I would like to introduce
myself. My name is Vikki Hollowell Highfield and I am a Libra.
It was for this reason I chose this theme for this page "about
me."
Although
my Hollowell roots began in the Colony of Virginia, I was born
in Alabama, the only child of my parents, Alva Lawson Hollowell
and Hallie Mae McCaig. I became interested in genealogy
when my grandmother McCaig died. My grandfather gave me a letter
he had received from my grandmother's first cousin asking for
information on the family. Their grandfather's name was Alden
Byram and she was seeking information about a possible relationship
to John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden of the Mayflower.
Armed
with the information furnished in her letter, plus information
from my grandfather, I headed straight to our local genealogical
library. After many letters and much research, I was able to
prove our family's descent from those illustrious ancestors.
I used my information to join The Mayflower Society and received
a commendation from the historian as having provided one of the
most well documented lineage papers she had seen to date. This
was only the beginning... |
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Thus
began my "obsession" with the Hollowell family... I
asked my father what he remembered about his grandparents, pestered
other family members with millions of questions and was rewarded
with a wealth of knowledge that led me to North Carolina and
the Quaker records. Letters flew furiously between other researchers
and myself, each day passed anxiously awaiting a new reply to
my millions of questions. During this period, I made contact
with Lucy Hollowell and purchased a copy of her book "The
Hollowells." When I was unable to find my elusive roots
within the pages of her book, the letters began being exchanged
between Lucy and myself. She thoughtfully sent me an elaborate
pedigree of my line of descent from Thomas and Alice Hollowell,
of the Colony of Virginia through their son Henry. I was delighted
with this information and promptly shared it with all my relatives.
But, in the back of my mind there were those nagging doubts that
Lucy's information did not dispell, nor was she able to provide
me with adequate answers to my questions. Lucy's untimely death,
the birth of a baby, and a self-imposed sabatical which lasted
ten years, left these questions unanswered until I accidently
read a list of John Hollowell's children which named my ancestor
Lucy had said was a son of Henry. A renewed desire was born,
and has not subsided.
My
desire is to share the years of research with others, in order
to preserve our family legacy. |
Charles and Vikki Highfield
No story
about me would be complete without mentioning my husband, Charles,
and my children, Charles, Scarlett, Jeffrey, Jon and the grandchildren,
Mary, Michael, Charlie, Jerod, Hallie, Hunter, Jessica, and Lindsey.
My husband, who is originally
from Illinois, once mentioned to the boys that "Mama is
about to prove that I'm not a Yankee after all." |
In addition
to genealogy, my other great passion has been raising and showing
dogs. I attended my first dog show as a pre-teen with a $35.00
Collie and won a 3-point major. The bug bit me... Since then,
I have owned and/or bred 20 champion Afghan Hounds including
two that were ranked #1 in the nation, and another that was #10.
I also have the distinction of finishing two Afghans that hold
the record for being the oldest male and female in the history
of the breed to become Champions. The male, Ch. Highfield Midnight
Shadows finished his championship at 10 1/2 years of age and
Ch. Highfield Blue Sky at 13 years and 19 days. Although a car
wreck left me unable to handle the large dogs, I still enjoy
showing, so we now have two Chinese Crested Powderpuffs and a
Pomeranian in addition to the three remaining Afghan Hounds.
See our dogs at their site - Highfield Kennels. |
Another
passion I have had through the years is art. I had a full art
scholarship to college and while attending met my future husband.
I got married instead of completing my degree, but have always
remained "artsy". I have painted in oil, acrylic and
watercolor, plus other artistic efforts which included quilting,
needlepoint, cross stitch and other mediums to vent my artistic
urges. After starting this website, I wanted to do some of my
own graphics and purchased a computer graphics program called
Paint Shop Pro 5. Little did I know that I would find the medium
to satisfy my artistic talents. I began painting on the computer,
and have a gallery of my digital creations. To see what I have
painted on the computer, I invite you to visit "Southern Star's
Digital Creations". |
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