That makes sense.  I remember people talking about the "high sheriff," 
meaning he was top rank over all the others.

Paul Drake wrote:
> Half-sister (half-brother) is as now, and the "high" means simply that the
> one who is the reference is of a higher reputation, more exalted, more
> distinguished, etc. than is the speaker.  So if I label you as a high
> half-brother, you are of greater standing and reputation in the community
> than am I.  As a rule, that title ran with the person, though that person
> may have fallen upon temporary hard-times which would seem to be not of his
> making.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history.
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of jvford5
> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:36 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] high half sister
>
> One would think that this could be a loaded question Daryl
> but it's just a guess that perhaps since people were use to 
> measuring horses by hand that 'high half' might be a dyslexic
> version of 'half high' meaning that she was their little sister.
>
> That's the best meaning I can come up with after doing a 
> google that showed nothing decesive concerning the phrase
> you have in question. 
>
> Good Luck, Vicki :)
>
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