Cyrus William Higginbotham

1836 - 1922  (85 years)

• Name	Cyrus William Higginbotham
  Born	11 Sep 1836	Amherst County, Virginia
  Gender	Male
  Died	9 Jul 1922	Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas
  Buried	11 Jul 1922	Rossville Cemetery, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas
  Person ID	I4360	Rossville
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2017

  
  

  Father	Aaron Higginbotham,   b. 23 Feb 1789, Amherst, Amherst County, Virginia ,   d. 8 Mar 1852, Amherst, Amherst County, Virginia  (Age 63 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Steward Sandidge Higginbotham,   b. 1817
  Family ID	F2498	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Henrietta Button Higginbotham,   d. 5 Dec 1866
  Married	15 Sep 1862
  Children	1. Freeman Higginbotham,   b. 1863,   d. 12 Dec 1877  (Age 14 years)   2. Benny Higginbotham,   b. 9 Jul 1865, Shawnee County, Kansas ,   d. 20 Jul 1866, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 1 years)
  Last Modified	26 Jan 2017 09:35:22
  Family ID	F2499	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Mary Howard Higginbotham,   b. 9 Jun 1851, South Shaftsbury, Bennington County, Vermont ,   d. 3 Mar 1919, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 67 years)
  Married	31 Oct 1871
  Children	1. Edith Isabella Higginbotham,   b. 5 Jul 1878, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas ,   d. 20 Aug 1956, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 78 years)   2. George Alexander Higginbotham,   b. 21 Feb 1884, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas ,   d. 19 Apr 1947, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 63 years)   3. Cyrus Howard Higginbotham,   b. 8 Feb 1887, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas ,   d. 4 May 1919, Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 32 years)   4. Mary Myrtle Higginbotham,   b. 25 Sep 1875,   d. 12 Jun 1877  (Age 1 years)   5. David W Higginbotham,   b. 4 Oct 1880, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas ,   d. 8 Feb 1881, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 0 years)
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2017 13:17:41
  Family ID	F2500	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Old Settlers of Rossville

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Obituary- Higginbotham, Cyrus W. 1 Cyrus W. Higginbotham, the Last of the Pioneers, Who Came to Rossville in the Pre-War Days Cyrus W. Higginbotham was born in Amherst County, Virginia, September 11, 1836, and died July 9, 1922, at his home in Rossville, Kansas, where he had lived for 67 years, aged 85 years, 9 months and 28 days. He was the son of Elizabeth and Aaron Higginbotham, the youngest child of a large family, all of whom have passed on. At the age of 19 he came west to seek a home and in 1855 landed in Shawnee county—-although at that time the county had not been organized as a county and was a portion of the Third dis¬trict of the Territory of Kansas. Seven years later, on Septem¬ber 15, 1862, at the age of 26, he was married to Henrietta Button, the only child of Rev. and Mrs. A.R. Button, of Topeka. Three children were born to this union, all of whom have passed on. Mrs. Henrietta Higginbotham died in 1866. Five years later, on Octo¬ber 31, 1871, he was married to Mary Howard, youngest child of Jared and Mary Howard of Shaftsbury, Vermont. Six children were born to this union, two of whom, Edith I. and George A. Higginbotham, survive. Mrs. Mary Higginbotham passed on March 8, 1919, after a wedded life of nearly fifty years spent in the home in Rossville she came to as a bride. Cyrus Howard Hig¬ginbotham, the youngest child of this union, who grew to manhood here, died May 4, 1919. Mr. Higginbotham was one of the contractors who helped build the Union Pacific railroad be¬tween Kansas City and Denver. For several years he was in charge of an Indian trading post and in those years he learned to talk fluently the Pottawatomie tongue which in later years drew much of the Indian trade to his mercantile establishment. In 1871 the present site of the town of Rossville was laid out for a town and named Edna, but at the suggestion of Mr. Higginbotham, Col. Geo. W. Veale and A.C. Sherman, who purchased the townsite of Anthony Navarre, changed the name to Rossville, in honor of an Indian agent W.G. Ross, a brother of Senator Ross. The town was incorporated ten years later, in 1881. He helped organize the first church in Rossville, the Baptist, in 1871, and was a faithful mem¬ber, supporting it generously until it disbanded and then contin¬ued his support to other church organizations of the town. He was a charter member of the first Masonic lodge in Shawnee county, the old Indianola lodge, and the first Worshipful Master of Hesperian Lodge, of Rossville, chartered in 1872, He was also a member of A.O.U.W. and I.O.O.F. orders. For nearly twenty-five years be served on the school board and as president of the board for fifteen years. In township affairs he served as treasurer for a number of years and in other capacities, on many occasions without oppo¬sition. Mr. Higginbotham was in the mercantile business nearly forty years, first at Indianola and later in Rossville. He was a pioneer in the pureblood, livestock busi¬ness of the state, and was always interested in the improving of livestock.
  		Obituary- Higginbotham, Cyrus 2 His was a life of usefulness, a man whose word could be depended upon, public spirited and always ready and eager to help the needy. He always had a kind and cheery greeting for all whom he met and helped many young men in his employ to enter business for themselves. Mr. Higginbotham was practically a selfmade man. His parents were a well-known old Virginia family who lost the greater part of their property at the close of the Civil war. After retiring from the mercantile business, Mr. Higginbotham continued to maintain his Insurance and Notary office up to the time of his death. He was down to his office as usual the day before he was stricken by the paralytic stroke that ended his earthly life a day later. His agency of the Aetna Building and Loan Association was one of the oldest. The funeral service held at the home Tuesday, July 11, at 2 p.m., was attended by hundreds of old-time friends and neighbors, who sorrowfully followed his remains to their resting place in Rossville cemetery. Rev. H.L. Nelson, of Topeka, conducted the service at the house. The Masonic ritual service was exemplified at the grave. C.W. Higginbotham Victim of Paralysis Cyrus W. Higginbotham, aged 86, died at 5 o’clock Sunday evening following a stroke of paralysis he suffered Saturday forenoon. Mr. Higginbotham was one of the earliest settlers of Shawnee county and Rossville township and one of the founders of the city of Rossville. At his suggestion the town was named Rossville after Senator Ross. For fifty-six years Mr. Higginbotham had resided on his original homestead, the house until recently being just outside the city limits. He was a member of the A.O.U.W., and a charter member of Hesperian Lodge, A.F. and A.M. which was charted in October 1871. The funeral service was conducted Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock from the residence conducted by the Rev. H.L. Nelson, of Topeka. Interment was made in Rossville cemetery. A complete obituary with a story of his life will be published next week, accompanying his picture, at the request of the family.
  		Obituary- Higginbotham, Cyrus 3 Cyrus W. Higginbotham, for sixty-seven years a resident of Rossville township - fifty-six years spent on his homestead adjoining Rossville. Died July 9, 1922, aged 85 years, 9 months, 28 days.