 1822, was burned to death by accident, March 31, 1826. BENJAMIN W., born November 8, 1823, married Hester Jane Johnson ; he died March 10, 1883. RAN- SON HENRY, born February 28, 1826, married Huldah M. Prindle ; died, leaving no children. ELIHU B., the sixth child, born January 23. 1828, married, first, Hannah Smith Meeker, and second, Louisa Hulbert. He conducts a successful business at 45 John Street, New York City, and resides in Brooklyn, N. Y. He has a family, names not given. NORMAN F., the seventh child, born December 31, 1833 ; married Lurena Dickin- son. ESTHER LOUISA, born December 23, 1831 ; married Charles D. Frampton. CYRUS H., born May 13, 1836, married Jennette E. Carl ; he died December 28, 1886. ANSON HIGLEY, the fourth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born April 18, 1799. He died at Williston, Vt., in the year 1813. ANNIS HIGLEY, the fifth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born January 20, 1802. She married the Rev. Cyrus W. Hodges, a Baptist minister, October, 1824, in Chester, N. Y. She died January, 1889, aged eighty-eight. The date of his death not given. ALMON HIGLEY, the sixth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born April 19, 1804. He married in 1825, in Chester, N. Y., Nellie Robinson. He died in Fairfax, Vt., 1830. 41 630 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. CHARLES D. HIGLEY, the seventh child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born in Williston, Vt., April n, 1806. He married, first, in Chester, N. Y., Eudocia Doud, July i, 1826. His wife died May 12, 1832, leaving two children. His second marriage was to Eliza E. Denio. She died August, 1862, leaving six children. His third wife was Susan Reynolds Brundage. There were no children of this marriage. For many years Charles D. Higley resided at Pottersville, N. Y. He was hale, hearty, and cheerful in old age, with his powers of mind and body well preserved, after a life of varied activities. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church sixty-nine years. He died September 3, 1892, and was interred with Masonic orders. Children by first wife : Charles Wesley, Rosaline E. By second wife : Emily E., Roxy Adelia, Julius, Albert E., Esther Maria, Lorenzo S. H. C. WESLEY HIGLEY, the first child of Charles D. and Eudocia Doud Higley, was born December 17, 1828. He married, first, February 18, 1849, Harriet V. Waller of Hartford, N. Y. She had four children, George H., who died in infancy, Georgianna, Rosaline E., and Charles A. She died January 26, 1862. The same week the three remaining children all died of diphtheria. Mr. Higley married, second, Calesta B. Avery. She was born June 17, 1840. Their children are as follows : Lucy P., born April 15, 1863, who married James McDowell March n, 1883, has two children, Rosaline and James W. William Henry, born February 7, 1876, died February 13, 1878. Eudocia J., born October 8, 1878. James R. t born August 23, 1880. The family resides in Pottersville, N. Y. ROSALINE E., the second child of Charles D. and Eudocia (Doud) Higley, born April 25, 1831, died May 21, 1843, at Hartford, N. Y., aged twelve years. EMILY E., daughter of Charles D. and his second wife, Eliza (Denio) Higley, was born March 3, 1834. She married Sidney R. Brown, March 16, 1854. She died, January 17, 1855. ROXY ADELIA, daughter of Charles D. and Eliza (Denio) Higley, was born Feb- ruary 18, 1836. She married Otis J. Martin. They reside in Skyborough, Wash- ington County, N. Y. Their children : Charles, Levi, Emma, and William. Captain JULIUS HENRY HIGLEY, son of Charles D. and Eliza (Denio) Higley, was born March 19, 1838 ; married in 1866, Lydia Duell, in Granville, N. Y. His occupation is that of farmer and dairyman. True to his country, he enlisted in the Civil War, August 12, 1862, Company E, I23d Regiment New York Volunteer In- fantry. He was promoted to first lieutenant, July, 1864. His gallantry gained him the rank of captain, June, 1865. He was transferred to the logth Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, and served in Texas from June I, 1865, to March, 1866, and was honorably mustered out of service with his regiment at Louisville, Ky., March 15, 1866. He now resides in Hartford, Washington County, N. Y. ALBERT E., the second son of Charles D. and Eliza (Denio) Higley, was born August 8, 1841. He enlisted for two years in the Civil War, on the first call for soldiers, April, 1861, Company H, 22d Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry. Not yet having reached his twentieth birthday, his health suffered from the hardships and exposure, and he was discharged for physical disability just as his term of service closed May, 1863. The following November he re-enlisted " for the war " in the i6th Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery. He fought in the second battle of Bull Run, the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, and Chan- cellorsville, and continued in active, faithful service till just as the war closed, when he was seized with typhoid fever at Fort Fisher, and died in a military hospital at Wilmington, N. C., April 29, 1865. He was not married. ESTHER MARIA, daughter of Charles D. Higley and his wife Eliza Denio, was born December 14, 1846. She married, September 9, 1876, Marcus U. Mitchel. They reside in Pottersville, N. Y. Their two children are Thomas and Emily. LORENZO S. HERBERT, the youngest son of Charles D. Higley and his second DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 631 wife, Eliza Denio, was born March 14, 1848. He enlisted in the Civil War when a mere stripling as to age, not having reached his sixteenth year, but being a strong, tough, overgrown boy, and well proportioned, he easily passed for eighteen. He joined Company G, l6th Regiment New York Heavy Artillery. The regiment of which his company became a part engaged in numerous conflicts, among which were Dutch Gap Canal, Deep Bottom, Signal Hill, and other battles. Though he fought till the close of the war, and was honorably mustered out of service with his regiment, August 21, 1865, his youthful constitution had not been equal to the endurance of the fatigue and exposure his health was shattered by disease that he contracted, which doomed him beyond succor. He never recov- ered. After many years of suffering he died May 15, 1888, and was buried with Masonic honors in the cemetery on Landon Hill, near Pottersville, N. Y. He received a United States pension of twenty-four dollars a month. He married Harriet M. Jenks. Their children : Lilly, Sara, Eunice, Hannah, Rosaline, Herbert, and Emory. Continued from page 627. HARRY, the eighth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born July u > 1811. He died in Williston, Vt., 1813, aged two years. RANSOM, the ninth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born April 13, 18 . He was accidently killed at Chester, N. Y., by a falling tree. CLARISSA, the tenth child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born at Williston, Vt., April 10, 1814. She married in Keesville, N. Y., April 19, 1832, Whitehead K. Morris. He was born December 4, 1804. He died . She is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Morris resides at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Their children: Henry D., Mary J., John A., Alfred W., Charles W., Watson Dudley. HENRY DECATUR, the eldest son, born in Peru, Clinton County, N. Y., August 2 3. 1833, married Sophia Armstrong, October 25, 1861. She died 1863. His second wife was Annie Lawrence of Westday, N. Y. She died March 27, 1878. He married, third, Grace Beatty of Salem, N. Y. He had one child a daughter. Mr. Morris is a local Methodist preacher. MARY J., the second child, was born Junes, 1835, and married W. J. Morehouse, May 13, 1858. JOHN ALMON, the third child of Whitehead K. and Clarissa Higley Morris, was born September 7, 1836, at Peru, N. Y. He married, May 10, 1858, Agnes P. Winter, at Keesville, N. Y. John A. Morris died September 27, 1893, aged fifty- six. They have six children all sons. ALFRED WALLACE, the fourth child of Whitehead K. and Clarissa Higley Mor- ris, was born in Newark, N. J., December 3, 1840 ; married May 26, 1875, Lee. He resides at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Of this marriage there was one child born, June 16, 1878, named Robert L. Morris. CHARLES WESLEY, the fifth child of Whitehead K. and Clarissa Higley Morris, was born in Newark, N. J., November 12, 1843. He enlisted as a volunteer on the 4th of July, 1862, in the late Civil War, joining the I23d New York State troops of Washington County. He did valiant service in a number of battles and numerous skirmishes, fighting among other battles at Chancellorsville, the bat- tle of Peach Tree Creek, under General Joseph Hooker at Lookout Mountain, at the siege of Atlanta, Gettysburg, and finally marching with General Sherman to the sea. At Goldsboro, N. C., he found himself without hat or shoes. He nobly continued in the ranks till the last bugle sounded at the close of the conflict, 1865, when he returned with an honorable discharge to the home of his parents. Mr. Morris is a printer, and now resides at Pittsfield, Mass. His wife, Kate M. Prentiss, died December 23, 1874. He married, second, Fannie W. Bradford of Dalton, Mass. She died March 21, 1878. He has one child. 632 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. WATSON D., the sixth child of Whitehead K: and Clarissa Higley Morris, was born at Peru, N. Y., August 27, 1848. He married, May 16, 1872, Adeline Budlong of Utica, N. Y., in which city they now reside. Continued front page 627. ERASTUS D., the eleventh and youngest child of Dudley and Esther (Davis) Higley, was born in Williston, Vt., March 14, 1816. He married at Westport, N. Y., and went to Poultney, Vt., to reside ; but being of a restless temperament he made several changes in residence, finally settling at Galesburg, 111. It was here that his wife, and the children born to them, all died. At the breaking out of the Civil War he was living in Galesburg, and was a practicing physician, in prosperous circumstances. He received from Governor Yates authority to raise a company of volunteers for the war. When the regiment was mustered in Dr. Higley accepted a commission as assistant surgeon, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He was four years and four months in the service. He was taken prisoner by General Sterling Price at Lexington, Mo., and now has a carefully preserved parole signed by General Price, which permitted him to go home. He was actively engaged in practicing medicine until a few years ago, and was well preserved physically and mentally, to an age far beyond his three score years and ten. He resided at Troy, Pa. DUDLEY HIGLEY, 1ST. Continued from chapter xxiv. p. 142. Dudley, ist, Nathaniel, Captain John Higley. DUDLEY HIGLEY, ist, son of Nathaniel and Abigail Filer Higley, was born about 1730. He married Eunice in the latter part of the year 1754. Early in the year 1756 the names of Dudley and his wife appear on the old First Congregational Church records of North Granby, Conn., as having "owned ye covenant" and been received into full membership. Some years later Dudley Higley passed through a protracted period of physical disability. It cannot be explained why the selectmen of the town, in the month of December, 1768, took action in behalf of his personal needs, appointing an investigat- ing committee, unless it was an act of neighborly kindness and attention. He was then the owner of a farm, and possessed as full a supply of household goods as was customary for household furnishings in those times. Besides this, his parents and brothers lived in the vicinity of his home, all of whom were well-to-do; DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 633 however, the good town fathers, at one of their regularly held meetings, enacted the following : "Voted, that Dudley Higley being reduced by long lameness and sickness, his situation be investigated and he be assisted if the Committee find it necessary to give relief and judgement is wanted ; not to exceed Ten pounds." l There is no report of the committee upon record. He died in 1771. His "Relict," Eunice Higley, was ap- pointed " Administratrix " to his estate, August 5, 1771. The inventory ' of the estate included a full list of household effects, amounting to forty-three pounds. At the court of probate held at Simsbury November n, 1779, his administratrix exhibited some additions to the inventory "as follows A Quarter of a part of a Grist Mill and 14 acres of land lying on Salmon Brook." His heirs had moneys paid to them April 2, 1776, by Daniel Higley, the administrator to Nathaniel Higley's estate. Dudley Higley's widow, Eunice Higley, afterward married Nathaniel Messenger. Dudley and Eunice Higley were the parents of two children, viz. : Lois and Hannah. Lois, the eldest, born January 28, 1756, married, July 16, 1772, David Gris- wold. They were members of the old First Church at Turkey Hills. Their children were : David, born March 22, 1773; Lois, born May 4, 1775: Ira, born May 31, 1777; Olive, born January 3, 1780; Huldah, born January 8, 1782; Pliny, born Decem- ber 27, 1785; Chauncey, born February II, 1797. HANNAH, the second daughter, born April 27, 1758, married in 1780 or 1781, David Messenger. They resided at Turkey Hills, now Granby. \ Continued from page 142. SAMUEL HIGLEY, son of Nathaniel and Abigail Higley, was born about the year 1734. He enlisted in Captain Nathaniel Holcombe's company, to- gether with his cousin John Higley, April 15, 1758, in the French and Indian War, serving with the Connecticut State troops till the i4th of the following November. In the settle- ment of his father's estate in 1776 he is mentioned as "one of the heirs." He was then a man of fifty-two years. This is all that is known of him, there being no trace of him upon record after the War of the Revolution. If he was ever married no descendants are living. Book i. " Simibury Probate Record*," p. 107. 634 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. The record of the children of Nathaniel and Abigail Higley, after the year 1730, is broken and fragmentary. There is no question in the mind of the writer but that Nehemiah Higley and Noah Higley, who were soldiers in the War of the Revolution, were the sons of Nathaniel and Abigail Filer Higley, and were probably born in the seventeen-thirties, though there is no au- thentic evidence to establish' the fact. They enlisted from Con- necticut towns in which some of their Higley cousins had taken up their residence, and where they may have resided. NEHEMIAH HIGLEY joined the 4th Continental Regiment, Colonel Hinman, ''a regiment which was raised on the first call for troops in April and May, 1775." One company was made up at Salisbury, Conn. "Upon the surprise of Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775, Governor Trumbull ordered this Regiment to march as soon as possible to secure that post and Crown Point against recapture. The regiment reached Ticonderoga in June. It took part in the operations of the North Department until the expiration of its term of service, December, 1775,"' at which time Nehemiah Higley received his discharge. This is the last that is known of him. NOAH HIGLEY enlisted July 10, 1780, in the 7th Connecticut Regiment, State troops, Colonel Heman Swift. " This regiment served during the remainder of the summer with the main army on the Hudson, and wintered that year at ' Camp Connecticut Village,' near the Robinson House, upper Hudson." ' Noah Higley received his discharge December 7, 1780. There is no further account of him. 1 " Record of Connecticut Men in War of the Revolution." CHAPTER LXIX. Continued from chapter xxiv. p. 142. LIEUTENANT DANIEL HIGLEY. Daniel, Nathaniel, Captain John Higley. It is a noble faculty of our nature which enables us to connect our thoughts, our sympathies, and our happiness with what is distant in place or time ; and looking before and after, to hold communion at once with our ancestors and our posterity. There is also a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors, which elevates the character and improves the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind, than a consciousness of an alliance with excellence which is departed. DANIEL WEBSTER. DANIEL HIGLEY, son of Nathaniel and Abigail Filer Higley, was born at Simsbury, Hartford County, Conn., about the year 1738. Very little is known of his boyhood life, except that he was brought up in the strictly religious atmosphere of his father's home. An old history, printed in 1827, states that he was a soldier in the French and Indian War of 1755-56, which is no doubt cor- rect, for he belonged to loyal and valorous military stock. Dur- ing this war a company was raised in his town Simsbury " for the protection of Crown Point " and for other service on Lake Champlain. It is very probable that Daniel Higley joined this company, and it is also probable that it was his observations of the country while on this war expedition that indirectly turned his eyes in later years toward Vermont for his future home. His name is honorably mentioned upon record, after he came to the years of manhood, in connection with town and church affairs of Simsbury. About the year 1767 he married Ruth . After much research it has been impossible to discover her family name. The newly married pair soon after united with the church of the Northwest Society of Simsbury (now the First Congregational Church of North Granby), "owning ye Covenant " on May i, 1767. On the gth of April, 1770, he was admitted as freeman. His father's decease taking place in 1773, Daniel was appointed his executor, the business concerning the estate covering a period of some years. He rendered an account to the Court of Probate 635 636 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. of the receipts and debts paid, April 2, 1776. The final distribu- tion of the property was made August 13, 1778.' This court "set out" lands on that date to Daniel and to his sister Mary. On the Salmon Brook Parish Rate Book for 1774 he and his sister Mary were placed on the list as paying rates on 60 i6s. His business qualifications were undoubtedly good. He is found appointed administrator of the estate of Joel Loomis, April 2, 1776, and gave bond "in the sum of ^"200." On the 8th of July, 1775, he enlisted in the War of the Revolu- tion, joining the 8th Continental Regiment, 4th Company, Captain Elihu Humphrey. This company was made up at Sims- bury and consisted of seventy-five men. Higley went out as sergeant. The troops marched from Simsbury for camp on a Sunday. "On that day the soldiers were assembled in the Meeting House, where a sermon peculiarly adapted to the times was preached to them by the Rev. Mr. Pitkin of Farmington, Conn." "Their Regiment was stationed on the Sound until Sept. i4th, when on requisition from Washington it was ordered to the Boston camps and took part at Roxbury, where it remained until the expiration of term of service in December '75." a The following year 1776 Sergeant Higley re-enlisted in Lieutenant Joel Higley's company, i8th Regiment of Connecticut Militia. These troops joined the army in New York on the 22d of August. Sergeant Higley was promoted to lieutenant and remained with his regiment till his time expired, the 25th of September, 1776. He possessed decided musical ability, and his old comrades used to recall, long since the day of persons now living, the cheer and delight he gave while seated around the camp-fires with his old-time war-songs. Under this inspiration they took heart when despondent, and when wavering screwed up their courage for renewed combat. From his great-grandson we have the following interesting nar- rative concerning the life of Lieutenant Daniel Higley : By George T. Higley, Esq., of Ashland, Mass. Lieutenant Daniel Higley had now completed his honorable service in the Revolutionary War, and was striking out in search of a new home for himself and family. 1 " Simsbury Probate Records," book i. p. 500. * " Records of Connecticut Men in War of the Revolution." DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 637 It was about the year 1781 when, joining in a somewhat general tide of movement northward, he went from Simsbury, Conn., to Marlborough, in the southern part of Vermont, a town adjoining Brattleborough upon the west. According to the best information obtainable he was then about forty-three years of age. His rough experiences during the Revolutionary War, and the full strength of mind and body belonging to middle life, fitted him well for the work of a pioneer settler. Marlborough was at that time a wilderness. In 1761 a few individuals, wholly non-resident, had obtained a town charter from the Province of New Hampshire, and four years later the first two families moved into town. Settlers afterward began to come in slowly from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Later a dispute arose between the States of New York and New Hamp- shire as to which had the better claim upon the territory lying west of the Connecticut River and east of Lake Champlain. The settlers were involved in this quarrel, but for the most part opposed the claims of both States, and sought to set up a State government for themselves. Congress was finally prevailed upon to set off the new State of Vermont, and thus was ended a bitter controversy, in which some lives of the settlers had been lost. Before Lieutenant Higley came to Marlborough the town had been organized, meetings held, and officers chosen. A small beginning had been made in providing roads through the forests. In 1776 a Congregational church had been established, and it. was about this time the first meeting-house was built, which was occupied for town-meetings as well as for Sunday services. The year before the arrival of the subject of this sketch there had been new raids from the French and Indians, so that the whole country had been stirred up. The inhabitants of Marlborough voted in town-meeting that " every able-bodied man should arm and hold himself in readiness to defend the settlement." Though in this section no Indian massacres subsequently occurred, and none of the inhabitants were afterward carried away captive by the Indians, yet there was ever present an apprehension of danger from that source. A small sprinkling of the population were Tories, who united with the Indians in causing annoyance. The great majority, however, of the early settlers were patriots. At an early meeting of the town a very strong resolution was passed and put upon record, condemning the course of the British par- liament toward the colonies, and an equally strong resolution is 638 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. recorded in favor of the proposed new State of Vermont action which was locally regarded as an exhibition of the highest patriotism. After the questions of the war had been settled, and the new State established, so that the town felt sure of its stand- ing, the patriotic citizens did not fail to pay off the score against their enemies by expelling them from the town. The records show the issuing of not a few writs by the selectmen, by which the constable was commanded to convey such and such persons, with their families, beyond the limits of the town, and the returns of the officers show that they did not fail to do their duty, though compelled at times to call in aid to overcome a not unnatural resistance. There had been some confusion caused at first by the issuing of different town charters from the contesting State jurisdictions to different individuals, purporting to grant land titles. But the early inhabitants appear to have been reasonable men, and to have compromised, dividing the townships among themselves equitably. The town, which was six miles square, was divided into sixty equal parts, or, as they were called, " rights," and these were properly assigned. Each right con- tained 384 acres. It was "in the year 1781 that we first come upon doings in which Lieutenant Higley was directly interested. On the 4th day of September in this year he took the freeman's oath in Marlborough, which appears to have been an oath of allegiance to the State of Vermont. Later in the same year, on the a6th day of November, he received a deed of land, described as right No. 49. This deed was from Seth Smith, Esq., of Brattleborough, and purports to be given in consideration of the sum of nine shillings " aerc to me in hand paid," a low price surely for 384 acres of good land, though it be covered with wood; it being a rule in those days that three acres of cleared land were worth fifty in wood. It may be that the small consideration expressed does not truly rep- resent the price paid, or that in recording the deed an error may have crept in. The deed also recites that Daniel Higley, the grantee, is "of Simsbury in ye county of Hartford and State of Connecticut," thus identifying his lineage beyond all possibility of dispute. The land granted by this deed lay in the northwesterly part of the town, from four to five miles distant from Marlborough vil- lage, and was decidedly elevated in its physical character, being DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 639 in the nature of a broad range of hills with surfaces gently slop- ing to the east and west, and affording a convenient location for a series of farms. This range became afterward known to this day as the " Higley Hill." A part of the land obtained under this purchase the grantee retained, and was still in possession of Warren Higley, a grandson, who resided at the homestead, and was able at the age seventy-seven to attend personally to the con- ducting of the farm. 1 One half of right No. 49 was sold the next year, 1782, by the grantee to one Dibble, of Simsbury, evidently an old neighbor, for the sum of sixty pounds, which, considering the price paid, was certainly a good trade. The grantee in this deed is still described as of Simsbury. The lands of the town of Marlborough at its settlement were covered with a dense growth of timber ; upon the highlands, maple, beach, and birch, with a sprinkling of ash; on other lands in addition to these, spruce and hemlock. The hills, though high, were broadened often into plains upon their summits, and covered with a rich soil. There were some valley lands, through vrhich flowed clear streams of water abounding in trout, while numerous small brooks, also abounding in the same fish, came down from the hills. It was the custom to build the first log houses on the hills, and those lands were considered more health- ful and were quickly cleared. This early custom of building ex- plains why it is that the roads in Marlborough go over the hill tops, when they might as well have gone along the valleys at easy grades. The dwellings were located first, and the roads crooked about among and over the hills to reach them. A spot upon the crown of the hill was chosen by our pioneer for the site of his house. A little way to the north the land was a few feet higher, and at some distance to the south there was an abrupt elevation, as of a hill upon hills, but to the east and west, if only the trees could have been cut away, there were fine clear views: in the former direc- tion far away over the New Hampshire hills, in the latter, unin- terruptedly, to the Green Mountain range. In later years, when the land had been opened up, the Haystack peak of this range, fully in view at a distance of ten miles, served as an indicator of weather to guide in farming operations, according as its summit stood in clear, fair-weather outline, or was veiled in its cap of clouds, foreboding rain. A log house, following no doubt the simple architecture of the day, was erected upon this spot, the 1 Warren Higley of Vermont died May 22, 1892. 640 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. cellar as originally built remaining to the present time and being still in use. This solid, warm structure, of dimensions sufficient, according to the ideas of the time, to contain a large family, served the purpose of a dwelling house till 1823, when it was taken down by Judah Higley, a son of Daniel, and replaced by the present convenient house and additions. Daniel Higley must have built his house before June 13, 1786, as there is a reference to it in the record of the town meeting held upon that day. It was then voted " that the road from Wilmington line by Lieutenant Higley's new house be excepted." If his house was built in 1784 or 1785, he probably had the help of his oldest son Daniel, who would have been sixteen or seven- teen years of age. His next son, Jourdan, was only twelve years old, and would have been of but little assistance in the heavy work of clearing the land and building a log house. The help of the daughters, Orpha and Ruth, who were older than Jourdan, may have counted for something, however, and the same may perhaps be said of their mother, about whose physical powers, however, tradition is silent. It is known that there were pioneer women, young and old, who could swing the ax with effect, but of Ruth Higley and her daughters there is no one living who can give the coveted information. This much at least is more than probable, having few of the cares entailed by modern housekeeping, the women, besides weaving cloth and making garments for family use, would find time, if they chose so to employ themselves, to assist in car- ing for the horses, cattle, and sheep raised by the settler, as well as to help in tilling his fields and gathering his crops of hay and corn. Some shelter for cattle must have been provided in the beginning, as the winters were cold and the fall of snow con- siderable. It is believed that during the life of the first settler a barn was built of sawed lumber, and that the original structure forms a part of the convenient barn now standing on the place. The present owner of the property remembers when the old barn was altered and enlarged, and that he, as a boy, enjoyed the fun (and danger) of running about upon the frame when the car- penters were at work. It is fair to conclude, in clearing the woodland, Daniel must have literally hewed out his way alone, with only the aid of the members of his family. It is also clear that he must have gotten ahead slowly in subduing the great forest. The maples and beeches which he was compelled to DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 641 wage war upon were great trees, and many must have been the heavy blows of the ax required to lay them low. Grand old trees of the forest, as in another day and place they would be called, to him they were the enemy to be extirpated with steel and fire. But the work of subduing was slow, and his grand- children remember the time when the woods were still near the house, and how they were required to help in widening the clear- ings. It was not till their day, of the third generation, that the farm could boast of sixty acres of clear, smooth mowing lands and a hardly less number of acres of fine pasture. To build a home in such a new land had not only its draw- backs, but must have afforded at times some pleasant experiences. True, from the time the settler plunged his ax into the first great maple to the end of his labors which never came in widening his farm it was a continual round of hard blows, of heavy, laborious work; yet there must have been a pleasure in seeing the clearing enlarge, in beholding the fire as it consumed the dry logs and stumps, and left a smooth field with deep, rich soil made fertile by nature for increasing crops. The heavy out- door work built up bone and muscle, and strengthened the mind no less, which was called upon to plan the work and keep the machine of the body sharply at its task. The early apprehension of an attack by the Indians, as the Indians always failed to come, would daily grow weaker. The wild animals were not to be feared. The chief of them, the black bear, would withdraw at the approach of human footsteps, and would only display his valor upon some sheepfold in the night. In the woods there were abounding pleasures for the boys. Foxes, raccoons, rabbits, and partridges were plenty. Without going off the farm a fine string of trout could be taken. There would be the periodical hunt organized from the neighborhood for the pursuit of bears and wolves, the hunters going back upon the mountains and lighting a rousing fire for the night. With the girls and young women it must be conceded that attractions were limited, as when a chance visitor came, or a neighbor dropped in for the day with the latest news. But if tradition is to be trusted, the "girl of the period " did not hesitate to join her brothers in their sports, and when the neighborhood party was organized for the mountain hunt, she was to be counted in, and at the brush fire in the night she cooked the fish and game which she had helped her brothers catch and shoot. 