On October 5th, 1778 Obadiah Higgbotham from Cranston, RI bought ten acres of Pomfret  Connecticut land from John Trowbridge for a sum of one hundred pounds.  Ten years later he bought another tract of land abutting his land and the land of Jonathan Randall for one hundred and twenty pounds.  It is unconfirmed but family records indicate that Obadiah was a deserter from the British Army which is known to have been stationed in Boston harbor until March 17, 1776.  1774 Rhode Island state census records confirm that Obadiah lived in Cranston, RI with his wife Dorcas and two year old son Elisha.  Federal Census of 1800 and 1810, graves, and Rhode Island and Connecticut vital statistics provide the following information about the family:

Obadiah born 1750 Wales or England; died Pomfret CT July 26th 1803 at age 53.

Dorcas, Wife, born RI August 18th 1750; died Pomfret CT July 1st 1849.

Elisha, Son, born Cranston RI October 5th 1772.

Obadiah, Son, born Cranston RI November 3rd 1775; died Pomfret CT August 16th 1776.

Rhobadiah, Daughter, born Cranston RI May 22, 1778; died Pomfret CT August 1st 1808.

Darius, Son, born Pomfret CT December 1st 1780; died Pomfret CT September 8th 1855.

Phebe, Daughter, born Pomfret CT November 8th 1783; died Pomfret CT November 21st 1802.

Achsah, born Pomfret CT June 12th 1785; died Pomfret CT January 6th 1805.

Ziba, born Pomfret CT February 24th 1787; died Ashford CT April 9th 1861.

Augustus Israel, Son, born Pomfret CT June 1st 1796.

The Higganbotham name is Welsh originating from somewhere near Lancashire England.  Higgan was dropped from the family name around 1850, and the Bothams left their settlement after the Civil War because there was no town road into their property which made living there inconvenient.  The Higganbothams were farmers, spinning wheel manufacturers, and mill owners.  Obidiah joined a Woodstock Baptist church June 29th, 1792, and was dismissed from the Abington Congregational church on January 6th, 1794 because of his different sentiments. 

"We read of the deserted villages of the cut-over lands of the north-west, but few know that Pomfret has its lost village where long ago the large family of Higganbothams lived and carried on a thriving business, their little mill being known as the Higganbotham Linen Wheels for hand spinning.  The Higganbothams lived in their little settlement in the hills cultivating their fertile farms.  Before the march of progress carried away the business of the little mill, their business prospered for three generations, and the thrifty inhabitants settled down by their comfortable firesides to enjoy the fruits of their life's labor, until they were, one by one, laid to rest in the little burying ground that they themselves had made ready and walled in against all intrusion; and there from the leaning headstones of their graves we learn the identity of these sturdy people."  Folklore & Firesides in Pomfret, Hampton, and Vicinity, Susan J. Griggs, 1950, Ingalls Printing Co., Danielson, CT.