The HIGH Family Association
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A brief history of the Highs of Virginia … The first High to arrive in the American colonies might have been John Hye who was listed in some early records in St. Christopher (now St. Kits) in the West Indies. But, there doesn't seem to be any farther record of him and he does not appear to be the father of Thomas High, our immigrant ancestor, who came to Virginia in 1660 where he is listed as a "headsman." Being a headsman means that someone paid his passage to Virginia and claimed him as a head right for land. Thomas High was, according to testimony he gave as a witness in civil court, born in 1647. He, therefore, came to Virginia when he was approximately 13 years of age. It stands to reason that he came either with a friend of his family or some other family member, but we do not now know any additional details of just who his benefactor was. Thomas High lived in Surry County, Virginia, just south of the James River directly across from Jamestowne. In 1687 Thomas High died and left a will that named his two sons, John and Joseph. One son, John High, remained in Virginia his whole life and fathered several sons and daughters. The second son of Thomas High, Joseph High, apparently moved to North Carolina where it appears he had only one son who, in turn, left no descendants. So far all the family lines we have traced all go back to John High in Virginia, the son of Thomas High the immigrant. Unlike his brother, John had a large family. John had six sons and daughters. One of his sons, also named John, moved to North Carolina while his other sons and his daughters stayed in Virginia. From those several sons and daughters of Virginian John High (John, Joseph, David, Susannah, Elizabeth and Thomas) the descendants of Thomas High the immigrant have multiplied and spread to all areas of the United States. The High family, at least at first, "ran to boys" as they say. By the fourth generation the High family boasted 21 sons passing on the name (Samuel, Mark, Robert, John, Alsobrook, William, Mitchell, John, Nathaniel, Alsey, Benjamin, Gardner, David, Freeman, Isham, Westmoreland, Luke, Esau, Michael, Jacob and Julius) with only 9 descendant daughters (Mary, Sarah, Winefred, Mary, Christian, Susannah, Elizabeth and Amelia). Tracking the descendants of those 21 High families, and those 9 daughters, has been both challenging and fun. We now have a family book (published in 1999) with over 14,000 descendants (and their spouses) who descend from Thomas High the immigrant. It is from these families that the High Family Association takes its members. [Go to the Chart of the first four generations] There are other Highs in America who came after Thomas High and from different parts of the Old World. In the early 1700s several families of Germans named Hoch (pronounced Hoke) came to Pennsylvania. Hock means high in German and some of them anglicized their name to High while others changed their name to the English spelling of the pronunciation of their name and became Hokes. Most of today's Highs north of the Ohio River, from New Jersey to Missouri, are descendants of the German Hochs. In the late 1700s at least two more German families of Hochs/Highs immigrated into Ohio. The mid western part of the United States west of the Mississippi has Highs who descend from Swedish Hygs. They, apparently, anglicized their name to High. This family is not as numerous as the English or German Highs. There were other English Highs who immigrated into New York in the 1800s and they mostly live in New England and the New York area. There is no known connection between those English Highs and the Highs who originated in Virginia. The High Family Association is not a surname organization for all Highs. We are a family organization made up of descendants of the Englishman, Thomas High. We encourage everyone who is a descendant of Thomas High, or who suspects he is a descendant, to join the High Family Association. If you live in the Southern part of the United States or the Western part and have ancestors who were at one time Southerners, you are probably a descendant of Thomas High. There is a branch of the Virginia High family that immigrated to Illinois before the War for Southern Independence. Some of that branch of the family then went to California and Oregon shortly after 1865. So there are Highs in the West (mostly) who descend from ancestors who did live north of the Ohio River, but they trace their earliest ancestry to Virginia. And, of course, in these days of high mobility and rapid travel there are descendants of Englishman Thomas High in most states. If you think your ancestors came from Virginia, or if you have a family history of being from the South, then you are most probably a descendant of Thomas High of England and Virginia and a member of our family. |
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