What
Matters Most…...Commentary
by Jim High
The second column I wrote over four years ago was
about “Connections,” but that one was about my connection to actual places on
planet Earth. This one is about some
very interesting connections to people.
Everyone has heard of Geronimo, the Chiricahua
Apache Chief whose name is synonymous with brilliant military strategy and
guerrilla warfare tactics. He was born
in 1829 and died in 1909. But in 1904
near the end of his life, and long after he gave up fighting, he appeared at
the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and in 1905 he rode in
President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in Washington, DC.
My Great Grandfather Private John Allen had served
in the US House of Representatives for 16 years from 1885 until 1901. And after leaving Congress he was appointed a
Commissioner for the upcoming big exposition to be held in St. Louis. All my life we had two huge three foot wide
clam shells in our backyard that were given to him I think by the Philippine
government, one of 63 countries who had
pavilions at this exposition. Of
course, I never knew my great grandfather as he died in 1917, but it is
interesting to know that he and Geronimo must have met sometime during this event.
My dad, James Allen High, told us the story of
returning home on the troop ship from the South Pacific after World War II in
1945. He went up on deck late one
afternoon and was leaning on the rail smoking a cigarette and just looking at
the ocean when another soldier came up beside him, asked for a light and began
to smoke his cigarette. They stood there
in silence for some time when dad said he felt he should introduce
himself. Sticking out his hand he said,
“My name is James Allen High.” The other
fellow looked totally shocked and said, “My name is James Allen High.” Now how many times is that going to
happen? He was from Virginia, I think, which would make sense as all the High’s
started out there way back in 1660.
Then in about 2005 the same thing happened to
me. One day I got a call and this man
asked if my name was James High and I said it was and he said his name was
James High and that he lived in California and was in Pontotoc doing genealogy
research. Well I invited him right over
and the minute he walked into the office I knew he was a High. He was not aware of the Confederate Monument
on the Lee County Court House lawn that has the names of five High brothers who
fought in that war. Henry Earl High was
my Great Grandfather and this man’s Great Grandfather was one of the other brothers.
Jim High from California introduced me to the book
of 12,000+ High’s that had been the life’s work of one of our relatives who
lives in Dothan, AL. And I looked at his
copy and found out how to order one from Grace Lawrence, so for only $79.95 I
bought a copy and was able to trace the High’s from me back through twelve
generations all the way to Thomas High who arrived in the Jamestown, VA, area
from England at age 14 in 1660.
And just the other day after connecting with Martha
High, another relative on Facebook, I was looking up her genealogy and started
reading about Thomas High. He was
involved way back then in a trial where the defendant was listed as a George
Proctor. Thomas High was a witness at
the trial as he had been at Proctor’s house the night of the alleged incident
and was a friend of George Proctor. That
name rang a bell for me as one of my best friends for a long time is Tracy
Proctor, who nearly everyone in Tupelo knows as the best wedding designer
anywhere.
I called Tracy to tell him of this name, and you
guessed it. Tracy is a direct descendant
of George Proctor. Thomas High and
George Proctor were friends and about 335 years later Tracy and I are friends.
What Matters Most…….I’m sure that every person has
people connections like these, but very few actually know about those
connections. These are mine and they
remind me that in ways we mostly don’t realize all humans are connected. Now if we can just start acting like it the
world will be a better place.
© 2013 #16 Jim High can be reached at P. O. Box 467,
Tupelo, MS 38802-0467
