A. Hiram Higley was born February 12, 1804 in Barkhamsted, Litchfield County, Connecticut. He was the son of Oliver Case (Josiah, Joseph, John) and Amy Case (Richard, Richard, Richard, John).

"... As a boy, he [Hiram Case] wanted to become a drummer and at 15 he started taking lessons from an old drummer in Barkhamsted, Hart Lee. Hiram did not have a drum of his own and had to use his teacher's drum. He became obsessed with the idea of owning his own drum, even though he had no money to buy one.

"The story of how Hiram finally got his drum has been handed down through the years. One bitter cold day in late fall, Hiram borrowed a horse from his father and set out on the road to Windsor. The area which is now Bloomfield was then a part of Windsor and Eli Brown had a drum factory there. It was known world-wide for the fine class of drums produced.

"When Hiram arrived at the factory, he asked Mr. Brown if he could make a drum for him. Eli Brown said that he could, but thought he had drums on hand that might please his customer. Young Hiram then admitted he had no money but promiced to pay with the first money he earned, if Mr. Brown would trust him. Eli Brown looked this young man over and said, "If you want a drum bad enough to ride such a day as this from Barkhamsted (about 30 miles or better) on horseback down here, you are good enough to pay for it. You can take the drum."

"There was joy in Hiram's heart as he picked out the style drum he wanted, had it strapped to his back, and mounted his horse for the long journey home. He became an expert drummer and a few months later made another trip to Brown's Drum Factory and paid for the drum.

Sometime in the 1820's Hiram moved to West Granby (Hartford County, Connecticut). He soon organized the first West Granby Drum Corps with his brother Japbeth, Forrest and Shalor Reed, and Thomas Case. All the young men were in their 20's. They were good drummers and the services of the drum corps were much in demand..."

Hiram married to Eunice Higley on December 04, 1834 in Granby, Hartford County, Connecticut. Hiram and Eunice lived in her family home on Higley Road.

Eunice Higley was born May 30, 1808 in West Granby, Hartford County, Connecticut the daughter of Captain Asa Higley (Asa, Joseph, Brewster, John, Johnathan) and Ruth Kendall (Noadiah C., Ebenezer, Joshua, Samuel, Francis).

"...The organization (West Granby Drum Corps) had a long and successful career that was interupted by the Civil War. When the survivors returned from the War, interest in the corps revived and Hiram got about a dozen men and boys to practice at his house weekly.

"Among the drummers in the enlarged corps were two of Hiram's sons, George and Asa; his nephew, Josiah Case; James Fancher; and Erwin Huggins. Fifers were Perry Higley and Charles Crocker, "and good ones too" according to a contemporary source. Hiram Case continued to be active in the West Granby Drum Corps until he died in 1879 at the age of 75..."

Hiram died January 11, 1879. His wife, Eunice, died December 25, 1887. Both died in West Granby, Hartford County, Connecticut and are interred at the West Granby Cemetery.

Carol Laun was formerly curator of the Salmon Brook Historiacal Society in Granby, Connecticut. Currently she is the geneaolgy archivist of the society. Carol has written several articles about Granby history and has been a great help to me in many areas of my research.

Many of Carol's articles as well as a number of great books concerning Granby's vast history may be found at:

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