Fundos F0937 - John D. Higinbotham fonds

John D. Higinbotham, 1864-1961, was born in Guelph, Ontario. In 1883 he graduated from the Ontario College of Pharmacy and the following year came to Fort Macleod and opened a drug store. He moved to Lethbridge in 1885 where he opened the Higinbotham Drug Store. He also played an active part in the community. Between 1885 and 1910 he served as the postmaster, was one of the founders of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Association, organized the Sunday school of Knox Presbyterian Church, served as chairman of the Lethbridge School Board, held high Masonic offices, was appointed coroner in 1892, and was affiliated with many local organizations. In 1928 he made a trip down the Mackenzie River with Dr. Frank H. Mewburn.

He had a particular interest in western Canadian history and wrote extensively about it. In 1933 he wrote When the West was Young, which was published by Toronto's Ryerson Press. He married Margaret Anna Torrance, ?-1937, in 1889 and they had eight children, Helen, Evelyn Allan, 1890-?, Harold, Allan Gladstone, 1898-1898, Marjorie, 1899-?, Norman Lindsay, 1900-?, Mary Mewburn, 1904-?, and Muriel Dryden, 1904-?. In 1929 he sold his drug store in Lethbridge and returned to Guelph.

His memoirs were published as When the West was Young : Historical Reminiscences of the Early Canadian West / by John D. Higinbotham. -- 2nd ed. -- Toronto : Ryerson Press, 1978, c1933.