642 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. To Lieutenant Higley and his family it must have been a happy moment when the last trees had been felled which obstructed the sunrise, and they could look away thirty miles east to the beauti- ful blue hills. They were restored again to their lost companion- ship of the wide world. Daniel Higley appears to have been a man of strong, well- developed character. The fact that he won his title is a proof of this. One of his grandchildren who lived with him to seven years of age has told the writer, that as remembered, he was a tall, well-proportioned, fine-looking man, having a somewhat sober and reserved manner. In particular it was recalled that he sometimes sang for their amusement, showing that the voice which history relates was employed to cheer his Revolutionary comrades on the march and in camp, was fresh and vigorous to the last. Another grandchild, who was twelve years old at his grandfather's death, remembered him as taking pleasure in the company of children, and as being kind and affectionate toward herself. The records of the town of Marlborough show that from the first he was interested in town affairs, and was considered worthy of public trust and honor. He was placed upon an important town committee as early as September, 1785, probably not more than a year or two after he became a full resident of the town. After that date till near the close of his life, his name appears on the records almost every year, showing his election to some im- portant office. Particularly he appears to have been connected with the management of the schools, and was elected year after year as a school trustee, indicating that he was a man of scholarly habits. His frequent election as a highway surveyor proves his reputation for sound, practical judgment. On September 7, 1790, he was chosen one of a committee of seven to " seat the new meeting-house." The early church records, if there are any in existence, the writer has been unable to find ; but there is nothing in the town records to indicate that he held other than the prevailing views in religion. So far as appears he paid his church rates with becoming equanimity, and did not, like some of his townsmen, seek to escape from the performance of religious duties by certifying upon the town records that he held in re- ligion other views than the majority. There were born to Lieutenant Daniel Higley, by his wife Ruth, eleven children, seven sons and five daughters. The period of DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 643 births extends through twenty years, beginning with 1768. All but three or four were born before the family moved to Marlborough. Most of these children lived to a good old age and have left descendants who are widely scattered. His wife Ruth died June 8, 1803, after a companionship in pioneer life of full twenty years. Two years later he married Bathsheba Lincoln, a widow familiarly called "Bashie Lincoln," with whom he spent the remaining years of his life. At his decease he left a sister, Mary, known to several generations as "Aunt Molly," who attained to an age of over one hundred years. A brother, Solomon, also outlived him. Solomon was a member of the Shaker community at Lebanon, N. Y., and used to visit his brother. Lieutenant Daniel Higley died on the i5th of March, 1812, about the age of seventy-four. He left a long and detailed will in which all his heirs are carefully remembered. To each is ap- portioned his due according to some recognized scale of justice present in the mind of the testator, even to fractions of a dollar. This will, if all else were blotted out, would show his considerate and methodical cast of mind, that he was guided by principle, and that he intended to see that all the members of his family should have their just rights. His body is supposed to have been buried in the old disused graveyard on the main road lead- ing from Marlborough village to Wilmington, but the precise spot is unmarked and unknown. This sketch may properly be closed by giving one or two ex- tracts from his will, thus affording a glimpse of life as it then was. His will, as before stated, mentions all his heirs by name, giving to each some portion of his property, or explaining any absence of a gift. The legacies are, with one exception, which provides for an alternative in money, to be paid in or from some specific portion of his property, as in a heifer or from neat stock, or household furniture. There is no provision for a sale of the property. The extracts selected to be given are the clauses re- lating to his wife and sister. With his second wife, who had brought with her a minor child, he spent the last seven years of his life. After the formal beginning the will goes on : " I give to my beloved wife, Bathsheba Higley, after my decease, and so long as she shall remain my widow, the absolute use of so much of one of the largest rooms in my dwelling house as shall be necessary for her comfort (but it is to be understood that she, the said Bathsheba, is not to have the privilege of taking a family into said room), and also one good cow and four sheep, said cow and sheep 644 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. to be her own forever, and said cow and sheep to be well kept by my sons, Judah Higley and Pliny Higley, on my farm which I shall hereafter bequeath to them, the said Judah and Pliny, during her said widowhood, and during her residence on said farm, and likewise the said Judah and Pliny are to keep the increase of said cow and sheep until the fall after they come, when she, the said Bathsheba, is to take and dispose of them for her own benefit, and also the said Judah and Pliny are to provide for her, the said Bathsheba, during her widowhood and residence on said farm as aforesaid, with provisions sufficient for her comfortable support in sickness and health, excepting the articles of butter and cheese, which I think she can make a supply from said cow, but if not, then to be supplied by the said Judah and Pliny by those articles likewise : and also with a sufficient supply of firewood cut fit for the fire at the door to keep one fire ; and likewise with twenty pounds of good flax yearly during her widowhood and residence as aforesaid ; and likewise it is my will that if she, the said Bathsheba, shall choose to move from there, she shall have a right to carry off what clothing she shall then have, and likewise her household goods which she fetched with her when I married her, and if anything shall be damaged or broken, to have them made good ; and also one-half of the linen and other cloth she has or shall make while she lives with me (excepting what shall be worn out at the time of my decease)." At the time of his decease he left a whole houseful of descend- ants. It is therefore not surprising that as a matter of fact the widow found family affairs too complicated, and after a few years withdrew, no doubt taking along with her all her belongings. In 1810, two years before his death, Daniel Higley received from his sister Mary a deed of fifteen acres of land in Simsbury, Conn., the consideration named therein being, "one hundred dollars current money received to my full satisfaction of my brother." It may be that it was from this money he was think- ing his sister Mary might have enough left to bury her, when in his will he made the very kind provision in her behalf, the quo- tation of which may serve to set forth in a closing word the intel- ligent, thoughtful, and humane spirit of the man. He says : "And further my will is that my sister, Mary Higley, shall be supported out of the estate that I have herein bequeathed to my sons, Judah and Pliny, and that they, the said Judah and Pliny, shall support the said Mary with good and sufficient meat, drink, washing, lodging, nursing and physic, and every way maintain her decently during her natural life, and likewise pay her funeral charges if she has not estate of her own to do it." The children of Lieutenant Daniel Higley and his first wife, Ruth, are as follows : Daniel, Jr., Orpha, Ruth, Jordan, Orange, Judah, Silvia, Lucretia, Theodore, Pliny, Sterling. DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 645 DANIEL HIGLEY, Jr., the first child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., February 28, 1768. He was a boy of thirteen when his parents emigrated to Marl- boro, Vt. He married Lucy Warren of Marlboro. They had two children, Warren and Dwight. ORPHA HIGLEY, the second child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., June 9, 1776. She married Slade at Marlboro, Vt. Died May i, 1791, in Marlboro, leaving no children. RUTH HIGLEY, the third child, was born February 26, 1772, at Simsbury, Conn. She married Jeremiah Coles at Marlboro, Vt. JORDAN HIGLEY, ist, the fourth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., April 23, 1773. He was a child of two years when his father went into the War of the Revolution, and eight years of age when his parents removed with their family to Marlboro, Vt. He married "Peggy" (or Margaret) Miller, daughter of David Miller of Marlboro. She was born March 26, 1775. They always lived in the town, of Marlboro. Jordan Higley died April 16, 1812, aged thirty-nine years. His grave is yet to be found in the old cemetery at Marlboro, marked by a headstone bearing his name, age, etc. Peggy, his wife, died May 16, 1838. Their eight children were : Lucinda, born April 2, 1794; married October 15, 1815; died November 5, 1844. Orpha, born March 8, 1796; married Decem- ber i, 1813; died May 21, 1883. Levi, born January 16, 1799; married August 20, 1818; died April 18, 1884. Silvia, born March 30, 1800; married March 8, 1818; died September 26, 1840. Sally, born May 17, 1803; married April 4, 1827; died July 22, 1863. Betsey, born April 21, 1805; died July 31, 1812. Edson, born Sep- tember 26, 1807 ; married October 22, 1833 ; died February 9, 1848. Lovisa, born December 14, 1810; married June 30, 1828; and still living. Of the above family the descendants of Levi only, as follows, have been furnished for these pages: LEVI HIGLEY, the third child of Jordan and Peggy (Miller) Higley, was born in Brattleboro, Vt., January 16, 1799. His father died when he was but a few months past his twelfth birthday. He married, first, Charlotte Phillips, August 20, 1818. He was a clothier by trade. In the year 1821 he removed with his young family to Saratoga County, New York, settling at St. Johns, and building a mercantile house. Here he carried on his business till the year 1834, when he 42 646 THE HIGLEY S AND THEIR ANCESTRY. removed to Vesper, Onondaga County, N. Y., continuing his clothing business there. In 1844 he purchased a farm in Orleans County, New York, and followed agricultural pursuits till his decease. His wife, Charlotte Phillips, died December 30, 1858. His second marriage was to Rachel Smith, May 26, 1860. She died March 14, 1880. Levi Higley died at his residence at East Carlton, Orleans County, N. Y., April 18, 1884. Children of Levi Higley: Betsey Ann, Levi N., George O., Charlotte, Jordan, William F. BETSEY ANN HIGLEY, the oldest child, was born September i, 1819. She married, in 1841, Timothy Carr of Onondaga County, New York. They resided in Clarendon, Orleans County, N. Y., where she died, leaving a son, Adelbert, and a daughter, Caroline. LEVI N., the second child of Levi and Charlotte (Phillips) Higley, was born September 9, 1821. He married, May 20, 1847, Laurina Monk, who was born June I, 1821. They resided first in Otisco, Onondaga County, N. Y., but removed to Orleans County and settled on a farm. They are the parents of one son, named Edson J. Higley, and a daughter named Elvira. Their home is in the vicinity of East Carlton. GEORGE, the third child of Levi and Charlotte (Phillips) Higley, was born October 6, 1823. Before reaching his majority he learned the trade of a tanner at Canandaigua, N. Y. He married, first, April 27, 1847, Laura Penoyer, and settled on a farm in Ontario County. His wife died January 17, 1869. On the 3Oth of November, 1871, he married Sarah Gregory. There are five children, viz.: William C., who is a farmer in Ontario County, New York ; Henry G., who is also a farmer ; Alvin L., a merchant ; Mary E., and Grace. CHARLOTTE, the fourth child of Levi and Charlotte (Phillips) Higley, was born May I, 1827. She married John O. Brown, October 7, 1847, and resided on their farm in Orleans County, New York, where she died, leaving three sons, John, George, and Frank, all of whom now reside in their native county. JORDAN, 2d, the fifth child of Levi and Charlotte (Phillips) Higley, was born December 21, 1831 ; married Mary Martin, July 21, 1853. He is an agriculturist, owning a farm in Orleans County, New York. They have three daughters, Ella, Carrie, and Jennie. WILLIAM F., the sixth child of Levi and Charlotte (Phillips) Higley, was born August 4, 1835 ; married Caroline Flynn, May 25, 1856. ORANGE HIGLEY, the fifth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born in Simsbury, Conn., August 8, 1775, one month after his father enlisted in the Revolutionary Army. He was yet a young child when the family removed to Vermont. He married, first, Polly Miller of Marlboro, Vt." His second wife was Hannah Howard. They resided on a farm that he owned in the south part of the town of Marlboro. They had three children, viz. : Elliot, George, and Philura, of whom no data is given. Elliot Higley, ad, a grandson of Orange Higley, now resides at Marlboro, Vt. Continued .from page 644. JUDAH HIGLEY, the sixth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Simsbury, Conn., July 6, 1777. He was one of the seven children who made up the household when their DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 647 parents removed to Windham County, Vermont, in 1781. He married, February n, 1800, Relief Stearns. She was born Jan- uary 29, 1777. On the death of his father, March, 1812, he, together with his brother Pliny, received by bequest the original home estate in Marlboro as their portion of his property. Here Judah Higley and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, genuine citizens and well respected. Relief Higley died November 16, 1849, aged seventy-two years and seven months. Judah Higley died April 12, 1851. Their graves are to be found in the old ceme- tery at Marlboro. The children born to them were as follows: Relief, Lovina, Selah, Daniel ', Elijah, Polly, Warren; Betsey, born November 20, 1815, died August 29, 1817; Henry E. , born January 7, 1822, died November 21, 1846, aged twenty-five. RELIEF HIGLEY, the oldest child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born at the old homestead on " Higley Hill " in the southern part of the town of Marl- boro, Vt., June 21, 1801. She possessed an unusually well-balanced mind and keen perception. Diligent and courageous, she devoted her life, which was a quiet and unassuming one, to the truest and best interests of her family, measuring her acts by the Golden Rule. Her son, Henry J. Knapp of Dover, Vt., writes : " My father, Asaph Knapp, was born in Dover, Vt., on the 27th of February, 1796. My mother was a native of Marlboro. They were married March 8, 1825, and began life together on a farm in Marlboro, one mile north of the old Higley homestead, where she was born. Here they lived until the death of my father in 1867, and here their children were born. My mother remained on the farm till 1875, a period of fifty years, when our old- home was sold, and she went to live with her son, Fayette W. Knapp, in a hamlet called Brookville, in Newfane, Vt., where she remained to the time of her death. ' ' My mother's life was that of a good Christian, though she and my father were never members of church. They were beloved by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and were true and honest people. At her death, no mother was ever more truly and sincerely mourned. " Mrs. Relief Higley Knapp lived to be the senior of the Vermont mountaineer branch of the Higley Family, dying at the age of eighty-eight years, three months, and eight days. Her faculties, and a clear memory, were preserved almost to the very last, her personal recollections and traditions proving a most interesting and valuable link with the long past. All of her children, though beyond the meridian of life, attended her last hours upon earth, and her four eldest sons were the bearers of her body to its last resting-place. She died October 29, 1889. Asaph Knapp, her husband, died June 6, 1867. They had seven children, as follows : LUCINDA RELIEF, the eldest, was born August 20, 1826 ; married Alfred W. Titus, and had four children, two of whom daughters are living and are married The family resides at Wilmington, Vt., owning a farm. 648 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. HORACE STEARNS, the second child, was born July 10, 1828 ; married Sarah A. Taskett. His occupation is th it of a builder. He owns a pleasant home in Winchendon, Mass. They have one child a son. DANIEL STEWARD, the third child, was born June 19, 1830, and died August 26, 1833. FRANKLIN DWIGHT, the fourth child, born April 18, 1835, married Helen A. Crosley ; he is a carpenter by trade ; resides in Keen, N. H. They are the parents of four children, all daughters. FAYETTE WARREN, the fifth child, born March 28, 1839. married Fannie M. Lamb. He is a manufacturer of boots and shoes and harness, and is also a farmer. They reside in Brookside, Newfane, Vt. They have two sons and two daughters, all married. Two grown daughters and one son died in the year 1892. ASAPH CLARK, the sixth child, born May 23, 1840, married Susan A. Nutting. His trade is that of a carpenter. They reside in Keen, N. H. They have four daughters and one son. ' HENRY JOHN, the seventh and youngest son of Asaph and Relief Higley Knapp, was born June 6, 1844. In early manhood he learned the trade of jeweler and watchmaker, to which he at one time devoted his attention. He married, in the year 1869, Lizzie M. French, a widow, with a son six years of age. To this son he assumed a father's responsibility. The faithful discharge of his duty has been rewarded by relations of the most cordial and affectionate character existing between them. Mr. Knapp has been a constant sufferer since very young childhood from asthma, which implies at once the exercise of self-resignation and rare patient endurance, virtues which he possesses. Seeking health, he has from time to time changed his place of residence, finally settling at Dover, Vt., two miles from the place of his birth, of which town he is now the postmaster. His affliction has caused him in his career to sink his personality, and the world about him has been deprived of the benefit that it might have reaped from the natural energy and the active intellectual powers with which he is endowed. In contending with the difficulties he has had to encounter, resulting from his impaired constitution, he has, in his efforts, been ably assisted and seconded by his devoted wife, who has proved a true and noble helpmeet. Continued from page 647. LoviNA HIGLEY, the second child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born May 6, 1803. She died, unmarried, March 26, 1883. SELAH HIGLEY, the third child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born May 4, 1805, at the old homestead at Marlboro, Vt. When he reached his majority he abandoned his native hills for a time, and went to the fertile Genessee country, Western New York, where he remained two years, then returned to his mountainous home in Vermont. He married, January 30, 1833, Eliza Wenzell of Framingham, Mass. She was born February 24, 1807. From the year of his marriage Mr. Higley resided in that part of Framingham which was afterward set off to Ashland, Mass., and here he lived to see more than a half a century of the changes and development that the flight of time wrought. His occupation was that of an agriculturist ; and he was a faithful member of the Congregational Church. His life, not one marked by special events, has left a good record for character that will abide. He lived to a green old age, retaining his lively faculties and an excellent memory to the end of his pilgrimage. He died March 20, 1889, aged eighty-four years. His wife died December 30, 1872. The children of Selah and Eliza Wenzell Higley were, viz. : Lucy Wenzell, born April 9, 1835, died February I, 1836 ; George Trask, born GEORGE T. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 649 March 9, 1837 ; Wakefidd Leitner, born June 6, 1840 ; John Henry, born Feb- ruary 23, 1844, died the day following ; Eliza Delia, born June 22, 1845. GEORGE TRASK HIGLEY was the second child born to Selah and Eliza (Wenzell) Higley. His birth took place at the farm homestead of his father at Ashland, Mass., May 9, 1837. His early years, until he was sixteen, were passed upon the farm. In the year 1853, after having passed through the prescribed routine of study, he entered Amherst College, from which he was graduated in 1857, at twenty years of age. With the excep- tion of a few years spent in the West, and one year in the army during hostilities in the Civil War, he has always resided in his native town. On the breaking out of the Civil War he showed that he stood firm for his country, holding himself ready to respond to a call for volunteers to enter the service. He enlisted in the i3th New York Cavalry, October 8, 1864, remaining in the service until honorably mustered out, October, 1865, after the conflict had ended. Mr. Higley entered the field as a private. For meritorious action he was appointed company clerk, and later on he was promoted to acting quartermaster-sergeant. Possessing a judicial temperament, his predeliction for the legal profession came uppermost and fixed the purpose of his life. He became a student in the Boston University Law School, tak- ing the degree of LL. B. in 1873, and was admitted to the bar. On the 2d of October of the same year 1873 ne married Rosine Smith Wenzell. Since that year he has practiced his pro- fession in Ashland. Aside from his law practice he has devoted much active service and influence for the benefit of his native town, serving its interests with practical ability and fidelity. He has held different town offices, and has served for many years as a member of the school committee, as well as trustee of the public library. Mr. Higley's services in connection with the town library have been important. It is largely to his labors that the town of Ashland is indebted for the establishment of this library, as well as to his literary taste for the excellent selec- tion of books it contains. His wife, Rosine Smith, was born at Medfield, Mass, July 13, 1841, and was graduated from the State Normal School, 55th class, at Bridgewater, Mass., in July, 1861. In the spring of 1862 she was elected principal of a grammar school in Grant- ville, and, after remaining there two years, she accepted a posi- 650 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. tion at Medway, continuing here till her marriage, March 22, 1865, to A. H. Wenzel, who was at that time principal of the high school in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. She acted as assistant in the Edgartown school during the following year. In October, 1869, she gave birth to a son, who is still living John Wenzel. Professor Wenzel died April, 1871. In 1873, after acting as assistant in the Medfield High School a part of the year, she became the wife of George T. Higley in the month of October. Mrs. Higley possesses a vigorous mind, which is marked by her exceptional attainments. She is a woman of agreeable character and womanly strength. She retains a lively interest in the cause of education, and is a prominent member and the secretary of the Bridgeport Alumni Association of the Massachusetts State Normal School, 55th Class. WAKEFIELD L., the third child of Selah and Eliza (Wenzel) Higley, was born at Ashland, Mass., June 6, 1840. He devoted his time to farming till his enlist- ment for the Civil War, October 8, 1864, in the same regiment with his elder brother the I3th New York Cavalry. He served as a private soldier, though dur- ing the most of the time that he was in the service he was in the regimental com- missary department. He died of fever in the regimental hospital in Washington, D. C., September 25, 1865. His remains were taken to the home of the family, at Ashland, Mass., and interred in the family burial-ground. ELIZA D., the fifth child of Selah and Eliza (Wenzel) Higley, was born June 22, 1845, at Ashland, Mass. She married, first, Preston W. Forbush, on the 23d of October, 1866, and became the mother of a daughter, called Hattie Mabel, born November 7, 1867; and of a son, named Harvey Wright, who was born May 23, 1869, both of whom are living. Her second husband is Eben F. Hart, whom she married February 9, 1873. Mrs. Hart is a bright, energetic woman, whose earnest and lovable character is an inspiration to those about her. Continued from page 647. DANIEL, 3d, the fourth child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., April 6, 1807. He married Minerva Hills and settled, first, at Pittston, N. Y., afterward removing to Hoosac Falls, Mass. He was a farmer, and an exemplary member of the church. He died, January 27, 1839, when but thirty-two years of age, leaving three children, viz.: George ., Susan, and Augusta. Augusta died, aged about twenty-three ; unmarried. GEORGE E., the eldest, married Elizabeth Peters. They had two children, Charles and George. Charles, the eldest, died at Brattleboro, Vt., where his parents DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 651 then resided, aged about fifteen years, and George died aged twelve. Mr. Higley is now a resident of Hamilton, la. SUSAN, the second child of Daniel and Minerva (Hills) Higley, married George Rising. They reside at Hoosac Falls, Mass. Their children are : Daniel, Sarah, Minne, Estella, Frank, and Emma. Of the above family, Daniel married . Hayden. They have four children, all daughters. They reside at North Adams, Mass. Sarah married George H. Boynton on July n, 1877. They reside in Waukegan, 111. Mr. Boynton is engaged in business in Chicago. They have one child, a son, named Vincent Russell. Minne, the third child of George and Susan Higley Rising, married James H. Glenn. They have two children. They reside in Hoosac Falls, Mass. Estella, the fourth child, married Allen, and resides in Bennington, Vt. Frank, the fifth child, married Nora Buck ; resides at Hoosac Falls, Mass. Emma married, first, Edwin Leiffer. Her second marriage was to Hewey. They reside in Kane, Kane County, 111. Continued from page 647. ELIJAH, the fifth child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born at Marl- boro, Vt., April i, 1809. He married Roxana Adams, December 20, 1833, and purchasing a farm two miles northwest of the village of Wilmington, Vt., near the base of old Haystack Mountain, settled upon it, and resided there till about the year 1809 or 1870, when he made purchase of a farm near Brattleboro, Vt., to which he removed with his family, and spent the remainder of his life. At Wilmington, Vt., Elijah and Roxana Higley became members of the Baptist Church, in the work of which Mr. Higley made his influence and practical use- fulness felt, pursuing a career of consecrated activity. His life portrayed the beauty of the walk of a consistent Christian. Loyal to his faith, he was a devoted church-goer ; but, though full of the spirit and very sincere, it was always difficult, because of his modest reserve and easily overcome feelings at whatever touched the secret springs of his heart, for him to take part publicly in the social meetings. At Brattleboro he became a member of the church by " letter," and here also continued his zeal and interest in church affairs. His wife, whose walk beside him was in full sympathy and unison of purpose with her husband for a period of little less than fourteen years, died of typhus fever, April 25, 1847, leaving three motherless sons, the eldest of whom, a boy of twelve, seemingly inquiring of her angel spirit, " Mother, oh, where is that radiant shore ? Shall we not seek it and weep no more ? " followed her shortly after on the 28th of May. In the year 1849 Mr. Higley married Eliza Seaver of Manchester, Vt., a widow. By her he had one child. During the last twenty-seven years that he lived, Elijah Higley was a sufferer from sciatic rheumatism, and was confined the greater part of the time to his couch. In this bodily affliction he was constantly attended by his faithful wife, whose devotion and love were the stimulus to her exertions. He died at his residence near Brattleboro, Vt., September 15, 1886. His widow still sur- vives. The children of Elijah and Roxana Higley were : Elijah Franklin, born September I, 1835 ; Daniel Chauncey, born August 31, 1839, and William Perley, born October 3, 1843. By second wife, Francis Henry. DANIEL C. HIGLEY, the eldest surviving child of Elijah and Roxana (Adams) Higley, was born at Wilmington, Vt, on the 65 2 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. "Green Mountain " farm on which his parents then resided, August 31, 1839. His first seventeen years were spent on his father's estate, and his student days were mostly at the district school, attending it of winters. Brought up under the best of home Christian influences, in the moral atmosphere of a plain agricultural community, and the pure exhilarating air and verdure of his native mountain State, his youthful life had favorable beginnings that fitted him both physi- cally and mentally for succeeding years of important business responsibilities, as well as for sacred service in the Christian world. He began his career in the year 1846, as a clerk in an adjoin- ing town. Here he remained three years till he was twenty. He then went to the frontier in the then far Northwest, re- maining on the border two years; in the meantime becoming thoroughly acquainted with the lives and customs of the Indians, particularly with the Sioux tribe. At twenty-two, after spending three months in his native town in Vermont, he turned his face again westward, to take up his permanent residence, settling in Chicago. In this city he became the head of a grocery house in 1861. In the year 1863 Mr. Higley married Annie J. Richards of Vienna, Ontario, Canada, who was of English parentage. The year 1871 found him removed to Kalamazoo, now a thriving com- mercial manufacturing center in the State of Michigan, and since incorporated as a city, where he became the proprietor of "The Chicago Store," and where he has since conducted a prosperous business, engaging extensively as dealer in dry goods, millinery, and general merchandise, drawing a large patronage from all the surrounding towns. The house also has two branches, one in Barry County, and the other in Van Buren County, Michigan. Daniel C. Higley from his youthful days remained loyal in heart to the denominational preferences of his parents under which he was brought up the Baptist Church. In the year 1878 he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Hodge, and became a church member. It was scarcely four years till he was made the superin- tendent of the Bethel Baptist Mission, a position for which he displayed special ability and aptitude. Mr. Higley was the main mover in establishing this flourishing Sunday School, and not least of all, has from its beginning been its chief financial supporter. Well organized arid managed, the work stirred the popular heart DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 653 of the people for whose benefit it was founded, who responded by increasing attendance, till the year 1888 found the growing mis- sion strong and sufficient in numbers to become an organized church. It is now known as the Bethel Baptist Church, in the work of which Mr. Higley continues his Christian activities, entering into every detail of its labor and its support. Mr. Higley's genial temperament and fine social qualities attract all who make his acquaintance. Few men walking in the bustle and high pressure of secular life stop to personally com- pass the needs of humanity and make so devoted an application of their time, and energy, and means, to what is called Christian work. Mr. and Mrs. Higley have no children; they have opened their hospitable home and hearts and cared for several who were so circumstanced that they needed foster-parents. WILLIAM PERLEY HIGLEY, the third child of Elijah and Roxana Adams Higley, was born at the homestead of his father, Wilming- ton, Vt, October 6, 1843. He was not yet four years of age when death deprived him of his mother's care. But the family were not scattered, and from their farm home he attended the district school. Naturally endowed with a good intellect, and fond of his books, he kept his place among the foremost of his class. Time came when his ideas of life stretched out for a sphere beyond the farm that lay amid the beauty and grandeur of his native hills and mountains. He was not quite contented with his lot : and at twenty, like many another young man, he decided to launch out into the world for himself. " This is the hour of your trial, the turning point of existence, Seed for the coming days." It was the winter of 1863. In the possession of good princi- ples and force of character, with the higher equipment of moral purpose and a Christian heart, he set off for Chicago, where he secured a position in the business house of his older brother, as clerk. Here he remained till April, 1869, when, having saved some capital, he went to Waukegan, 111., an enterprising place, which has since become a city, and opened a store of general 654 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. merchandise, in which his brother, Daniel C. Higley, had an in- terest. The new firm was styled W. P. Higley & Co. Four years later William P. Higley purchased the company's interest and became the sole proprietor, the house since being known as "The Higley Department Store." The enterprise has grown to be one of those important business houses which contribute to the gen- eral demands of the community, involving in its annual transac- tions many thousands of dollars, and giving employment in its various departments to a large number of persons. The house is now the most prominent establishment of the city of Waukegan, carrying a complete stock of foreign and domestic dry goods, cloaks, millinery, men's wear, groceries, and notions, and its many patrons embrace residents of both city and country. At thirty-three years of age, on the loth of February, 1876, Mr. Higley married Eva V. Jilson of Waukegan, 111., a most estimable Christian character. She died April 12, 1878, four months after giving birth to a fair-haired daughter Minnie Pearl. On the 8th of February, 1882, he married Mrs. Elizabeth T. P. Maguire of Racine, Wis., a noble-hearted woman, walk- ing in oneness and in singleness of purpose with her worthy husband. William P. Higley has not only attained a prominence in busi- ness and social life, which is both gratifying and well-merited, but the family hold a much respected position as church members. Owing much to the faithful Christian example and training by his father, and the influences of a Christian home in his early boy- hood, when about nine years of age, he became consciously a Christian. A few years later he was baptised in a branch of the Deerfield River at Wilmington, Vt., and united with the Baptist Church of which his father and stepmother were members. From that day this has been his chosen denominational prefer- ence. In Waukegan his commodious home is pleasantly situated near the high bluff overlooking the blue waters of Lake Michigan. Here the genial host and hostess are " given to hospitality" and to "entertaining strangers." They are the parents of three children, viz. : Minnie Pearl, born 1878 (by first wife); Violet Elizabeth, born November 12, 1882 ; and Edith Theresa, born October n, 1889. DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 655 Continued from page 647. POLLY HIGLEY, the sixth child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., April 17, iSn. She now resides [1894] in Wardsboro, Vt., at the age of eighty-three years, with her only child, Maryetta, who married Henry Kid- der, an extensive farmer. They have an interesting family. WARREN HIGLEY, the seventh child of Judah and Relief (Stearns) Higley, was born at the old farm homestead on " Higley Hill," at Marlboro, Vt., June 6, 1813. This estate, having passed successively from father to son till it came into the hands of Warren Higley, was, with little exception, his home from his birth to his death. For one hundred and twelve years from the year 1781, when Lieutenant Daniel Higley carved the farm out of the wilderness many tender and interesting historical associations were closely connected with it in the minds of the generations that were born and reared there. " Fine old farm for a hundred years Kept in the family name ; Cornfields rich with golden ears Oft as the harvest came ; Crowded barn and crowded bin, And still the loads kept coming in. Rolling in for a hundred years ; And the fourth in the family line appears." Warren Higley's life was not marked by stirring events, though it was not incon- spicuous. From time to time he held different town offices and was well known. It was always his purpose through life to make usefulness, rather than greatness, his ideal. Of the sturdy and thrifty race of Vermont agriculturists who have pur- sued an even course of strict integrity, simplicity, and honesty, his plain and straight- forward walk was fraught with peace and contentment. At twenty-two he married Roxellana Yearn, who was one year his junior. She died April 2, 1845. On the 3d of November, 1850, he married Lydia Hakes, who proved a true help- meet. She was born December 23, 1822.