Charles “Charlie” Foster Higdon
From the left: Stella Coggins Higdon, Sallie Crawford Higdon, Uncle Charlie, Sam Higdon
Denton Higdon states that “Uncle Charlie was my dad's half brother."
Standing from left: Ted Higdon, Charlie Higdon, Grayson Higdon, Major Higdon, Lefferts “Dude” Higdon.
The two little boys are Tim and Bo Higdon grandson’s of Ted Higdon. Ellen Higdon Smith sits between the two little boys.
Seated from left: Lula “Granny” Shepherd Higdon, Thomas “T.B.” Higdon, and Sam Higdon.
Lula “Granny” Shepherd Higdon’s birthday picture taken in the late 1960’s.
Charles Foster Higdon (Uncle Charlie) was born December 10, 1894, and he died on January 22, 1979. He was the son of Thomas Bragg Higdon and Martha Frances (Pattie) Rich Higdon.
CHARLES FOSTER (CHARLIE) HIGDON
In April 2001, my husband, H.A."Jack" Smith, and I went to Gastonia NC for the funeral of one of his aunts. While we were in Gastonia, we did some reminiscing.
We knew that, after my Uncle Charlie Higdon married Sallie Crawford, he
had worked in Gastonia. One day, while walking across a railroad track
in Gastonia, Uncle Charlie had a very serious accident. (Jack showed me
where the railroad track was located.) A train on the track was not
moving when Uncle Charle began to cross the track. This train kept him
from seeing that another train on the next track was moving forward.
That train hit Uncle Charlie's head. After this accident, he was in very
serious condition. Aunt Sally said that, while he was lying in bed
during his recovery, his body would jerk. This was a "close call" but
fortunately he survived.
During his life, Uncle Charlie had several "close calls". When he was a
child, he and a brother were playing in their backyard at their home in
Higdonville, Macon County NC. In the backyard, there was a large pot
with lard being melted over an open fire. (The lard may have been used
to make soap.) When Uncle Charlie fell, the pot turned over onto his
back, which was badly burned. Heads of cabbages were split open, and
cabbage leaves were placed on his back. As soon as a cabbage leaf was
cooked, it was removed and a new cabbage leaf was put on his back to
draw out the heat from his back. How many cabbage leaves were used is
not known, but there were many. Fortunately,Uncle Charlie survived, but
his back was covered with scars for the remainder of his life.
Another time before Uncle Charlie was grown, he had a very serious
illness and remained unconscious for a very long time. He was so
seriously ill that his chances of living seemed very small. Many, many
people were praying for him during this time. Uncle Charlie told me that
he remembered getting sick in the Fall (or Winter) and that his next
remembrance was in the Spring when he gained consciousness and began to
recover from this illness.
During World War II, Uncle Charlie went to work in Massachusetts. Aunt
Sallie and their daughter Ellen Ann went there with him, and they lived
in Massachusetts for many years.
The buildng in which Uncle Charlie worked had an elevator for workmen to
put supplies in which needed to be taken to another floor to be
unloaded. This elevator had a pull-down door, not a sliding door like
most elevators have. One time, when Uncle Charlie was working at this
elevator, the door fell down on him, and he was trapped under the
elevator door with his head and upper part of his body outside the
elevator. There was no one there to help him free himself. It had to be
with the Lord's help that he was able to free himself before the
elevator went to another floor.
His daughter Ellen Ann once said, "God must have had a reason to keep
him living." And I agree. Uncle Charlie had so many "close calls" that I
believe the good Lord was looking after him. Uncle Charlie was a sweet,
kind, gentle, and loving person. I remember him reading his Bible every
day, especially in his latter years. Whenever Jack and I went to visit
him, we'd drive up and see him sitting in a chair reading his Bible. He
was a very special person.
When I was a very young child, I visited him in the summer-time in Macon
County (before he went to Massachusetts). I have many special memories
of time spent with him. Also, when he returned to Macon County after
his retirement, I enjoyed some nice visits with him.. I was blessed to
have him as my uncle.
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