Charles H. Higinbotham

HIGINBOTHAM, LAWRENCE

Posted By: Emmet County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 2/14/2011 at 16:14:56

Charles H. Higinbotham, who is engaged in general merchandising at Gruver, was born in Winnebago county, Iowa, April 26, 1870. His parents, William and Rachel (Miller) Higinbotham, are natives of Ohio and Virginia, respectively. About the year 1860 they took up their abode in Iowa and are still residents of Winnebago county. They had a family of eight children, of whom six are yet living.

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Charles H. Higinbotham was educated in the common schools of Winnebago county and in the high school at Forest City. He continued upon the home farm until he attained his majority, when, thinking to find other pursuits more congenial, he turned his attention to commercial interests by securing a clerkship in a store, in which he was employed for a year. Later he was connected with a grain elevator for six years or until 1899, when he built an elevator in Gruver, which he conducted for a short time. He then sold out and established his present general merchandise store, which he has since conducted. He carries a substantial and attractive line of goods and finds a ready sale therefore, owing to his reliable business methods, his reasonable prices and his earnest desire to please his patrons. He owns the store building which he occupies.

In 1893 Mr. Higinbotham was united in marriage to Miss Grace Lawrence, a native of Kansas and a daughter of Lester L. and Irene (Kays) Lawrence. Her mother is now deceased, while the father resides in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Higinbotham have become the parents of two children, William L. and Lawrence.

Mr. Higinbotham is a well known and representative member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge No. 69, also of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and in the local organizations has filled various chairs. He votes with the Republican party and his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have frequently called upon him to fill public offices, so that he has served as justice of the peace, as town clerk and as a member of the school board. His wife belongs to the Presbyterian church, and both are highly esteemed in the community where they make their home, their many substantial characteristics winning for them the high and favorable regard of all who know them.

Source: History of Emmet County and Dickinson County Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, The Pioneer Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1917, page 165.