Person:LaVicia Moore (1)

Laviga B. Moore Higginbotham (1853-1943)
Mrs. LaVicie Moore Higginbotham, 90, widow of Reese Thompson Higginbotham, widely known farmer of this county, died at her home at Frankford last Wednesday evening, July 21, 1943. She was a native of Tazewell county, Virginia, born in Abb's Valley Jan. 1, 1853, but had lived at Frankford for many years on one of Greenbrier’s best farms. Surviving her are two sons and five daughters; William M. and Oscar D. Higginbotham and Miss Amanda Higginbotham, all of Frankford, Mrs. Charles G. Rader of near Maxwelton, Mrs. C. C. Rodgers of near Ronceverte, Mrs. Raymond E. Bright of Frankford and Mrs. R. M. Baldwin of Ellison, Va. A sister and a brother also survive, Mrs. Mary Davidson of Tazewell, Va., and Oscar B. Moore of Falls Mills, Va. The funeral services were held Friday morning at 11 o’clock at the home, conducted by the Rev. C. W. Fink, district superintendent of Lewisburg district Methodist Church, and the Rev. R. W. Wilson, pastor of Frankford Methodist Church, of which she was a member. Burial was in Frankford cemetery in charge of Wallace morticians of Lewisburg.

30 Jul 1943 - Laviga Barnes Moore Higginbotham (1853-1943) WV/VA
Mrs. R. T. Higginbotham, sister of Oscar Moore, of Abbs Valley and Mrs. Mary Davidson, of Tazewell, died at her home at Frankford, West V., last Wednesday. The funeral and burial services took place last Friday at the home. Mrs. Davidson, R. P. and Mrs. Copenhaver, Barnes Moore and sister, Mrs. C. R. Brown, were present from Tazewell at the funeral. She is survived by Miss Amanda Higginbotham, Oscar Higginbotham and W. M. Higginbotham, at home; Mrs. Raymond Bright, who lives nearby; Mrs. Cecil Rogers, Ronceverte; and Mrs. R. M. Baldwin, Richmond.

13 Aug 1943 - A lengthy and interesting notice of the life and death of Mrs. LaVicia Barnes Moore Higginbotham, whose passing was noted in a recent issue of this paper, will be published next week. The notice appears in a Ronceverte, W. Va., newspaper.

20 Aug 1943 - (From The West Virginia News, Ronceverte, W. Va)
Mrs. LaVaicia Barnes (Moore) Higginbotham was born in Abb's Valley, Tazewell County, Virginia on the old Captain James Moore homestead, Jan. 1, 1853, and died at her home near Frankford, Greenbrier county, West Va., July 21, 1943, at the advanced age of 90 years, 6 months and 20 days. She was a daughter of William Taylor and Mary Bowen (Barnes) Moore.

On November 25, 1875, she was united in marriage to Reese Thompson Higginbotham, who died March 16, 1912. To this union were born nine children, all of whom born in Tazewell county, Virginia. They are
# Miss Mary Amanda, living at the home place near Frankford;
# William M. Higginbotham, living near Frankford;
# Barbara Leticia, now Mrs. Charles G. Rader, of Maxwelton;
# Laura Matilda, now Mrs. Cecil Rodgers, of near Ronceverte;
# Sally Alice, deceased,
# Lavinina Brown, deceased;
# Oscar Donald Higginbotham, living at the old home place, near Frankford;
# India Allen, Now Mrs. Raymond E. Bright, of Frankford;
# Clyntha LaVicia, now Mrs. Robert M. Baldwin, of Richmond, Va.

She is also survived by a bother and sister, Oscar Bascom Moore, who lives on the old Capt. James Moore farm in Tazewell county, Va., and who is now in his 89th year, and who was unable to attend his sister's funeral; and Mrs. Mary Eliza (Moore) Davidson, of Tazewell. She was present for her sister's funeral. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Miss Virginia Rader, Wm. Higginbotham, Jr., and Miss Nancy Ellen Bright, all of Greenbrier county. Mr. and Mrs. Higginbotham lived in Tazewell county until 1902 when they purchased a farm near Frankford.

Funeral services were held at the home on July 23rd, conducted by her pastor, Rev. R. W. Wilson, assisted by Rev. C. W. Fink, district supt of Lewisburg district of the W. Va. Conference, and Rev. Lloyd Arehart, pastor of the Glenville Presbyterian church, who grew up a neighbor boy. She was buried in Frankford cemetery beside her husband.

Mrs. Higginbotham was a woman endowed with an unusual vitality of both mind and body. It was only about four months before her death that she gave up her knitting and crochet needles and was forced to quit work. She had no ailments or sickness; her body wore out; the gates were ajar and she entered the portals of a new life. Her energy had been boundless and her kindliness and consideration of others were the fixed and steadfast rule of her life. In early childhood she united with the Methodist church and during her long life was actively interested in her church and all its activities. She was a member of Frankford Methodist church, successor of the Old Gilbo Methodist church, the first Methodist organization within the bounds of Greenbrier county and in which Bishop Francis Asbury preached. No story of the life of Mother Higginbotham could be complete without reference to the life of her ancestors, which though local is of importance in the annals of our national history.

The first of her clan to come to this country was James Moore, who came from North Ireland to Chester County, Pa., in the year 1726. There he married and later moved to Rockbridge county, Va., on the waters of Walker Creek. A son, James Moore, married Martha Poage. They established their home in Abbs Valley, Tazewell county. He was a private in the army of Gen. Andrew Lewis, at Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774. He was later commissioned a captain and he and his company took an active part in the Revolution in Virginia and the Carolinas. He and his company participated in the battle of Cowpens, Guilford Court House and King's Mountain. Capt. Moore and his wife had a family of nine children. A son, James, was captured by the Indians on Sept. 7, 1784, and taken to Ohio. He returned to Virginia, March 26, 1789. he was the grandfather of Mrs. Higginbotham.

On July 14, 1786, a band of Indians came into Abb's Valley and Captain Moore and the following of his children were killed: John, Rebecca, Alexander, William and Margaret. His wife, Martha, and another daughter, Jane, were taken prisoner to Ohio and burned at the stake. Mary, another daughter, and Martha Evans, a girl who lived in the home were taken captive, but they returned with James in 1789. Another son, Joseph, was with his grandfather in Rockbridge county and escaped the Indian attack and slaughter. The whole family was wiped out except James, Mary and Joseph.

James Moore went back to Abb's Valley and took charge of the Captain James Moore farm. His 3rd child by his first wife, Barbara Taylor, was Wm. Taylor Moore, and was the father of Mrs. Higginbotham. Mrs. Higginbotham's grandfather, James Moore, died in 1851.

Oscar Bascom Moore, brother of Mrs. Higginbotham, owns and lives on the old Captain James Moore homestead. The descendants of Captain Moore erected a monument to his memory and his family on the site of the old log cabin home, in 1928.

The "captive" Mary Moore became the wife of Rev. Samuel Brown, Presbyterian minister. They have many descendants, some of whom have lived in Greenbrier county. One, the Rev. John Calvin Brown, was one time president of the old Lewisburg Female Institute, now Greenbrier College. Mother Higginbotham's family of patriots and superb citizenship may have had its parallels in the annals or our country, but we doubt if it is excelled by any.