Judge Edward Higbee


Home County: Adair

 Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: January 1921 - December 1922

Judge Edward Higbee was born on January 1, 1847,[i] in Ashland, Ohio.[ii] When he was two years old, Higbee and his family moved to Iowa,[iii] where he was raised on a farm in Johnson County.[iv] He attended public school in Iowa before the State University, in Iowa.[v] Higbee studied law, while teaching school.[vi] He was admitted to the bar in 1867,[vii] in Lancaster, Missouri, where he began practicing law.[viii]

In 1906, Higbee moved to Kirksville, Missouri, where he continued practicing law.[ix] Judge Higbee practiced law with his son, Paul Higbee until he became a Judge with the Court.[x] On November 2, 1920, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Missouri, to fill the unexpired term of Judge Charles B. Faris, which expired on December 31, 1922.[xi]  He served as a Judge with the Court until the completion of the term.[xii]


In April of 1923, he was appointed as a Commissioner with the Supreme Court of Missouri, for a term ending on April 10, 1927.[xiii] He was reappointed as a Commissioner on for a term expiring in April 1931.[xiv] He passed away on February 16, 1929 in Kirksville, Missouri, at the age of 82,[xv] while serving as a Commissioner with the Court.[xvi] Higbee’s legacy of remarkable judicial service was continued by his two sons, Judge Paul D. Higbee of Kirksville, Missouri, and Judge Walter Higbee of Lancaster, Missouri, who served as Circuit Court Judges.[xvii]


[i] “Edward Higbee,” Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, information courtesy of the Missouri State Archives website, Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1970 Database, accessed July 14, 2021, available from https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1929/1929_00005493.PDF

[ii] “Edward Higbee,” Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, information courtesy of the Missouri State Archives website, Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1970 Database, accessed on July 14, 2021, available from https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1929/1929_00005493.PDF See also: Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23

[iii] “Edward Higbee,” The Macon Republican, (Macon, Missouri), July 19, 1902, information courtesy of The Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on August 18, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/79247221/?terms=Edward%20Higbee&match=1

[iv] Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23

[v] “Judge Edward Higbee Asks for Re-election,” The Douglas County Herald, (Ava, Missouri), April 27, 1922, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/492605951/?terms=edward%20higbee&match=1 See also: Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23

[vi] “Edward Higbee,” The Macon Republican, (Macon, Missouri), July 19, 1902, information courtesy of The Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on August 18, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/79247221/?terms=Edward%20Higbee&match=1

[vii] “Edward Higbee,” The Macon Republican, (Macon, Missouri), July 19, 1902, information courtesy of The Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on August 18, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/79247221/?terms=Edward%20Higbee&match=1

[viii] Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23 See also: Judge Edward Higbee Asks for Re-election,” The Douglas County Herald, (Ava, Missouri), April 27, 1922, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/492605951/?terms=edward%20higbee&match=1

[ix] “Judge Edward Higbee Asks for Re-election,” The Douglas County Herald, (Ava, Missouri), April 27, 1922, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri’s Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/492605951/?terms=edward%20higbee&match=1 See also: Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two,, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23  See also: “Judge Higbee Announces,” The Laclede Blade, (Laclede, Missouri), March 24, 1922, image provided by State Historical Society of Missouri, information provided by Chronicling America website, accessed on August 17, 2021, available from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89066129/1922-03-24/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1921&index=10&rows=20&words=Edward+Higbee&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Missouri&date2=1929&proxtext=Edward+Higbee+&y=8&x=13&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

[x] Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-Nine and Nineteen Thirty, (Jefferson City, MO: Botz-Hugh Stephens Press, 1930), 140, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on August 18, 2021, available from  https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/15287

[xi] “Judge Edward Higbee Asks for Re-election,” The Douglas County Herald, (Ava, Missouri), April 27, 1922, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/492605951/?terms=edward%20higbee&match=1 See also: Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-one and Nineteen Twenty-two, (Jefferson City, MO: Hugh Stephens Printing Press, 1922) 89, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on July 12, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/11640/rec/23

[xii] “Judge Edward Higbee Asks for Re-election,” The Douglas County Herald, (Ava, Missouri), April 27, 1922, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/492605951/?terms=edward%20higbee&match=1 See also: Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-Seven and Nineteen Twenty-Eight, (Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stephens Press, 1928), 121, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, accessed on August 18, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/13542/rec/26

[xiv] Charles U. Becker, compiler, Charles U. Becker, Secretary of State, State of Missouri, Official Manual for Years Nineteen Twenty-Seven and Nineteen Twenty-Eight, (Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stephens Press, 1928), 121, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed August 18, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/13542/rec/26

[xv] “Edward Higbee,” Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, information courtesy of the Missouri State Archives website, Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1970 Database, accessed on July 14, 2021, available from https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1929/1929_00005493.PDF

[xvi] “Judge Higbee Died Last Week, Many After the Job,” The St. Joseph Observer, (St. Joseph, Missouri), February 21, 1929, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, accessed on July 16, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/228963102/?terms=Judge%20Higbee&match=1

[xvii] “Judge Higbee is Dead,” The Canton Press-News, (Canton, Missouri), October 6, 1932, information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, accessed on July 19, 2021, available from https://shsmo.newspapers.com/image/588876632/?terms=Judge%20Higbee&match=1

Biographical Information authored by Hannah Loera, 2021, Truman State University.

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