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HIGHTOWER Genealogy and Family Roots

Walter A Walker

One of the earliest HIGHTOWER researchers was Walter A Walker who said the following:
FROM THE WALTER A. WALKER COLLECTION
Georgia State Archives
Atlanta, Georgia
The earliest Hightower family of whom we have records lived in Richmond County, Virginia, before the year 1700. There, in 1698, the estate of Joshua Hightower was administered, suggesting Hightower residence there sometime before that date.
In 1726 a Joshua Hightower died in Richmond County, leaving a wife, Eleanor, and six children. His eldest son, Charnel, married Sarah Glascock in January, 1727/8 and reared a large family. From 1720 to about 1750 three Hightower families lived in Richmond County, close neighbors and closely related - the families of Charnel, John, and Joshua. We do not know yet just how these three men were related. John and Joshua could have been brothers; Charnel, the son of Joshua who died in 1726 was a cousin.
About 1750 these three families all moved to Amelia County, to the part that in 1789 was cut off and made Nottoway County. They settled in the southeast corner of the county, near the present city of Blackstone, where Nottoway, Brunswick, and Lunenburg Counties meet. Though some lived in each county, they still were near one another. They continued in that region, close together, until the period of the Revolutionary War.
Fortunately for the genealogical record, the names, birth dates and names of parents of children born in Richmond County, Virginia, between 1700 and 1750 were recorded in the Farnhan Parish Register, a copy of which is to be found at the town of Warsaw, Va.
Charnel Hightower(b. about 1700;d.1762), son of Joshua(who d.1726), married Sarah Glascock in January 1727/8, and had children: Elizabeth(b.March,1728/9), Sarah(b.1731), Charnel(b.1733), Rawleigh(b.1734?), Joshua(b.1741), Gregory(b.1745), John(b.174?), and Thomas(b.1750).
John Hightower(b.about 1695;d.1764) married Mary Bryan and had children: William(b.1720), Eleanor(b.1722), John(b.1725), Joshua(b.1728), Thomas(b.1731), George(b.1733), Richard(b.1737). A brief record of John Hightower's descendents, including the fourth generation, is given in chart formation on the next four pages.
Joshua Hightower(b.about1695;d.1772 in Amelia County, Va.) had children: Charnel(b.1721;d.1807 in Laurens Co., Ga), Katherine(b.1723), Lettice(b.1729), Joseph(b.1731), Susannah(b.1734), Ann, Robert(b.1737), Tavenor(b.1740) and Epaphroditus.
After the Revolution, the great migrations of Virginians carried the Hightowers to various regions south and west. By 1800 there were about thirty families of their descendents. Some moved to Virginia counties farther west; others to the newly opened sections of the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas.
For many years I have collected Hightower records from all available sources in an effort to trace all lines down to recent times, for publication as a general genealogy of the Hightower family. It is strongly indicated that all of the Hightowers of this country are descended from that early family in Richmond County, Virginia.
I wish to express my thanks for the many contributions of records by members of the family in all parts of the South. Without such assistance the record could not have been brought even to its present incomplete stage.
In continuing this work I seek records of Hightowers and of Hightower descendents of other surnames from all possible sources, especially family Bible records and recollections of older living persons.
One important source, too often overlooked, is found in old courthouse records of counties where Hightowers are known to have lived long ago. There, in records of marriages, deeds, wills, administrations, guardianships and court minutes, one can find much family history which is recorded nowhere else, and of which no living member of the family has knowledge.
Copying, preserving, and sharing such records with others will help the work compiling any genealogical history. Atlanta, Georgia, May 1,1954.
WALTER A. WALKER
While subseqent research over the past forty years has changed some of his conclusions; for the most part they remain valid. It is believed that all HIGHTOWERs in America, except for those who adopted the name, are descended from Joshua HIGHTOWER of Richmond Co VA.

HIGHTOWER Research Online

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Tony Rockefeller's online data base of 100,000+ HIGHTOWER descendents and their relatives.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Many questions concerning the HIGHTOWER family or concerning individual HIGHTOWERs have been asked over and over. Answers to many of these questions can be found in the Hightower FAQ File

HIGHTOWER Census Records

It is hoped that eventually all HIGHTOWER census records for 1790-1860 will be extracted and computerized. For now here's:
1850 Census: All the HIGHTOWERs in the 1850 census in html format for easy viewing. This is a huge file (438K) and may take a while to load.

1860 Census: Some of the HIGHTOWERs in the 1860 census in html format. It has (I'd like to believe, anyway) all the HIGHTOWERs from AL, AR, GA, KY, LA, MS, TX, and some of TN. This file is 394K bytes.

1900 Texas Soundex HIGHTOWERs/HITOWERs in the 1900 soundex of Texas. This is a large (211KB) file and may take awhile to load.

North Farnham Parish Register

Birth of William HIGHTOWER as recorded in the North Farnham Parish Register
NFPR
"Born William son of John and Mary Hightower July 20 - 1720 - Hightower"

HIGHTOWERs in the Civil War

HIGHTOWER Researchers

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