This is the headline from my great-great grandfather, John Rives Morris’s obituary. I found the original obituary and numerous other clippings in small leather wallet that my grandmother had, which had belonged to her grandmother Ann Octavia (Vaughan) Morris (1844-1942) – the wife of John Rives Morris.  

JETERSVILLE, VA.  August 5 – Mr. John R. Morris, whose home is near this place, was attacked by an infuriated bull this morning and so badly gored that he died in a few hours.  This was the third time he had been attacked by the dangerous animal.  Mr. Morris was sixty years old and was a brave Confederate soldier.  He is survived by a widow, two sons – J. Stuart [sic] Morris, who lived with his father; A. R. Morris, a well-known merchant of this place – and one daughter, Miss Annie V. Morris.  The interment will be near the Methodist Church, at this place.

Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA), 6 August 1904, p. 3

This was the third time he had been attacked by the dangerous animal. What the heck? When I asked my grandmother what she thought about his allowing himself to be attacked three times, she mentioned that she always understood that her grandfather “lost his mind” after the Civil War and that may have had something to do with it. Her sister, my great Aunt Ann (Morris) Lindsey, confirmed the family rumor.

Well, fast forward three decades to 2015 and I am writing Along the Willis River: Descendants of Nathaniel & Nancy (Jeffries) Morris of Buckingham County, Virginia and the family rumor resurfaced in an unusual way. John Rives Morris had a sister named Martha Ann “Mae” Morris (1842-aft.1906) that married John Cecil Higginbotham (1838-1905) in 1863. They headed West during the 1880s stopping for a time Ogden, Utah before finally settling in California. I found a newspaper article mentioning one their sons, James William Higginbotham (1864-1914) who was arrested and charged with murder:

DEATH OF AH JIM: His Assailant Under Arrest at Valley Springs

Ah Jim, an elderly Chinese, died alone and unattended at the Chinese hospital at 724 pacific Street yesterday morning. Some time ago the man was employed by J. C. Higginbotham of Valley Springs. He got into an altercation with the son of his employer, and his friends claim that during the melee he was hit over the head with a shovel. His countrymen brought him to this City for surgical treatment by a Chinese doctor. Young Higginbotham is under arrest at Valley Springs and will be charged with murder. The body, which shows lack of care and medical skill, is at the morgue.

The San Francisco Call, San Francisco, California 17 October 1895, p. 7

It appears that the newspaper article had the date of Ah Jim’s death wrong – it was probably just prior to 8 October 1895 – the date James William Higginbotham was committed to Stockton State Hospital. His intake form says he has had weekly epileptic attacks since 1882. It mentions he is homicidal and that he had killed Mr. Jim. The form also has a space to be completed for “Alleged Cause of Insanity,” in which is written “Heredity – Uncle on mother’s side & granduncle on mother’s side insane.” Incidentally, James Higginbotham was released on 14 January 1896 – a mere three months later with a single comment – “improved.” Sounds like he beat the rap. He would go on to work as a hotel clerk and would die unmarried and without children in 1914.

Turns out his only maternal uncle was – you guessed it – John Rives Morris. His only maternal granduncle would have been John’s father, John James Morris (c. 1812-c.1858). You never know where you’ll find answers – and more questions – to a genealogical mystery.

NEXT TIME: A Base Born Son Makes Good – Rev. Nathaniel Berryman of Surry County, VA

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