- After a bright and unusually active old age spent in the quiet repose of his home, Warren Higley died of pneumonia, May 22, 1892. His widow survives him. The children of Warren Higley were as follows : By first wife : Mary Ann, born December 29, 1836 ; Olive Marilla, born November 3, 1839 ; Otis Warren, born November 3, 1841. By second wife : Flora Ella, born October 8, 1853 ', Eva Adell, born July 17, 1858 ; Lillian Deetta, born June 14, 1862 ; Ida L., born April 15, 1864. Of the above family, but two are living (1894). Mary Ann, the first child, married M. V. B. Powers in 1858, died May 20, 1877 ; Olive M. died unmarried, May 22, 1861 ; Otis W. died February 5, 1843 ; Eva Adell married J. L. Bayard, December 20, 1875, and died on the I2th of the fol- lowing May ; Ida L., a young woman of rare gifts, died April 20, 1886, unmarried. FLORA ELLA HIGLKY, the eldest surviving child of Wapen and Lydia Hakes Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., October 8, 1853. She has chosen the honor- 656 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. able calling of the trained nurse for her avocation, entering the training school for nurses at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, in 1886, from which she was graduated, after taking a full course of instruction. She is now in the success- ful practice of her profession. LILLIAN DEETTA HIGLEY, the youngest surviving child of Warren and Lydia Hakes Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., June 14, 1862. She was early full of promising qualities, and grew to womanhood brave and strong, possessing a lively intellect and a cheerful temperament. She was graduated in 1885, having taken the full business course of Glenwood Seminary, West Brattleboro, Vt. Since then she has had some experience in teaching. Continued from page 644. SILVIA HIGLEY, the seventh child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was the last child of her parents born in Simsbury before their removal to Marlboro, Vt. Her birth took place June 7, 1779. She married Abner Harris. No further facts concerning her life have been furnished. LUCRETIA HIGLEY, the eighth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., November 13, 1781. She married, June 20, 1801, Oliver Higley, her second cousin, the son of Elijah Higley, who emigrated from Connecticut the same year that her father went to Marlboro, Vt., and may have accom- panied him. After living in their native town for a few years, Oliver and Lucretia Higley removed to the State of New York, making changes from Port Kent to Edinburg, and from thence to Jamestown, Chautauqua County, where they settled some time between the years 1820 and 1830. It was here that Lucretia Higley, with her husband, joined the "Church of the Latter- Day Saints," about 1830, and from this time to the close of her event- ful life, she was a zealous Mormon. She resided in her old age, after the death of her husband, with her son, Clark Higley, at Tooele, Tooele County, Utah, where she died July 25, 1865, in her eighty-fourth year. Her husband died May 6, 1846, in Iowa, where they then lived. Their children were, viz. : Dan, born July 27, 1804 ; Anna, born November 29, 1806 ; Lovina, December 31, 1808 ; Clark, born November 26, 1813 ; Truman, born July 20, 1817 ; Harvey, born November 20, 1819 ; Harriet, born April 12, 1822. (Sketches of this family are to be found following the sketch of Oliver Higley, page 690.) THEODORE HIGLEY, the ninth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., April 30, 1784. He married Mercy Haskell of Wilmington, Vt. They resided for DESCENDANTS OF NATHANIEL HIGLEY. 657 many years upon a farm in the south part of his native town, afterward removing to the State of Illinois, and settling at Polo, where they brought up a family, and where some of his descend- ants now live. Their children were: Divight, Minerva, Harriet, Theodore, Jr., Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. No further account of this family has been furnished for these pages. PLINY HIGLEY, the tenth child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., April 22, 1786. He married, first, Polly Willard of Lancaster, Mass. She was born 1788, and died June 17, 1848. His second wife was Mary Nickerson, a widow, of Marlboro. He owned and resided upon a part of the original farm in the south part of the town of Marlboro, which he received as a legacy from his father, Lieutenant Daniel Higley. This farm afterward became a part of the estate owned by his nephew, Warren Higley of Marlboro, and was occupied by Lieuten- ant Higley and his descendants for a period covering one hun- dred and twelve years. Pliny Higley died February 14, 1857. Their children were : Sarah, called Sally ; Luke, Mary Ann, Robert, Ursula, and William. URSULA HIGLEY, married Ballow, and resides at Wilmington, Vt. Several families of Pliny Higley's descendants are living in the town of Marlboro, Wind- ham County, Vt. Among whom is Dan Higley, a well known and respected citi- zen, who is the owner of the farm upon which he resides. No further account of Pliny Higley and his descendants has been furnished. STERLING HIGLEY, the eleventh and last child of Lieutenant Daniel and Ruth Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt, July 18, 1788. He died in childhood, March 12, 1793. CHAPTER LXX. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. Continued front chapter xxv.p. 145. Josiah, ad, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. None are so apt to build and plant for future centuries as those noble-spirited men who have received their heritages from fargone ages. IRVING. JOSIAH HIGLEY, ad, the first child of Josiah, ist, and Dinah (Gillett) Higley, was born in the parish of Turkey Hills, Sims- bury, Conn., "November y e 6th, 1725." He was a young man of twenty-six at the time of his father's decease. He received, as a special legacy by his father's will, two and a half acres of land more than was devised to the other heirs. He served with his mother as an executor to the estate. It is not known when or to whom he was married. Soon after his father's death he purchased of his cousin, Jonathan Higley, land in Turkey Hills " which formerly belonged to grandfather, Captain John." When he purchased land in Westfield, Mass., the 8th of February, 1753, he was described in the deed as "a husbandman of Simsbury." Before the i2th of April, 1756, he had become a resident of Salisbury, Litchfield County, Conn., selling his Westfield land. How long he remained a resident of Salisbury cannot be stated, but he appears to have returned with his family to Turkey Hills by the year 1769 or 1770, as he had young children baptized the beginning of the latter year in the old parish church of St. Andrew, which was but a few miles away. It is probable that on the death of his mother he took possession of the old home farm " on the highway that goes from Hatchet Hill to Windsor." The entire family, about this time, appear to have turned to the English Church, or Episcopal faith. The difficulties and con- tentions in the old Simsbury churches which were established by the early founders had a weaning effect upon the next generation, and many of the third generation severed their connection and drifted away. During Josiah, zd's, time the Rev. Gideon Mills, 658 DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 659 who married Josiah's cousin, Elizabeth Higley, was for a number of years the pastor of the Simsbury Church, also the Rev. Ben- ajah Roots, his successor, whose son afterward married one of the Higley girls. The tide of disunity ran high through the last years of both of their pastorates. Difficulties and disputes arose on different points ; among other chief bones of contention came up the subject of singing, when, in 1773, it was settled, for a time, by a "vote to sing new tunes half the time and old ones the other half." While this state of things existed, although this was not the society to which Josiah Higley, ist, had lent his active aid in founding, the troubles had a perceptible influence in alienating the younger Higleys in both societies. The Rev. Roger Viets, however, who was a native of the town and lived in the vicinity of Josiah Higley, zd, and was a graduate of Yale College, went to London, in 1763, for ordination as an Episcopal clergyman, and soon after returned to Simsbury, where he became the rector of St. Andrew's parish. He was "a man of more than medium talents, and his ministry was greatly blessed," his labor meeting with acceptance and success. In this church Josiah, ad's, children and some of his cousins were confirmed. Josiah Higley, 2d, like his progenitors, had patriot blood in his veins. He enlisted in the Revolutionary Army " for the war, May 5th, 1778," joining the 3d Connecticut Regiment, Captain William Judd's Company. He was then a little past middle life. It is altogether probable that he was in the engagement at Mon- mouth, N. J., as he was with Washington's main army that sum- mer, and went into camp at White Plains. He was reported "missing" the following November. The tradition in his family and descendants has always been that he was drowned while crossing a river when his regiment was transferred, late in the autumn, to winter quarters at Reading. He was never heard of afterward. " Who of you all shall say That from this bright array Which glorifies to-day, Where blended lights of past and present play, Comrades beloved are banished, Miscalled the vanished ? It is not given to our clouded eyes To see these heroes in celestial guise 660 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Come thronging back down heaven's starry arch, Each old commander urging on the march From rapturous Paradise. While stars, which in their courses helped them fight To save our goodly heritage from blight, Attend their steps with soft supernal light Back through death's ebon portal Behold them come, bright, radiant, immortal ! " ' Children of Josiah Higley, 2<3 : Charity, Anna, Josiah, 3d, Jesse, ist, Philander, Sylvester, and Theodocia. CHARITY HIGLEY, the oldest child of Josiah Higley, 2d, was born at Salisbury, Conn., September 13, 1756. She was baptized and confirmed by the Rev. Roger Viets in the Church of St. Andrew (Bloomfield, Conn.), May 14, 1775. Nothing further is known of her. ANNA HIGLEY, the second child of Josiah Higley, 2d, was born October, 1760. She was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal faith on the same day with her sister, Charity. She was married in the same church, in 1794, to John Smith. There is no further record of her. JOSIAH HIGLEY, 3d, the first son of Josiah Higley, 2d, was born at Salisbury, Conn., September 4, 1762. The following public announcement is taken from the original town records at Becket, Mass. : 9 "Intentions of marriage between Josiah Higley and Deliverance Carpenter, both of Becket, was entered April ist, 1786." The couple were duly united in marriage and settled in Becket. On the 2oth of June, 1800, Josiah sold land to Moses Hall, Jr., of Syringham, Mass. From the earliest record of him he appears to* have possessed property. About the year 1811 a large colony banded together in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, mostly residents of Becket, and migrated to Nelson Township, Portage County, O. Among the number was Hezekiah, the oldest son of Josiah and Deliverance Higley. This emigration of their son appears to have animated the parents to remove to Ohio at a later date. On the i6th of April, 1815, Josiah Higley, 3d, purchased of Ephraim Root of Hartford County, Connecticut, 418 acres of 1 From William H. McElroy's " None Missing.'' a " Becket Records," book ii. p. too. DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1ST. 66 1 land, located in the "Massachusetts settlement" in Portage County, Ohio, for which he paid $1032.' To this unsettled and forest-covered township, which civilization had scarcely reached, he emigrated with his wife and a large family of children, all of whom were born at Becket, Mass. The jour- ney was made in the teeth of formidable difficulties. Josiah Higley was at the time an invalid, suffering with a lingering- consumption, and was carried the long, rough route upon a bed placed in the wagon. To accumulate landed property for his children before his death was evidently his ambition. Early in the year 1817 he conveyed to each child a portion of land, and on the i3th of March, 1820, he conveyed a perpetual lease to his wife, Deliverance Higley, of Lot 50, Nelson Town- ship, "for her own proper use." This lot lay adjoining lands owned by different members of his family in their own rights. His pulmonary difficulties continued, though his life appears to have been prolonged more than five years after his removal to Ohio. The exact date of his death, which took place in the year 1821, is not known. His wife lived to a good old age, dying at the home of her son Hector Higley, about the year 1852. Josiah Higley, 3d, and his wife, Deliverance, were the parents of the following children : Polly, Hezekiah, Josiah, 4th, Sevilla, Adelia, Sophia, Philander, Charity, Betsey, Hector, and Vashti, POLLY, the eldest child, lived to womanhood and died unmarried. HF.ZEKIAH HIGLEY, the second child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., probably in the year 1789 or 1790. He was one of the earliest settlers of Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio, coming when a young man, having, previous to the declaration of War in 1812, passed his majority. He made extensive purchases of land, in time becoming a large land holder and a promi- nent and worthy citizen. He was a man always well-to-do in, the world, of ener- getic character, and exerted considerable influence in the community. The military spirit of his forefathers was his inheritance by blood, and the motive power to quick action when the second war with Great Britain threatened the young republic. He was among the first to enter the Ohio State Militia, Cap- tain John Campbell's company of riflemen Volunteers, the 2d Company, ist Bat- talion, 2d Regiment, 4th Brigade. Soon after the organization of this regiment war was declared, June 18, 1812. His company received orders to meet at the house of Captain Campbell on July I. On that date " the men pitched their tents, which were made of homespun linen sheets. The command had no uniforms, but each man was ' armed to the teeth ' with a rifle, a tomahawk, and a large knife. 1 " Records Portage County, O.," vol. ii. p. 510. 43 662 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. His company soon after started for the frontier." How long he was at the front is not known. He is again found in the ranks, July 14, with the 1st Company, ist Battalion, serving as a substitute for Seth Cole, who had been drafted. He was again among the soldiers who were suddenly called to arms to defend the frontier, on the 24th of August, remaining at the front till the ist of September. After the close of the war he married Jerusha ; the maiden name of his wife and the date of their marriage is unknown. On the 28th of November, 1816, he purchased of his father one hundred acres of land in Nelson, for which he paid three dollars an acre. He also was the owner of lands in Fredonia Township, and for a time he lived on a farm in the township of Hiram. Later in life he removed to Clyde, Sandusky County, O., where he resided till he reached the advanced age of ninety-three. It was with one of his sons, Orsen Higley, that he spent the last years of his life. Hezekiah and Jerusha Higley had a family, of which no particulars have been furnished for these pages. JOSIAH HIGLEY, 4th, the third child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, was born at Becket, Mass., removing with his parents to Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio, about the year 1815. From his father he received, November 20, 1816, a conveyance of " lots Nos. 51 and 52, in Township 5. This was probably about the time of his marriage with Huldah Lamb. He sold this farm, December 19, 1825, and removed to Newburg, Cuyahoga County, O. His wife afterward became insane. They had children, viz.: Josiah Higley, 5th, Elisha, Philetus, Sarah, and Jane. Sarah married Vincent. SEVILLA, the fourth child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, married Sweet. In the years 1817-18 she and her sister Charity purchased and sold con- siderable land in the township, apparently on speculation. Sevilla and her husband resided in Hiram, Portage County, O. She died, leaving a daughter, Eveline. ADELIA, the fifth child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, married Grant Redding. They had one son, Jack, who went to Nauvoo, 111. The family all removed West. SOPHIA, the sixth child, married, first, Ward Smith, who died while yet a young man. Her second marriage was to Seth Jefferson. Her children, all of whom were born of her first marriage, were : Porter, Lucy, Sylvester, Wallace, and Mary. PHILANDER HIGLEY, the seventh child, married, May 7, 1818, Charlotte Adams of Hiram Township, where they afterward resided. No further information of them is received. CHARITY HIGLEY, the eighth child, was born in Becket, Mass., about the year 1801. Some time after emigrating to Ohio with her parents, she, together with her sister Sevilla, entered pretty extensively into the purchase and exchange of lands which lay in Portage County. She married William Knowlton of Nelson, Portage County, and settled in the same township, where they resided much respected citizens till the close of their lives. They had children, viz. : Cyrus, Sidney, Elmina, and Porter. The two brothers, Sidney and Porter Knowlton, are now residents of the township. BETSEY, the ninth child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, was born in DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 663 Becket, Mass., about the year 1803, and emigrated with her parents on their removal to Nelson Township, Ohio, in the year 1815. She is recollected by the old residents of the town as an active, vigorous, and clever girl. She married Dexter Merritt of Nelson. They resided till the close of their lives in the same town, the owners of a good farm. She died April 18, 1882. Their children were : Lorain, Cornelius D., Harriet M., Emily, and Eveline. LORAIN, the eldest, married Omer Mills, December 23, 1855. They reside in Farmington Township, Portage County, Ohio. They are the parents of three chil- dren, viz.: Lucius Car-win, Ernest Cornelius, and Emily B. CORNELIUS D., the second child, died in 1861, aged twenty-six ; unmarried. HARRIET M., the third child, married, in 1866, P. H. Tisdale. EMILY, the fourth child, married Allen Johnson. EVELINE, the youngest, married Walter Bester. She died March, 1883, leaving four sons. HECTOR A. HIGLEY, the tenth child of Josiah Higley, 3d, and Deliverance, his wife, was born in Becket, Mass., about 1805, and removed with the family to Portage County, Ohio, when ten years of age. He received, together with his brothers and sisters, a conveyance of land from his father on the Qth of January, 1817, when he was but twelve years old. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which occupation he practiced for many years in the townships of Nelson and Hiram, Portage County. Who his first wife was cannot be ascertained. She died after a brief period of married life, leaving no children. His second wife was Harriet Hutchinson of Hiram. About the year 1859 ^ e removed with his family to Michigan, and after- ward to Iowa Centre, Story County, la., where his second wife died, leaving a family of six children, five of whom are living. Mr. Higley in due course of time returned to his old home in Nelson, O., and married Mrs. Sheldon, a widow, who survives him. Hector A. Higley, says an old friend, " was one of the most companionable of men ; frank, clever, generous, and a great mimic, he was universally liked. He was a consistent Christian professor, and very much respected in his church relations." He died at his home, Iowa Centre, la., May, 1892, aged eighty-seven. By his second wife, Harriet Hutchinson, he had two sons, Rodney and Otis, one of whom served in the late Civil War. The names of his other children by this wife are not ascertained. His third wife, Mrs. Sheldon, became the mother of two children, viz.: Josiah Higley, 6th, and Lucy. VASHTI HIGLEY, the eleventh and youngest child of Josiah, 3d, and Deliverance Higley, was born in Becket, Mass., and was brought, when a little child, by her parents to Portage County, Ohio. She grew to womanhood, married, and resided in Hiram, Portage County. She had a family. Some of her descendants still reside at Hiram. 664 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. JESSE HIGLEY, 1ST. Continued from page 660. Jesse, ist, Josiah, ad, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. JESSE HIGLEY, ist, the fourth child of Josiah Higley, 2d, was born at Salisbury, Conn., March 21, 1765. There is only fragmentary information of the environments of his youth. He was united in marriage, by the Rev. Zadoc Hunn, with Elizabeth Watson at Becket, Mass., January 6, 1788. A little more than a month later the following announcement was placed upon the Becket town records: "February i2th 1788. Bonds of matrimony between Jesse Higley and Betty Watson, both of Becket, were made public as the law directs." ' The young married pair settled in Becket, which was " Betty " Watson's native place. She was "born July 17, 1767. About the year 1794 they removed with a family of three young children to Shoreham, Vt., where they resided till the year 1807, when the family took up its residence for a few years at Addison in the same State. During the period that Jesse Higley resided in Vermont he acquired a competency and established a well-improved home with pleasant surroundings. Some time previous to the year 1812 he purchased a tract of land in Canada containing several hundred acres, lying on the River Thames, to which he removed. Included in this purchase was a part of the land that is now within the corporation limits of London, Ontario. This property, in time, became very valuable. When the second war with Great Britain was declared, the English Government offered to secure to Jesse Higley permanent possession of his property on condi- that he should take the oath of allegiance to the British Crown. With hereditary instinct and loyal devotion to the cause of liberty, to these conditions he nobly refused to comply, and in consequence he sacrificed all of his property, which was confiscated. His destiny was now changed. Disappointed and despoiled of his fortunes, he was forced to begin battle against adverse cir- cumstances. About the year 1820, when beyond his fiftieth year, he entered the unbroken wilds of the magnificent forests of St. 1 Book ii. p. 121, " Becket Records." DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1ST. 665 Lawrence County, New York, where he purchased a tract of land and erected a saw-mill, on the Racquet River. Here he labored with heroism and endurance to retrieve his lost estate, but fate gave him no adequate success. The whole country was in large arrears, occasioned by the late war, commerce having been greatly injured, and the people were burdened. As he drew near the evening of life he was obliged to give up the unequal conquest. About the year 1834, having reached his three score and ten, he and his wife emigrated with married children to Lapeer, Mich. This was in the early history of that prosperous State, and four years before it was admitted to the Union. Jesse Higley was throughout his life an exemplary character; he was a man of integrity, industrious, temperate, and frugal, as all who knew him bore witness. In addition to these good qualities he possessed excellent abilities and good judgment, as the record of his life fully proves. He died at Lapeer, Mich., October 22, 1838. His wife died at the same place February 15, 1842. Jesse and Elizabeth (Watson) Higley had the following children, viz. : William Simpson, born August 16, 1788; Loring, born June 6, 1790, died August 2, 1792; Jesse Colton, born January i, 1793; Charity, born April 17, 1795; Anna, born October 5, 1797, died July 25, 1798; Amy, born November 22, 1799, died at Cottage Grove, 111., March, 1852; Estes Howe, born March 15, 1802, died July 17, 1866, at Lapeer, Mich.; Eliza, born April 26, 1806; Almira, born November 16, 1809; Amanda, born June 14, 1811. WILLIAM SIMPSON HIGLEY, Sr., the eldest child of Jesse, ist, and Elizabeth (Watson) Higley, was born at Becket, Mass., August 16, 1788. When he was six years of age the family re- moved to Shoreham, Vt. At Bridgeport, Vt, December 13, 1813, he married Lois Turrell. They settled in Shoreham, resid- ing on Smith Street, north of Larrabee's Point Lake (Lake Cham- plain). In the year 1825 he was elected constable of the town. The same year there was a small storage-house built at Watch Point, which he occupied for his business till 1828. In 1832, ac- companied by his brother, Estes H. Higley, who then lived in St. Lawrence County, New York, he went to Michigan on a pros- pecting tour. Being favorably impressed with the lumbering 666 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. prospects in that then trackless, heavily-wooded country, they took up large tracts of government land within three miles of where Lapeer is now located. The town at that time consisted of but six log houses. Returning to their homes they made prep- aration to emigrate. In the year 1833 William S. Higley and his family packed their household goods in pioneer wagons, expressly manufactured for the purpose, crossed the St. Lawrence River at Ogdensburg, N. Y., and made their way through the dense wilderness of Canada to Detroit, Territory of Michigan ; from there they journeyed to their new home at Lapeer, arriving in July of the same year. William built a large sawmill on Flint River, where he trans- acted a flourishing business for many years. Besides his lumber and milling interests, he owned a half-section of rich farming land. The later years of his life were spent in attending to his agricultural interests. He died April i, 1867 ; his wife, Lois Turrell, died November 18, 1855. They were the parents of eleven children, viz. : William Simpson, Jr., Daniel Turrell, born February 27, 1817, died at Addison, Vt., April 5, 1819; Ann Louisa, Emma Cordelia, York Turrell, Mary Elizabeth, George Watson, Ellen Maria, Marion Alanthe, Alice Amelia, Jesse Wilbur, born October 15, 1842, died April 2, 1843. WILLIAM SIMPSON HIGLEY, Jr., the first child of William S. and Lois Turrell Higley, was born in Shoreham, Vt., September 15, 1814. He removed with his father's family, in the year 1833, to Lapeer, Mich. Here he married, January 15, 1838, Calista Murlin. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and also had interests in the manufacture of brick. He removed with his family to Illinois, where he resided for some years, but the later years of his life were spent at his home in Monroe, Wis. After the death of his wife he lived with his son, Henry Higley, at Sharon, Wis., where he died April 28, 1895. Children, all of whom were born at Lapeer, Mich., were as follows : Henry, Seward, Walter, and Marietta. ANN LOUISA, the third child of William S. and Lois Turrell Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., October 15, i8ig. An aged man now living at Shoreham recol- lects her well as noted for her remarkable beauty. She married at Lapeer, Mich., July 4, 1839, Harry Waldorph. She died September 26, 1855. Their children were : Emma Louisa^ George Delmour. EMMA LOUISA, born October 12, 1843, who married Charles Newton of Lapeer, Mich., November 2, 1862, and had children as follows : Herbert Newton, born August 17, 1863; Nellie Belle, born July 31, 1864; Elmer and Ella twins born July 24, 1866; Ward, born December I, 1868; Clair, born September I, 1870; Alma, born July 14, 1872. The family reside at Lapeer, Mich. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 667 GEORGE DELMOUR WALDORPH, the second child of Harry and Ann Louisa Higley Waldorph, was horn July 5, 1850. He married Jennie Higley, April 17, 1878. Their children are : Harry Delmour, born March 4, 1879; Blanche Maude, born April 8, 1881; Carrie, born May 12, 1883; Edward Kay and Grace May twins born June 10, 1886 ; and two others, whose names are not given. They reside at St. Clair, Mich. EMMA CORDELIA, the fourth child of William S. and Lois Ttirrell Higley, was born at Orwell. Vt., January 27, 1822. She married , 1844, Francis Goodale, of Lapeer, Mich. She died March i, 1852. Their children were : Francis Wilbur, born October 7, 1845; William Herbert, born February 19, 1848; and Arthur C., born November 22, 1851, died October, 1855. FRANCIS W., the eldest child, married, March 13, 1871, Sarah Comstock, at Fanner's Creek, Mich. They reside at Kintner, Mich. Their children are: Arthur, born August 22, 1874; Albert, born September 7, 1876; Lizzie, born April 9, 1878; Lynn, born September 10, 1880. WILLIAM HERBERT GOODALE, the second child of Frank Goodale and Emma C. Higley, was born February 19, 1848. He married Charlotte Coswick, October 2, 1873. They reside at Otter Lake, Mich. Their children are : Bertie, born March 20, 1875; Leslie Calvin, born September 12, 1878; Gerald, born September 22, 1878; Earle J., born January 13, 1884; Fred C., born Octo- ber 5, 1885. YORK TURRELL HIGLEY, the fifth child of William S. and Lois Turrell Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., August 14, 1826. He married, November 5, 1861, Caroline Day Strong, at Lapeer, Mich., and settled on the old home farm, where they have since resided (1895). He has always followed agricultural pursuits. Their children : Ada Caroline, born March 15, 1862 ; Lorenzo Strong, born October 31, 1863 ; Emma Adelia, born March I, 1866, died aged two years ; Ruby Ellen, born May 8, 1869 ; Rollin Chipman, born July 22, 1875 ; Florence Lorene, born October 15, 1877 : Charles Mason, born October 5, 1880 ; Maurice York, born July 2, 1885; LORENZO STRONG HIGLEY, the eldest son of York T. and Caroline Strong Higley, was born at Lapeer, Mich., and married, in 1892, Lora E. Cox of his native town. They first settled in Union City, Pa., but subsequently, in 1894, removed to Albany, N. Y. Since the year 1890 be has been engaged as eastern manager for the firm of Powers Bros, of Chicago and Albany. His wife, Lora Cox, died May 10, 1895, leaving one child, Lora Caroline Higley. ROLLIN CHIPMAN HIGLEY, the second son of York T. and Caroline Strong Higley, was born at the old farm homestead at Lapeer, Mich., July 22, 1875. He was graduated from the Lapeer high school ; possessing a bright and active mind, with a liberal education and- ability for business, his scope has expanded beyond nature's surroundings and an agricultural life into an experience in other fields. He resides (1895) with his older brother in Albany, N. Y., being with the firm of Powers Bros, of Chicago and Albany. He is unmarried. The daughters of York T. and Caroline Strong Higley, together with their youngest sons, live at home with their parents. Florence is a member of class '96 of the Lapeer high school. MARY ELIZABETH, the sixth child of William Simpson and Lois Turrell Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., July 8, 1828. She presided over her father's home after her mother's decease. She never married ; she died January 16, 1895. GEORGE WATSON HIGLEY, the seventh child of the same parents,- was born 668 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. May 15, 1830, at Shoreham, Vt. He received his education at the district school at Lapeer, Mich., afterward attending the State Normal School. At an early age he engaged in the milling interests of his father, and was very successful ; he also became a teacher, which calling he followed for some time ; then he took up farm- ing near the old homestead, and has since been thus engaged, except for a few years when he was in the grocery business at Lapeer, Mich. He has filled many posi- tions of trust and honor in political life. He is unmarried. ELLEN MARIA, the eighth child of William Simpson and Lois Turrell Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., July 15, 1832; she was brought by her parents, an infant, in their arms, to Lapeer, Mich., in 1833. She became a teacher of con- siderable note ; she married, August 26, 1860, the Rev. J. Frederick Kellogg, a gifted minister of Lapeer, and afterward resided where his ministerial duties called him. For a number of years he was stationed in Muskegan, Mich. Here Mr. Kellogg died in 1892. His widow now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Segar- Larned, in Detroit. Their children : Minnie E., born October 20, 1861 ; Mary Alice, born August 7, 1863 ; William Higley, born September 19, 1865 ; George Frederick, born November 13, 1870. MINNIE E., the eldest, married Frank E. Segar, M. D., November 6, 1882. MARY ALICE married, April 5, 1887, Gustavus A. King, and resides at East Saginaw, Mich. MARION ALANTHE, the ninth child of William Simpson and Lois Turrell Higley was born at Lapeer, Mich., September 26, 1835. She married Orville O. Morse, October 15, 1856, who is now (1895) a retired merchant. They reside in a beauti- ful home at Lapeer, Mich. No children. ALICE AMELIA, the tenth child in the same family, was born at Lapeer, Mich. , September 15, 1839. She married Samuel H. Chipman, September 10, 1868. Mr. Chipman is a prominent banker of Warsaw, Ind. For a number of years they spent their winters in the town of Warsaw, and their summers at Petoskey, Mich.; the latter is now their permanent home. They have no children. JESSE COLTON HIGLEY. Continued from page 665. Jesse, ist, Josiah, 2d, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. JESSE COLTON HIGLEY, the third child of Jesse Higley, ist, and Elizabeth (Watson) Higley, was born at Becket, Mass., January i, 1793. When he was scarce one year old his parents removed to Shoreham, Vt., where he was brought up, with the exception of a residence with his parents of a few years at the town of Addi- son, in the same State. When a youth of eighteen the family removed to Canada, and settled about the year 1811 on a large estate at the point where London, Ontario, is now located. The War of 1812-14 breaking up their fortunes and obliging them to DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1S7\ 669 return to the States, they settled, about the year 1820, on the spot which is now Colton, St. Lawrence County, N. Y. Here Jesse C., with his father, energetically went to work to build up a home in the dense forests, and here he resided for more than half a century and till the close of his useful life. It will be seen that he was one of the pioneers who carved out the township, and that he neces- sarily passed through the same hard experiences that has attended every effort to open a new wooded country and prepare the soil for agricultural uses. "From the earliest beginnings of the town he became one of the factors in the progress and development of the great Empire State, never relaxing in his diligence for every measure that would advance public interests. Bearing a high reputation as an efficient and sensible leader of affairs, and having the confidence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen, his clever abilities, which he used wisely, were fully recognized. During a period of fifty years of citizenship, he was elected and served in almost all of the more important public offices in which the townspeople could place him. On the organization of the town, which took place many years after he became a resident, it was named in his honor after his middle name Colton. In politics Mr. Higley was an old line Whig, and in later years was an active leader in the Republican party of his district. His partisanship was not of an offensive type; he never failed of elec- tion to every office for which he accepted the nomination, his most bitter opponents declaring that they could make no possible objection to him, except that he did not belong to their side, his geniality, with his other good traits, gaining all impartial voters. His son well recollects the ardent and active part he took in the presidential campaigns of 1840 and 1844. He possessed in a pre-eminent degree those social qualities that make men popular with their fellow-men, and to his moral uprightness and sterling integrity was added decision of charac- ter and firmness. A very old tombstone in the cemetery at Shoreham, Vt., indi- cates that Mr. Higley married as early as 1823. The inscription on the stone that marks the grave of the young wife and mother reads thus: " Nabby, wife of J. C. Higley, died 25th of March, A. D. 1824, aged 30 years." An infant son died February 14, 1824. 