Henry Wilson Storey's History of Cambria County, V.III, p.246

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History of Cambria County, V.3

246 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

the best and most popular places of entertainment in southern Pennsylvania. Mr. Scherer is a member of the German Lutheran church, Johnstown Lodge of Elks, Linton Lodge of Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Republican.
    JOHN HIGSON, of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, now almost eighty years old, is a remarkable specimen of splendid physical manhood and a man of high moral character. Notwithstanding his advanced age and the fact that the free use of one arm is partly lost, the result of a bullet wound in the left shoulder at Antietam, during the Civil war, he goes to the shops, every day and does a man's work.
    Mr. Higson was born in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, on the 24th day of June, 1828, and comes of English and Scotch ancestor. His father, Benjamin Higson, was a native of Bolton, Lancashire, England, and his mother, whose name before marriage was Margaret Lyon, was a daughter of James Lyon, a Scotchman by birth, and by occupation master of a Presbyterian school, at Bolton, England. James Lyon married Catherine Liptrot.
    Benjamin Higson and his young wife left England and came to America about the year 1825. He was a cotton spinner by trade, and for a time worked in Paterson, and afterward removed to Philadelphia, where he came to an accidental death. Out of working hours his favorite amusement was music, and he found rest and recreation in rowing out on the Delaware river in the quiet of evening and drifting about with the current while he played his flute. One night his light boat was in some manner caught between a large vessel and the dock at Red Bank, and he was crushed to death. This happened in 1832, and soon afterward his widow and her small children returned to England. Three children were born to Benjamin and Margaret Higson: James, who spent his life in England, and was engaged in the cotton trade; John, of Johnstown, who came back to America in 1857, and is the oldest representative of the family in the country; and Catherine, who also spent her life in England.
    As has been mentioned, John Higson was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and was six years old when his widowed mother returned with her children to her old home in England. He was sent to school, but was quite young when he began work in the cotton mills. Later he entered the rolling mill, or "forges," as they were sometimes called, and kept at work there until he was forehanded enough to again make the voyage to America. He returned in 1857 and settled first in Philadelphia, his father's old home, and there found work in the Fairmount Rolling Mill. However, during the next three years he visited and worked in various other cities, first in Columbus, Ohio, then in Cleveland in the same state, and afterward in Elmira, New York.
    He was working in Elmira at the outbreak of the late Civil war, and from there he entered the service. On June 11, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fifth New York Volunteer Infantry, and served with that regiment until March 24, 1863, when he was mustered out. In November, 1861, he had been made color bearer, which position he prized greatly and which he retained throughout the entire period of his service. He was with the Thirty-fifth in all its movements and engagements, including the Second Bull Run, Slaughter Mountain, South mountain and other. At Antietam he received a severe wound in the left shoulder, and was sent to the Army Hospital at Washington, D. C., and later to Philadelphia, where he was finally mustered out and discharged. The wound he received at Antietam resulted in a permanent disability and cost Mr.

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246	HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
the best and most popular places of entertainment in southern Pennsylvania. Mr. Scherer is a member of the German Lutheran church, Johnstown Lodge of Elks, Linton Lodge of Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Republican. JOHN HIGSON, of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, now almost eighty years old, is a remarkable specimen of splendid physical manhood and a man of high moral character. Notwithstanding his advanced age and the fact that the free use of one arm is partly lost, the result of a bullet wound in the left shoulder at Antietam, during the Civil war, he goes to the shops, every day and does a man's work. Mr. Higson was born in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, on the 24th day of June, 1828, and comes of English and Scotch ancestor. His father, Benjamin Higson, was a native of Bolton, Lancashire, England, and his mother, whose name before marriage was Margaret Lyon, was a daughter of James Lyon, a Scotchman by birth, and by occupation master of a Presbyterian school, at Bolton, England. James Lyon married Catherine Liptrot. Benjamin Higson and his young wife left England and came to America about the year 1825. He was a cotton spinner by trade, and for a time worked in Paterson, and afterward removed to Philadelphia, where he came to an accidental death. Out of working hours his favorite amusement was music, and he found rest and recreation in rowing out on the Delaware river in the quiet of evening and drifting about with the current while he played his flute. One night his light boat was in some manner caught between a large vessel and the dock at Red Bank, and he was crushed to death. This happened in 1832, and soon afterward his widow and her small children returned to England. Three children were born to Benjamin and Margaret Higson: James, who spent his life in England, and was engaged in the cotton trade; John, of Johnstown, who came back to America in 1857, and is the oldest representative of the family in the country; and Catherine, who also spent her life in England. As has been mentioned, John Higson was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and was six years old when his widowed mother returned with her children to her old home in England. He was sent to school, but was quite young when he began work in the cotton mills. Later he entered the rolling mill, or "forges," as they were sometimes called, and kept at work there until he was forehanded enough to again make the voyage to America. He returned in 1857 and settled first in Philadelphia, his father's old home, and there found work in the Fairmount Rolling Mill. However, during the next three years he visited and worked in various other cities, first in Columbus, Ohio, then in Cleveland in the same state, and afterward in Elmira, New York. He was working in Elmira at the outbreak of the late Civil war, and from there he entered the service. On June 11, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fifth New York Volunteer Infantry, and served with that regiment until March 24, 1863, when he was mustered out. In November, 1861, he had been made color bearer, which position he prized greatly and which he retained throughout the entire period of his service. He was with the Thirty-fifth in all its movements and engagements, including the Second Bull Run, Slaughter Mountain, South mountain and other. At Antietam he received a severe wound in the left shoulder, and was sent to the Army Hospital at Washington, D. C., and later to Philadelphia, where he was finally mustered out and discharged. The wound he received at Antietam resulted in a permanent disability and cost Mr.