Before there was a formal, legal Higdon Family Association, Inc., there was a Higdon Family Newsletter. The newsletter was created by Jo Ann Smith and the initial issue was mailed out in January 1972. A little over three years later, The Higdon Family Newsletter called for a meeting in late August, 1975 of interested Higdon family members to take place in Franklin, NC. From that meeting, the Higdon Family Association, Inc. was established and has been meeting once-a-year, usually in or around summer or fall of the year.

An invitation was published in the Higdon Family Newsletter asking those who subscribed and would be interested in forming an association to join Jo Ann and Jack Smith at the Summitt Inn in Franklin, North Carolina on August 29 and 30, 1975. The Higdon Family Association, Inc. has been meeting once each year since that weekend.

In 1999, at the annual HFA Meeting, those in attendance at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Bardstown, KY agreed that, “Goals for the year are to put together a web site for the Association, … .” General comments at that meeting acknowledged that there was a good deal of information on genealogical research into the Higdon Family, but that most of this information was not readily available. Even today, the most easily accessible printed material on Higdon genealogy is still our HFA Newsletter. Our HFA website was created as an adjunct to our HFA newsletter and serves today to make available for internet searches much of the genealogical information that the Higdon Family Association has accumulated.

In 2015, our HFA website was reformatted with a switch to content-based web management software. This software allows web designers to add, position, shift, and link content without writing any web code. Long-term this will make website maintenance and updating much easier for our HFA.

In addition, we are testing a navigation sidebar (at left) that is fixed in the same spot in the upper left corner of each web page. To navigate around the website, use the links in darker blue to go from area to area. We are also testing a fixed screen width of no more than 14.5 inches wide. Smaller screens may cause the website to display thinner pages, but larger screens will not cause the website to display larger pages.

Please note that the website categories of Newsletter, Books, Photo Gallery, and Documents Collection are where the vast bulk of specific Higdon genealogical information is located.

The Photo Gallery deals with images and commentary on those images, either explaining what the image was intended for and/or listing the various people in the image, and so on. This Photo Gallery is image-centered.

The Documents Collection is different, even though many documents are accompanied by a photo image. The Documents Collection is text centered. The Documents Collection consists of:

Biographies - brief life summaries of living people.

Genealogies - descent listings of many different lineages of Higdon descendants, some in standard genealogical form, others in narrative.

Help Requests - various individual requests for help based on a wide array of contacts.

Memorials - action taken to honor a beloved relative.

Obituaries - brief life summaries of those who have died.

Records - Legal, Church, and so on … - usually forms filled out in connection with legal actions, church ceremonies, so on, and/or snippets of information from church family registrations.

Stories - a wide range of stories involving Higdon's, or their descendants, usually in unusual situations.

Much of the above items have now moved or are gone. In 2020, the software company disappeared, and we could no longer edit our website. We continued to keep the site open. Then in 2024, we picked the WIX platform for a website and this is the result of that change. This site will grow as we learn how to work it better and you provide interesting stories to add here. If you don’t advise us of our website difficulties, we can’t fix whatever needs ‘fixin’ for the next researcher. Please use the Contact page at the bottom of the front section. Thanks.

In 2019, we started the Higdon Family Association Facebook page. We get some good conversations going there from time to time. Questions can also be asked there.

The group of Higdon's in the first photo are who met at the organizational meeting in 1975 voted to form The Higdon Family Association, Inc. and they agreed to officially meet in October 1976 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Kneeling- Grady Higdon, Sam Higdon, Arnold Higdon, Ethel Byce, and Jo Ann Smith
Standing- Charles E. Higdon, Edd Higdon, Delmar Higdon and wife, Ruby Higdon Lord and husband.

Many who attended the organizational meeting stayed over to attend the annual Higdon Reunion in Higdonville, North Carolina. Jo Ann Smith planned the meeting and greeted folks upon arrival. It was the first official meeting of the HFA. As was true of the first meeting, attendees at the annual meetings of the association will find new relatives, make lasting friendships, and have fun.

At the initial 1976 meeting, H. A. “Jack" Smith chaired the meeting until Frank B. Higdon, Jr. was elected President; the gavel was passed to Frank who presided over the rest of the meeting. The first official meeting of the Higdon Family Association was held October 15-17, 1976, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Incorporation papers were filed with the Secretary of State's Office. A constitution and bylaws were adopted, and a board of directors was elected. The new board consisted of:

President Frank B. Higdon
1st Vice President Dr. Robert S. Higdon
2nd Vice President Violet D. Hunsucker
3rd Vice President Arnold Higdon
Secretary/Treasurer Jo Ann Smith
Directors
Charles E. Higdon
Thelma Higdon Fitzwater
Earl D. Higdon
Helen Higdon Allison

The first 3 photographs were scanned from The Higdon Family Association by Jo Ann Smith. Frank B Higdon provided his photo.