670 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. He married, second, September 4, 1830, Eunice, daughter of John and Sarah Smith. She was born at Shoreham, Vt., Decem- ber 22, 1792, and died at Colton, N. Y., October n, 1874. Jesse Colton Higley died June 16, 1874. Jesse Colton Higley and his wife Eunice (Smith) Higley were the parents of one child, David : DAVID HIGLEY was born at Colton, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., June 8, 1832. His earlier years were spent upon his father's farm, following the plow, sowing, raking, and binding, and the other farm occupations which fall to the lot of farmers' boys. With the inborn reticence which is a constitutional character- istic of many who bear the Higley name, he is inclined to suppress his own personality, the natural inheritance of an unassuming and tenderly sensitive disposition causing him to prefer a quiet and unobtrusive life. In commercial relations he bore a reputation for the highest integrity. His sincerity, uprightness, and honesty of purpose were never questioned. He married, April 23, 1861, Emma S. Doolittle, and removed to Rochester, N. Y., where he was for some years engaged in business, and where he now resides. Mr. Higley became a member of the Second Baptist Church of Rochester in 1878, of which he has since been a faithful supporter. After years of responsibility, he is now retired from active business. David and Emma D. Higley were the parents of one child, viz. : GERTRUDE E. HIGLEY, born July 27, 1866. She grew to the years of interest- ing young womarthood, possessing a good mind and many most estimable qualities. By her life-giving sunshine in the home, and her sympathy and devotion to her father, she was a part of his life and joy. She united at an early age with the Church of her father's choice the Second Baptist Church of Rochester, N. Y., and was encircled by a large number of loving companions. But her journey "from the cradle to immortal life" was brief ; she was yet in the charm of bright years when she was called from earth to heaven. Her doting parents could not have had the courage to have chosen that their hearts and home should become clouded with sorrow and left desolate, though they sorrow not with- out hope, for she had cared for the things eternal here, and "she went not un- known into the other life," passing away on the 23d of April, 1887. " Meanwhile," the father 1 cries, " content ! Our love was well divided ; Its sweetness following where she went, Its anguish stayed where I did. 1 This word is transposed. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, \ST. 671 Well done, of God, to halve the lot, And give her all the sweetness To us the empty room and cot, To her the heavens' completeness." Continued from page 665. CHARITY HIGLEY, the eldest daughter and fourth child of Jesse Higley, ist, and his wife Elizabeth (Watson) Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., April 17, 1795. She married, January 3, 1817, Alanson E. Durand. Their first removal from their native town was to Pawsville, and from thence to Burlington, afterward residing for a brief period at Crown Point, N. Y. They then emigrated to Aurora, 111. Their residence here covered a number of years. It was at Aurora that her husband died Thanksgiving Day, 1868. Mrs. Durand, then being upward of seventy-three years of age, took up her residence with her son, James A. Durand, and on the removal of his family to Belle Plains, la., accompanied them. The last years of her life were spent in the household of the same son in the city of Chicago. The true record of her long life cannot be put into words. She was an interesting character, possessing remarkably pre- served faculties, and enjoying a fair degree of health till she neared her ninety-fifth year. She was for a great number of years a Christian professor in membership with the Congrega- tional Church. Though taking no morbid view of this life as she reviewed it from the standpoint of extreme old age, and believ- ing in its highest, truest pleasures, she declared at its eventide " that she had failed to find in it that which satisfies the immor- tal spirit and gives it permanent satisfaction, and that she was inspired to look alone to the life beyond as the acme of perfected human happiness." * She died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Buck, April 24, 1890, aged ninety-five years. She was interred beside her husband at Aurora, 111. " I will behold thy presence, . . . and when I awake up after thy likeness, I shall be satisfied." Alanson and Charity Higley Durand were the parents of six children who survived infancy, viz. : Edgar, James A. , Rollin, George W.^ Elizabeth, and Helen. Written in * letter addressed to the Higley Reunion, 1889, 672 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. EDGAR DURAND, the eldest, lived till manhood, married, and settled at Freeport, O. He died, leaving an infant son. JAMES ALEXANDER DURAND, the second child, was born in Crown Point, N. Y., about the year 1825, and remained with his parents till twenty years of age. In the year 1845 he married Anna C. Beers of Charlotte, Vt., and settled in Bur- lington. In 1853 they removed to Chicago, residing there three years, when they went to Oswego, Kendal County, 111. Here they lived seventeen years. They then removed to Belle Plains, la., remaining there eighteen years, then returned to the city of Chicago, where he died at his residence, February 10, 1891, and was interred at Oswego, 111. He had one son, Cassius ff. Durand. CASSIUS H. DURAND married Marguerite Bum of Newton, N. J. They are the parents of one child, Herbert Cassius Durand. ROLLIN, the third child of Alanson and Charity Higley Durand, died in Wyo- ming, Canada. GEORGE WASHINGTON DURAND, the fourth child, married and removed to the far West, and died. ELIZABETH, the first daughter of Alanson and Charity Higley Durand, married Ira W. Buck. She died February, 1892, and was interred in the family burial lot at Aurora, 111. HELEN, the sixth child, married the Rev. Timothy Lyman of Ludlow, Mass., and died in that town. Continued from page 665. MARY AMY, the sixth child of Jesse Higley, ist, and Eliza- beth (Watson) Higley, was born November 22, 1799. She mar- ried, first, Ebenezer Duncklee. They resided at Potsdam, N. Y. They had a son, Albert B. Duncklee, born at Potsdam November 8, 1831. Mrs. Duncklee's second husband was Brown. ESTES HOWE HIGLEY, the seventh child of Jesse, ist, and Elizabeth (Watson) Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., March 15, 1802. He married Jane Brown. He removed to Lapeer, Mich., where they brought up a family. He died July 7, 1866. A son, Emulus Higley^ resides at Lapeer. No further historical data has been furnished. ELIZA, the eighth child of Jesse, ist, and Elizabeth (Watson) Higley, was born at Shoreham, Vt., April 26, 1806. She married Alexander Russell. They removed to Michigan, and died, leaving children. ALMIRA, the ninth child of the same parents, was born at Addi- son, Vt., November 16, 1809. She never married. AMANDA, the tenth child, was born June 14, 1811. She mar- ried Butts. The editor has no further information of this family. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 673 Continued from page 660. Of Josiah Higley, 2d's, youngest three children but little is known. They are as follows: PHILANDER HIGLEY, his fifth child, was born October 24, 1767, at Turkey Hills, Simsbury, Conn. Nothing more is known of him. He may not have lived till manhood. SYLVESTER HIGLEY, the sixth child, was born at Turkey Hills, Simsbury, January 20, 1770, and baptized in the Church of St. Andrew, Scotland parish (now Bloomfield), Februapy 16, 1771. He married in 1790, in the same church, Urania Cibborn. Old family business papers show that one of the sons of Josiah Hig- ley, 2d, emigrated early in this century to Onondaga County, New York. There is but little question that Sylvester Higley and his wife were the persons who removed and settled there. THEODOSIA HIGLEY, the youngest child of Josiah Higley, 2d, was baptized by the Rev. Roger Viets in the Church of St. Andrew, Scotland, February 13, 1774. There is no allusion to her afterward. She probably did not survive infancy. Continued from chapter xxv. p. 145. We now return to the family of Josiah Higley, ist. REBECCA HIGLEY, the second child of Josiah Higley, ist, and his wife Dinah Gillette, was born at Turkey Hills, Simsbury, May 22, 1727. She was living at the time of her father's decease, 1751 ; further than this nothing is known of her. SUSANNAH HIGLEY, the third child of Josiah, ist, and Dinah (Gillette) Higley, was born May 30, 1730. She was twenty when her father died in 1751. Nothing further is known of her. DINAH HIGLEY, the fourth child of Josiah, ist, and Dinah (Gillette) Higley, was born January i, 1732. She was living when her father's estate was settled, in 1751. No further account of her has been discovered. CHAPTER LXXI. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. Continued front chapter xxv, p. 145. Nathan, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. Let us now praise famous men and our fathers that begat us. . . There be of them that have left a name behind them that their praises might be reported. ECCLESIASTICUS xliv. NATHAN HIGLEY, the fifth child and second son of Josiah, ist, and Dinah (Gillette) Higley, was born at Turkey Hills parish, Simsbury, now East Granby, Conn., August i, 1736. He appears to have removed to Windsor, which was a distance of less than ten miles from his birthplace, soon after reaching his majority. In the "seating of y e meetin house" of the Second Society of Windsor (now the First Church of South Windsor) in 1761, he was placed in the " 2d pew." He married, September 16, 1764, Anna Barrett of Hartford, Conn. She was born December 17, 1733. They established their home in Windsor. On the 25th of the June after their marriage, the following certificate was addressed to the Windsor Church by Anna Higley's former pastor : " HARTFORD, June 25th, 1765. "This may certify all whom it may concern that Ann Barret (now wife of Nathan Higley of Windsor) did some time since publicly own and recognize her Baptismal Covenant, in the South Church in Hartford, and, when she went from us, was in regular standing and free from scandal. "ELNATHAN WHITMAN, " Pastor of the South Church." On July i, 1786, she " owned " or renewed " y e covenant " with the East Windsor Church. Beyond minor business transactions found upon record, little is known of Nathan Higley's life. We have reason, however, to conclude that he was a man possessing an unshaken name for stability and integrity; a quiet citizen, who lived in sober style, attending to his farming industry. He was evidently faithful in his church relations. Mention is made of him in connection with 674 DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, \ST. 675 town matters, February 6, 1771, and on the i3th of July, 1793, he sold land to his sons, Horace and Nathan, Jr. His name again appears, in June of the latter year, in an old sawmill account at Suffield, from which place he probably purchased lumber. Nathan Higley died at Windsor, Conn., March 4, 1816. His wife, Anna, died at Winchester, Conn., July 13, 1813. /^heir children : Horace, born June n, 1765; Nathan, Jr., born September 7, 1767; Arodi, born February 5, 1770; Anne, borp December 17, 1774, and baptized on the i8th ; she married Coe ; Clarissa, born November 20, 1777, and baptized on the 23d of the same month ; she married Lawrence. Of the daughters we have no further account. HORACE HIGLEY, the first child of Nathan and Anna (Barrett) Higley, was born at East Windsor, Hartford County, Conn., June i7, 1765- He married Eleanor Loomis, daughter of Amasa Loomis 1 and his wife Hannah Hurlburt, residents of East Windsor, December 9, 1793. She was born June 29, 1767. Her father died the July preceding her marriage, leaving, it is supposed, some property, to which she became heir, since she and her sister, Mabel Loomis, gave a warrantee deed of land to Jonathan Birge, on the 2ist of October, 1794. Horace Higley sold his estate in Windsor, May 13, 1795, and removed to Winchester, Litchfield County, Conn. February, 1796, he sold land to his brother, Arodi Higley. The family appear to have removed back to East Windsor early in 1797, as the births and baptisms of some of their children are there recorded. Of this removal, however, we are not entirely clear. About the beginning of the present century they took up their residence at Winsted, Conn., where they lived full forty years. Horace Higley was " recommended " to the Winsted Church in 1802. Natural refinement and intelligence were remarkably blended as characteristic traits this family possessed; they were well-to-do in the world, self-reliant, resolute, and highly respected. As age advanced upon Horace and Eleanor Higley, they removed, in the year 1841, to Painesville, O., where they spent their remaining years with married children. 1 Amasa Loomis was born February 19, 1738. He died July i, 1793. He was the son o Gresham Loomis, who was born in 1701. 676 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Horace Higley died at Painesville, O., January 2, 1842. Elea- nor (Loomis) Higley died August 17, 1849. Their children : Horace Loomis, born December 29, 1794; Homer, born Decem- ber 30, 1796; Peter, born February 10, 1802; Mary, born May 18, 1804; Charles, born November 14, 1806; William, born April 23, 1809. HORACE LOOMIS HIGLEY, the oldest son of Horace and Eleanor (Loomis) Higley, was born at East Windsor, Hartford County, Conn., December 29, 1794, and baptized on the 4th of January, 1795. His eighteenth birthday, in the year 1812, found him at Pascagoula, Miss., having gone out into the world to carve his own way. Here he resided for some years. From Pascagoula he went to Pensacola, Fla. It was here that he became a member of the United States Engineer Corps, and, as superintendent under Major Chase, was in charge of the erection of the fortifications in Pensacola harbor. He was recognized by all classes, wherever he was met, as a gentleman of rare culture and unaffected elegance of manner. He became a thorough Southerner in thought, taste, and habit in life. Except that there still lingered a remnant of his boyhood attachment to the New England scenes of his early years, and to the kindred whom he could recall in his after life, he was like one native born under the smiling suns and amid the brilliant flower- beds and verdant foliage-bordered rivers of our charming summer- land. One of his nieces well recollects the impression that he made when he once came North to visit her father during her child- hood, the admiring interest that he aroused in the town by his graceful and gentlemanly demeanor, and how grand he appeared in her eyes with his handsome figure, clad from .head to foot in a suit of faultless white linen, the customary summer costume of a Southern gentleman of that day. He married, May 15, 1827, Eulalie Collins of Pensacola, Fla., a cultivated woman of refinement and much sweetness of charac- ter. Her father was a Creole born in Pensacola, of French and Spanish parentage. Twelve years after their marriage, during which time they resided in Pensacola, they removed (1839) to Mobile, Ala. Here Mr. Higley entered the State Bank of Ala- bama as paying-teller. Later on in the Bank of Mobile he filled the positions both of receiving- and paying-teller, and was finally DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLE K, 1ST. 677 elected cashier, which office he held for several years till the time of his death. He never accepted public office. Modest, and of a retiring disposition, he shunned public notoriety, but he was always found at his post of duty, faithfully and honestly dis- charging the trusts confided to him. He died in Mobile, August 20, 1856. His wife, who was a devout and conscientious Roman Catholic, died in the year 1879. Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley were the parents of six children, all of whom were baptized in infancy into the Roman Catholic faith, viz. : Horace Antonio, born May 29, 1828 ; John Hunt, born Decem- ber 4, 1830; Charles Homer, born August 4, 1833; Henry Pauld- ing, born February 20, 1836; William Henry, born January 30, 1838; Mary Florence, born August 10, 1840; and James Bowie, born , 1842. HORACE ANTONIO HIGLEY, the eldest child of Horace Loomis Higley and his wife Eulalie Collins, was born at Pensacola, Fla., May 29, 1828. In the year 1849 he crossed the plains to California, with the rush of the Argonauts. He had been thor- oughly educated, and was now by profession a surveyor, draughts- man, and engineer. In 1833, and again in 1855, he was elected surveyor of Alameda County, situated just across the Bay from San Francisco. The position at that time was a very important, responsible, and lucrative one. He was a singularly handsome young man, over six feet in height, with large black lustrous eyes, bearing all the marks of a high-bred gentleman. With most win- ning ways, it is not surprising that he became a great favorite among his associates. The following is taken from a letter received from the Hon. Andrew J. Moulder, Mayor of San Francisco, and Ex-State Superintendent of Public Instruction: " My heart swells even now as I recall the noble bearing and gallant spirit of my departed friend. We were youngsters together. In the early fighting days of California, when every gentlemen had to fight under provocation or qviit the coun- try branded as a coward, both Horace and myself much preferred the fight. We have stood back to back with heavy odds against us in more than one deadly fray : and what comfort to know that your backer would never flinch ! I recall as if it were but yesterday when we were once beset by half a dozen desperadoes armed to the teeth, and there seemed nothing left but to sell one's life dearly. When the leader of the gang, to whom we were strangers in person, but well-known by reputation, cried out, 'Who the h 1 are you, anyhow ?' The answer was ' Higley and 44 678 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Moulder ! ' The leader lowered his weapon at once, and turning to his comrades said, ' Pshaw, boys! \ve don't want to fight these gentlemen ; they are our kind. Let all hands take a drink ! ' More than one of them at a later day stood by us in a tight place." In another part of the letter he says: " General Higley was well-known to all of the leading old Calif ornians, and was universally admired by the women and beloved by the men. He was the very type of a high-toned Southern gentleman, the soul of honor, generous, and brave to rashness. " In 1857 he was elected Surveyor-General of the State of California on the Democratic ticket. I was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction at the same time on the same ticket, and during the campaign we traversed the State to- gether. Horace couldn't make a strong speech, but he was the best social " rustler " in a mixed crowd I ever met with. He captivated all around him by his wit, his easy manners, and his ban hommie. He was elected by a large majority, and filled the office with honesty and ability, and was re-elected in 1859. " In 1861, at the expiration of his term and the breaking out of the Civil War, he abandoned a promising career and prospects of fortune in California to go with the South and join the Confederate Army. He was an ambitious and daring soldier, and was soon appointed on the staff of fighting General Cleburne. After General Morgan had started on his famous cavalry raid through Kentucky into Ohio, Higley was sent post-haste with instructions to overtake him and deliver orders from his commanding general. He came up with Morgan just after he had crossed the Ohio River. The Union forces were pursuing so closely that he could not get back to his command. He told me describing his adventure in stirring terms that he had an all night race for- life. Morgan and his troops were cap- tured, utterly worn out. Higley was taken prisoner among the number, and con- fined at Columbus, O. He complained bitterly afterward that he was not treated as a prisoner of war, but was treated as a felon, closely confined in a narrow cell and put on prison fare. Ladies who were friends of his family in Louisville, Ky., came to his aid cheered, comforted, and supplied him with luxuries. After a long imprisonment he was released. After the close of the war he returned to California, still handsome, elegant, and full of life. But alas ! he had contracted in the army the baneful habit of drink." Some time during the year 1871 General H. Antonio Higley married Sallie Phole, a native of North Carolina, who was twenty years his junior. His splendid health soon after his return to California began to decline, and on the 3d of March, 1873, he was taken to the hospital of the Sisters of Mercy in San Fran- cisco. The entry by the physicians concerning his physical con- dition when admitted was : " Fatty degeneration of the liver. " By degrees he improved considerably under treatment, and his life was prolonged till the following November. His wife was con- stantly beside him during his weary months of confinement. "A GEN. JOHN H. HIGLEY. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 679 more devoted wife," writes Mother Russell, " could not be found. She was not a Catholic, but she had the happiness of seeing her husband prepare very sincerely to appear before the Tribunal of Eternal Justice." " He was a prince of good fellows [concludes Mr. Moulder], genial and generous, a friend that you could tie to the Higleys never had a nobler or more gallant bearer of the name. Peace, dear fellow, to thy ashes ! " General Antonio Higley's remains were embalmed and taken to his old home at Mobile, Ala., where the burial took place. He left no children. " Very peacefully they rest North and South and East and West While the heaven-descending dew Falls alike on Gray and Blue, While the cheering light of day Shines on Blue and shines on Gray Weary march and battle sore Past for them forevermore ! * Continued from page 677. GENERAL JOHN HUNT HIGLEY, the second child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie (Collins) Higley, was born in Pensacola, Fla., December 4, 1830. In infancy his devoted Roman Catholic mother had the seal of baptism of the Roman Catholic Church placed upon him, and in his youth he received the sacraments; but when he passed to years of manhood the fascinations of life weaned him from the practice of the faith, and he was not afterward what could be called a practical Catholic. He was, however, all through life a firm believer in Christianity. When he was yet a child he removed with his parents to Mobile, Ala. Here he entered, at the age of eighteen, upon a business career, beginning as clerk in the stores of S. I. & I. I. Jones, where he remained five years. From 1855 to 1861 he was asso- ciated with William T. Marshall & Co., cotton factors. Mr. Marshall was afterward his father-in-law. Fortune smiled upon him. He became one of the most popular, prominent, and pros- perous men of his adopted city and State, and was a member of the leading organizations of his city. In 1854 he became a member of the "Can't-Get-Away Club" of 680 THE H 1C LEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Mobile, a society established in 1839 f r tne purpose of nursing and aiding the victims of the distressing epidemic of yellow fever. With two other members of the society General Higley volun- teered his services to go to the aid of the sufferers in Savannah, Ga. Here he took charge of a yellow fever infirmary until the disease abated, and on his way back to Mobile he nursed patients in Montgomery, Ala., where the same dread disease had also become epidemic. General Higley's military career began some time prior to the late Civil War. At the breaking out of the conflict between the States he was first lieutenant of the Mobile Cadets. Loyal to his State, and with fidelity and faith in his people, he promptly entered the Confederate Army, joining the 3d Alabama Infantry Regiment, with which he served in Virginia, and won distinction by his gallantry. In 1862, while in the army, he was elected sheriff of Mobile, and returned home for a time to discharge the duties of his office. But as the demand for Confederate troops became more and more urgent, he joined the 4oth Alabama Regiment, having been elected lieutenant-colonel. This regiment became a part of the western Confederate army. It marched to Vicksburg, and was in that city at the time of its surrender to General U. S. Grant, July 4, 1863. By the resignation of the commanding officer, Higley became colonel of the 4oth Alabama Regiment, which position he held until the close of the war in 1865. Colonel Higley was engaged in numerous skirmishes and battles, but was never wounded. After the surrender of Vicksburg he was in the Army of the Tennessee, under command of General Joseph E. Johnston, in the famous brigade of General Baker. When the city of Atlanta was taken, Baker's brigade was ordered to Spanish Fort, opposite the city of Mobile, and did duty there for several months. In January, 1865, Colonel Higley went with his brigade to North Carolina, and was engaged in the last fight of Johnston's army at Bentonville against General Sherman, when "the honest purpose of the South was crossed, and her brave armies were finally beaten." As a military commander his gallantry upon many a bloody field was conspicuous. On the isth of February, 1865, in Trinity Church, Mobile, he married Lily Marshall, the eldest daughter of William T. Marshall of that city. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 68l After the war he was made brigadier-general of the ist Brig- ade, Alabama Militia. In this battalion he always took an active interest. "True to the memories of the past, and no less true to the duties of the future and the glory of our united country," when peace was established, he was forward in all the offices of a good citizen, prompt in the exercise of political duties, his fellow- citizens considering him invaluable in party counsels. In the political struggles for good government during the dark days that followed the situation at the close of the war, he bore him- self as an unflinching and undaunted leader. While it may have been hard to endure, in common with his comrades and their leaders, the overthrow of the Confederacy for which he had bravely fought and given his treasure, he nobly submitted to the result of the war, rising above ignoble bias or bitter feeling against the Northern populace and its war commanders, whose destiny it was to gain the vantage ground. General Higley occu- pied many positions of trust and honor to the end of his life, among which he was a member of the Lee Association, President of the Merchants' Steam Fire Company, No. 4, a member of the Athelstan Lodge, No. 369, F. and A. M., and Eminent Com- mander of the Mobile Commandery, No. 2, K. T., and President of the " Can't-Get-Away Club," a benevolent society. After the war he became a member of the firm of William T. Marshall & Co., cotton factors, with which he remained until elected Secretary of the Washington Fire and Marine Insur- ance Company, which position he filled with great credit to him- self for fifteen years, till the company wound up its business and re-insured its risks in " the American" of Philadelphia. He then continued in the insurance business under the style of John H. Higley & Co., his son, John, Jr., being his partner, represent- ing "the American "of Philadelphia, as well as several other companies. In figure General John Hunt Higley was tall and finely propor- tioned; his bearing was commanding, and his nature genial and kind. J. W. Dorr, editor of The Floridian, writes: "I have known him from childhood. We were boys together and school- mates, both natives of West Florida. He is one of the noblest men I ever knew a grand man in his nobility of character and his majestic physique." He was unanimously recognized by his fellow-citizens as the fittest man to be the model for the typical soldier that crowns 682 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. the Confederate monument erected at Mobile to commemorate the valiant deeds and heroic courage of those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the South. His death was sudden. Stricken down with apoplexy early in the morning of February 27, 1889, lingering unconscious during the day, the "inevitable hour" coming in the evening, tells the brief, sad story of him quitting this world. The announcement of his departure was received by the entire community with deep feeling of genuine sorrow and grief. In the private walks of life his earnestness of purpose, his diligence and industry, and his uprightness of character had secured the confidence of the people and endeared him to all who knew him. His private life was as beautiful as his public life. An editorial in a Mobile evening journal remarks : " The remembrance of his broad sympathies, his bright and cheerful disposition, his untiring energy, his devotion to duty, is something to make men pause in the ceaseless round of life and thank God that there are beacon-lights to guide those who are to come after us." The funeral obsequies took place February 28, 1889. The remains were encased in an elegant casket covered with black velvet and heavy silk cord. Over the casket was laid the bullet- riddled battle-flag of the 4th Alabama Regiment, of which he was colonel during the Civil War. The body was taken from his residence to the cathedral, the cortege being escorted by the ist Regiment of Alabama State troops, in full dress uniform, the members of the Lee Association, the Can't-Get-Away Club, and the Mobile Cadet Veterans. As the procession drew up to the main entrance of the cathedral, the honorary pall-bearers, who numbered fifty leading citizens, and the board of directors of the Washington Fire and Marine Insurance Company opened ranks while the hearse passed through. At the same time the ist Alabama Regiment presented arms, while the band played a funeral dirge as the casket was being moved from the hearse to the church. An immense congregation was gathered within the walls of the cathedral, while crowds who could not gain admittance stood outside, all with reverent mien. An earnest address was delivered by Bishop O'Sullivan. At the conclusion of the services, and while the casket was being borne from the church, Cherubini's " Veni Jesu " was sung by a quartet of distinguished singers. DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1ST. 683 The funeral procession was then formed and proceeded to Magnolia Cemetery, where the services were concluded at the grave by the officiating bishop. The floral emblems were numerous and very beautiful, filling a large wagon. Among them was a pillow of japonicas from which arose a silver rod supporting a star. A large wreath of roses was borne upon a silver staff ornament, with white ribbon. This was the offering of the surviving veterans of the 4oth Alabama Regiment. The religious services at the grave being ended, the Mobile Cadets were drawn up in line and fired three volleys over the newly made grave. As the smoke was wafted away the bugler stood out and, just at the twilight hour, as daylight was fading and darkness was gathering, he sounded "taps" the soldier's last farewell to a beloved comrade. Mrs. Lily Marshall Higley survives her husband, and resides with her family in Mobile, Ala. General John Hunt Higley and his wife were 'the parents of the following children, all of whom are living: Mary Eulalie, born August 19, 1867; John Hunt, Jr., born January 28, 1869; William Marshall, born November 17, 1870; Lily, born April n, 1879; Horace Herndon, born March 15, 1880. Continued from page 677. CHARLES HOMER HIGLEY, the third child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley, was born in Pensacola, Fla., August 4, 1833. He was a lad of six years when his parents removed to Mobile, Ala. Here he resided with his parents till he joined General William Walker and his men in a conquest in Nicaragua, and was killed in battle early in the year 1857. He never married. HENRY PAULDING HIGLEY, the fourth child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley, was born February 20, 1836. He died March 29, 1837. WILLIAM HENRY CHASE HIGLEY, the fifth child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley, was born in Pensacola, Fla., January 30, 1838. Here he resided until his death, at the age of forty-five, which took place in 1883. Died unmarried. MARY FLORENCE HIGLEY, the sixth child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley, was born in Mobile, Ala., August 10, 1840. She married Calvin N. Norris. She died in the year 1886, leaving two children, one son and one daughter. 684 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. JAMES BOWIE HIGLEV, the seventh child of Horace Loomis and Eulalie Collins Higley, was born at Mobile, Ala., , 1842, where he grew to young manhood. He spent almost two years in California with his brother, General Horace Antonio Higley. On the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted with the Con- federate troops of his native State, and was killed in battle October 4, 1862, at Corinth, Miss., when the Confederates, gal- lantly undertaking to recapture the place, were signally defeated in an attempt to take it by assault. Continued from page 676. HOMER HIGLEY, the second child of Horace and Eleanor Loomis Higley, was born at Winchester, Litchfield County, Conn., December 30, 1796, and baptized in the church at East Windsor (now South Windsor) May 14, 1797. In the second war with Great Britain he entered the ranks under Captain Moses Hayden, August 3, 1813, and served at New London, Conn., till September 16, when the soldiers were discharged. He married, May 10, 1827, Aurelia Marshall, daughter of Raphael Marshall of Colebrook, Conn. She was born September 10, 1804. They resided in Colebrook during the three years next following their marriage. Mr. Higley was a member of the Seneca Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons after its organization at Newfield, Conn., a lodge of "very creditable financial and social standing." In the year 1830 Homer Higley, with his wife and one child, his daughter Ellen, removed to Painesville, O., at that time a very inconsiderable place, located on Lake Erie. Painesville had been a trading post since the very early times of the settlement of Ohio. The wooded point near the mouth of the deep pic- turesque valley of the Grand River forecasted the site of this, one of the most beautiful towns in the lake region. Commerce on our great inland seas was then of comparatively little im- portance. The magnitude of the present commerce was not dreamed of, and there were no railroads in Ohio. The Sault Ste. Marie was not improved till twenty years later. The restless, venturesome prospectors on the rugged north shores of these great lakes were going from point to point in little boats which they propelled by oars, spending their time fishing and searching DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 685 for minerals. To the westward of Painesville the swamps and bogs were filled with beaver. At this place Homer Higley, then in the full vigor of mature manhood, took part in overcoming the difficulties of an unde- veloped country, and lent his individual abilities and force of character in the advance of the town. In public measures he made his usefulness felt. For some years he served as one of the township trustees. He was one of the moving spirits in the construction of the Lake and Trumbull County plank road, and was one of its first board of directors in 1852. This road was an important linking highway con- structed through the forests between Painesville and Warren, O., and at that time was an eminent public advantage to the two counties of Lake and Trumbull. Homer Higley lived in the confidence of his fellow-men, hav- ing had the beginnings of good birth and careful training. These advantages founded a character that spent its life in uniformity of purpose, untinted with sordid ambition and selfish ends. He died at his residence at Painesville, August 6, 1857. His wife, Aurelia Marshall Higley, died November i, 1870. The children of Homer and Aurelia M. Higley were : Ellen M. , Charles M. , and Mary Elizabeth. ELLEN M. HIGLEY, their eldest child, was born at Colebrook, Conn., Feb- ruary 19, 1828, and was taken to Painesville, O., on her parents' removal to that place when she was two years of age. She married, September 8, 1852, Truman E. Bird, a native of Skaneateles, N. Y. They removed to Madison, Wis., in 1854, where there was born to them three children. In 1883 they removed westward, settling upon a ranch in the vicinity of Cedar Rapids, Neb., where they now reside. Their children are : Allen //., born April 29, 1856 ; Kate, born September 2, 1859 ; an( i Nellie B. born October 21, 1863. Nellie B. Bird married John S. Wolf. CHARLES M., the second child of Homer and Aurelia Marshall Higley, was born at Painesville, O., March 23, 1831. He was accidently killed by a rail- way train in Cleveland, O., September 6, 1854. MARY ELIZABETH, the third ch'ld of Homer and Aurelia Marshall Higley, was born at Painesville, O., May 21, 1839. She married, August 9, 1860, General Charles E. Harris. They reside at Cedar Rapids, Neb. Their children are : Charles T., born November 29, 1865, and Mary L., born September 6, 1869. Continued from pagt 676. PETER HIGLEY, the third child of Horace and Eleanor Loomis Higley, was born at Winsted, Conn., February 10, 1802. He appears to have been taken to the East (now South) Windsor 686 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Church for baptism, May 30, 1802. He died at Winsted, Sep- tember 17, 1813. MARY HIGLEY, the fourth child of Horace and Eleanor Loomis Higley was born at Winsted, Conn., May 18, 1804. She re- moved to Painesville, O., with her parents and died there, August 16, 1846. She never married. CHARLES HIGLEY, the fifth child of Horace and Eleanor Loomis Higley, was born at Winsted, Conn., November 14, 1806. He died at Thompson Sulphur Well, Yazoo County, Miss., August 19, 1835. Unmarried. WILLIAM HIGLEY, the sixth child of Horace and Eleanor Loomis Higley, was born at Winsted, Conn., April 23, 1809. He married, September 20, 1832, Sarah E. Beach, daughter of Erastus Beach, M. D. , of Sandisfield, Mass. He died May 2, 1863, at Springfield, Mass. His wife survives him and resides with her brother, Dr. Beach, in Springfield. They had no children. NATHAN HIGLEY, JR. Nathan, Jr., Nathan, ist, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. Continued from page 675. NATHAN HIGLEY, Jr. (or 2d), the second child of Nathan and Anna (Barrett) Higley, was born at East Windsor, Conn., Sep- tember 7, 1767, and was baptized in the East Windsor Church on the i3th of the same month. He married, November n, 1790, Hannah Allyn, of a very old and honored family of Windsor, Conn. He resided during his entire life in his native town, devot- ing himself mainly to agriculture. May 5, 1793, Nathan and his wife together " owned and renewed y e covenant " in the church at East Windsor. The children of Nathan, Jr., and Hannah (Allyn) Higley were: SALLY and NATHAN, twins, baptized in the East (now South) Windsor Church, March 30, 1794. The Christian name given to Nathan, was Nathan Allyn. He was afterward generally called by his middle name. Later on he changed the spell- ing to Allen. Sally lived to womanhood and married Lawrence. FREDERICK, the third child of Nathan, Jr., and Hannah (Allyn) Higley, was born August, 1796, and baptized February 19, 1797. He died February 25, 1797. ANNA, the fourth child, was born July, 1798, and baptized the 8th of the same month. She married Coe. