Individual Details

5 Sept 1749 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Albemarle Co. 150 acres, both sides of Buffalo River. PB 38, p.699


20 Apr 1751 Moses Higginbotham to Joseph Higginbotham for 5 shillings. Land now in possession of Joseph on Buffalo River. 204 acres part of tract of 1430 acres late in Goochland granted to Moses Higginbotham by George Braxton Jr of King & Queen Co on 23 & 24 Apr 1745. Adj James Higginbotham, South side Mill Crk. Signed: Moses Higginbotham. Wit: John Higginbotham, Benj. Higginbotham, James Higginbotham. Rec. 14 May 1751; Frances, wife of Moses relinquished. Albemarle Co DB 1, p.285

30 Apr 1751. At St Ann's Parish, Albemarle Co. Moses Higginbotham to Joseph Higginbotham for 5 shillings. Parcel now in possession of Joseph on branches of Buffalo River. 200 acres, part of 1000 acres late in Goochland granted Moses by George Braxton the Younger of King & Queen Co on 23 & 24 of April, 1745. Adj James Higginbotham. Signed: Moses Higginbotham. Wit: James Higginbotham, Thomas Jefferson, John Higginbotham. Frances, wife of Moses relinquished. Ack 14 May 1751.


3 Mar 1760 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Albemarle Co. 300 acres both sides Buffalo River. PB 33, p.706.

25 Sep 1762 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Amherst Co. 190 acres on Spring Hill Mountain. PB 35, p.24

30 Aug 1763 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Amherst Co. 385 acres both sides North Fork of Buffalo River, PB 35, p.335

27 Jun 1764 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Albemarle Co. 248 acres on Porridge Crk. PB 35, p.501

10 Jul 1766 VA Land Patent to Joseph Higginbotham. Amherst Co. 96 acres both sides of Pedlar River. PB 36, p.975

3 Oct 1768 Joseph Higginbotham to Cornelius Camapbell. 96 acres, south side Pedlar Rive, Amherst, conveyed to Higginbotham by patent 10 Jul 1766. Signed: Joseph Higginbotham. Hannah Higginbotham. Release of dower right by Hannah, wife of Joseph.
Amherst Co DB B, p.384

Joseph Higginbotham is an approved Patriot by NSDAR. He served as Sgt in Capt. William Tucker's company of Amherst County Militia. Source is given as Amherst County Virginia in the Revolution, including extracts from the Lost Order Book, 1773-1782, by Lenora Higginbotham Sweeney, Southern Historical Press, 1998, p. 55


Will dated 23 Oct 1802; probated in Amherst Co VA 17 Jun 1805.
To son Joseph, woman Hannah & her son William and her increase. Son Benjamin, negroes, Jinney, Jack, Thomas, & Dolly and the 150 acres Joseph lived on, and another 570 acres. To dau Susanna, 200 acres adjacent Peter Cashwell & Henry Brown, and boys, Sam, Charles, & George. To dau Rachel, 390 acres of land on Buffalo River, joining James Higginbotham. Daughters Frances Morrison & Hannah Ballow had received previous bequests. Remaining land to be sold & divided equally among children: Joseph, William, Jacob, Benjamin, Rachel & Susannah Higginbotham and Frances Morrison and Hannah Ballow. All working tools, household furniture, livestock & crops to divided equally between children Joseph, Benjamin & Susannah. Exectr: Sons Joseph & Benjamin. Wit: Henry (X) Ballinger, Benjamin (X) Sandidge, Jacob (X) Phillips. WB 4, p.178

Joseph and Hannah could have been buried here - however, the only grave marked was a Thomas Higginbotham and Joseph's brother John did have a son named Thomas. This isn't the property that Joseph received.
Higginbotham Family Cemetery
Amherst County, Virginia
Located on property originally divided among the siblings of Moses Higginbotham (ca1713-1791) in 1751, the Higginbotham Family Cemetery may be the oldest cemetery bearing this surname in the United States. The cemetery is located on that portion allotted to John Higginbotham (1726-1814), which is adjacent to the allotment of his brother Moses, who being the eldest son, presumably kept the land owned by his parents, thought by many to be John (ca1695-ca1741) and Frances Riley Higginbotham. [No proof of the parents.] Located on the parcel allotted to Moses was, until a few years ago, an old house foundation that may have been dated to the early to mid 1700's, according to Beverly Morris Higginbotham (1886-1968). The foundation stones have since been removed by person (s) unknown according to Eric Smith of Westvaco, who saw the stones when his company was harvesting the trees located thereon.
The property passed through several hands down through the years, among which have been a family by the name of Whitten. It is currently owned by Westvaco and is used as a tree farm. The cemetery was not disturbed during the original harvesting and is currently untended and overgrown.
This cemetery is listed in the "Gravestone Inscriptions in Amherst County Virginia", Revised Edition 1999, published by the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society, as the Whitten Place Cemetery on page 292. The entry reads:
"Thomas Higginbotham large stone only marked grave, surrounded by graves marked with field stones said to be the graves of his slaves who were freed long before the "War Between the States".

Birth	Abt 1717
Marriage	Abt 1745	Hannah Smith
Death	1805	Amherst County, Virginia

Spouse	Hannah Smith ( - )
Child	Joseph Higginbotham (1749 - 1823)
Child	William Higginbotham (1750 - )
Child	Jacob Higginbotham (1751 - 1836)
Child	Benjamin Higginbotham (1757 - 1833)
Child	Rachel Higginbotham (1760 - )
Child	Frances Higginbotham ( - )
Child	Hannah Higginbotham ( - )
Child	Susanna Higginbotham ( - )

Father	Higginbotham ( - 1747)
Mother	Widow Higginbotham ( - 1751)
Sibling	Moses Higginbotham (1715 - 1790)
Sibling	Aaron Higginbotham (1720 - 1784)
Sibling	BENJAMIN Higginbotham (1723 - 1791)
Sibling	RACHEL Higginbotham ( - 1809)
Sibling	Capt. John Higginbotham (1726 - 1814)
Sibling	Col. James Higginbotham (1729 - 1813)