Hightower, Thomas

HIGHTOWER

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 15:32:25

THOMAS HIGHTOWER
born Mar 12, 1827, N.C.

Thomas Hightower is numbered among Warren county's pioneers, having been identified with its upbuilding and development since 1846. When he cast in his lot with the early settlers, locating on section 14, there was not a settlement in Otter township. From that time up to the present he has been numbered among the valued citizens of the community, and with pleasure we present the record of his life to our readers. He was born in Caswell county, North Carolina, on the 12th of March, 1827, in a primitive log house. His father, Allen S. P. Hightower, was a carpenter by trade, and divided his attention between that business and farming. He married Miss Elizabeth Hatcher, a Virginian, and to them were born a family of eight children, of whom Thomas is the youngest. All were natives of North Carolina except Allen L., whose birth occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A brief record of this family we herewith give. Gregory, the eldest, died in Missouri; Jane became the wife of Thomas Hodge, of Randolph county, Missouri, but both are now deceased; Allen L., died in Jackson, Tennessee; Robert M., died in Otter township, Warren county in 1888, and was laid to rest in the Hammondsburg cemetery; John died in Henry county, Iowa in 1843; Frances is the deceased wife of William Dorren, of White Oak township, Warren county, now living in Boone county, Iowa; Mary A. E., living on the old homestead, is the widow of John H. Hobbs, who died in Henry county, Iowa in 1853; and Thomas completes the family. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He removed with his family to east Tennessee when Thomas was a child of five years. While there residing the mother died and Mr. Hightower afterward wedded Miss Kimbo, a native of Tennessee. They became the parents two children - Nancy A., now the wife of Mr. Hennis, a farmer of Tennessee, and Joshua Harrison, who was born on the day that William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as president of the United States. He is also agriculturist of his native State. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Raleigh Hightower, died in Caswell county, North Carolina. Accompanied by two brothers, he crossed the Atlantic from the Emerald Isle - the place of his nativity - to America. The maternal grandfather, William Hatcher, was born in England, and coming to this country in an early day, aided the Colonies in their struggle for independence, valiantly serving for seven long years. He was afterward granted a pension as a reward for his efficient aid.
The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in Tennessee, and in the spring of 1843 emigrated Westward, accompanied by his brother John and two sisters. They located in Henry county, but after a short residence there Mr. Hightower removed to Keokuk county in the spring of 1845, and the following year came to Warren county. In 1867, he wedded Miss Amanda M. Graham, daughter of James C. Graham, and a native of Kentucky. Their only child, Francis Monroe, died at the age of eleven months. In March, 1846, Mr. Hightower secured a squatter's claim and his nearest neighbor at that time was David Laird, who lived in Washington township, three and a half miles distant. The country was wild and unimproved, the greater part of the land being still in its primitive condition. Wolves were frequently seen in the neighborhood, and manifested their presence by occasional depredations in the chicken house and sheepfold. Mr. Hightower has killed many of these animals. He has also seen as many as fifty deer in this region. He erected a little log cabin sixteen feet square and his home was shared by R. M. Hightower, who has long since departed this life. Adjoining was his brother's farm, and the two places are now comprised in the town of Hammondsburg. The land at that time, however, was unsurveyed. The farm of our subject was partially covered with light timber and brush and the remaining portion was an unbroken prairie. With characteristic energy he began to clear and improve this, fields were plowed and crops planted and in course of time abundant harvests were gathered. He is an enterprising, progressive farmer, and through his earnest labors developed one of the best farms of the neighborhood. He also aided in organizing the township, and in platting Hammondsburg, and assisted in erecting the first house in the pretty little city of Indianola. When the land came into market he purchased forty acres at the land office in Chariton, and subsequently eighty acres in Fairfield. From that time until the present he has been actively identified with the upbuilding of the community. Politically Mr. Hightower is a Democrat, having supported that party since casting his first vote for Zachary Taylor. Few men are more widely known in Warren county and none are held in higher esteem than Thomas Hightower. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.443