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, \ST. 687 WILLIAM, the fifth child of Nathan, Jr., and Hannah (Allyn) Higley, was born in the month of October, and baptized November I, 1801. He died July 20, 1821. Unmarried. ARODI HIGLEY, the third child of Nathan and Anna (Barrett) Higley, was born at East Windsor, Conn., February 5, 1770, and baptized in the East Windsor Church, February n, 1770. He married Clarissa Loomis, October 22, 1795. The two brothers, Horace and Arodi, married sisters. (See sketch of Horace Higley, page 675.) Arodi Higley resided at East Windsor. He was a well respected citizen. He died November 20, 1832, and was interred in the rural cemetery at East Windsor, where a sub- stantial marble monument marks the close of his life. The inventory of his personal estate amounted to $404.33. His son, Job L. Higley, was appointed administrator. His wife, Clarissa Loomis Higley, died September 13, 1858, aged eighty-seven years. Arodi and Clarissa Loomis Higley were the parents of two children, Job Loomis and Hiram. JOB LOOMIS HIGLEY, the eldest, was born at East Windsor, Conn., September ii, 1801, and baptized March 7, 1802. He married, February 26, 1861, his cousin Sarah Drake, at Hartford, Conn. She was born March 5, 1820. They resided at East Windsor. He died May 24, 1881. She died April 17, 1884. There were no children. HIRAM HIGLEY, the second child of Arodi and Clarissa Loomis Higley, was born September 30, 1804, at East Windsor, O. He removed to Michigan, where he married . Three children were born to them, all daughters, viz. : Mary H. , Juliet, and Frances. His daughter Mary married Robertson, and resides in St. Clair, Mich. His widow and one daughter reside in Ypsilanti, Mich. CHAPTER LXXII. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, ISt. Continued from chapter xxv. p. 145. Elijah, Sr., Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. Happy he who with a bright regard looks back upon his father's fathers, Who with joy recounts their deeds of grace. GOETHE. ELIJAH HIGLEY, Sr., the sixth child of Sergeant Josiah Higley, ist, and his wife Dinah Gillette, was born at Turkey Hills parish, Simsbury, Conn., about the year 1738.' His mar- riage is found upon record, thus: " Elijah Higley of Simsbury and Anna Halliday of Suffield joined in marriage ye 24th of February A. D. 1 763 : " On the nth of April, 1763, he purchased land and settled in the northern part of Simsbury near the site of the ancient Higley sawmill, of which property he became the half owner. This mill was located on a lively stream whose waters are still swiftly running, and is the same " little brook " mentioned in one of the earliest deeds in the town as a boundary to Captain John Higley's land. There is,a venerable hemlock overhanging a fine spring in the close vicinity near which Elijah Higley's dwelling house stood. The house disappeared long ago, worn away by time and its obliterating elements. An old account book, now in possession of a Vermont branch of the Higleys, gives the following glimpse of Elijah: DR. s. d. December 1765, Elijah Higley for 5 pounds and a half of Chees. 038 April 1766, " " by one Bushel of Rie 030 In the year 1767 he removed to Windsor, Conn., and here he built and owned "a good grist mill at Pine Meadows," near the present site of Windsor Locks, together with other permanent improvements in the south part of the town. 1 The exact date of birth of Elijah Higley, Sr., has not been discovered. 688 DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1ST. 689 He was a man who displayed the energy significant of the character of his ancestry, and sustained an excellent standing in the community. In 1779 he with his family removed to Marlboro, Vt., emigrating, it is supposed, in company with his cousin Daniel Higley and his family, who went the same year. It was early in 1781 that he disposed of all of his Windsor property, selling to Alexander Allen "the house, barn, and shop partly built, and half the grist mill, the other half now belonging to Ensign Eliakim Gaylord." ' At Marlboro he took the freeman's oath, and he appears upon the town records as a citizen of active usefulness. He again established a mill property, and was also concerned largely in real estate transactions. As far as is known both Elijah and Anna (Halliday) Higley died at Marlboro, Vt. They had twelve children, viz. : Olive, born February 6, 1764; Lavina and Lucina, twins, born October 25, 1765; supposed they survived but a brief period. Lavina, zd, born March 31, 1768. Elijah, zd, born July 7, 1770; died October 17, 1776. Anne, born August 27, 1772; died October 30, 1776. Chloe, born January, 1775; died October 19, 1776. Elijah (again), born April, 1777; died July 17, 1777. Oliver, born August 14, 1779. Eli and Chloe, twins, born April 14, 1782, and Elijah (again), born September 4, 1784. Of the above family but three, Oliver, Eli, and Elijah, the youngest child, lived to maturity; three died in the month of October, 1776. Nothing is known of Eli except that he resided at Marlboro, Vt., till after his marriage to Charlotte , and that they had one child born to them, January 16, 1807, named Matilda. OLIVER HIGLEY. Oliver, Elijah, ist, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. OLIVER HIGLEY, the ninth and first surviving child of Elijah and Anna (Halliday) Higley, was born August 14, 1779. It is not clear whether his birth took place at Windsor, Conn., and that he was taken a very young infant to Marlboro, Windham County, Vt., on the removal of his parents to the Green Mountain State, 1 " Windsor Locks : its Early Settlers," by Jabez Hayden. 690 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. or whether he was born at Marlboro very soon after they settled there. He married, June 20, 1801, Lucretia Higley, his second cousin, the daughter of Daniel and Ruth Higley, who lived in a distant part of the same town Marlboro. She was born November 13, 1781. For a few years after their marriage they resided in Marlboro. Here their oldest two children were born. They then crossed Lake Champlain to Port Kent, Essex County, N. Y., where they settled for a time, afterward removing to Edinburg, Wash- ington County, in the same State, about the year 1813. Here other children were born to them. From Edinburg they emi- grated to western New York, settling at Jamestown, Chautauqua County, some time in the twenties, where, in the year 1831, they were still found. It was during their residence here that Oliver Higley and his wife came under the influences of the preaching of the "Latter- Day Saints," or Mormon religionists, which turned the whole cur- rent of their feelings toward that belief, and which they both embraced. The "Prophet," Joseph Smith, the founder of the sect, began preaching in Palmyra, N. Y., about the year 1823, and the church, whose belief was in a "latter-day dispensation," was founded April 6, 1830, at Fayette, Seneca County. Zealous and earnest apostles of the new faith, their souls aglow with wonder- ful visions, were soon passing through the country, proclaiming the new "revelation" and preaching the doctrines, numbers catching the enthusiasm and becoming converts. The step that Oliver and Lucretia Higley then took in joining them, made a profound impression upon the members of their family, all of whom except Dan, the eldest son, and his sister Lovina, who had married and left her father's home, afterward became devoted followers of this religious sect. From Chautauqua County, New York, in 1833, the family removed to Kirtland, O., a village which became almost entirely a Mormon community. In 1836 Kirtland contained no less than three thousand " Latter-Day Saints." They remained there till the exodus of the Mormons to Missouri in 1837. At that period Oliver Higley, with his family, removed to Buffalo Grove, Ogle County, 111., where they resided till the year 1843, when they went to Jo Davis County, in the same State. Here he lived till the DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 691 close of his life May 6, 1846. He followed agriculture till ad- vancing years overtook him, when, being disabled by rheumatism, he established and managed a basket manufactory. He was a man true in purpose, always respected for his honesty and kindness, and enjoyed the good will of Christians of other religious sects. His wife, Lucretia Higley, who remained a sincere Mormon as long as she lived, survived him nineteen years, dying in Tooele, Utah, at the home of her son Clark Higley, July 25, 1865, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. (See sketch of Lucretia Higley, daughter of Lieutenant Daniel Higley, page 656.) Oliver and Lucretia Higley were the parents of seven children, viz. : JDan, Anna, Lovina, Clark, Trurtian, Harvey, Harriet. DAN HIGLEY, the first child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., July 27, 1804. His parents removed to the State of New York while he was yet a child, and after some changes finally settled at Jamestown, Chautauqua County. Here he learned, with a Dutch manufacturer, the trade of making cloth, and afterward he was engaged in selling general merchan- dise. He married at Jamestown, April 29, 1828, Nancy (Bentley) Frank a widow, the daughter of Uriah Bentley. Her father's family were pioneers of Chautauqua County, New York, the old family homestead, adjoining the Chautauqua Assembly grounds on the shore of the lake, of late years being owned by her brother, G. A. Bentley, Esq. A destructive fire overtaking Mr. Higley's mercantile establish- ment at Jamestown, proved the moving cause of his emigration with his family, the summer of 1839, to Ogle County, 111., settling twelve miles above Dixon's Ferry. Here he improved a farm and established a home. The town since built up is Polo, 111. That section was then in its primitive days, the home of the Indian. He now pursued an agricultural life; but after a time he entered again into a mercantile business, in which he was engaged till the year 1857, when, through a general financial embarras- ment in the country, he was again brought into misfortune. In 1865 he removed with his family to Mount Pleasant, la., and later on to Fairfield, Jefferson County, in the same State, where he resided till his death, which took place July 14, 1877. He was possessed of an exceptional vein of native ingenuous- 692 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ness, or a certain element of fantasy, denoting an active brain, which was peculiar to many in his own line of ancestry. Faith- ful and industrious, he was a man who went through life simply, devoting his attention to the duties that lay before him in his sphere, never thrusting himself forward. He carried with him the regard of all good citizens. Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley had the following children, viz. : Murray, Melissa, born October 14, 1830, died October 13, 1836; Marshall D., Mary A., Judson, Elizabeth, Theodore F., Daniel G., Simeon B. MURRAY HIGLEY, the eldest child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Jamestown, Chautauqua County, N. Y., March 6, 1829. At Oregon, Ogle County, 111., on the igth of May, 1850, he matried Mary Louisa Bassett. She was born August 25, 1833, in Andes, Delaware County, N. Y. They reside at Emmetsburg, Palo Alto County, la. Their children : EDWARD HELM, born July 4, 1851, at Polo, Ogle County, 111., married Bessie Stanley at Memphis, Tenn. , where he resides. They have one child a daughter. CHARLES EUGENE, the second child of Murray and Mary L. Bassett Higley, was born at Polo, 111., November 23, 1854, married Georgianna Potts, July 25, 1881, and resides at Emmetsburg, la. They have one child, Georgianna, born August 26, 1885. Mrs. Georgianna Higley died August 27, 1885. VIRGINIA ALICE, the third child of Murray and Mary L. Bassett Higley, was born November 5, 1858 ; died January 10, 1860, at Polo, 111. MARY ELIZABETH, daughter of the same, was born November 3, 1860: died March 19, 1862. MURRAY JUDSON, her twin brother, lived to manhood, and married . He resides in Norfolk, Neb. They have one child a daughter. WILLIAM GUSTAVUS, son of Murray and Mary L. Bassett Higley, was born December 5, 1861, at Polo, 111. EDITH MAY, daughter of the same, was born July 7, 1865 ; married William E. Guilford, November 12, 1884. They reside in Des Moines, la. LOUISA BELL, the youngest child of Murray and Mary L. Bassett Higley, was born at Polo, 111., February 26, 1870. MARSHALL D. HIGLEY, the third child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Jamestown, N. Y., August 22, 1832. His first business relations were in connection with his father in a store of general merchandise at Polo, 111. The business was unfortunately overthrown by a storm in the financial world that prevailed in 1857. Mr. Higley then studied law, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1860. On the 26th of November, 1861, he married Mary L. Curtis at Jamestown, N. Y. They made their new home on a farm in Illinois. Possessing inventive genius, he constructed the first automatic binding attach- ment to reapers which was invented, and for which he obtained a patent with seven claims. Of this he sold a one-half interest to the Excelsior Works at Massillon, O. In the year 1874, he removed to Jamestown, N. Y., and, purchasing a stock of DESCENDANTS OF JO SI AH HIGLEY, 1ST. 693 boots and shoes, opened a shoe house. In 1878 he removed with his family to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he is engaged in business, and has since resided. Marshall D. and Mary L. Curtis Higley have two children, viz.: Frederick C., born October 15, 1869 ; Florence E., born April 6, 1880. MARY A. HIGLEY, the fourth child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Jamestown, N. Y., October 21, 1834. She married, August 27, 1863, Daniel Abell, at Polo, 111. They reside at Chariton, Lucas County, la. Their children are : Frederick G., born May 21, 1864; Frank S., born June 28, 1866; Ella N., born September 7, 1868 ; Mamie B. and Marcus B., twins, born June 12, 1871 ; Marcus died June 21, 1873; Grace E., born April 30, 1875, died February 8, 1876. JUDSON and ELIZABETH HIGLEY, twin children of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, were born at Jamestown, N. Y., December 12, 1836. Elizabeth died in infancy. Judson Higley married, November 29, 1860, Ruah E. Matthews. They reside at Omaha, Neb. Their children are : Elmer J., who resides at Omaha ; Cornelia B., who married Furley Browning, December, 1886 ; Anna R.; Harlow ; Allison, not living. THEODORE F. HIGLEY, the seventh child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Jamestown, N. Y., March 21, 1839. He married, at Fairfield, Jeffer- son County, la., Ellen S. McEthenny, January 9, 1 868. They reside at Fairfield, la. Their children are : May M., born December 14, 1868 ; Robert M., born August 30, 1872 ; Harvey, born February 15, 1874, died September 25, 1875 ; Helen E., born September 28, 1877, and Theodore E., born August 25, 1883. DANIEL G. HIGLEY, the eighth child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Polo, Ogle County, 111., July 7, 1842. He married Fannie H. Ambler of Mount Pleasant, la., September 29, 1868. They reside at Fairfield, Jefferson County, la. They are the parents of one child, Nellie A Higley. SIMEON BENTLEY HIGLEY, the ninth child of Dan and Nancy (Bentley) Higley, was born at Polo, 111., July u, 1847. On the removal of his parents to Fairfield, la., in 1865, he accompanied them, a boy of sixteen. He married Ella May Hatfield, October 18, 1870, and removed to Portland, Ore., in the year 1872, where he engaged in selling drugs. In 1874 he purchased a sheep ranch of twelve hundred acres, situated in the valley of the Williamette, near Junction City, which he stocked with fifteen hundred sheep. Here sheep-raising occupied his attention for three years ; afterward he transported his flocks to Eastern Oregon, that being then considered the better sheep country. An Indian war breaking out, his sheep were all driven away and destroyed ; he never heard of them afterward. Mr. Higley had now to begin business life anew. In the spring of 1880 he returned with his wife to Iowa, and three years later removed to Missouri. The autumn of 1889 found him residing in San Diego, Cal., doing a successful business in real estate. In 1888 he returned to Missouri, and, settling at Cameron, purchased a drug establishment, and entered here into active business. He now resides in Cameron. They have no children. 45 694 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Continued from page 691. ANNA, the second child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born at Marlboro, Vt., November 29, 1806. She removed with her parents to the State of New York, settling with them at Jamestown. Here she married, March 18, 1828, Thomas Burdock of Chautauqua County. Both the husband and wife joined the "Church of the Latter-Day Saints," and were earnest Mormons. About the year 1832 they removed to Kirt- land, O., which was then the great center of the Mormon Church, fully two thousand members establishing themselves there about that time, the number increasing in less than five years to three thousand. Here the Mormons built, at a cost of sixty-five thou- sand dollars, a temple for worship, which was dedicated March 27, 1836. Neither at that time, nor for some years afterward, had they forfeited the respect of any on account of polygamous rela- tions, for these relations did not then exist, and were not practiced. But difficulties and perplexities beset the new sect on every side, and, determining to move westward to what was then a new coun- try, in 1837 they began their exodus, by seven hundred leaving Kirtland in one day. Most of the emigrants went to Missouri, Mr. and Mrs. Burdock being of the colony. Here they settled twelve miles west of Independence, which was then on the very outskirts of Western civilization. But the new creed had not a cheerful welcome, and local enemies arose. Opposition, and persecution, and outrages were their fate. Finally the Burdocks, together with all the Mormons, were driven out by persecution. They now removed the Church to Nauvoo, 111. Their day of peace here, too, was brief; mob violence forcing them to leave. Mr. and Mrs. Burdock then went to Council Bluffs, la., and from there they removed to Los Angeles, Cal., where, remaining steadfast in their faith, they spent the remainder of their lives. A list of their children has not been furnished. LOVINA HIGLEY, the third child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born at Edinburg, Washington County, N. Y., December 31, 1808. She married Charles Hopkins in Chautauqua County, New York, to which place she had gone with the family. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins removed, about the year 1830, to the State of Ohio. In 1837 they emigrated still further West, to Buffalo Grove, Ogle County, 111., and about 1840 they settled in Steven- son County, Illinois. They died in Kansas, to which State they had removed later in life. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 695 CLARK HIGLEV, the fourth child of Dan and Lucretia Higley, was born in Edinburg, Washington County, N. Y., November 26, 1813. He removed with his parents to Jamestown, Chautauqua County, N. Y., when a lad of seventeen, and accompanied them on their removal to Kirtland, O., after they had embraced the religion of the Latter-Day Saints. This was about Jhe year 1833. At this young and impressionable age he became envir- oned in the family life, as well as by the very atmosphere of the place in which they lived, with the practices and faith of the Mormons. At Kirtland, O., on the i7th of September, 1873, he married Malinda Cheney, who was also of Mormon parentage, and a dis- ciple of Mormon precepts. The young couple worshiped in the grand temple together. They resided upon a farm. While living in Kirtland, antagonism, which has, from the founding of the Church, seemed inseparable from its life-experience, together with untoward circumstances, reached a stage which decided its leaders to forsake this chief center and emigrate to a frontier outpost of the great West. A large majority of their people followed them, and, as has been already stated, seven hundred "saints" in one day, in the year 1837, "with the courage which refuses to be discouraged," made their exodus, the body of the Church proceeding in detachments later on. The State of Mis- souri was their destination. As yet polygamy was not a part of their belief or practice. But Oliver Higley, with his family, and Clark Higley, with his new wife, decided upon joining their relatives in Buffalo Grove, Ogle County, 111., and accompanied their co-religionists but a part of the long and weary journey. At Buffalo Grove they lived till the year 1843, when both house- holds removed to Jo Davis County in the same State, remaining all the while constant to their covenants with the religion they had chosen, and here they joined a small body of worshipers in the Mormon Church. It was here also that the father, Oliver Higley, died, leaving his wife, Lucretia Higley, to the care of his son Clark, with whom she lived, and who faithfully adminis- tered to her comforts and needs till the close of her long life. Meanwhile the Church of " the Latter-Day Saints " had planted itself on Missouri soil, and erected its temple for worship. It was not long, however, till there were gathered about the colo- nists bands of persons aflame with wrath, and the Church was 696 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. afresh plunged into persecution and trial. " An attack of a mob impending, and being too few in number to assume an aggressive attitude," they decided to once more take up the march in pur- suit of religious liberty. Through direst hardships they located at Nauvoo, 111., a fine situation on the Mississippi River. Here again they built a splendid temple, which was privately dedicated April, 1847, the third costly edifice they had erected, and here too they were again early showered with antipathy. Inspired by evil passion, mobs of " respectable" people assaulted them, and Smith, their seer, met a tragic death. Finally the day of their expulsion came, and their magnificent temple was burned to the ground. In all of these persecutions the people loyally sustained their leaders, keeping in full faith with them, and " the strength of the bearers of burdens did not decay." It was a striking exhibit of the strength that lies in true unity of purpose. The Church determined to remove once more ; this time to go quite beyond civilization, and out of the reach of the continual waves of strife and hostilities that beat against it. The leaders now chose a spot in the desert over a vast plain growing nothing but wild sage, full one thousand miles beyond the line inhabited by civilized beings. On the i4th of April, 1847, the general exodus began, the long journey across the Great American Desert being undertaken in ox wagons. The troop of pilgrims passed over the wide, wide plain and dreary defiles, arriving at their destination, Great Salt Lake, the Territory of Utah, on the 24th of the July following. The hardships that they suffered both during this journey and after they reached this wild region cannot be chronicled. That Territory belonged at that time to Mexico, but was ceded to the United States the next year, 1848. Civil government had not yet been established. It was a lawless country. In the year 1852 Clark Higley with his mother and family took their departure from Jo Davis County, Illinois, and went to Glenwood, Mills County, la. Here they resided till 1861. That year he set off with his household to join his friends and co- religionists in Utah, where his heart had long been centered. His family now consisted of his aged mother, Lucretia Higley, his wife, Malinda, and six children. He himself had reached middle age. The journey from their location in Iowa to Great Salt Lake was the perilous and daring one of the early frontiersman and DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 697 was made in ox teams, or " prairie schooners " as they were often called. They were constantly in danger of being attacked on the route by bands of wild and warring Indians, between whom and the whites there was no affinity. Arriving in Utah on the 23d of September, 1861, he made purchase of a home at Kaysville, twenty-six miles north of the Salt Lake ; but soon afterward, on making a trip to Tooele, and finding this country preferable, he sold the farm that he first pur- chased and bought land at Tooele, which is thirty-six miles west of Salt Lake City. At this point he now resides. The country was yet entirely new. All manufactured products could only be obtained by transportation more than one thousand miles by ox teams, causing such articles to be very expensive. Ordinary soap for domestic use sold at twenty-five cents a bar, matches were twenty-five cents a box, and cotton cloth sold at one dollar a yard, while flour was sometimes held at twenty-five dollars the hundred pounds. For several years the colony lived in daily apprehension of Indian foes, who were often out on the plains on hostile expedi- tions against the whites ; some of the settlers' villages were pro- tected by walled defenses. On settling in Utah Clark Higley thoroughly identified him- self with the Mormons. He and his sons took hold in good faith, aiding in laying the foundations of that new and great State. They are at the present time all well-to-do, possessing farms and comfortable homes in that remarkable and beautiful country. The change which time and civilization has here effected dur- ing these years is among the marvels and wonders of the progres- sive history of our great land. Clark Higley has lived long enough to see the isolated far-away arid plain of Utah, with its sublime mountain sides, made fertile and to blossom as a fruitful garden ; the fertility of this interesting country is to be attrib- uted to the best traits of that energetic and industrious people the Mormons who founded it. He has lived to see another temple, a colossal and magnificent structure of granite, which was forty years in process of construction, and erected at a cost of four million dollars, completed and dedicated, April 5, 1893, and Mormon settlements alone increased in number till the Church now claims within the borders of the State recently ad- mitted into the Union, fifty-five thousand members. 698 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. He may fittingly adopt the lines of the poet : " To-day our dream embodied greets our eyes, A thousand toiling hands and brains have wrought, The worker's willing strength, the provident thought, And lo ! the aery domes and towers arise Clear on the vernal skies." ' In his removal to Utah, Clark Higley's honest purpose was that he might enjoy the religion in which he was nurtured. From his boyhood his ideas were molded into the doctrines and customs of the Church of the "Latter-Day Saints," and his training by the precepts and example of his parents destined him on reaching his manhood to cling firmly to the peculiar beliefs taught by its founders and their successors. He has never been separated from these environments, and has never come into- contact with other denominational influences, having all of his life lived in newly settled parts of our country. It was natural therefore that he should accept with a true heart the divine inspiration which their theological system claims, and adopt their precepts and social prac- tices, based as they were upon his genuine religious convictions. The storm and trial that came in recent years upon the Mormons, resulting from the compulsory administration of laws enacted by special legislation of the United States Congress against them, have borne heavily upon him. A confirmed cripple and in enfeebled old age, he has suffered many bitter things ; the perplexities and sorrows of his heart have been enlarged. He, however, wisely accepts the outcome, showing equal moral courage and fidelity to " the powers that be " by, with kindly feeling, uprooting habits and breaking long formed domestic associations, declaring that he harbors in his heart nothing but good will to all men, and yielding in a right spirit to the different allotment in life which has come to himself and his people, acknowledging God's hand in it all. Mr. Higley was three times married. His first wife was Malinda Cheney, whom he married at Kirtland, O., September 17, 1837. His second wife was Eliza Smith, whom he married at Salt Lake City in 186-. His present wife is Amanda Baker of Utah. Children of Clark Higley: By first wife: Freeman >., born June 9, 1843 ; George H., born May 19, 1845 5 -Daniel, born 1849 5 Lwisa ; Jane ; Mary, 1 Written by 'Mr. Lewis Morris on the occasion of the opening of the Imperial Institute, in London, 1893. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 699 who died in infancy, and Harriet. By second wife : Julia, born August 5, 1870 ; Francis A., born May 15, 1872 ; Harriet, 2d, born December 12, 1873 ; Lydia, born March 2, 1876 ; Charles, born December 15, 1877 ; Willis, born April 10, 1879, and Elihu. By third wife : James, Parthena, George O., Stephen L., Oliver, Elizabeth, Lovina, Howard, and Malinda Elvira. FREEMAN D. HIGLEY, the eldest child of Clark and Malinda Cheney Higley, was born in Ogle County, 111., June 9, 1843. He went to Utah with his parents when eighteen years of age. Soon after his twenty-first birthday he married Eliza Cheney. His second wife was Nancy Sharp. He resides at Gentile Valley, Brigham County, Idaho. Children by first wife : Lucy Jane, born February 10, 1865 ; Harvey Warren, born June 17, 1867 ; Fannie E., born August 2O, 1869 ; Harriet Malinda, born December 13, 1871 ; Louis Wells, born January 7, 1874 '< &H Lee, born February 25, 1876 ; John William, born July 27, 1878; Millie Ann, born August 14, 1880 ; Alfred Dewey, born December 20, 1882 ; Elsie Elvira, who died in infancy ; Daniel Edward, died ; and Luther Aaron. By second wife : Freeman Dewey and James Henry, both of whom died ; Jennetta Mildred ; George Carlos, not living ; Laura Eliza- beth ; Lillian Mabel; Albert William; Martha A.; Ellis Irvin; and Viola, who died young. Clark Higley has other grandchildren and five great-grand- children, whose names have not been furnished. Continued front page 691. TRUMAN HIGLEY, the fifth child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born at Jamestown, N. Y., July 20, 1817. At Kirtland, O., to which place he removed with his parents, when a child, he married, in 1835, Lucy Fisher. With other members of the family he joined the Church of "the Latter-Day Saints." They removed to Los Angeles, Cal., where he died in 1882. HARVEY HIGLEY, the sixth child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born at Jamestown, N. Y., November 20, 1819. In the year 1842 he married Amanda . They emigrated to Oregon in the early history of that country, and settled in Yam- hill County. His descendants now reside in Portland, Ore., among whom are George, Harry, and Martin Higley. No further information has been received of these families. HARRIET HIGLEY, the seventh child of Oliver and Lucretia Higley, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, April 12, 1822. She was taken to Kirtland, O., on the removal of her parents to that place, and afterward to Illinois. She married, in 700 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. 1843, Lyman L. L. Pitcher. They lived in Illinois. Her death took place in Lena, Stephenson County, in 1884. Their children are Lorenzo and Franklin. There is one daugh- ter whose name is not given. ELIJAH HIGLEY, JR. Continued from page 145. Elijah Higley, Jr., Elijah, ist, Josiah, ist, Captain John Higley. By his daughter, Lydia J. Higley-Hibbard. ELIJAH HIGLEY, JR., the youngest child and son of Elijah Higley, Sr., and his wife Anna Halliday, was born September 4, 1784. He married Lydia Paddleford, March 4, 1807, who was born June 5, 1790. The facts gathered for his history are from the remembrances of his children and a few old friends. These aged people, who can give facts, can give no dates, and only scraps of information preserved in the halls of memory, that, pieced together, cannot make a perfect whole. With these, however, we are forced to be content. There are many elements of romance connected with his career, which, could they be brought into these pages, would read almost as if one drew upon the imagination for some novel of the olden time. Strange forces seemed to combine to snatch from him heights of prosperity to which, on more than one occasion in his eventful life, he attained. It is -not known in what year he left his childhood home for a new home in a strange country. From a nephew, Clark Higley of Tooele, Tooele County, Utah, son of his brother Oliver, we learn that he had, in his youth, the reputation of being a " great trader," and attained his first financial success in making a watch trade, and that he became concerned in the lottery business, which was discontinued by the passage of a law detrimental to lotteries. In what year he went to Canada is not known, but it is reason- able to suppose that he went in company with his first cousin, Jesse Higley, who bought a large tract of land where London, Canada, now is, and which was confiscated at the time of the War of 1812. At all events they must have gone at about the same time, and perhaps together. He must have made a protracted ELIJAH HIGLEY, JR. