The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Starting in Elberton, Elbert County, Georgia, from the corner of GA-77 and Railroad Street, approx. 7.2 miles, turn left on Centerville Road, right beside Elbert Co. Fire Dept. Station 6. Centerville Rd. will change to Cunningham Rd. and the grave is approx.. 4/10 miles from the Fire Department. 911 address approx. is 2367 Cunningham Rd. Elberton, Ga. 30635
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Dr Dan S Bailey
Jacob Higginbotham was born in September 1751 in Amherst County, Virginia.
He married Anne Higginbotham on 18 October 1772, and they had the following known children:
Hannah was born on 27 August 1773
James was born on 13 February 1775 and married Mary Brown.
Jacob Jr. was born on 6 July 1776 and married Sophia Higginbotham.
John was born on 9 January 1778
Elizabeth was born on 17 January 1780
Jane was born on 3 March 1782 and married William Maxwell.
Joseph was born on 27 February 1784
Benjamin G. was born on 27 February 1784
Caleb was born on 3 April 1787
Anne was born on 11 December 1788
William was born on 13 September 1790
Riley was born on 22 September 1793
Frances G. was born on 11 December 1796
Jacob qualified for Captain of Militia on 5 July 1784. In an affidavit of John Higginbotham, Jacob's son, dated 21 April 1855 before a Justice of the Peace of Hart County, Georgia, he identifies himself as one of the children of Captain Jacob Higginbotham, who served in the Revolution from Amherst County, Virginia. He said that Jacob had been sent from Amherst County to General Nathanael Green at the time of the battle of Guilford courthouse and that Jacob did not reach General Green until the day after the battle, which was fought on 15 March 1781. At this time, according to the affidavit, Jacob was not yet a Captain. It was there that a British force of 2,100 men, under the command of Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis, defeated Major-General Nathanael Green's American army of 4,500 men. The British army, however, suffered considerable casualties, which were estimated as high as 27% of their total army. This battle was "the largest and most hotly contested action" in the American Revolution's southern theater. Before the battle, the British had great success in conquering much of Georgia and South Carolina with the aid of strong Loyalist factions and thought that North Carolina might be within their grasp. In fact, the British were in the process of heavy recruitment in North Carolina when this battle put an end to their recruiting drive. In the wake of the battle, General Greene moved into South Carolina, while Cornwallis marched his men into Virginia in an attempt to link up with about 3,500 men under British Major-General Phillips and American turncoat Benedict Arnold. It was these decisions that allowed Greene to unravel the British control of the South while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown, where he eventually surrendered to General George Washington.
After the War, Captain Jacob Higginbotham migrated from Amherst County, Virginia, where he received 257 ½ acres of land in Wilkes County, Georgia, according to Land Court Records dated 23 September 1784.
The Patriot died in January 1836 and was interred in a rural grave near Elberton, Elbert County, Georgia.
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