Person:David Higgins (8)

David Higgins’ parentage is not yet verified. He is most probably the son of Uriah Higgins and Rebecca Duncan, but there is so far only circumstantial evidence to suggest this.

We know that David Higgins married Mary Randall in Williston, Chittenden County, VT. In 1828 and that David is shown on the marriage license as being from Burlington, Chittenden County. David and Mary, with at least one child, subsequently settled in Constantine, MI (by 1836). David died in Sept. 1, 1848, at the age of 44 (tombstone inscription), meaning that he was born in 1804.

From family notes we know that Uriah Higgins had a son, David, born in 1804 in Hartland, Windsor county, Vermont. Uriah Higgins actually lived in Chittenden county, in Charlotte, from about 1812, when his last child was born, to at least 1820, as he appears there in the 1820 census. (By 1830, Uriah had moved a little further north to Franklin county, where he lived until his death after 1852.)

Therefore, David Higgins is linked circumstantially to Uriah Higgins by his date of birth – the same as Uriah’s son David – and by the fact that Uriah had lived for some years in the county in which David was married. It is also the case that there is no further trace in the United States census of of the David Higgins who is Uriah's son after the Michigan David Higgins dies. That is, there is no David Higgins who was born in 1804 in Vermont in either the 1850 or 1860 censuses. INFO FROM Santa Traugott strau@@umich.com 1/5/05 Moved to Constantine, MI by 1840. Blacksmith. Buried at Constantine, MI. «i»[She is seeking to determine if this is 'her' David; appears to be]«/i»

email Oct 10, 2005:I have been to Constantine, Michigan, to the cemetery there and reviewed the inscriptions. David Higgins is buried there; he died Sept. 1, 1848, at age 44. Both his wife and his daughters (yes, there were FIVE children in all, that we know of) give their birth place as Vermont in the 1850 census. And I now have the marriage record of David and Mary Randall, which took place Sept. 21, 1828, in Williston, Chittenden county Vermont. David is shown as a resident of Burlington, also in Chittenden county. Of course, Charlotte, where the last of Uriah's children was born and where Uriah lived (and by presumption, David) at least until 1820, is also in Chittenden county. So the circumstantial evidence that David is Uriah's son is very strong indeed. It is also the case that there is no other David Higgins, born in 1804 in Vermont, who shows up in the 1850 or 1860 census, suggesting that Uriah's son David must have died before 1850, as indeed "our" David did. David had at least 5 children, as I mentioned. There was Harriet, born June 1831 in Vermont, died September 1853, in Constantine Michigan. She was the wife of George H. Waterson. Then Sarah, born in 1834. There was a Mary, about whom we have no further information, buried with Lydia, who died in 1843 at the age of 3. And of course Edwin, born in Constantine in 1844.

CENSUS 1840: at Constantine, MI

CHARLOTTE'S LETTER OF March 21, 1852: page 3... How is it «i»[Sheldon, VT] «/i»with regard to the home in Grand Isle? Father told me Uncle David lived there. ....«i» [Was this David (1804-1848) or possibly David (1767 - )?] «/i» INFO FROM Santa Traugott strau@@umich.com - 2006 David Higgins' parentage is not yet verified. He is most probably the son of Uriah Higgins and Rebecca Duncan, but there is so far only circumstantial evidence to suggest this. We know that David Higgins married Mary Randall in Williston, Chittenden County, VT in 1828 and that David is shown on the marriage license as being from Burlington, Chittenden County. David and Mary, with at least one child, subsequently settled in Constantine, MI (by 1836). David died in Sept. 1, 1848, at the age of 44 (tombstone inscription), meaning that he was born in 1804. From family notes we know that Uriah Higgins had a son, David, born in 1804 in Hartland, Windsor County, Vermont. Uriah Higgins actually lived in Chittenden county, in Charlotte, from about 1812, when his last child was born, to at least 1820, as he appears there in the 1820 census. (By 1830, Uriah had moved a little further north to Franklin county, where he lived until his death after 1852.) Therefore, David Higgins is linked circumstantially to Uriah Higgins by his date of birth \endash the same as Uriah's son David \endash and by the fact that Uriah had lived for some years in the county in which David was married. It is also the case that there is no further trace in the United States census of of the David Higgins who is Uriah's son after the Michigan David Higgins dies. That is, there is no David Higgins who was born in 1804 in Vermont in either the 1850 or 1860 censuses. ref also Frank Johnson <paco@@gbis.com> August 2006 -

1. ↑ Santa Traugott GED 13 Oct 2005.