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY,\ST. 701 residence there, as he was a long time in the fur trade, residing with the Indian tribes while awaiting the coming of the hunting parties who would return laden with the commodity he desired. Months would elapse in which he would never see the face of a white man. He became familiar with their language and cus- toms, and intensified a naturally stern and stoical character by long intercourse with them. When the War of 1812 broke out, he was located at Port Hope, Canada, where he owned much land and large business interests. He was engaged in. the cloth dressing business, owning mills for for that purpose, and was the proprietor of one or more stores. At this time he considered himself the possessor of considerable wealth, everything having prospered with him ; but when the alarm of war was sent through the land, being too much of a patriot to take the oath of allegiance, he improved an opportunity to send his wife to the States, and after making arrangements with his partner to convert what he could into cash, one night he stealthily crossed the St. Lawrence, firing at and probably killing the sentinel who challenged him, himself escaping unhurt. His knowledge of the country enabled him to recross with a party of soldiers whom he piloted to an important British outpost, which they captured. He then recruited a company and served in the war until its close. Of course all his Canadian property was now gone; dissolved like the first tracing of frost on the window pane before the rays of the sun. What his dishonest partner had left was confiscated to the Crown. He had to begin anew in life. He had one thousand dollars in money. With this he went to Pittsburgh, Pa., and took a contract to build a large bridge. Very soon after, lumber and other materials so advanced in price, that when every workman and employee was paid only one dollar remained in the pocket of the contractor. The presumption is, from what we can gather, that he then went from Pittsburgh to Penn Yan, Yates County, N. Y. We hear of him there somewhere about 1820 and 1823. Here he was for some years in business at the head of Main Street, which was then the business center of the town. He had a store, probably such as were kept in those early days, combining groceries, dry goods, drugs, and all the necessaries of a small but growing town. At some period in his life, whether before leaving home 702 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. or after, is not known, he studied medicine and obtained a doctor's certificate. His store in Penn Yan was twice burned; once, the day after the insurance policy expired, again leaving him in a crippled condition financially. After the second fire he went into the cloth dressing business at the foot of Main Street. He had also a wool carding mill farther down the stream. It must have been in the very begin- ning of the year 1830 that he bought two lots, on what is now Liberty Street, very near the head of the street, to which he him- self gave its name. Here he built two dwelling houses, both yet well preserved. In the first one built, died his wife, Lydia Paddleford Higley, on May 23, 1833. There were no children by this unioh, al- though a baby girl was adopted and grew to womanhood with them, Lydia Pearse, who ^married Henry Tylu, a merchant of Penn Yan. Both are now deceased (1893). On November 22, 1835, he married Electa Baldwin of Waterloo, Seneca County, N. Y., who was born September 21, 1802. Of this union were born seven children: Lydia Jane, Anna Elizabeth, Mary Sophia, twins (died at birth), March 22, 1843 ; George Daniel, Laura Adgate. On May 8, 1851, Elijah Higley, the father of these, died, when his youngest child was but four years old, and the only son, of whom he was so proud, still too young to retain but a faint remembrance of him. His health had for some years been declining. He suffered two strokes of apoplexy at intervals of several years. On the day of his death he had gone fishing on Lake Keuka, a sport of which he was passionately fond, and at which he was an acknowledged expert. He was stricken with apoplexy while in his boat, and was taken to the house of a friend near by, where he died that night. It was his oft expressed wish, which nature kindly granted him the boon of unconsciousness as he passed from this world to the great unknown. Thus closed the earthly career of Elijah Higley, a man in whose soul was the ruggedness of his native Vermont mountains. Possessed of indomitable will, courage, and perseverance, com- bined with a sterling honesty, these qualities made up a character that was in itself an interesting study. His strong individuality kept him above the conventional. He acquired an education above the ordinary; not perhaps in the schoolroom, as the DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 703 educational facilities of a hundred years ago were extremely limited in comparison with those of to-day. He had been a considerable traveler for those times. In com- pany with Dr. Win. Cornwell of Penn Yan, he once made a knap- sack tour of the Southern States, gathering from the incidents of the trip a choice collection of stories and anecdotes that, with infinite zest, were oft repeated to appreciative listeners. An industrious reader, and having a mind capable of retaining and digesting what he read, he was enabled to become possessed of a large and varied fund of information. Catching the spirit of the age when religious controversy was prevalent, and being what is now termed a free-thinker, he often, in discussion with divines, astonished them by his knowledge of the Bible, and his ability to successfully carry on a debate. He had a large fund of humor, and delighted in practical jokes, was keen in repartee, stinging in sarcasm, and fond of telling a story, which he could do exceed- ingly well. He was intolerant of shams, and in his disposition of them oft used the bludgeon when the rapier would have answered better. In person he was tall and well-proportioned, weighing nearly or quite two hundred pounds, fair hair and blue eyes, strong and rugged features. Possessed of a kindly nature, he was a kind and loving husband and a tender father. He provided generously for his household, and never incurred debts. He died owing no man. He probably had failings in common with all humanity, but herein is a true and faithful transcript of Elijah Higley's character. His marriages were more than usually fortunate. Of his two wives a few words will give us an idea of their nature. I believe the first to have been in all respects a sweet and lovable woman, to whom he was tenderly attached, and by whose side he reposes on the shore of the lake he loved so well, the beautiful Keuka. A tribute to a loved mother impels us to speak of the second wife, the mother of his children, and the partner of his declining years. It was a union remarkable for its harmonious and happy completeness. Never was heard by anyone a single unkind or jarring word between the husband and wife. In her youth a belle and beauty, unlike most beautiful women she was singularly free from the vanity and foibles that so often mar this gracious gift. She was a beauty in mind and in perron. She died February 14, 1877, at the age of seventy-four." 704 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. LYDIA J. HIGLEY, the eldest child of Elijah and Electa Bald- win Higley, was born September 8, 1836. In early childhood she passed through the prescribed routine of the common school, but the death of her father bringing to his family a combination of unfavorable circumstances, she was afforded no further opportunity to follow the bent of her desires toward the higher education ; however, as life went on she improved her spare hours in reading and study. Left in the possession of a comfortable home, but without an income, some members of the family were forced to seek occupations. Lydia's life proved somewhat eventful. She has known prosperity and much adversity. At the age of sixteen she married George D. Carpenter of Horse Heads, Chemung County, N. Y. Soon the cares of motherhood rested upon her, and the years of her youthful married life were devoted to her three children, their welfare becoming her first and chief consideration. These were years in which she endured much of neglect, privation, and toil, and in which there was more of shadow than of sunshine ; however, there was a strong individuality in her nature, and an inheritance of courage that always looked to the future for better days, and stimulated her to keep despair at bay. Inheriting from her mother a love of poetry, at an early age she began to weave her thoughts into verse. Inspired by the eloquence of John B. Gough, she saw her first poem in print when but thirteen years old. Her early and unfortunate marriage so choked the channels of inspiration that it was reserved for the happier environments of later years to yield better results in this direction. Generally writing under a nom de plume, few of her friends have known her as a writer of verse, yet from time to time her articles have appeared in the public journals and magazines, though she modestly makes no pretensions for these to be classed with the productions of gifted poets: The following lines are from her pen. THE SONG. This morn I heard a burst of melody, a song, From naked boughs close to my window pane, The murmur of the south wind as it hurried on, And then the soothing lullaby of falling rain. In fantasy of dreams I heard again her song, Whose tones shall waken bud, and leaf, and bloom ; They who have slept in dreamless sleep so long Shall rise in beauty from their lowly tomb. LYDIA J. HIGLEY HIBBARD. DESCENDANTS OF JOSIAH HIGLEY, 1ST. 75 The fields shall blossom into brightness at her tread, And bird and bee shall royal homage pay. They shall awake who erst were with the dead, Back from the somber tomb the stone is rolled away. The lark, on upward wing with swelling throat, Sings as she floats toward the gates of dawn ; Tuned to divinest melody each liquid note That fills the measure of her matin song. And still I hear, tho' she is lost in azure height, Her joyous welcome to the new-born spring. Though eye may never mark the splendor of her flight To that far sunlit peak where she is journeying. Lydia J. Higley's second marriage took place, November 7, 1877, with Gardiner C. Hibbard of Watkins, N. Y., a gentleman possessing many gifts by nature, a superior intellect, a fine pres- ence, and an excellent voice for public speaking. Mr. Hibbard has taken some part in political matters. He enlisted in the Civil War while a boy in his early teens, and was probably the very youngest soldier on the war records, but being tall in stature and well developed, he managed to pass for eighteen, and served throughout the entire conflict. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard reside in Elmira, N. Y. Lydia J. Hibbard by her first marriage became the mother of three children, viz.: Alice Maud, born January 30, 1854 ; Mary Louisa, born Sep- tember 4, 1856 ; Fred Cyril, born June 14, 1866. ANNA ELIZABETH, the second daughter of Elijah and Electa Baldwin Higley, was born August 17, 1838. She married Stephen Cooper of Penn Yan, N. Y., in 1857. One child was born to them, Lizzie ff., November I, 1859. She died June 22, 1862. Anna E. Cooper died March 8, 1875. MARY SOPHIA, the third daughter of Elijah and Electa Baldwin Higley, was born November 25. 1840. She married, September, 1866, Richard Hathaway of Milos, Yates County, N. Y. Richard Hathaway died May, 1884. On the 22d of February, 1893, Mrs. Hathaway married Stephen Manchester of Harbor Springs, Mich., where she now resides. By her first husband she had the following children : Albert W., born June, 1867 ; Lillian, and Lizzie Higley. GEORGE DANIEL, the only son of Elijah and Electa Baldwin Higley, was born at Penn Yan, N. Y., October 22, 1844. He enlisted in the Civil War at the age of seventeen, at Penn Yan, N. Y., September 10, 1861, as private in Company E, nth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Being disabled by a wound, he was afterward trans- ferred to Company A, igth Veteran Reserve Corps. In 1863 he re-enlisted, was 76 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. made sergeant, and served till the war closed. He received an honorable discharge, November 19, 1865. He married, March 28, 1867, Mary H. Hunter of Wayne, Steuben County, N. Y. They reside in Columbia, Tenn., where Mr. Higley is engaged as purchaser for a lumber and pump manufacturing firm. George D. and Mary H. Higley are the parents of five children, viz.: Lizzie, born January 22, 1868; Emma Pauline, born March 28, 1870; Lettie, born August 8, 1872 ; Gery, born February 15, 1876 ; and Albert, born Novem- ber 20, 1881. Emma P. married L. E. Gates of Nashville, Tenn. LAURA ADGATE, the youngest child of Elijah and Electa Baldwin Higley, was born August 16, 1847. She married, September, 1866, George W. Hall of Yates County, N. Y. Mr. Hall served his country during the Civil War in Company B, I48th New York Regiment, and died in 1879, after years of suffering from the effect of wounds received in the battle of Cold Harbor in 1864. Mrs. Laura A. Hall is now a resident of Englewood, a suburb of Chicago, 111. CHAPTER LXXIII. JAMES HIGLEY AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Ask now of the days that are past. So that the memory of noble deeds Shall keep the heart of man, forever up To the heroic level of the old time : The Present moves, attended By all of brave, and excellent, and fair. That made the old time splendid. JAMES RUSSHLL LOWELL. THOUGH without the evidence of personal documents 1 it is quite conclusive that James Higley was a descendant of Captain Joseph Higley, the third son of Brewster Higley, ist (see chapter xli. page 284) ; he and his son were frequently heard to say that the Messenger family were their near kinspeople, the Messen- gers and Higleys, both of Simsbury and Canton, Conn., as well as those of Becket, Mass., being intermarried. Hereditary quali- ties and special traits possessed by James Higley and his descend- ants also strengthen rather than throw discredit on the showing of a near kinship to the Higleys of the Berkshire Hills, Mass. The family Bible gives the record of his immediate family thus: " James Higley, born March loth 1785. "Hannah Roberts, born in Massachusetts July i;th 1782." They were married January 2, 1809, and began life together in Great Barrington, Mass., where their first child was born the following November. James Higley was a shoemaker by trade, and was probably following his vocation at the time of his marriage. He had a fair education, was a good penman, a man of few words, and always strictly practiced total abstinence, using neither tobacco nor intoxicating stimulants. This was an unusual stand to take in that day. In the spring of 1814 James Higley emigrated with his family 1 The connecting link of this esteemed family cannot be positively traced, the early records of Great Barrington, Mass., where James Higley is found during his early married life, having been destroyed by fire. 707 708 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. to Onondaga County, New York, settling near where the town of Fabius is now' located. A number of Higley families had emi- grated to the same county from Hartford County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts, early in the century and made themselves forest homes. James, no doubt, followed their course. Here their second child was born. Familiar with arms under the military example of his grand- sires, during the War of 1812-14 he "exchanged the hoe for the musket," and joined the United States forces for ninety days' service, leaving his wife and young children with a very limited support. It does not appear that his wife heard from him from the time that he left home till his return, when he suddenly appeared one day in the doorway. Her joy was so great that she could scarcely believe that she really beheld him. " Oh, James ! " she exclaimed ; " is it an apparition ? "" In the year 1817, bent on trying the vast possibilities of the western forests, they undertook a journey beset with difficulties and dangers, removing to what was at that time the dense wooded country of Northern Ohio. Here they made themselves a home in Trumbull County, near the spot where the village of Braceville has since been built. In 1827 James Higley purchased a farm at Edinburg, Portage County, to which he removed, and a little later on he purchased a second farm. On the latter they cleared away the rough forest and built a substantial frame dwelling. He resided on this estate till his decease thirty-seven years after- ward. He was elected town trustee, and served the office acceptably a number of years. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Edinburg almost from its organization, joining "by letter" in the year 1827. When the first house for worship was about to be erected, he made a donation of fifty dollars, a liberal subscription for those times. His wife, Hannah Roberts, was of a social nature and agreeable ways. Her grandchildren have in their possession tablespoons which were manufactured from silver coin expressly as a part of her marriage gift. The sacred season of a good old age was per- mitted her by a kind Providence; active, and during her last years with unimpaired eye-sight, she lived to her ninetieth year. She died December 17, 1871. James Higley died, February 25, 1864. Their children: Edmund B. and Edna B., twins, and Orpha Minerva. DESCENDANTS OF JAMES HIGLEY. 709 EDMUND B. HIGLEY, the only son of James and Hannah Roberts Higley, was born at Great Barrington, Mass., November 13, 1809. At the time his parents removed to Onondaga County, New York, he and his twin sister were not yet five years old. At the age of eighteen he settled with the family at Edinburg, O., where he afterward resided. Though young in years, he soon by his per- severance and energy of character proved his value in the develop- ment of this then new country. He built a manufacturing house, the first erected in the township, for making potash and pearlash. While engaged in this business he manufactured one hundred thousand brick, and built the second brick house in the town, to which he took his bride and began housekeeping, October, 1835, having married Lucy Merrill in Concord, Lake County, O., on the 2ist of that month. She was born January 18, 1817, in Win- sted, Lichfield County, Conn. Later on he became a builder by trade, and erected a number of the early residences in Edinburg and adjoining townships. Afterward he opened and conducted a lucrative business in " lumber, laths, shingles, sash, doors and blinds," all the while managing a farm. He accumulated a good property. Edmund B. Higley filled different offices of public trust and responsibility in the township. He was a man of exemplary character, of untiring energy, and large public spirit; when his decease took place, May 31, 1883, th'e community, as well as the family of which he was the honored head, felt its loss deeply. His wife made home, with its boys and girls, her chief field of labor; she was possessed of quick intelligence, and did not lack interest in all questions pertaining to the public welfare. She was rigidly careful that her children should improve their school advantages, exacting of them habits of regularity and punctuality in their attendance. During the intervals between school terms the boys were put to farm work and the girls at household duties and dairy work. She was a woman of sound judgment, in whom those about her had great confidence, a true friend who possessed "the jewel of a loyal heart," quiet in her way and dignified in her bearing. She died at her home in Edinburg, 0., in the serene assurance of immortal life, February 6, 1880. 46 710 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Edmund B. and Lucy Merrill Higley were the parents of seven children, viz. : James Henry, Julia Ann, Amelia M. and Adelia M., twins, Mary Frances, Franklin Monroe, Luanda Augusta. JAMES HENRY HIGLEY, the eldest child, was born in Edinburg, O., June 17, 1837. He attended a select school at Edinburg Centre, and was afterward a student at Mount Union College, Ohio. He then engaged in teaching in Ohio and Tennessee. Entering the business world, and possessed of excellent abilities, he achieved success, and in a few years became the vice president of the Hopkins Bridge and Construction Company of St. Louis. He is now (1894) engaged in the same line of business bridge builder and contractor. Mr. Higley is well and favorably known as a man of excellent natural endowments and good principles, and his career has been one of honorable success. He resides in Leavemvorth, Kan. October 5, 1889, he married Florence Emma Myer at Blanchester, Clinton County, O., daughter of Frances Myer and his wife, Hannah Dudley. Florence E. Myer was born at Waynesville, O., November 19, 1856. Her mother, Hannah Dudley was a direct lineal descendant from an English family of noble birth. Mrs. Higley died at Kansas City, Mo., May 22, 1895. JULIA ANN HIGLEY, the second child, was born in Edinburg, O., July 14, 1839. After pursuing her studies at the common school, she attended Mount Union College, Ohio, from which she was graduated in the scientific course, receiving the degree B. S. Seven years later an honorary degree was conferred upon her. She made teaching her vocation, receiving appointments in Ohio and Indiana. On the 24th of July, 1867, she married Ebenezer L. Rich of California. Mrs. Julia Higley Rich died in Cleveland, O., December n, 1877. They were the parents of two children, viz. : Herbert M., born June 5, 1870, in Virelin, 111., and Nellie, born July 4, 1873, who died in infancy. AMELIA M.,"twin child of Edmund B. and Lucy Merrill Higley, was born in Edinburg, O., June 25, 1841. She became a teacher when but fourteen years of age, filling positions in Ohio and Kentucky for a number of school terms. She married, January i, 1867, Thomas Carr of her native town. Mr. Carr en- tered the Civil War, joining Battery A, 1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artil- lery, when it was organized in 1861, serving first as harness-maker. He ac- companied his battery through all its campaign during 1862, '63, and '64, and entered regular duty when the battery reached Gallatin, Tenn. He was honorably dis- charged after the close of the war, July 31, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Carr are well-to-do and highly esteemed citizens, residing in a cheerful home at Edinburg, O., on a fine tract of well-cultivated farming land which they own. They have two children, viz. : Henry Joseph, born May 24, 1870 ; and Emma Lucinda, born October 18, 1873- HENRY JOSEPH married, September 20, 1893, Ona N. McKenzie of Diamond. O. They had one child, Hazel Flora, born June 18, 1895. They resided in Cleve DESCENDANTS OF JAMES HIGLEY. 7 11 land, O. Henry J. Carr died of typhoid fever, November I. 1895. His body was taken to Edinburg for interment. The funeral services were held in the Methodist Episcopal Church. EMMA L. married, September 2, 1894, Walter J. Cope of Edinburg, O. Their son, Lionel Carr, was born July 17, 1895. They reside in Canfield, O. ADELIA M., twin sister to Amelia M., was born in Edinburg, O., June 25, 1841. She married, November 27, 1861, John Ewing, who was born in Fall River, Mass., July 8, 1836. After the decease of her husband, she filled the officeof postmistress acceptably for twelve years. John Ewing died in Edinburg, O., June 5, 1872. They had three children, viz. : James Henry, born February 5, 1863, died at St. Louis, Mo., August 23, 1884 ; Edmund Francis, born January 4, 1865 ; and Lucy A., born February 26, 1868. Mrs. Adelia Higley Ewing married, second, Benjamin Franklin Hill, February 24, 1889. They reside in Campbellsport, Portage County, O. MARY FRANCIS, fifth child of Edmund and Lucy Merrill Higley, was born in Edinburg, O., January 21, 1844. After a preliminary course of study she took a teacher's course, afterward taking a full commercial course in the commercial department of Mount Union Col- lege, receiving the degree of B. C. S. She became a successful teacher, and de voted herself eight years in Ohio to her chosen calling. After the decease of he r parents she purchased fourteen acres of the original farm from which her grand- father cleared the forests in 1827, and built a comfortable residence, which is still her home. She is an active member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A woman of fine qualities, given to usefulness, she inspires those who come into her presence with her spirit. She never married. FRANKLIN MONROE, sixth child of Edmund B. and Lucy Merrill Higley, was born at the family homestead at Edinburg, O., August 29. 1846. He left an agricultural life at nineteen, and entered a business firm engaged in the construction of bridges, Kansas City, Mo. He is now the general superin- tendent of the company's business. He married, July 14, 1891, at Kansas City, Rosalie Dillinger, daughter of Sam- uel and Mary Dillinger. She was born at Mound City, Lynn County, Kan., June 20, 1867. They have a son, named Leo Franklin, born at Jericho Springs, Cedar County, Mo., August 28, 1892. LUCINDA AUGUSTA, the youngest child of Edmund B. and Lucy Mer- rill Higley, was born at Edinburg, O., December 8, 1849. She was delicately constituted and was never able to assume any special line of action in life. During the remaining years that she lived after her schooldays were passed, she remained at home with her parents. She died December 19, 1872. EDNA B. HIGLEY, twin sister to Edmund B. (whose family we have been tracing above), and daughter of James and Hannah Roberts Higley, was born November 13, 1805, at Great Barring- ton, Mass. She married in Portage County, Ohio, November 21, 1827, Lorenzo Buck. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Ira Eddy of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She died September 28, 1830. 712 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. ORPHA MINERVA, third child of James and Hannah Roberts Higley, was born in Fabius, N. Y., July 28, 1814. She married Alva O. Day, December i, 1831. They reside in Concord, Dodge County, Minn. They are the parents of three children, all of whom are married and have families, viz. : Edna, born April 16, 1835, resides in Concord, Minn. ; Lewis, born September 6, 1837, resides in Iowa ; Persis Hannah, born May 31, 1840, lives in Oshkosh, Wis. APPENDIX. THE HIGLEY REUNIONS. From Printed Reports. REUNION OF 1886. THE numerous descendants of the Higley Family met by invitation of Mr. Jona- than Higley (4th), Mr. Harrison Higley, and Mr. Thompson Higley, on September I, 1886, in Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., at the residenceof the latter-named gen- tleman, which is located in the northwestern part of the township, on the farm cleared and first settled by the pioneer ancestor of the name, who emigrated from Connecticut in 1802. The representatives present were generally residents of the county, and included all ages, from Mrs. Semira Frost, aged eighty-eight, to baby Bessie, daughter of Greenleaf W. Higley, Esq., of New York, aged five months. Mr. Frank Higley of Cleveland, O., was present also. The large company, 216 in number, were cordially " Welcomed" by a beautiful motto wrought in evergreen, and placed so as to be conspicuous from the public road, indicative of the hospitality of the large-hearted host of the occasion, Mr. Thompson Higley. The weather was cool and delightful, all that could have been desired. Free social enjoyment was the order of the day, enlivened by stories, jokes, and sports, accompanied with hearty laughter ; relatives and kindred met who had heretofore lived almost without a personal acquaintance or knowledge of each other, and for the first time interchanged fraternal greetings. Mr. Hector Higley and his daughter Luella delighted the audience by fine duets on the violin and organ ; Mr. E. B. Alvord and Miss Eva Knapp entertained the company in like manner ; several solos were well rendered, and a number joined in songs and choruses. The sumptuous dinner which was served underneath the shade trees near the house was the feature of the day. One hundred and sixteen sat together at the bountiful and well-arranged meal. Cheerful matrons and bright-eyed damsels, and men of all ages of Higley parentage and characteristic good hearts served those seated, who in turn returned the pleasure. The good housewives vied with each other in their superior skill in culinary art. It would be simply impossible to do justice, through the/, to the chicken pies from the residence of Homer Higley, Esq., which came to their perfection by the expert hands of his amiable wife, or to the quantities of elegant cake made by the dextrous fingers of scores of women who bear the name. After the dinner was served the guests were called to order by Mr. Jonathan Higley. Mr. Edgar Graves read a letter from the Hon. Warren Higley of New York City, giving happy expression of his interest in the gathering. A unanimous vote was passed inviting Judge Higley to address the Reunion next year. 7 H THE H1GLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Last, but not the least part of this very enjoyable occasion, was in reserve for the evening. As the sun closed the day a large number of the guests accepted an invitation, which had been kindly extended by Harrison Higley, Esq., and his wife, to their cheerful home on the opposite side of the road, for refreshments and danc- ing. Here the middle-aged renewed their youth and mingled with the young people in treading the " light fantastic toe" until the wee hours of September 2, thus bringing to a delightful close the Higley Reunion of 1886. REUNION OF 1887. The second Higley Reunion was held, in accordance with an announcement and invitation extended last year, at the country residence of Mr. Greenleaf W. Higley, in the town of Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., on September I, 1887. Ample arrangements had been made for the accommodation and entertainment of the numerous guests from other States. On the gentle slope of ground adjoining the east side of the house, along which extended a broad piazza, was erected an arbor seventy by eighty feet, completely covered and skirted around with green boughs, and decorated with the national colors. Within this arbor were arranged the tables, ornamented with flowers and fruits, and in front of these were placed seats, for the accommodation of the audience while the speaking was in progress. In the evening the arbor was beautifully lighted with Chinese lanterns. The weather was especially propitious, and the morning hours were occupied in welcoming the clans and introducing strangers to their kin. A little before twelve o'clock Mr. Greenleaf W. Higley, in fitting terms, ex- tended to his guests a hearty welcome, at the close of which he introduced Judge Warren Higley of New York City, whose name next appeared on the programme for the historical address. For an hour and a half the audience listened in rapt attention while the speaker portrayed in vivid outline the history of the family from the time Captain John Higley landed in old Windsor, on the banks of the Connecticut, in 1666, to the present day. He contrasted the life and times of our Colonial ancestors and of our pioneer grandfathers with those of to-day, and drew lessons of wisdom from the puritanical training and the blue laws of Connecticut. There were about four hundred present. Two hundred sat down to the first table and were waited upon by forty young ladies and gentlemen of the Higley tribes, the ladies wearing pretty caps, trimmed in bright ribbons, and the gentlemen rosettes of colors to match. Dinner over, short addresses were made in response to the sentiments proposed, by Pomeroy Higley of Simsbury, Conn.; Milo H. Higley of Meigs County, O.; Hon. B. S. Higley of Windham, O. ; Anson Higley of Batavia, N. Y. ; Frank Higley of Cleveland, O. ; Hayden Higley of Raymond, N. H.: Coy Higley of Merrimac, Mass.; Jonathan Higley of Windsor, O., and the Rev. C. L. Shipman of Girard, Pa. Milo H. Higley exhibited a compass and cane which once belonged to Captain John Higley, the founder of the family. The exercises were interspersed with excellent music. Mrs. Greenleaf W. Higley pleased the audience with a beautiful Scotch song. " Auld Lang Syne," with words admirably adapted to the occasion, arranged by Mrs. Mary Coffin John- son, was sung by the audience with great spirit and feeling. In the evening young APPENDIX. 715 and old joined in the dance, which was kept up until the "wee sma' hours o' the morning." The Reunion members of this large family came from Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and distant parts of Ohio. Mrs. M. C. Johnson was there, giving information of different families and relationships, through the various branches, and' noting down whatever she could learn of things new. She had spent most of the year in search- ing old records, rummaging libraries, visiting Hartford, old Windsor, Simsbury, Vermont, and other points, and carrying on an extensive correspondence in pursuit of the necessary material to make up and weave into a Genealogical History of the Higley Family. The following original poem was contributed by Mrs. Henry Higley of New Windsor, 111. The second Reunion was unanimously voted an eminent success. A GREETING. By Mrs. Abbie L. Higley. Herewith send we cordial greeting To the gathered Higley race ; Large and joyful be the meeting, At the purposed time and place. From all sections let them rally, Far as Maine and Oregon ; From each mountain, plain, and valley, Let the Higley host move on. From our grand State's fertile prairies, From its growing cities fair, From it farmhouses and dairies, May they all be gathered there. Grandsires grave and wise and hearty, Living honored lives and true ; Join en masse the happy party, And your lease of life renew. And the gentle, dear grandmothers, Whom all children love " the best "; Now be joyous with the others ; In your children's children blest. And the fathers, nobly striving On the battlefield of life, Showing by a constant thriving You are victors in the strife. And the mothers ; name more holy Than the titles of the earth ; Lovely with the poor and lowly As with those of regal birth. 7l6 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. Youths, the hopes of future ages ; Now in early manhood's prime ; Born for statesmen, heroes, sages, Your true mission is sublime. And the brightly blooming maiden, With her youthful beauty rare : Pure as flower with fragrance laden, All with one accord be there. Little boys and girls so winning, With your laughter, sport, and play ; To its end from the beginning, May you all enjoy the day. " Babie Bessie," precious treasure, Who unconscious acts her part ; Adding to the common pleasure, Waking love in every heart. Length of days, undimmed by sorrow, Virtue's joys each life attend. Till in Heaven's eternal morrow The " Reunion " ne'er will end. September I, 1887. HIGLEY REUNION, l88g. " Could our ancestor have foreseen this gathering to-day, It would have straightened many a path, smoothed many a rugged way ; Have lent a solace to all grief, have lightened every pain, And carried to his heart the truth that he'd not lived in vain." On Thursday, the 5th of September, 1889, the third annual Reunion of the Higleys, marking a gratifying era in the history of the wide-extended Family, took place. A general invitation having been sent far and near to all of the connection, by Alfred M. Higley, Esq., and William A. Higley, of Windham, Portage County, O., to meet at that place, a large assemblage of kindred and friends from several different States convened on the above date and met a welcome in keeping with^he characteristic true hospitality of the relatives and citizens of the town. The Reunion, which was one of unusual interest, was held at the homestead of Alfred M. Higley, on the old family estate of his father, Colonel Benjamin Higley, who located there in 1811, the year that he emigrated with his young family to Windham, from Becket, Mass. For two days previous busy hands had been engaged in preparation. Two tents had been erected on the front lawn, one for the historical and social exercises, and the other for a dining apartment, with tables extending a length of 240 feet, in ten sections, furnishing ample conveniences for the large audience of guests, a bountiful display of flowers in every form and variety gracing the tables. The Ben- 33 O APPENDIX. 