Biographies R
Higerson Riley
Higerson Riley, Muhlenberg County, was born September 1, 1822, in Daviess County, Ky., and is the second of seven boys and two girls, born to Lewis and Cassandre (Pedicord) Riley, natives of Ohio and Daviess Counties, respectively, of Irish and Scotch descent. Lewis Riley was a colonel of militia, and a son of Michael Riley, who married a Miss Jackson. They were natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Virginia; they were among the first settlers of Ohio County; he stood guard during the Indian times at Fort Hartford. The mother of our subject was the daughter of Higerson Pedicord, who was married twice.
Higerson Riley was reared on a farm, received a good education and lived with his parents until he was seventeen, when he engaged in farming at Daviess County. In 1842 he moved to Ohio County, where he farmed and traded until 1851; he then moved to Livermore, where he engaged in hotel and grocery business and dealing in tobacco. With the exception of one year he engaged in steamboating, he lived there until 1866, when he moved to Riley Station, in Daviess County, and purchased a farm. In 1877, he sold and moved to South Carrollton, where he has been successfully engaged in the tobacco trade every since.
He was married April 2, 1840, to Sarah E. Barnard, of Ohio County, Ky.; she is a daughter of Ignatius P. and Dorcas E. (Hocker) Barnard, who was a native of Virginia and of English descent. To this union eight children have been born, four now living: Lewis L.; Barthenia I. now Henry; Sadie M., now Bruce; and J.C. Riley. Mr. and Mrs. Riley are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Source: Battle, J.H., W.H. Perrin, and G.C. Kniffen. cite>Kentucky: A History of the State. Louisville, KY: F.A. Battey, 1885. Pages 920.
Updated July 9, 2018