Nelson Higbee Biography - Mecosta County, MI.

Copyright © 2002 by Jan Cortez. This copy contributed for use in 
the USGenWeb Archives.  

************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm
************************************************  



1883 Mecosta County Portrait and Bio Album, Chapman Brothers

NELSON HIGBEE, farmer and lumberman, resident on section 9, Deerfield 
Tp., was born in Broome Co., N.Y., Dec. 1, 1825. He is a son of Loring and 
Mary (Roberts) Higbee, the former a native of Massachusetts, the latter of 
Connecticut. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Higbee, settled in Broome 
County, in 1796, when his son Loring was only a boy. The father of Mr. 
Higbee died in 1862; the mother is living on the homestead with a younger 
son, and has attained the venerable age of 91 years. 
 
Mr. Higbee received a fair education at the public schools and finished study 
with a partial academic course. He passed the years of his minority in the 
home of his parents, and on reaching man's estate he went to Tioga County, 
where he was occupied with farming and lumbering three years. In 1853 he 
came to Michigan and located in Croton, Newayge Co., devoting his attention 
to the same pursuits. He bought there 300 acres of land and placed 200 
acres of the tract under fine improvements; he also erected a number of 
buildings in Croton and exerted all his influence toward the substantial 
progress of the place. 
 
Meanwhile, in the year 1865, he purchased of John W. Forbes, John W. 
Brooks and Robert S. Watson, of Boston, Mass., 1,700 acres of pine land in 
Deerfield Tp., for which he paid ten dollars an acre. The advance in value has 
swelled the estate (numerically) to a comparitively enormous amount. 
Without details of purchase the following statement exhibits his estate in 
Deerfield, aggregating 4,080 acres, sectionally located as follows: 
 
On section 1 120 acres 
7 40 
8 80 
9 640 
10 440 
11 120 
12 240 
13 200 
14 320 
15 600 
16 40 
17 120 
20 240 
21 160 
22 320 
26 40 
27 160 
30 200 
 
Aside from his lands in the township of Deerfield, Mr. Higbee owns, in 
company with others, 15,000 acres of land. He also owns 300 acres of 
valuable land adjoining the city of Grand Rapids. He has owned at different 
periods 5,000 acres in Aetna Tp., alone. His home farm (so called), on which 
he located in 1878, includes 720 acres, with 500 under advanced 
improvement. He keeps 15 horses, 10 oxen, and 15 cows to supply the wants 
of his estate and employees, and even these are inadequate to the 
necessities of the case. He cures five tons of pork anually, raises 1,500 
bushels of onions, 2,000 of corn, 1,200 of wheat, 2,000 of oats, 2,000 of 
potatoes, cuts 150 tones of hay and has a flock of sheep. 
 
In 1873, in company with A.B. Watson, of Grand Rapids, Mr. Higbee built a 
dam on his property in Deerfield. He bought the claim of Mr. Watson soon 
after and in company with William Hugh, Sr., built the mill they are now 
managing, and commenced the manufacture of lumber and lath and added 
planing works to the mill facilities. 
 
Mr. Higbee married in 1849 to Catherine A., daughter of Johnathan and 
Phebe (Hoagland) Truesdell. The latter venerable personages, aged 
respectively 86 and 85 years, reside with and are the special care of their 
son-in-law. The daughter and wife died July 7, 1883. Mr. Higbee is a 
Republican in political sentiment. Mr. and Mrs. Higbee's portraits are given in 
this work.