717 jamin Higley and Joseph Higley tribes and the Alford branch of the clan joined in the work of preparation, and the old homestead was admirably decorated with evergreen wreaths and bouquets. The arrangements for the dinner, which was served at 2 p. M., were an un- paralleled success in the annals of rural feasts. Everything was on the scale of simplicity and generous hospitality, for which the hosts and hostesses of the occasion have a well-merited reputation. A drizzling fall of rain, which commenced just as the guests were fairly seated at the tables, interfered to some extent with the pleasures of that social hour. There were, by careful estimate, fully three hundred present, among whom were guests from New York City and Brooklyn, N. Y., and Boston, Mass.; Mr. Albert C. Bates, from East Granby, Conn., and sixty others who came from Batavia, N. Y. ; Cedar Rapids, la. : Windsor, Hartsgrove and vicinity, Ashtabula County, O. ; several from Leipsic, Putnam County, also from Youngstown, Cleveland, and Rutland, Meigs County, O. ; Braceville, Newton Falls, Nelson, Ravenna, Akron, O. ; Marshall, Mich.; Conneautville, Pa., and many other localities. The Windham Cornet Band, several of whom were from Higley families, ren- dered fine music to enliven the occasion, and added much to the enjoyment of the Reunion. In the midst of fraternal greetings the formal exercises of the occasion were opened at eleven o'clock, by the rendering of an attractive selection by the band. Mr. Alfred M. Higley was president of the day. He spoke as follows : " MY KINDRED, NEIGHBORS, AND FRIENDS : " We most kindly and heartily welcome you to this gathering of kindred hoping that it will prove a time spent pleasantly to all. This is a most fitting oppor- tunity for the renewal of old friendships and to become better acquainted with each other. - " Seventy-eight years ago a dense forest covered these grounds at the time my father, Benjamin Higley, built his log cabin on this spot for his then small family. They had only the wild animals for their neighbors. Soon after Joseph Higley, a cousin to my father, arrived from Becket, Mass., with his family, and from these two households sprung the Windham, O., Higleys. In the same company came several other families to make themselves homes in the wilderness. Among these were the Alford brothers, whose descendants, our cousins, are here with us. " Gathered around this old landmark to-day, the tribes of Joseph and Benjamin extend to all our kindred here, our greeting we most cordially welcome you to participate in making this occasion pleasant, social, and profitable." Letters from many who lived at a distance were received and read by Sheldon F. Higley, Esq., of Geneva, O., from Hon. E. L. Lampson of Jefferson, O.; Edward B. Higley of Spencer, la.; E. N. Higley, New York City ; Mr. and Mrs. M. Brown of Osage, la.; D. B. Higley, Sterling, Kan.; Major M. A. Higley, Cedar Rapids, la.; Mr. and Mrs. Coy Higley, Merrimac, Mass.; Mrs. William J. Pease, Hartford, Conn.; Clark Higley, Tooele City, Utah ; Hayden Higley and Mrs. Charles Shepard, Raymond, N. H.; H. W. Higley, Conconnolly, Wash.; Mrs. J. E. Hamilton, Unionville, Conn.; Mrs. Stuart Worcester, Woodford, Me.; and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Higley of Decatur, Neb. 7*8 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. The chairman then introduced the Hon. Brainard S. Higley of Youngstown, O., who gave an admirable and carefully prepared address, which was received with interest by his attentive hearers. At this point, the dinner being announced, the large company adjourned to par- take of the sumptuous repast. To the list of good things hearty justice was done, and the guests mingled in social chat. Dinner over, the audience gathered again in the large tent, and the band having played inspiring airs, the president presented Mrs. Mary Coffin Johnson of Brook- lyn, N. Y., who read a report of the progress of the expected volume, "The Higleys and their Ancestry," in which marked interest was manifested. This was followed by the poem of the day, entitled " Our Family Tree," which met with much acceptance, written and read by Mrs. Mary Adams Bosley of Johnstown, Pa., daughter of the late Sarah Ann Higley and William C. Adams of Windham. Mrs. Bosley read her poem with fine effect, and was heartily applauded. Hon. Warren Higley of New York City was the next speaker. His scholarly address, which was highly interesting to his listeners, was delivered in his usual attractive voice and eloquent manner. When Judge Higley had closed his speech, other speakers were called for Anson Higley, Esq., of Batavia, N. Y.; Milo H. Higley of Rutland, O.; W. W. Higley of Cedar Rapids, la.; George T. Higley, Ashland, Mass.; Dr. Gordon of Milan, O. ; and Sheldon F. Higley of Geneva, O. The last four responded with spirited remarks, which were interrupted by frequent applause. The exercises then closed. The clan, one and all, united in a warm sense of appreciation of the indefatiga- ble efforts and kind attentions of the Windham kinspeople to make the occasion enjoyable ; and take pleasure in making special mention of Mr. William A. Higley, who left nothing omitted which could contribute to the successful issue of the fourth annual Reunion and make the best of fellowship prevail. Long will they be remembered. HIGLEY REUNION, 1890. A reunion of the descendants of Captain John Higley, under the efficient arrangements made by the local committee, Messrs. Pomeroy Higley, H. W. Goddard, and Albert C. Bates, was held near the ancestral homestead, in Simsbury, Conn., August 20 and 21, 1890. There was a notable gathering of about three hundred representatives of the dif- ferent clans, from twelve States of the Union, in the old First Church, on the spot where the early Higleys were accustomed to worship. The exercises were opened with prayer by the Rev. Arza Hill, pastor of the Methodist Church, followed by a cordial and eloquent " Address of Welcome," on behalf of the citizens, by the Rev. Horace Winslow, D. D., pastor of the church in which the company was assembled. Professor Edwin Hall Higley of Vermont conducted the music. The first day was devoted to literary exercises, which were of a most interesting character, and happily interspersed with excellent music. The papers read and the addresses given were naturally historical, and were contributed by Professor APPENDIX. 719 Edwin Hall Higley of Groton, Mass. ; Dr. William Frederick Holcombe of New York: George T. Higley, A. M., of Ashland, Mass.; Mary Coffin Johnson of Brooklyn, N. Y.; Miss Emma L. Higley of Middlebury, Vt. ; Abbie L. Higley of New Windsor, 111., a poem ; and Hon. Warren Higley of New York City. The citizens of Simsbury in a most friendly manner entertained the guests at an elaborate dinner in the town hall, and otherwise extended a true and cordial hospitality. On Thursday, the 2ist, all joined in a pre-arranged excursion by carriage to Captain John Higley's old estate, Dr. Samuel Higley's historic copper mine, the old Newgate prison, and thence to Bartlett's Tower, on a lofty height of the Tal- cott Mountains, where a most excellent New England clam-bake was served to the hungry crowd. The two days' reunion proved in every respect most enjoyable. The following verses selected for the occasion were sung with enthusiasm : Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind ? Should auld acquaintance be forgot And days of Auld Lang Syne ? For Auld Lang Syne, my friends, For Auld Lang Syne, We'll join the hand of kindness now, For Auld Lang Syne. Our fathers here their dwellings reared In social life combined, These swelling fields their labors cleared For Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne, etc. Those ancient homes they guarded well, And stood by freedom's shrine ; And many a fearless warrior fell In days of Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne, etc. And we were nursed amid these hills And in these vales reclined ; But we have wandered far away Since days of Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne, etc. We've roamed across the prairie wild, The mountain pass have climbed, And placed the schoolhouse in the wild Since days of Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne,, etc. 720 THE HIGLEYS AND THEIR ANCESTRY. We've mingled in the city's strife, We've delved within the mine ; And braved the ocean's stormy waves, Since days of Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne, etc. Our sturdy sires of yore have gone, And kinsfolk in their prime ; The lov'd and good have disappeared Since days of Auld Lang Syne. For Auld Lang Syne, etc. We'll part again to distant scenes, And leave this hallowed shrine ; But oft we'll think with grateful praise Of days of Auld Lang Syne. 1 For Auld Lang Syne, etc. 1 By Rev. H. Goodwin, 1851. INDEX. NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. Abell, Mary A. Higley (1834), 693; her children, 693 Abrams, Harriet Higley (1821), 498 Adams, Benjamin Higley (1833), sketch of Civil War record, 334; Sarah Ann Higley (1817), 334; children of, 334 Adirondack League Club, 215 Alcott, Clarissa Higley Robertson (1826), 431; her children, 431 Alderman, Almira Higley, 347 Alford, Amasa, 177; Asahel, 178; Elijah, Sr., 176; Elijah, Jr. (1757), 177, 178,301, 307; Elijah, 3d (1780), 178; Elijah, 4th (of Windom, O.), 178; Oliver (1798), 178, 308; Levi (1798), 178, 308; Ruth (1784), 178; Rebecca Owen (1744), 378 Allen, Charles Ethan (1871); Emma Ormsby, 302; Elizabeth Higley (1824) 273; Harriet Ann Higley (1844), 291 ; her children, 291 ; Lucy Higley (1824), 628 Allinson, Charles, 268; Louisa Hig- ley Cogley, sketch of, 267 Ames, Alvira Higley (1837), 415 ; her children, 415 American Forestry Congress .found- ing of, 213 Archer, Lucinda Higley, 181 Atkins, Pluma Higley (1848). 552 Ballow, Ursula Higley, 657 Bancroft, Elizabeth Higley (1677), 9i Barber, Ann, wife of Jona. Higley, 89; Azubah Brown (1760), 379; Han- nah Higley (1773), 394; Lieut. Thomas, 89 Barbour, Harriet R. Higley (1815), 219 Barge, Adeline Higley Terry (1825), 205 Barnard, Jane Higley (1839), 569 ; her children, 569 ; Sally Higley (1785), 225 ; children of, 225 Bates, Albert (1804), 201 ; Albert C. (1865), sketch of, 223, 224 ; Alfred (1815), 224 ; Amelia Higley (1779); sketch of, 220, 221 ; Anson (1799), 221 ; Carlos (1808), sketch of, 221, 223 ; Daniel (1800), 221 ; Milton (1810), 224 Bay, Susan Higley (1822), 275 Bayard, Eva A. (1858), 655 Bell, Ernestine (1859), 579 '< Eunice Higley (1827), 578 ; Frederick A. (1857), 579 ; Garland A. (1890), 579 ; Harry E. (1888), 579 ; Lynn (1891), 579 ; Reuben R. (1866), 579 ; Thompson Higley (1854), 578 Benson, Mary Ann Higley, 398 Bissell, Sarah Strong (1666), 63 Bingham, Alvina (1826), 273 ; Emma N. (1861), 277 ; Harriet Higley (1793), 273 ; Lucius H. (1819), 273 ; Samuel N. (1831), 273 Bird, Ellen M. Higley (1828), 685 ; her children, 685 Blackburn, Nellie Button (1863), 404 Blackman, Susannah Higley (1705), 49 Blair, Mary S. Frost (1834), 494 Blodgett, Elizabeth Higley, 231 Borden, Lucinda Brown (1765), 379 Borradaile, Charles Higley (1856), 202 ; Julietta (1825), 202; her chil- dren, 202 Bosley, Mary Ann (1850), sketch of, 335 Bradbury.MollieE. Higley (i8so),i83 Brewster, Katherine (of England), i ; Philena Higley (1787), sketch of, 297, 298 ; her children, 298, 299 Briggs, Louisa Higley, 230 ; chil- dren of, 230 721 722 INDEX. British prison-ships, 409, 410, 434 Bromley, Mary Higley (1851), 407 Brown, Abiel (1776), 379 ; Charlotte Higley (1827), 646 ; Hannah Owen (1740), sketch of, 378 ; John (1800), sketch of, 380, 389 ; grandson of Hannah Higley Owen and Eliza- beth Higley Mills, 380; removed to Ohio, 380; first marriage, Dianthe Lusk, 380; second marriage, Mary Anne Day, 381; some prominent characteristics, 382; eulogy of Hon. Frederick Douglass, 384; abolition principles, 383, 384; incidents after his arrest, 385; his last letter, 388; his execution and burial, 386; slaves of America liberated, 389; testimonials, 389; Judge Freder- ick (1769), 379; Owen (1771), 379 Browne, Galen Higley (1872), 414 ; Mary Higley (1840), 414 Buck, Edna B. Higley (1805), 711 ; Lucy G. Higley (1836), 608 Bulkley , Maud K. Francis (1873), 433 Bull, Mindwell (1775), 166 Burdock, Anna Higley (1806), sketch of, 694 Burge, Helen Higley (1833), sketch of, 625; Howard Higley (1859), 625 Burleigh, Anna M. Higley, 297 Butts, Amanda Higley (1811), 672 Bybee, Adelia Higley (1854), 438 ; her children, 438 Cady, Emma Louisa, 194 ; Fluvia A. Higley (1844), 194 California, early days of, 677 Campbell, Anne Higley (1764), 241 ; children of, 241 ; Frances E. (1846), 272 Carpenter, Clarissa Bingham, 273 ; Fred. Cyril (1866), 705 Carr, Amelia M. Higley (1841), 710 ; Betsey A. Higley (1819), 646 ; Henry Joseph (1870), 710 Carter, Melissa Higley, 198 Case, Austin, 397 ; Capt. Josiah, 390 ; Dency Higley (1803), 397 ; Esther Brown (1762), 379 ; Eunice Higley, 345 ; children of, 345 ; Gen. Jarvis, 391 ; Hester Higley (1719), sketch of, 390 ; children of, 390, 391 ; Huldah Higley (1750), sketch of, 231 ; children of, 231 ; Mary Theresa Higley (1808), 352 ; Miranda Higley, 345 ; Ruth Hig- ley (1765), 286 ; Sally Higley (1787), 417 Castleton, Vt., early settlement of, 172 Caswell, Zeruah Higley (1805), sketch of, 264 Cavendar, Amanda Bingham, 273 Chipman, Mary A. Higley (1839), 668 Church controversies, 51 Clark, Abigail S. Higley (1809), 302 ; her children, 302 ; Addie L. Hig- ley', 273 ; Dorcas Higley (1843), 439 ; her children, 439 ; Edward A. (1870), 338 ; Elizabeth Ann Higley (1850), 439 ; her children, 439 ; Jennie W. Atkins (1868), 552 ; John B. (1838), 302 ; Sarah M. Higley (1847), 338 Cloes, Luella Higley (1865), 554 Coe, Anna Higley (1774), 675 ; Anna Higley (1798), 686 Cogley, Thomas S., 268 Coles, Ruth Higley (1772), 645 Collins, Sylvia Higley (1784), 593 Colton, N. Y., founding of, 669 Colton, Robert McKown, M. D. (1849), sketch of, 322 ; Sarah E. Higley (1834), 321 Comes, Lydia Higley (1873), 565 Company, Connecticut Land, 480 Connecticut Blue Laws, 16 Cooper, Ann E. Higley (1838), 705 Cope, Emma Lucinda Carr (1873), 711 Copper, the Higley, 126, 130 ; mine, the Higley, 125 Cossett, Elvira Higley, 347 Coult, Jonathan Higley, 89 ; Mercy Higley, 89 " Costumes and Annals of Fashion," extracts from, 102 Crandall, Amariah (1821), 581 ; his children, 581 ; Franklin (1817), 581 ; Lydia Higley (1719), 581 Creagan, Elizabeth S. Higley, 227 Cross, Zeruah Higley (1784), 266 ; her children, 266 Cruse, Harriet Higley (1851), 542 ; Lawrence A. (1889), 543 Curtis, Adeline Higley (1829), 419 ; George W., 194; Juliette E. (1851), 194 ; children of, 194 ; Sally Hig- ley (1817), 419 ; Martha P. Higley (1815), 302 ; her children, 302 Daniels, Rebecca Kempton (1841), 433 Darling-Ufford, Sylvia Jane (1822), sketch of, 597 Davenport, Cynthia Higley, 272 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 723 Day, Orpah M. Higley (1814), 712 ; her children, 712 Day of solemn humiliation and prayer, 38 Dean, Henry Charles (1885), 376 ; Lee P. (1875), 376 ; Naomi Higley (1791), 189 ; Seraph E. Maltbie (1882), 376 ; Willard Parker (1879), 376 Decker, Almeron (1852), sketch of, 558, 559 ; Martha Higley (1828), 557 Denison, lola Higley (1778), 265 ; her children, 265 Dewey, Louisa Higley (1855), sketch of, 619 De Wolf, Esther Higley (1743), sketch of, 184 Dinsmore, Addie F. Higley, 230 Dimond, Carrie J. Higley, 371 Dinsmore, Naomi Louisa Higley, 230 Doolittle, Amanda M. Watrous (1825), 605 ; Eliza M. Watrous (1829), 605 Doubleday, Fidelia Higley, 198 Douglass, Adelaide H. Burge (1855), 625 Drake, Elizabeth, 24, 44, 45, 46 ; John, Sr., 8, 14 ; John, the Ameri- can colonist, 20 ; family of, 19 Driggs, Millicent Husted "( I 8n). 592 ; children of, 592 Drinking customs, 165 Duel, Clarinda Higley (1783), 623 ; her children, 623 Duncan, Edward Higley, 265: Fan- nie Denison, 265 ; Francis Le Count, 265 ; William C., 265 Duncklee, Mary A. Higley (1799), 672 Dunwell, Martha A. Kinney (1849), 540 Durand, Cassius H., 672; Charity Higley (1795), sketch of, 671 ; her children, 671 ; James A. (1825), 672 Durham, Myra Higley (1857), 593 Dye, Electa P. (1849), sketch of , 611 ; Sarah Higley (1825), sketch of, 610 Earl, Edwin D. (1841), Civil War record, 293 ; Orlando L. (1838), Civil War record, 293 ; his wife, Emily J. Cutts ; children of, 293; Eliza Dewey Higley (1812), sketch of, 289, 293 Early schools, in Colonial times, 157 Eaton, Lucy Marilla Higley (1849), 194 ; children of, 194 Education, The higher, of women ; views of President Timothy Dwight, 617 Eggleston, Emma J., 202 ; children of, 202 Ellis, Mary E. Higley, 599 English, Harriet, 268 ; Harry Hig- ley, 268; Melvin,268; Sidney San- derson, 268 Estes, Benjamin W. (1823), 629 ; Cyrus H. (1836), 629; Elihu B. (1828), 629; Esther Higley (1796), sketch of, 629 ; her children, 629 ; Norman F. (1833), 629 Evans, Frances Higley (1819), 351, 38i Events in English history, 1660- 1665, 28, 29 Ewing, Adelia M. 711 g, Adelia M. Higley (1841), ; her children, 711; Earl, 268; Lydenham, 268; Mary Jane Cog- ley, 268 ; Maud, 268 Fairbanks, Eliza Ann Husted (1805), 591 ; her children, 591 Family, the Higley, of England, I, 2 Fenn, Carrie Higley (1862), 431 Filer, Lieutenant Walter, 139 Fitch, Captain Nathaniel, 136 ; Mindwell Higley-Tisdale (1689), 135 Forbush, Harvey Wright (1869), 650 Forman, Mary W. Higley Clark (1816), 302 ; her children, 302 Forward, Abigail Higley (1772), sketch of, 492 ; her children, 493 ; Samuel, Sr. (1752), 492 Fowles, Ella Irene Marcy, 303 Frampton, Esther L. Estes (1831), 629 Francis, Jennie Kempton (1848), 433 Frear, Mary Ann McEwen (1845), 405 Freece, Marion B. Higley (1861), 592 Freeman, Elizabeth J. Higley (1837), sketch of, 613 ; Fred. W., M. D. (1857), 618 Frost, BentonC. (1840), 494 ; Charles (1819), 493 ; Elmer (1826), 494 ; Frank (1821), 494 ; John (1823), 494 ; Madison (1829), 494 ; Maria Powell, his wife, 494 ; their chil- dren, 494 ; Semira Forward (1798), sketch of, 493 ; her children, 493 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. Galloway, Clayton Higley (1893), 424 ; Lauraett Higley (1858), 424 Gates, Elizabeth P. Higley (1836), 397 ; Emma Higley (1870), 706 Geer, Helen Higley, 198 ; children of, 198 Gillet, Julia E. Higley (1846), 619 ; her children, 619 Gladwin, Ida V. Higley (1861), 426 Glaze, Jane Terry (1856), 204 Goddard, Albert E. (1846), 191 ; Caroline Nancy (1823), sketch of, loo ; Henry N". (1843), sketch of, 191 ; Lucius A. (1844), sketch of, 191 Gordon, Emma J. Higley (1863), 203 Goff, Theda Higley (1789), 417 Goodale, Emma C. Higley (1822), 667; her children, 667; Francis W. (1845), 667 ; William H. (1848), 667 Gooding, Anna Wiswell, 582 Gordon, John Emery (1884), 203 Gorton, Catherine E. Harrison (1849), 302 ; her children, 302 Goodrich, Mary E. Higley (1838), 322 ; her children, 323 Gould, Martha McEwen (1854), 405 Graham, Gunelda Higley, 345 Grant, Mary Corinthia White (1808), 570 Graves, Edgar (1849), sketch of, 546 ; Mary Higley (1813), 545 ; her children, 545, 547 ; Oswin, 546 ; Keziah Higley (1815), 546 ; Wal- lace, Civil War record, 546 ; Wil- bur, 545 Gray, Mary Ann Higley, 350 Green, Albert Joseph (1868), 364 ; Charles M. (1858), 363 ; Frank Higley (1854), 363 ; Gep. Higley (1845), 363 ; Louisa Maria Higley (1827), sketch of, 362, 363 ; her children, 363 ; Robert Abiel (1862), 364 ; William W. (1850), 363 Gridley, Betsey Higley (1823), 578 Griffen, Deborah Higley Carr(i747), 281 Griswold, Edward, 47 ; Solomon (1754), 503 Grover, Julia Higley, 277 Guernsey, Esther Higley (1775), 264 ; children of, 265 ; lola Deni- son, 265 ; Sarah, 265 ; Solomon K. (1798), 265 Hale, Laura Higley (1792), 581 Hall, Laura A. Higley (1847), 706 Halliday, Anne Higley (1738), 281 Hamilton, Flora E. Ward (1861), 207 ; J. E., Mrs., 196 Hammond, Jane Higley, Cornish (1817), 197 Hardy, Mary Jane Higley (1847), 439 Harker-Partridge, Puella Higley (1786), 594 ; children of, 593 .Harris, Mary Elizabeth Higley (1839), 685 ; Sylvia Higley (1779), 656 Hart-Forbush, Eliza Higley (1845), 650 ; her children, 650 Haskins, Clarissa Higley (1772), 375 ; her children, 375 Hathaway, Harriet Sanderson (1845), 269 ; her children, 269 Hawkins, Candace Higley, 411 Hayes, Daniel, captured by Indians, 70 Hays, Betsey Higley, 352 ; Charles and Morgan, twins (1820), 376 ; Edward (1815), 376 ; Eunice Hig- ley, 345 ; Frederick, 376 ; George, 376 ; Martha Higley, 352 ; her children, 352 ; Sarah Higley (1781), sketch of, 352, 375 Hibbard, Lydia J. Higley (1836), sketch of, 704 ; her children, 705 Higley, Aaron (1826), sketch of, 555; Abiah Alonzo (1867), 438 ; Abiel (1789), sketch of, 354, 358 ; his wife, Prudence Crane, 354 ; chil- dren of, 358 ; emigrated to Iowa, 355 ; pioneer life, 356, 357 Higley, Abigail Thorp (1703), 147 ; Abraham, 657 ; Achsah (1880), 565 ; Achsah (1877), 250; Addison (1837), 192 ; Eliza J. McNash, first wife, 192 ; Jennie A. Lampman, second wife, 192; children of, 192; Addison N. (1835), sketch of, 527; Adelaide T., 531 ; Adelaide M., M. D. (1862), 184 ; Adeline Simpson, 273 ; Adin M. (1875), 192 ; Augus- tus (1819), 227 ; Alanson (1808), 398 ; married Mary Carl ton, 398 ; children of, 398 Higley, Albert (1834), 198; Albert P. (1870), 195; Albert (1881), 706; Al- bert A. (1845), Civil War record, sketch, 399 ; Albert E. (1841), Civil War, sketch, 630 ; Albert Harvey (1872), 362 ; Albert R., 435 ; Albert William, 699 ; Alfred, 76 ; Alfred Dewey (1882), 699; Alfred M.(i822), sketch of, 335, 338 ; his wife, Mary NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 725 R. Knapp, 335 ; Civil War record, 336 ; children of, 338 ; Alfred M. (1867), 592 ; Alfred V. (1849), sketch of, 607 ; children of, 607 ; Algernon (1833), 351; Allen (1809), sketch of, 544 ; Allen Edward (1872), 527 ; Allen H. (1870), 195 ; Almira (1809), 672 ; Altnon (1816), 226 ; Almou (1804), 629 ; Alonzo, M. D. (1820), sketch of, 599; Alson (1793), sketch of, 418 ; prisoner of war, 1812, 418 ; his children, 419 ; Alva (1838), 407; Alvin L., 646; Alvin, 191 ; Amarett H. (1888), 529 ; Amy (1875), 568 ; Andrew Nelson (1833), 435 ; Anne (1864), 425 ; Anson (1811), sketch of, 413 ; his children, 414 ; Anson, 607 ; Anson Holbrook (1874), 414; Arodi (1770), 675, 687 ; his children, 687 ; Artemas J. (1851), sketch of, 272 ; Arthur Herman (1861), 270 ; Ar- thur Lucien (1868), sketch of, 297 ; Arthur Stanley (1861), 338 ; his wife, Alta E. 'Hudson, 339 ; children of, 339 Higley, Asa, Lieutenant, ist (1745), sketch of, 340, 341 ; his wife, Eunice Colton, 341 ; children of, 342 ; soldier of the War of Revo- lution, 341 ; commissioned lieu- tenant, 341; Asa, Captain, 2d (1771), sketch of, 342 ; his wife, Ruth Kendall, 342 ; children of, 343 ; Austin (1830), Civil War sketch, 206 Higley, Benjamin, Colonel (1777), sketch of, 301, 304, 318; his wife, Sally McKown, 305; chil- dren of, 318 ; teacher, 304 ; visited Governor Strong, 305 : one of purchasers of township in Ohio, 306 ; organization of First Congregational church at Win- dom, O., 307 ; emigrated to Ohio, 307 ; first town meeting, 309 ; first school opened, 310 ; military service, 310 ; war of 1812, 311, 312 ; church matters, 314 ; exciting adventures, 315, 316 ; his death, 318 Higley, Benjamin S.(i83i), Civil War sketch, 608 ; Benjamin Sheldon (1890), 331 ; Bertha L. and Lena M.,4ig; Betsey Maria (1793), 351 ; Brainard S., Hon. (1837), sketch of, 289, 291; his wife, Isabella R. Stevens, 290 ; children of, 291 ; Brainard Spencer, Jr. (1871), 291 Higley, Brewster, Sr. (1680), sketch of, 99-103 ; Brewster, 2d (1709), sketch of, 162, 168 ; military serv- ice, 166; Brewster, 3d (1734), sketch of, 169, 175 ; appointed constable, 169 ; married Esther Owen, 169 ; children of, 171 ; settled at Sims- bury, 169 ; deacon, 170 ; clerk of train band, 170 ; removed to Ver- mont, 171 ; Ft. Ticonderoga, 172; incidents of the War of Revolu- tion, 173 ; his death, 174 Higley, Brewster, 4th (1759), sketch of, 233, 242 ; Naomi Higley, his wife, sketch of, 156, 238, 240, 286 ; their children, 241; soldier of the Revolution, 233, 234 ; (served under Ethan Allen) ; pioneer of State of Ohio, 235 ; early days in the wilderness, 236; appointed jus- tice of the peace, 237 ; appointed associate judge, 237 ; Brewster, 6th, M. D. (1823), sketch of, 269 ; Brewster, 7th (1854), 270; Brewster Asa (1836), sketch of, 343, 344 ; his wife, Ida Stephenson, 344 ; Brewster O., professor (1859), 276 ; Burrell Alfred (1850), 338 ; Burt P. (1872), 278 ; Burton O. (1842), 417 Higley, C. Wesley (1828), 630; Ca- milla (1850), 198; Carl (1879), 277 ; Carrie May (1871), 194 ; Carl W. (1886), 230 ; Carlo (1791), 436 ; Carlos (1838), 628 ; his children, 628 ; Carmi (1749), Revolutionary soldier, 409, 410 ; Carmi, 2d (1775), 410 ; Carmi, 3d (1810), 411; Cecilia (1830), 522 ; Charity (1756), 660 ; Charles (1806), 686 ; Charles, (son of John, 3d) (1817), 406 ; Charles (1825), 600 ; his children, 600 ; Charles (1838), sketch of, 529, 531 ; Charles (1866), sketch of, 557 ; Charles, Jr., 531 ; Charles (1868), 192 ; Charles (1877), 699 ; Charles A. (1863), 426 ; Charles A. (1865), 628 ; Charles C., 269 ; his children, 269 ; Charles D. (1806), sketch of, 630 ; his children, 630 ; Charles Denton (1865), 197 ; Charles Edwin, 620 ; Charles Eugene (1854), 692 ; Charles Homer (1833), 683 ; Charles M. (1831), 685 ; Charles Mason (1880), 667 ; Charles W., M. D. (1831), 277 ; Charles W. (1850), 294 ; Charles Washington (1859), 438 ; NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 47 726 INDEX. Charles Wellington (1866), 365 ; Charles Wesley (1827), war sketch of, 624, 625 ; his children, 625 ; Charles William (1864), sketch of, 297 ; Charles Windsor (1874), 541 ; Charles Wright (1835), 296 ; Chauncey (1799), sketch of, 203 ; Margaret Head, his wife, 204; children of, 204, 205 Higley, Chauncey, 198 ; Chauncey King (1815), 593 ; Chester (1807), sketch of, 207 ; Prudence Miller, his wife, 208; Clara (1884), 277; Clarence, 269; Clarence H., 231; Clarence Pinkney (1869), 425 ; Clark (1813), sketch of, 695-699 ; his children, 699 ; Claude (1887), 273; Clayton W. (1850), 431; Clyde S. (1880), 273 ; Collins Jacob (1829), sketch of, 208 ; Columbus (1813), 248; Cora E. (1882), 277; Clifford W. (1869), 194 ; Clinton A. (1859), 295 ; Count Sobieski (1839), 195; Correll (1796), war of 1812, 427 ; Coy (1815), sketch of, 405 ; Cumberland W. (1805), sketch of, 301 ; Ciirtis Divine (1817), sketch of, 595 ; his wife, Sarah C. Buell, 595 ; their chil- dren, 595 ; Cynthia (1797), 182 ; Cyrus (1887), 270 Higley, Daniel, Lieutenant (1738), sketch of, 635, 644; married Ruth , 635 ; their children, 644; sol- dier of the Revolution, 636 ; emi- grated to Vermont, 637 ; early set- tler of Marlboro, 638; his will, 644; Dan (1759), 621; Dan (1789), 407; Daniel, Jr. (1768), 645; Dan (1804), sketch of, 691; married Nancy Bentley, 692; their children, 692; Daniel Roswell (1794), 606; chil- dren of, 606; Daniel, 3d (1807), 550; Daniel (1819), 197; Daniel Chauncey (1839), sketch of, 651- 653; Daniel G. (1842), 693; Daniel (1849), 698; Daniel, 608, Daniel Levi, 197; Darwin, 627; David, ist (1712), sketch of, 280; married Anna Owen, 280; held public offices, 281; noted athlete, 281; David, 2d (1745), sketch of, 282; married Mary Higley, 282; David (1769), 326; David, 3d, 282, 283, 478; married Olive Allen, 283; David (1832), sketch of, 670; David Mack (1858), 333; his wife, Lucretia R. Cannon, 333; Deacon Obed, Sr. (1757), sketch of, 416; a Revolutionary soldier, 416; his children, 41 7 ; Delavan, 227; Deni- son J. (1853), 197; Dennis B. (1849), 272; Dexter (1856), 554; Dinah (1732), 673; Donald Sturgis (1884), 361; Dudley, ist (1730), sketch of, 632-633; his children, 633; Dudley, 2d (1770), sketch of, 626; children of, 627; Dwight, 645; Dwight, 657 Higley, Edward J. (1875), 195 ; Ed- ward Emory (1853), 359 ; Edward S. (1862), 278 ; Edward B. (1832), sketch of, 320 ; his wife, Julia N. Clark, sketch of, 321 ; Edward, 531 ; Edward Helm (1851), 692 ; Edwin E. (1864) ; Edwin E., 627 ; Edwin (1793), 436 ; Edwin (1825), sketch of, 227, 228 ; Louisa White, ist wife, 228 ; Susan H. Thompson, 2d wife (1836), 228 ; Edwin Roswell (1827), 435; Edwin (1831), 426; Edwin (1833), 437; Ed- win R. (1829), 205; Catherine De- var, ist wife, 205; children of, 205 Higley, Edwin Hall, Professor (1843), sketch of, 258; entered college, 259 ; service in Civil War, 259 ; sergeant, lieutenant, cap- tain, major, 259 ; war prisoner in Libby Prison, 260 ; mustered out of service, 260 ; graduated from college, 260 ; musician, 261 ; professor Greek and German, 260 ; Eben N. (1843), sketch of, 398, 399 ; his children, 399 ; Civil War record, 398 ; Ebenezer, Professor (1807), 301-302 ; Eber (1763), sketch of, War of Revolution, 434-435 ; Eber (1808), 413 ; Ed- mund B. (1809), sketch of, 709 ; married Lucy Merrill, 709 ; their children, 710 ; Eli Lee (1876), 699 ; Elihu (1788), sketch of, 182; Elihu, 699 Higley, Elijah, Jr. (1784), sketch of, 700-703 ; married, ist, Lydia Pad- dleford, 700 ; married, 2d, Electa Baldwin, 702 ; their children, 702 ; Elijah (1809), sketch of, 651 ; mar- ried Rosanna Adams, 651 ; their children, 651 ; Elijah Franklin (1835), 651 ; Elisha, 662 ; Eliza- beth Higley Bancroft (1677), sketch of, 91 ; Indian troubles, 92 ; life at Westfield, Mass., 93 ; Eliza Bowen (1816), 303 : Eliza- NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX, 727 beth (1882), 654 ; Elizabeth Alice (1886), 542; Elliot, 646; Elmer Abiel (1856), sketch of, 361 ; El- mer (1861), 568 ; Ellis Irvin, 699 ; Elodine (1840), 593 ; Elodine V. (1881), 593; Elin (1858), 580; Edith Theresa (i 889), 654 ; Elmer A. (1862), 192; Elmer, Rev. (1867), sketch of, 206; Elon, 627 ; Elphon- 20(1821), 593; Ehvood John (1894), 540 ; Emily B. (1840), 198 ; Emily T., 693 ; Emily M. (1846), 293 ; EmmaL.,75; Emily M. (1846), 293 Higley, Emory (1843), sketch of, 531 ; Emory, 631 ; Emma L., 75 ; Emma Little (1834), sketch of, 254; Emmeline (1810), 248; Emulus, 672 ; Emulus (1825), 206 ; Enoch (1754), sketch of, 162, 231 ; his children, 232 ; Enos Jones (1796), 599; Ensign Isaac (1707), sketch of, 153 ; early founder of Torrington, Conn., 156; social status of, 154 ; Erastus (1772), sketch of, 243-247; his wife, Esther Ann Guernsey, 243 ; children of, 247 ; judge of Probate Court, 245 ; church relations, 246 ; Eras- tus (1822), 419 ; Erastus D. (1816), sketch of, 632 ; Erastus (1812), 196; Estelle (1859), 270 ; Estes Howe (1802), 672 ; Esther Ann (1808), sketch of, 248; Everett (1880), 270 ; Eugene G. (1855), 376 ; Ezra Coggswell (1810), sketch of, 292 ; his wife, Amanda A. Messenger, 292 ; children of, 292; Ezra Marvin (1834), 192 Higley, Fanny (1795), 582 ; Fausta (1841), 599 ; Festus (1814), 411 ; Flora E. (1853), sketch of, 655 ; Florence Blanche, 372 ; Florence (1878), 273 ; Florence C. (1885), 230 ; Florence Permelia (1866), 203 ; Francis A. (1872), 699; Frank, (son of Aaron), 556 ; Frank (1862), 628 ; Frank (1872), 195 ; Frank, 607 ; Frank Almon (1869), 227 ; Frank E. (1854), 230 ; Frank E. (1860), 435 ; Frank H. (1880), 293 ; Frank Horton (1860), 184; Frank T. (1861), sketch of, 628 ; Franklin Monroe (1846), 711 ; Franklin Spencer (1873), 438 ; Fred. (1868), 206; Fred. (1859), 628; Fred. A., 194; Fred A. (1877), 230; Fred- erick C. (1869), 693 ; Fred. Mitchell (1888), 361 ; Frank S. (1869), 294 ; Frederick W. (1819), 593 ; Freeman Dewey, 699 ; Free- man D. (1843), 699 ; his children, 699 Higley, George (1803), 439; George (1823), 646 ; his children, 646 ; George (1824), 419 ; George (1872), 291 ; George, 646 ; George A. (1830), 184 ; George A., Jr. (1864), 184 ; George Byron (1823), 408 ; George Daniel (1844), 705 ; Civil War sketch, 705 ; George E. (1856), 419; his -children, 419; George E., Jr. (1880), 419 ; George E. 650 ; George Edwin (1857), 438 ; George Edwin (1871), 435 ; George Franklin (1859), 625; George H. (1845), 698; George Henry (1884), 294; George Miller (1831), 208; George O., Pro- fessor (1858), 628; George O., 699 Higley, George Trask (1837), sketch of, 649-650 ; married Rosina Smith, 649 ; Civil War record, 649 ; admitted to the bar, 649 ; George W. (1820), Civil War sketch, 606 ; children of, 607 ; George W. (1831), sketch of, 437- 438 ; George Watson (1830), 667 ; Gery (1876), 706 ; Gertrude E. (1866), sketch of, 670 ; Gilbert, Lieutenant (1823), sketch of, 347 ; his wife, Ann Eliza Norment, 347 ; children of, 348 ; Confederate War record, 347 ; Gilbert A. (1844), 593 ; Gilbert P. (1863), 348 ; Gil- man Smith (1837), Civil War sketch, 406; his children, 406; Gordon (1872), 554; Grace (1876), 227 ; Greenleaf W. (1845), sketch of, 533-542 ; his wife, Helen Simp- son, 538, 539 ; their children, 540 Higley, Hannah Drake, sketch of, 60; Harlan (1839), Civil War rec- ord, 404; Harlow (1802), 193; Harlow, 693; Harold (1808), 345; Harold Arthur (1878), 203; Har- riet, 657; Harrison (1834), sketch of, 562-564; Harrison E. (1871), 565; Harvey (1819), 699; Harvey Douglass (1882), 361; Harvey Grant (1824), sketch of, 360; his wife, Anne Bishop Bristol, 361; children of, 361; Harvey Warren (1867), 699; Harry (of Portland, Oregon), 699; Harry (1861), 230; Hayden (1810), sketch of, 401-403; Hector (1822), sketch of, 552-554 KOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 728 INDEX. Higley, Henry Anson (1832), sketch of, 523-526 ; Henry Allen, M. D. (1866), sketch of, 526; Helen M. (1847), 198; Helen Ruth (1876), 541; Henry (1827), 612; Henry B., 193; Harry Dowie (1873), 527; Harvey, 198; Hepzibah, 198; A. Hector (1805), sketch of, 663; Henry (1792), 376; Henry, 303; his wife, Abbie L. Bugden, sketch of, 303; Henry (1830), 197; Henry, 666 ; Henry Allen, (1814), 293; Henry Clay (1871), 344 Higley, Henry Edward (1818), sketch of, 358; first wife, Mary N. Morgan, 359; second wife, Hannah E. Emery, 359 ; children of, 359; Henry G., 646; Henry Garrison (1861), sketch of, 528; Henry G., Jr. (1880), 361; Henry Grant (1851), 361; his wife, Ella M. Nye, 361; children of, 361; Henry H. (1842), Civil War sketch, 292; his wife, Mary E. Minson, 292; children of, 293; Henry James (1849), 294; children of, 294; Henry N., 191; Henry Irving(i852), 376; Henry Paulding (1836), 683; Henry Post, Rev., A. M. (1839), 255; was graduated from college, 256; from theo- logical seminary, 256; married Lillie M. Condit, 256; pastorate at Beloit, Mich., 256-257; Herbert L., 194 Higley, Hervey O., Rev. (1801), sketch of, 249; reminiscences, 249; united with the church, 250; en- tered college, 250; ordained to ministry, 251; married Sarah Ger- rish Little, 252; his death, 253; children of, 254-267; Herbert, 631; Herman Ward (1849), sketch of, 228-229; his children, 230; Hes- ter Case (1745), 391; Hezekiah (1789), sketch of, 661; War of 1812, 661; his children, 662; Hiram (1804), 687; Hiram (1824), 227; Hiram (1829), sketch of, 498; Hiram A. (1865), 227; Homer (1796), sketch of, 684, 685; mar- ried Aurelia Marshall, 684; their children, 685; Homer (1830), sketch of, 560-561 ; married Lydia demons, 560; their children, 561; Homer C. (1878), 227: Homer D. (1880), 415; Homer, 2d (1810), 196; Higley , Horace Antonio., Gen. (1828), sketch of, 677-679; Horace Hern- don (1880), 683; Horace Loomis (1794), sketch of, 676-677; married Eulalie Collins, 676; their children, 677; Horace Warren (1831), 43;; Homer E. (1832), 193; Homer H. (1861), 426; Homer R. (1864), 277; Horace (1765), sketch of, 675; mar- ried Eleanor Loomis, 675; their children, 676; Horton E, 269; Ho- sea (1799), sketch of, 435; Howard (1838), 432; his children, 432; How- ard, 699; Howard James (1884), 424; Hubert L. (1864), 2-73; Hulbert (1828), 202; his children, 203; Hume (1807), sketch of, 517-522; his wife, Betsey Norris, 517-520; their chil- dren, 522; elected justice of peace, 518; Hume, Jr. (1877), 533; Ida L. (1864), 655; Ida Mary (1870), sketch of, 540; Irving Wilson (1879), 414; Irvin Buell (1853), sketch of, 595; Ensign Isaac (1707) (son of Capt. John), 153; Isaac (1840), 198; Isaac (1753), sketch of, 411; his children, 411; Isaac, Jr. (1799), sketch of, 412; Isaac Anson (1807), sketch of, married Mary B. Falls, their children, 198 ; Isaac Anson (1843), his children, 414; Isaac Anson, 2d (1852), 198 ; Isaac, 657 ; Isaac G. (1823), 608 ; Isaac Guern- sey (1788), 606; Isaac M. (1821), 607 ; Isaac Newton (1814), 415 Higley, Jacob, 657 ; Jacob Sawyer (1802), married Nancy D. Spen- cer, their children, 205 ; James (1785), sketch of, 707-708 ; mar- ried Hannah Roberts, 707 ; their children, 708 ; soldier in War of 1812, 708 ; James (1837), sketch of, 710 ; James (1840), 407; James, 699 ; James B., 277 ; James Bowie (1842), 684 ; James Edward (1854), sketch of, 424 ; James E., 269 ; James H. (1836), 198 ; James L. (1856), 278; James Little (1880), 294 ; Jasper (1802), 396 ; Jasper P. (1865), 565 ; Joy J. (1872), 191 ; Jeanette (1851), 206 ; Jerry (1794), his children, 628 ; Jerry (1864), 628 ; Jesse (1883), 230 ; Jesse, ist (1765), sketch of, 664-665 ; mar- ried Elizabeth Watson, 664 ; their children, 665; Jesse Colton (1793), sketch of, 668-670; married Eunice Smith, 670 ; Job (1768), 436 ; Job NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 729 Loomis (1801), 687 ; Joel (1739), 162 ; Joel (1792), war sketch, 627 ; his children, 627 ; Joel, Lieuten- ant (1739), sketch of, 162-179 ; re- moved to Ohio, 181 ; Joel, Major (1764), sketch of, 181 ; Joel Phelps, Major (1825), 183; Joel Phelps, Jr. (1802), 182 Higley, John, Captain (1649), birth of, i ; boyhood, sold for term of service, 3 ; historic events, 28 ; visit to England, 31 ; married Hannah Drake, 32 ; early married life, 32 ; granted town lot, 39 ; officer of customs, 42 ; voyage to the Barbadoes, 43 ; made free- man, 48 ; removes to Simsbury, Conn., 49 ; purchases Woolcott farm, 49 ; one of the original patentees of Simsbury, 53 ; de- scription of house, 51 ; chosen townsman, 52 ; story of the Con- necticut Charter, 57 ; chosen com- missioner, 58 ; deputy to General Assembly, 58 ; justice of the quo- rum, 58 ; made lieutenant, 58 ; made captain of militia, 59 ; first saw and grist mill, 59 ; death of his wife, 60; second marriage, 63 ; first appropriation to Yale College School, 65 ; copper hill lands and mines, 66, 67, 68 ; one of sundry gentlemen chosen for manage- ment of naval stores, 69 ; last sc'enes in his life, and death, 71 ; will and inventory, 73, 74, 75; rel- ics, 75, 76; death of 2d wife, 76; his war descendants, 78, 79; summary of his character, 77, 81 Higley, John, Jr. (1673) (son of Cap- tain John), 85; John (1835), chil- dren of , 193; John(i88s), 273; John (son of Levi), 198; John, Sr., son of Brewster, ist (1722), sketch of, 392, 393; joined provincial troops, 393; married Apphia Humphrey, 3<54; their children, 394; John, Jr. (1748), sketch of, 394; married Dibble, 394; children of, 394; John, 3d (1774), sketch of, 394, 395; mar- ried Lodama Messenger, 395; chil- dren of, 395; John A. (1793), War of 1812, 408; John A. (1854), 435; John Albert (1856), 620; John Har- vey (1843), 198; John Greenleaf (1868), sketch of, 540; John Rowe, Civil War sketch, 607; John V. (i885),ig2; John William (1878), 699 Higley, John Hunt, General (1830), sketch of, 679, 683; married Lily Marshall, 680; their children, 683; entered Confederate Army, 680; officer 4oth Alabama Regiment, 680; positions of trust, 681; pri- vate life, 682; imposing funeral, 682, 683; John Hunt, Jr. (1869). 