San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 1004-1007
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 2/8/2010
MR. AND MRS. JAMES HAMLINE HIGH
In August, 1905, Mr. and Mrs. James Hamline High located in Lodi, Cal., and bought a fifteen-acre ranch in the Kettleman tract, on Cherokee Lane, now known as the High Ranch, where they passed their sunset days in peace and quietness. James Hamline High was born in Hillsdale County, Mich., on April 16, 1844, a son of Hiram and Rebecca P. (Kellogg) High, the former a native of Lyons, N.Y. and the latter of Connecticut, both families living close to the state lines of Connecticut and New York.
The first marriage of Mr. High occurred on December 11, 1867, at Sharon, Mich., and united him with Miss Phebe A. Peck, a native of Michigan and the daughter of Wait and Lucinda (Mills) Peck, both natives of Connecticut, their forbears dating back to Revolutionary days. They were pioneers of Michigan when it was still a territory and the patent to their land was signed by President Andrew Jackson. Mr. High with his young wife settled on a small farm in Cass County, Mo., where they endured the hardships of pioneer life in a new country, starting at the bottom round of the ladder. The first great sorrow that entered his life came in March 1870, when his wife died and left him with an infant daughter only ten days old, now Mrs. P.H. Walker of Lodi, the mother of two daughters, Irene and Elizabeth. Mr. High manfully entered into his new task and became a devoted, loving father and tenderly cared for the little life entrusted to his keeping. He was of the hardy, vigorous, energetic type and entered into farming and stock raising with zeal and determination, and success crowned his efforts.
Mr. High's second marriage occurred April 18, 1871, near Harrisonville, Mo., and united him with Miss Elizabeth A. Cook, a daughter of John and Mary (Campbell) Cook, both parents descendants of early Virginian stock who had migrated to Missouri in frontier days. She assumed the responsibility and care of the daughter and reared her with all the loving care of a mother. After a lapse of fourteen years, during which time the family came to California intending to locate, the conditions not being favorable he, with his wife and daughter, moved to North Dakota, where he engaged in agriculture and sheep raising on a large scale. His land was in the hard wheat belt and products from that vast prairie district were mentioned as coming from the “bread basket of the world.” After the hardships of twenty years in the extreme cold north, both Mr. and Mrs. High began to feel the inroads of the severe winters on their health and felt a change was necessary, so they sold the land and stock and after traveling a few years, settled down once more, this time in the beautiful fertile county of San Joaquin, and here Mr. High made a new venture, in a new place, that of viticulture. When they located in this vicinity they became an integral part of all that was good and best in the community. They united with the Congregational Church and devoted their lives to the welfare and uplift of humanity and for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God; they loved their neighbors and friends and always extended the cordial hand to the stranger for the betterment of those around them.
Mr. High was a faithful member of the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner, but his favorite place was among his brothers of the Blue Lodge and he carried its teachings throughout his life; his “compass” pointed to truth and veracity and his life was measured on the “square” to his fellowmen. Mr. and Mrs. High enjoyed, beside their church affiliation, the social order of the Eastern Star where they found enjoyment in mingling with men and women interested in the affairs of life. In politics he was a Republican, but maintained the independence of personal thinking where he put man above party and principle above platform. He was always vitally interested in local, national and international affairs. He was a student of moral policies and was ever alive for the moral, social and industrial welfare of our country.
As the sun goes down on the Western horizon, so he went down at the close of a well-spent life and his posterity rise up to call him blessed. He passed away on October 23, 1917. Mrs. High tarried a few years, but the empty void in her life bore down upon her frail body after her husband departed this life and she quickly succumbed to the ravishes of disease and joined him on July 6, 1920, in “a home not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.” Her life was gentle, sweet and lovable and she was endeared to all who knew her. Where her body was frail her mind was strong in the faith of God. While their ashes have returned to the dust of Mother Earth, their spirits have taken flight to the God who gave them and the sweet memories of their lives will abide and live in the hearts of all who knew them.
Lives of great men oft remind us,
We can make our lives sublime
And departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
History of
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
With A
Biographical Review
of
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present
HISTORY BY
George H. Tinkham
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1923
San Joaquin County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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