683; John Larkin, (1816), sketch of, 294; his wife, Elizabeth R. Frary, 294; children of, 294; John M. (1833), 592; John Osborn (1849), 414 Higley, Jonathan (about 1620), of England, i; Jonathan (1675), 88; married Ann Barber, 89; his will, 89, 90; Jonathan (son of Samuel, ist) (1721), sketch of, 474; his wife, Mary Thompson, sketch of, 475- 477; Jonathan, Jr. (1747), sketch of, 478-491; Rachel Negus, his wife, 478, 489: their children, 491; early settler in Western Reserve, O., 481-483, pioneer life, 484-487; first mail service in Western Re- serve, 486; organization of Wind- sor, O., 488; death and funeral, 490 Higley, Jonathan, Hon., 3d (1781), sketch of, 500-516; married Kes- iah Griswold, 501; second wife, Martha Kinney Lewis, sketch of, 513; his children, 516; emigrates to Western Reserve, O., 500; erects first frame dwelling, 502; commissioned justice of peace, 502; representative to Ohio legis- lature, 508; supports cause of free- dom, 510; divides his estate, 513 Higley, Jonathan, 4th (1821), sketch of, 550-552; Jordan, ist (1773). 645; his wife, Peggy Miller, 645; their children, 645; Jordon, 2d (1831), 646; Joseph (1685), 114; Joseph, 657; Joseph, 2d (1741), sketch of, 287; his wife, Azubah Gillette, 287; their children, 288; Joseph, 3d (1774), sketch of, 288; his wife, Sybil Coggswell, 288; children of, 289; Joseph Larkin (1847), 294; married Jennie A. Scott, 294; children of, 294; Joseph Nelson (1806), 289; his wife, Susan White Spencer, 289; children of, 289; Joseph Nelson, 2d (1868), 291 Higley, Joseph Trumbull, M. D. (1800), 279; his children, 279 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 73 INDEX. Higley, Joseph, Sr., Captain (1715), sketch of 284-287; public offices, 285; ensign, 285; captain, 285; marriages, 285; children of, 286; Joseph Warren (1871), 438; Jose- phine, 227 ; Josephine Marcy, 330; Josiah and Joshua twins (1702), 144; Josiah Sargeant, ist (1702), sketch of, 144-146; Josiah, 2d (1725), sketch of, 658-660; soldier of the Revolution, 659; his children, 660; Josiah, 3d (1762), sketch of, 660-661; his wife, Deliverance Carpenter, 660; their children, 661; Jo- siah, 4th, 662; Josiah, sth, 662; Josiah, 6th, 663; Josie A. (1854), 269 ; children of, 269 ; Judah ( J 777)> sketch of, 646; his chil- dren, 647; Judson (1836), 693; Julia (daughter of Seth, Jr.), 191; Julia (1802), 351; Julian (1828), sketch of, 627; Julius Bicknell (1822), sketch of, 271; married Maria L. Fuqua, 271; Julius Henry, Cap- tain (1838), Civil War sketch, 630 Higley, Kate (daughter of Milo), (1862), 278; Kate M. (1871), 184 Higley, Leavitt Nelson (1836), 255; Lee O. (1879), 593 ; Leicester Charles (1886), 414 ; Leo Frank- lin (1892), 711 ; Leon (1865), 351 ; Leonard A. (1884), 529 ; Levan- der (1850), 593 ; Leverett Grover (1870), 533 ; Levi (1771), sketch of, 196 ; Hepzibah Holcombe, his wife, 196 ; children of, 197 ; Levi (1799), sketch of, 645; his children, 646 ; Levi Jason (1795), 197 ; Levi (1824), 197; Levi N. (1821), 646; Levi C. (1871), 414; Lewis (1837), sketch of, 565-568 ; Civil War record, 566 ; Lewis Carl (1886), 361 ; Lewis E.,26g ; Lewis S. (1838), Civil War sketch, 608 ; Lillian D. (1862), sketch of, 656 ; Lillie E. (1872), 276 ; Lily (1879), 683; Linne S. (1864), 184; Lizzie G., 227 ; Lorenzo S. (1863), 667 ; Lorenzo S. H. (1848), Civil War sketch, 630 ; Lorenzo, 608 ; Lorin (1810), sketch of, 323-325; his wife, Rachel Elmina Frary, 323 ; chil- dren of, 325 ; Louis Wills (1874), 699; Louis Dalton (1846), 227; children of, 227 ; Lovina (1803), 648 ; Loyal H. (1868), 432 ; Lucia (1870), 554 ; Lucien Arthur (1810), 296 ; his wife, Morilla N. Church, 296 ; children of, 296 Higley, Lucius (1796), sketch of, 273-275 ; removed to Ohio, 274 ; married Nancy Shepard, 274 ; children of, 275; Lucius G. (1857), 183; Lucius M., M. D. (1823), sketch of, 275 ; married Elizabeth B. Morton, 275; Lucinda Augusta (1840), 711; Lucinda M. (1849), 198; Lucretia (1781), sketch of, 656 ; married Oliver Higley, 656; their children, 656 ; Lucy Rosetta (1804), 207 ; Luke, 657 ; Luther Scott (1866), 330 ; Luther, Judge (1794), sketch of, 421 ; his chil- dren, 421 ; Luther Bidwell (1821), sketch of, 421-423 ; Confederate war record, 423 ; children of, 424 ; Luther E. (1861), 426 ; Luther E., Jr. (1886), 426 ; Luther H. (1867), 533 : Lyman (1798), sketch of, 191 ; married Orilla Northway, 191 ; children of, 192 ; early settler of Wisconsin, 192 ; Lyman O. (1816), 417 ; his children, 417 ; Lyman (1835), 198 ; Lyman Baxter (1851), 424; Lyman (son of Levi), 198; Lyman O. (1889), 192 ; L. Sardine (1837), sketch of, 278 ; Civil War record, 278 Higley, Margaret (1779), 375 ; Mar- quis (Mark) (1799), 351 ; Marshall D. (1832), sketch of, 692 ; married Mary L. Curtis, 692 ; their chil- dren, 692 ; Martha Ellen David- son, 193 ; Martin Ephraim (1824), 599 ; Martin N. (1834), 527 ; Mar- tin, 699; Matthew P. (1813), sketch of, 331 ; his wife, Luna C. Rob- bins, 331 ; children of, 332 ; Mary (1725), sketch of, 583 ; Mary (1750), wife of David, sketch of, 477 ; her children, 478 ; Mary (1827) (daughter of Lucius), 276 ; Mary Elizabeth (1868), 426 ; Mary Frances (1844), sketch of, 711 ; Mary (1804), daughter of Horace, 686; Mary Eulalie (1867), 683; Mary Elizabeth (1828), 667 ; Mary Frances (1851), 294; Maurice (1885), 667 ; Micah (1743), sketch of, 300 ; his wife, Olive Adams, 300; children of, 301 ; Micah, Jr. (1776), sketch of, 300 ; children of, 301; Miles Warren (1842), Civil War sketch, 206 ; Amanda M. Snow, his wife, 206 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 731 Higley, Milo H. (1832), sketch of, 277; Miles (1823), 607; M. Louise (i 8 1 8), sketch of, 624; Milo J. (1845), 407; his children, 407; Milton, 191 ; Milton B., 294, 295 ; Mindwell (1689), (daughter of Capt. John) sketch of, 135 ; Min- erva, 657; Minnie Pearl (1878), 654; Morris G. (1844), 227 ; Major Mortimer (1838), sketch of, 366- 371 ; ist wife, Lucy L. Sheet, 369; 2d\vife, Jennette R. Nichols, 371 ; children of, 371 ; Civil War record, 366, 369 ; president of bank, 368 ; commander Loyal Legion, 369 ; Mortimer (1861), 361 ; Moses, 659 ; Myron Spencer (1801), sketch of, 436; Murray (1829), 692 ; married Mary L. Bas- se tt, 692 ; their children, 692 ; Murray Judson, 692. Higley, Nancy H. (1852), 276 ; Nancy (daughter of Seth), Jr., 191 ; Naomi, wife of Brewster, 4th, 238-240 ; Nathan (1736), sketch of, 674 ; married Anna Barrett, 674 ; their children, 675; Nathan, Jr. (1767), 686; married Hannah Allyn, 686; their children, 686 ; Nathan Allyn (1794), 686 ; Nathan (1822), 628 ; Nathaniel (1699), 139 ; tyth- ing man, 141 ; Nathaniel, Jr. (1752), 588 ; Nehemiah (about !73-). soldier of the Revolu- tion, 634 ; Nellie May (1870), 203 ; Nelson (1795), 436 ; Nelson (1827), 436; Nelson, 191 ; Nelson, Rev. (1803), sketch of, 247 ; Newton H. (1855), 561 ; Noah (about 1736), soldier of the Revo- lution, 644 Higley, Obed, Hon. (1791), sketch of, 417 ; his children, 417 ; Olive, (1832), sketch of, 562 ; Oliver (1790), sketch of, 225, 226 ; Cla- rissa Phelps, his wife, 226 ; their children, 226 ; Oliver (son of Clark), 699 ; Oliver (1799), sketch of, 689-691 ; Oliver (1827), 419 ; Oliver Brewster (1818), 294 ; first wife, Eunice D. Johnson, 294 ; second wife, Betsey Case, 294 ; children of, 294; Ophelia L. (1843), 294 ; Orange (1775), 646 ; his chil- dren, 646 ; Orin (1800), sketch of, 609 ; his wife, Pleiades Badger, 609 ; their children, 609 ; Orin (1872), 296 ; Orlando E. (1853), 593 ; Orsen (1806), sketch of, 193 ; Susan Parsons, ist wife, 193 ; Lucy Keep Holcombe, 2d wife, 193 ; Orville D. (1883), 230; Oswin (1830), 628 ; Othello G. (1859), 184; Otto K. (1857), 184; Ozias, ist (1748), sketch of, 349 ; his wife, Martha Gillette, 343 ; children of, 350; Ozias, 2d (1773), sketch of, 351 ; his wife, Delight Cossett, 351 ; children of, 351 ; Ozias, 3d (1791), sketch of, 351 Higley, Pearl (1883), 230 ; Pember E. (1845), Civil War sketch, 195 ; Percy B., 230; Perkins B. (1851), 333 ; his wife, Harriet Mes- senger, 333; children of, 333; Perley, 628; Perry (1837), 344; Peter (1802), 685'; Peter (1807), sketch of, 195; Elvira Colby, his wife, 195; children of, 195; Peter Rowe, 604, 619 ; children of, 620; Phelps, 427; Philander (1767), 673; Philander, 662; Phil- ander R. (1843), sketch of, 333; service in Civil War, 333 ; his wife, Adelaide Cannon, 333 ; their child, Maud (1877), 333 ; Philetus, 662; Philo (1843), 618; Philura, 198; Pliny (1784), sketch of, 345 ; his wife, Martha Beman, 346; children of, 346; Pliny (1786), 657; his children, 657; Polly (1811), 655; Pomeroy, Sr. (1798), sketch of, 428-429; Pomeroy, Jr. (1823). sketch of, 429-431; Pratt H. (1862), 276 Higley, Rachel (1774), sketch of, 494 ; Ransom L. (1879), 183 ; Ransom Brewster (1829), sketch of, 276; Ransom F., Civil War sketch, 607 ; Rebecca (1727), 673 ; Ray (1887), 333; Ray C. (1884), 230 ; Ray W. (1873), 533 ; Ray- mond C. (1882), 419 ; Reed (1855). 580 ; Rhomey (1867), 554 ; Richard E. (1886), 529; Robert, 657; Rob- ert D., 193 ; Robert M. (1872), 693 ; Robert McKown (1804), sketch of, 319 ; Rodney A., 277 ; Roger (1765), 436; Rollin (1835), 426 ; Rollin Chipman (1875), 667 ; Roswell (1765), sketch of, 601-604 ; his wife, Sarah Garnsey, 602 ; their children, 604 ; residence at Mt. Lebanon, N. Y., 601 ; removes to Broom Co., N. Y., 602 ; Ros- NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 73 2 INDEX. well, Jr. (1798), 608 ; Royace (1870), 628 Higley, Samuel, Dr. (1687), 115-131 ; license to practice medicine, 118; schoolmaster, 116; blacksmith, 119 ; his copper-mine, 125 ; the Higley copper, 126, 130; his death, 131 ; his will and inventory, 131 ; Samuel, 2d (1778), sketch of, 495- 498 ; Samuel (1866), 192 ; Samuel (1734), military service in the French and Indian War, 633 ; Samuel Gary (1855), 183 ; Samuel W. (1834), 184 ; Samuel H. (1795), sketch of, 594 ; his wife, Aseneth Divine, 594 ; their children, 498 ; Samuel, Jr. (1819), 498 ; his wife, Hetty Ann Brooks, 498 ; their children, 498 ; Samuel Richard, 197; Sally (1795), 182; Sally ( T 797)> 35 1 ; Samantha M., 203 ; Sarah A. McNash, 192 ; Sarah Strong (inventory), 76 ; Sarah A. (1865), 426 ; Sarah Jane (1838), 198 ; Seba, ist, Judge (1762), sketch of, 621-623 ; Army of the Revolution, soldier of, 621 ; Syl- via Dickinson, his wife, 621; their children, 623 ; Seba, 2d (1781), 592 ; children of, 592 ; Selah (1805), sketch of, 648 ; his chil- dren, 648 ; Senaca F., 607 ; Seth, ist (1746), sketch of, 185-188 ; re- ligious faith, 1 86 ; soldier in war of the Revolution, 186 ; Mindwell, his wife, 188 ; their children, 188 ; last will, 187 ; Seth Filer (1769), sketch of, 188 ; Naomi Holcombe, his wife, 188 ; their children, 189 ; Seth (1754), sketch of, 588, 590; his wife, Lucy Herod, 588 ; their children, 590 ; Seth, Jr. (1796), sketch of, 191 ; Laura Goddard, his wife, 191 ; their children, 191 ; Seth Hokum (1812), 593 ; Seth William (1818), 596; Seth Duane (1869), sketch of, 568 Higley, Seward, 227 ; Seward, 666 ; Seymour A. (1845), 331 ; his wife, Emma R. Sheldon, 331 ; children of, 331 ; Sheldon (1823), 206 ; Sheldon Frary (1833), sketch of, 325 ; his wife, Cecilia E. Fitch, 325 ; Silas' (1780), 295 ; his wife, Deborah Messenger, 295 ; chil- dren of, 295 ; Silas, Hon. (1780), sketch of, 352 ; children of, 352 ; Silas Orlando (1806), 295 ; his wife, Lucinda Davis, 295; Simeon, ist (1751), sketch of, 373 ; his wife, Margaret Phelps, 375 ; great age of, 375 ; children of, 375 ; Simeon, 2d (1786), 376; Simeon Bently (1847), sketch of, 693; Solomon (1728), sketch of, 585- 588 ; Lydia Holcombe, his wife, 585 ; children of, 588 ; joins the Shakers, 586, 587 ; Squire M. (1810), 592 ; S. Fuqua (1845), 272 ; Stephen Lorin (1837), 325 ; Civil War sketch, 325 ; Stephen L., 699; Stephen W. (1857), 373; Sterling F., 426; Susan (1786), 270 ; Susan (daughter of Seth, Jr.), 191 ; Susannah (1730), 673 ; Sylvester (1770), 673 Higley, Tell, 607 ; Theodore (1773), 350 ; his wife, Polly Ann Gaylord, 350 ; children of, 350, 351 : Theo. (1882), 270 ; Theodore (1784), 656 ; Theodore, Jr., 657 ; Theodore E. (1883), 693 ; Theodore F. (1839), 693 ; married Ellen S. McElhenny, 693 ; their children, 693 ; Theop- plis (1726), sketch of, 584 ; died in war service (1762), 584 ; Theop- olis, 2d (1/65), sketch of, 625 ; Thomas (1829), 230 ; Thomas (1879), 230 ; Thomas (1829), son of Thomas Baxter (1824), sketch of, 425 ; Thomas N. (1854), 348 ; Thomas W. (1884), 294 ; Thomp- son, Sr. (1786), sketch of, 571-578 ; Thompson, Jr. (1831), sketch of, 579-580; Timothy (1781), 406; chil- dren of, 407 ; Truman (1837), 426 Higley-town, 51, 166, 284 Higley, Varney (1874), 628 ; Vashti, 663 ; Vernon (1863), 230 ; Virgil (1832), 192 ; Hannah L. Powers, his wife. 192; children of, 192 Higley, Rev. Walter O. (1842), sketch of, 193 ; Civil War record, 194 ; his children, 194 ; Wakefield L. (1840), 650 ; Civil War record, 650 ; Walter (1828), 425 ; his chil- dren, 426; Walter, 666 ; Walter Fred. (1872), 425 ; Walter Leon- idas (1879), 438; Ward C. (1881), 230 ; Warren (1825), 431 ; Caroline Mills, his wife, 431 ; Warren, Sr. (1775), sketch of, 199, 202; Lucy Sawyer, his wife, 199 ; children of, 199, 200; Warren(i8i3), of Vermont, sketch of, 655 ; Warren (1857), 431 ; Warren Hosea (1855), 435 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 733 Higley.Warren, Hon. (of N. Y. City), (1833), sketch of, 209-218 ; became a landowner, 209; taught his first district school, 210 ; entered col- lege, 210 ; head teacher Auburn Academy, New York, 210 ; ap- pointed school commissioner, 210 ; principal Cayuga Lake Acade- my, 211 ; superintendent public schools, Auburn, N. Y. 211; prin- cipal West High School, Cleve- land, O., 211 ; superintendent public instruction, Dayton, O., 212 ; admitted to practice of law, 212 ; elected judge, 212 ; American Forestry Congress, 213 ; Ohio Society of New York, 214 ; Adirondack League Club, 215 ; politics, 215 ; Patria Club of New York, 216 ; reunions, 217 ; marriages, 218 ; Warren, son of Daniel, Jr., 645 ; Warren A., 203 ; Warren Alson (1797), 202; Wellington W. (1831), sketch of, 364, 365 ; his wife, Jane E. Farnum, 365 ; children of, 365 ; Will G. (1861), 561 Higley, William A. (1840), sketch of, 326, 329 ; his wife, Elizabeth E. Scott, 330; children of, 330 ; Civil War service, 326; Willard (1869), 351 ; Willard Alson (1834), 420 ; William (son of Levi), 198 ; Wil- liam (1801), 687 ; William (1806), 397 ; children of, 397 ; William (1809), 686 ; married Sarah E. Beach, 686; William C., 194; William C. (1855), 277 ; William C. (1878), 419 ; William Clark (1876), 194; William C., 646; William Car- los (1864), 438 ; William Edward (1836), sketch of, 296 ; his wife, Maria A. Miller, 296 ; children of, 297 ; William F. (1835), 646 ; William Franklin (1877), 593 ; William G. (1817), 351 ; his wife, Maria Dayton, 351 ; children of, 351 Higley, William G. (1859), 230 ; William Gustavus (1861), 692 ; William H. Chase (1838), 683 ; William J. (1883), 193 ; William Kerr (1858), 197 ; William L. (1886), 192 ; William M. (1860), 276 ; William Marshall (1870), 683; William Perley (1843), sketch of, 653-654 ; married first, Eva V. Jilson, 654 ; second, Elizabeth T. Maguire, 654; children of, 654; Wil- liam Simpson (1788), sketch of, 665; his children, 666 ; William Simp- son, Jr. (1814), sketch of, 666 ; his children, 666 ; William Mortimer (1874), 365 ; William W. (1863), 426; Willis (1879), 699; Willis Alonzo (1860), 600 ; Willisburton (1862), 424 ; Wilson (1827), 396 Higley, York Turrell (1826), 667 ; married Caroline D. Strong, 667 ; their children, 667 Higley, Zilpah (1766), 241 Hillabrant, Charles H., 203 ; George N. (1858), 203; Marian Higley (1830), 203; Willis Duell (1855), 203 Hinman, Minerva Ann Higley (1816), 190; her children, 190; John S. (1842), sketch of, 190; Civil War record, 190; Charles L. (1847), sketch of, 190; Civil War record, 190 Hobart, Abby E. Ufford (1851), 598 Hodges, Annis Higley (1802), 629 Holbrook, Emily Higley (1802), 412 Holcomb, Abigail Higley (1723), 583; Angeline Higley (1829), 419; Hester (Esther) (1683), 100; Mary Higley (1825), 376; Roxanna Hig- ley, 219 Hooker, Sarah M. Higley (1799), 247 Hopkins, Lovina Higley (1808), 694 Hopper, Emily Higley, 205; chil- dren of, 205; Lucy P., 271 Hornden, Aseneth Higley (179-), 594 Hough, Susan Higley (1839), 432 Hoyt, Rev. Edwin, 242 Howe, Laura Merrill, 242 Humphrey, Amelia Higley (1801), 432; Naomi Higley (1726), 442; her children, 443; Herman, Rev. (1779), sketch of, 443; Solomon, Jr. (1752), 443; Roxy Brown (illS), 379; Susannah (1769), 286; Elizabeth W. Higley (1846), 414; Frances Higley (1848), 593; Han- nah Brown (1758), 379 Hutchinson, Olivia Higley Hazard, 620 Hunt, Alice M. Stewart (1862), 292; her children, 292 Huntington, Faith Trumbull (1743), sketcn of, 466 Husted, David H. (1809), 592; chil- NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 734 INDEX. dren of, 592; Desire Higley (1777); sketch of, 590; children of, 591; Silas (1799), 591; children of, 591 Indenture, laws of, 30 Iowa, pioneer experiences in, 356 Johnson, Eliza Ann Higley, 438; Sarah Eliza Higley (1846), 194; her children, 194 Jones, Elva Barnard (1859), 569; Polly Higley (1786), 182 Judd, Higley, 606; Julius, 606; chil- dren of, 606; Sally Higley, 605; children of, 605 Kellogg, Ellen M. Higley (1832), 668; her children, 668; Emma E. Higley (1849), 294; her children, 294 Kelsey, Lydia Noble (1704), family of, 159 Kempton, Emeline Higley Fuller (1808), 433 Kendall, Sarah Cornelia Higley (1822), 359; children of, 360; Wellington Jerome (1851), 360; children of, 360 ; William Albert (1847), 360 Kerby, Mary English, 268 Kimball, Sarah L. Green (1860), 363 King, Huldah Higley (1777), 283; Mary Alice Kellogg (1863), 668 King Philip's War, 36 Kinney, Achsah Higley (1819), sketch of, 547; children of, 548 ; , Albert Reed (1844), Civil War sketch, 548; Jonathan Higley (1846), 548; Lucy Addie (1861), 549 Kirker, Mary Simpson, 274 Knapp, Asaph Clark (1846), 648; Fayette Warren (1839), 648; Franklin D. (1835), 648; Hannah Higley (daughter of Isaac), 411; Henry J. (1844), sketch of, 648; HoraceS. (1844), 648; Relief Hig- ley (1801), sketch of, 647 Knight, Eunice Higley, 181; Maria Higley (1799). 182 Knowlton, Charity Higley (1801), sketch of, 662; her children, 662 Lampson, Anna Higley (1793), 411; Ella Bell (1864), 579; Mabel (1890), 579; Vena B. (1886), 579 Laflin, Mary Minerva Brewster (1832), 299 Lawrence, Clarissa Higley (1777), 675; Sally Higley (1794), 686 Lawton, Eliza Ann (1831), 420; her children, 420 Lemon, Emma L. Higley (1857), 196; George E., 195 Life and customs of colonial women, 149-151 Logue, Naomi Higley (1826), 276 Loomis, Sarah Higley (1697), 137 Loucks, Harriet S. Higley (1872), 541 ; Howard Simpson (1895), 541 Lyman, Mary Denison, 265 McCreary, Mary Boardman Green, 363 ; her children, 363 McDowell, Lucy P. Higley (1863), 630 McEwen, Charles (1804), 580 ; Da- vid (1847), 405 ; his children, 405 ; Harriet Higley (1813), sketch of, 404 ; her children, 404, 405 McKinley, Margaret Hays, 376 McLoud, Adeline Higley (1860), 593; Frank Higley (1888), 593; Charles Emmons (1893), 593 ; Lewis Ed- ward (1883), 593; Lewis Hathaway (1852), 597 McLoud-Paddock, Mary Elvira Hig- ley (1820), sketch of, 596 McNaughton, Sally Higley (1795), 183 ; Harlow Phelps (1830), 183 ; Civil War record, 183 Malolin, Mary F. Higley (1837), 198 Manchester, Hathaway Mary S. (1840), 705 ; children of, 705 Maltbie, Elizabeth Higley (1822), 376 ; children of, 376 Maltoon, Deborah L. Higley (1806), 295 ; children of, 295 Manville, Laura P. Marcy (1852), 303 Marcy, Albert Edwin (1846), Civil War record, 303 ; Eunice W. Hig- ley (1821), 303 ; children of, 303 ; William Lloyd G. (1848), Civil War record, 303 Marsh, Marian A. Watrous (1841), 605 ; Sarah C. (1832), 605 Martel, Sefer Prudence Green (1848), 363 ; children of, 363 Martin, Leonora Emma Higley, 203 ; children of, 203 ; Roxy A. Higley (1836), 630 Mather, Diana Higley Mason (1815), 196 Matsche, Mary L. Higley (1866), 371 ; Mortimer Higley (1890), 371 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 735 Merrill, Delight Higley (1769), 242 ; Selah Higley, Hon., 242 ; Thede Brown (1773), 379 Merritt, Betsey Higley (1803), 662 ; children of, 662 Meredith, Emeline Terry (1843), 204 Messenger, Lohama Higley (1800), 192 ; children of, 193 Metcalf, Flora Bates, 221 Mills, Apphia Higley, 527 ; DeEtta Higley, 527 ; Elizabeth Higley (1723), sketch of, 440 ; Gideon, Rev. (1716), 163, 440 ; Gideon, Jr. (1749), 442; Hannah Higley Owen (1777), sketch of, 377 ; Jedediah (1755), 442 ; Martha Higley (1766), 436 ; Pelatiah, 379 ; children of, 379 ; Ruth Higley (1784), 411 ; Samuel, Lieutenant (1751), sketch of, 442 Miner, Anna N. Higley, 418 ; Lorin Luther (1878), 331 ; Sarah A. Higley (1845), 330 Mines, Newgate Prison, 452 Mitchell, Esther M. Higley (1846), 630 Moffatt, Addie Irene Higley (1867), 184 Moore, Emma J. Kinny (1865), 549 ; her child, Gladys S., 549; Deacon John, 8, 14 ; Hannah, 18 ; Harriet C. Higley (1832), 206; Mahala Higley, 439 ; Thomas, 14 Morehouse, Mary J. Morris (1835), 631 Morrinson, Louisa P. Malolin (1838), 198 Morris, Alfred Wallace (1840), 631 ; Charles Wesley (1843), Civil War sketch, 631 ; Clarissa Higley (1814), 631 ; children of, 631 ; Henry Decatur (1833), 631 ; John Almon (1836), 631 ; Watson D. (1848), 632 Morse, Marion A. Higley (1835), 665 Moulton, Nancy A. Higley (1825), 276 Music in public worship in Colonial times, 164, 165 Naisbet, Lucinda E. (1869), 438 Newton, Emma L. (1843), 666 ; her children, 666 Nest, Martha Higley (1816), 351, 380 New York, central, in 1804, 200, 201, 589 Nickason, Eliza L. Higley (1836), 218 ; Fred. (1861), 218 ; Mary (1876), 218 Noble, David, Sr. (1709), 159 ; Da- vid, Jr., Captain, 160, 161 ; hero of the Revolutionary War, 160 ; Katherine Higley (1679), 96 ; de- scendants of, 159 North, Frances Levina (1847), 302 ; children of, 302 Norton, Ada Higley Woodruff (1791), 411 Nye, Frances Higley (1852), 554 ; Rachel Higley (1822), 578 Ohio Company organized, 235 Ohio Society of New York City, 214 Ohio, St^te of, early settlements, 236, 308, 310, 480-486, 684 Oviatt, Althea Higley (1798), 395 ; children of, 395 Owen, Elijah, Sr. (1700), 377 ; Elijah, Jr. (1738), 378 ; Esther (daughter of John Owen), 169 ; Deacon John, 170 Paddock, Warren O. (1844), sketch of, 506 Palmer, Alice Freeman, Ph. D. (1855), sketch of, 614-617; her childhood, 614; at the academy, 614 ; enters the Michigan Uni- versity, 615; engaged in teaching, 615; professor of history at Wel- lesley, 615 ; president of Wellesley College, 615; marriage with Pro- fessor George H. Palmer, 616; views on co-education, 616; mem- ber of Massachusetts State Board of Education, 617; advisory Dean, 617; Betsey M. Higley (1837), 195; children of, 195; Flora R., 195; Polly Higley Pinny, 225. Paige, Eliza Higley (1839), 344 Parsons, Ellen A. Higley (1844), 618 Partridge, Hiram W. (1805), 593; children of, 593 Pearson, Margaret G. Burge (1867), 625; Everett L. (1894), 625 Pease, Laura Higley (1846), 411 Perkins, Zilpah Higley, 247 Perry, Lucy Hale (1831), 581; her children, 581 Pettibone, Abby Higley (1783), 411 Peyton, Desire R. Higley (1832), 205 Phelps, Noah, Captain, 170 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 736 INDEX. Philkins, Nathaniel, Major, Civil War record, 219; Rachel Higley (1813), 219; her children, 219 Pine, Polly Amanda (1805), 605; children of, 605 Pinney, Ida Melissa Wilcox (1858), 292 Pitcher, Harriet Higley (1822), 699; children of, 700 Pitt, Annie G. Higley (1854), 35 1 Political events, 1685, 1687, 56 Porter- Alford, Hannah Higley (1737), 176 Porter, Brewster Higley (1820), 266; Edward D., professor, 266; Har- ley Higley (1781), 266; children of, 266; Thomas Rodney (1810), 266; Seth, 176; Zechariah (1805), 266 Post, Eliza Denison, 265 Potter, Henrietta Terry, 204 Powers, Mary Ann Higley (1836), 655 Prentice, Susan J. Higley (1840), 193 Preston, Laura H. Wiswell (1859), 582 Pringle, Cyrus Guernsey, professor, sketch of, 241 Puritan households, laws govern- ing, 26 Ramsey, Mary Higley (1793), 198 Rathbun, Lucy Higley (1793), 182 Redding, Adelia Higley, 662 Reed, Theodosia Higley, 345 Regley, Jessie E. Higley, 365; her children, 365 Reid, Mary A. Borridaile, 201 Rich, Elvira Higley, 627; Julia Ann Higley (1839), 710; children of, 710 Rising, Susan Higley, 651; children of, 651 Ritter, Gustie Higley (1862), 565 Robe, Emma Gertrude Higley, (1851), 415; children of, 415 Robertson, Mary Higley, 687 Roe, Hannah Higley (1823), 498 Rogers, Lucy M. Higley Sullivan (1843), 206 Roots, Louisa Higley (1761), 241; her children, 241 Rudd, Sarah Higley (1753), 286 Russell, Eliza Higley (1806), 672; Harriet Newell (1819), 303; her children, 303; Sarah M. Higley Clark, 198 Segar, Minne E. Kellogg (1861), 668 Scott, Minerva Higley (1791), 299; Joseph Higley, Rev., sketch of, 299; Elmira Higley (1821), 593 Scovel, Harriet N. Higley (1838), 292; children of, 292 Sawyer, Emily Louisa Kempton (1846), 433 Sage, Harriet Higley (1825), 435 Sanderson, James H., 268; Mary Augusta (1847), 269; William Brewster (1840), 269; Zeruah Hig- ley (1817), 268; children of, 268 Schools, early, of New England, 157 Scott, Frank Ellsworth (1862), 291 ; Joseph Stillman (1830), 291; Sarah Melissa Higley (1808), 291 ; chil- dren of, 291 Severance, Eva M. Higley (1853), 628 Seymour, Rhoda Higley Humphrey, 225 Shakers, founding of the first Ameri- can community, 586 Shepard, Elma A. Higley (1837), sketch of, 404 ; children of, 404 Shields, Cynthia N. Higley (1822), 435 Sission, Sarah Higley (1834), 499 Simpson, Theresa Higley (1791) 273 Slack, Adeline Terry (1845), 204 Snow, Armina Jane Higley, 599 Simsbury, Conn., founding of, 47 Social status of colonists, 154 Slade, Orpah Higley (1776), 645 Smith, Anna Higley (1760), 660 ; Azubah Higley (1760), 660 ; David Garnsey (1800), 604 ; Eveline Terry (1844), 205 ; Gertrude M. Higley (1857), 625 Sommers, Cora Betsey (1874), 527 Smith, Sophia Higley (daughter of Josiah Higley (4th), 662; children of, 662; Norman Buell (1808), 605 ; Sarah Minerva Higley, 607 Stafford, Elva Higley, 578 ; Flor- ence Gridley, 578 Stearns, Sophia Higley, 181 Smith, Mindwell Bates Johnson, 234 ; Margaret Ann (1846), 205 Stetson, Coloma Higley (1858), 565 ; her children, 565 Stewart, Edward E. (1860), 292 ; Sybil A. Higley (1836), 292 ; her children, 292 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. INDEX. 737 Strong, Annis Higley (1781), 353 ; the family of, 63 ; Theodosia Higley (1781), 345 Sturdevant, Pamelia Higley (1800), 396 ; children of, 396 Superstitions of early colonists, 17 Sweet, Sevilla Higley, 662 ; Al- mena Higley (1805) 432 ; children of, 432 Talmadge, Ella Louisa Freeman (1859), sketch of, 618 Tanner, Lucy Higley (1869), 565 Taylor, Margery Brown Giddings (1764), 379 Terry, Adeline E. Higley (1825), 205 ; Bradford, 204 ; Chauncey G., 205 ; Earl G. (1870), 414 ; George Higley (1863), 414 ; George B., Jr., 205 ; James, 204 ; John C. (1874), 414 ; Lucy Rosetta Higley (1822), 204 ; Nancy M. (1844), I 9 " Sarah Ellen Higley (1842), 414 The Higley reunions (Appendix), 713 The Higley-Copper, 126, 130 The Mary and John, voyage of (description by Roger Clap), 10 The Mormon sect, founding of, 690 The Western Reserve of Ohio, 457, 480 Thomas, Jennie B. Higley (1858), 599 Thompson, Edward, Rev., sketch of, 474, 5.88, 589 Thorp, Abigail Higley (1703), 147 Tinkham, Maria Higley (1805), 413 Tisdale, James, 135 ; Mmdwell Hig- ley (1689), 135 Titus, Lucinda R. Knapp (1826), 647 Torrington, Conn., 156 Town meeting, 51 Townsend, Freeland (1849), 555; Henry, Jr. (1867), 555; Perry A. (1848), sketch of, 555; Ursula Higley (1824), 534 Treat, Albina Higley (1841), 600; her children, 600 Trumbull, David (1751), sketch of, 451; his wife, Sarah Backus, 468; their children, 469; Assistant Commissary-General of United States, 469; Hannah Higley (1683), sketch of, 106; (mother of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.) 108; Hannah Higley, de- scendants of, 444; John (1756), sketch of, 470, 473; aid-de-camp to Washington, 470; Adjutant- General on Washington's staff, 470; service in war of Revolution; 471; student of art, 471; paints national historical pictures, 471; portrait of Washington, 472; president Academy of Fine Arts, 472 ; his epitaph, 473 Trumbull, Jonathan, Sr., Governor (1710), sketch of, 444, 463; mem- ber of the Connecticut General Assembly, 446 ; his wife, Faith Robinson, 446 ; their children, 463 ; English and French war. 447, 448; Chief Judge of County Court, 447 ; Chief Judge of Probate Court, 448; Chief Judge of Superior Court, 448; business house of, 449; Deputy Governor, 448; elected Governor, 440; war of Revolution, 450, 457; " Brother Jonathan," 451; war prisoners, custody of, 451; General Wash- ington, 452; issues Declaration of Independence, 453, 455; his war office, 456; secures Western Re- serve, Ohio, 457; farewell address to Connecticut General Assembly, 458; death of Mrs. Faith Trum- bull, 460; his death, 461; George Washington's letter of condo- lence, 462 ; descendants of, 464 Trumbull, Jonathan, Governor, ad (1740), sketch of, 465, 466; married Eunice Backus, 466; their chil- dren, 466; private secretary to Washington, 465; member of Connecticut State legislature, 465 ; Speaker of House of Repre- sentatives, 465; elected Governor of Connecticut, 465 Trumbull, Joseph, Governor, 3d (1782), sketch of, 469; married Eliza Storrs, 469; elected Gov- ernor of Connecticut, 469; Joseph (i737), sketch of, 464 Turner, EmelineKempton(i837),433 The tything man, 141 Ufford, Benjamin Franklin (1857), 598; Curtis B., 598; Willard E. (1848), sketch of, 598 ; children of, 598 Utah, State of, first settlement, 437, 696, 697 Van Dorn, Laura Bates Trumbull, 224 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 738 INDEX. Van Wagenen, Lucy H. Husted (1804), 59i I children of, 591 Vaughn, Emma H. Dye (1851), 612 Vermont, early days of, 172, 637 Wadsworth, Abigail Higley (1838), 438 ; children of, 438 ; Marian C., 333 ; children of, 333 Walden, Hannah L. (1841), 332 ; children of, 332 Waldorph, Anna L. Higley (1819), 666 ; children of, 666 ; Harry D. (1879), 666; George D. (1850), 667 Walker, Alexander, Jr., 219 ; Fred. E., 219 ; Floyd, 219 ; Harry, 219 ; Hugh, 219 ; Maria R. Higley (1845), 218; Maud C., 219; War- ren Higley, 219 Ward, Ellen Higley Young, 552 Wareham, John, Rev., 8, 9 Warren, Augusta Higley (1863), 581 ; Harriet W. Higley (1839), 398 ; Leon Thompson (1883), 581 ; Vern Casper (1889), 581 Washbury, Amanda Sanderson (1838), 268; her children, 268 Watrous, Charles B. (1835), 605 ; Eliza Higley Smith (1802), sketch of, 604 ; children of, 605 ; James S. (1826), 605 ; William M. (1831), 605 Weatherby, Florence Terry, 204 Webb, Mary E. Higley (1867), 325 Webster, Emily B. Higley (1829), 612 Weld, Nancy Higley, 351 Wendell, Susan Amanda (1828), 624; children of, 624 West, Fannie Jane Green (1867), 364 ; Julia Higley (1862), 625 Whippy, Julia E. Scott (1833), 291 White, Wesley, Judge (1812), 517 ; Mary Higley (1783), 570 Whitefield in Connecticut, 163 Whitlock, Abiah, 181 Wiard, Charles (1834), 207 ; Mary C. Annable, his wife, 207 ; Emily Higley (1805), 207 ; Frank C., 207; Flora E. (1832), 207 ; Lyman A., 207 Wilbur, Rosanna Higley (1831), 612 Wilcox, Hannah Case (1749), 391; Sarah Melissa Scott (1836), 291; Isaac N., Lieutenant, sketch of, 292; children of, 292 Williams, Adeline Higley (1860), 565; Electa Higley, 181; Harriet Higley Hodge, 192; Isadore Hig- ley (1846), 424; children of, 424; Mary Trumbull (1745), sketch of, 467-468; children of, 468; William, Hon. (signer of Declaration of Independence), 468 ; Whitlock Rachel Higley, 181 Windsor, Conn., founding of, 5 Winter, Roxie Estes (1818), 629 Wiswell, Bert (1858), 581; Emily Hale (1833), 581 Woodbridge, Timothy, Rev., 72 Woodward, Harriet O. Higley, 192 Woplcott, Henry, Esq., 23, 43; Simon, 49 Worster, Sarah J. Higley (1849), 399 Wyman, Nancy Higley (1794), 189; children of, 190 Yale College, birth of, etc., 65, 66, 67 Yale, Margaret H. Holcombe (1886), 376 Zolomon, Elba Higley (1844), 207; Emily J. Higley (1835), 207 NOTE. The numbers following the names indicate the year in which the person was born. 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