Eastham Town (part 8 of 9)

A third deed is in part as follows: "To all People to whome these Presents shall com Greeting Know ye that I, Joseph Higgins Junr of Eastham In the County of Barnstable In the Province of the massachusets Bay in Newengland, marener, for & In consideration of the sum of two pounds & ten shillings Lawful money to me in hand paid ... by Jonathan Higgins Junr of Eastham aforesd yeoman . . . have Granted, bargained, sould Enfeofed, confirmed and delivered unto the abovesd Jonathan Higgins & to his heirs and assigns forever all that part of Land lying in sd Eastham at the westerly side of the barley neck both upland and seder swamp to me belonging & allso all the right to my brother Beriah Higgins thereto belonging, which I bought of him of all and singuler that parcell of upland & seder swamp there lying which our Honoured great-Grandfather Livtt Joseph Rogers, gave to our Honoured Grand Mother Higgins In his last will & Testament the whole whereof is six acres more or les, bounded as in & by sd will may appear or otherwise acording to the known boundaries thereof . . . the said Jonathan Higgins is already in the free and lawful possesion thereof . . .

"In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this ninth day of June In the thirteenth year of her majts Reign Annoque Domini 1714. j^^eph Higgins (seal)

A fourth deed is in part as follows: "To all People to whome these Presents shall com Greeting. Know ye that I Joseph Higgins Senr of Eastham, yeoman, . . . for and in Consideration of nineteen pounds currant lawful money paid by Samuel Higgins Junr yeoman & Joshua Treat Joyner both of Eastham . . . convey unto them the said Samuel and Joshua all my tract or parcel of medow or sedge ground in Eastham at Pochey Beach between the old ship and the Innermost point (or part?) of sd Beach, four acres more or less. Signed and sealed the Twenty sixth day of May . . . Annoque Domini 1720. j^^^^^ jjiggj^^ (g^^iy,

These deeds and the later ones in the collection formerly Mr. Paine's clearly show that Jonathan^ Higgins and his descendants never were located in that part of the present town of Orleans which lies northwest of the present Orleans railroad station. This was stated to be a probable or possible fact in the text of this volume under Jonathan Higgins (No. 12). In view of the new information this theory must be declared wholly incorrect and impossible. There cannot be any question that Jonathan^ Higgins and most of his descendants who remained in Eastham occupied that portion of the ancient town extending from East Orleans southward to the present South Orleans and eastward to that part of the Bay which separates this tract from Barley Neck, where, as has been seen, the three oldest sons of Jonathan, Senior, , owned land by inheritance from Lieut. Joseph Rogers.

The old line between Harwich and Eastham up to 1773 or thereabouts began where the country road of 1665 crossed Namskaket Creek and extended southeast through the Indian burying ground to Salt Water Pond (now Arey's Pond). The outlet of this pond was called Higgins River or Portanumicut River. One side of this was in Eastham and the southerly side in Harwich. This fact probably explains why Joshua Higgins, Senior, and Paul Higgins and some others are called both of Eastham and of Harwich in the records. North of this "river" (it v\^as salt water and tidal) lay Samson's Neck or Weesquansett and Kescaj'oganset Pond. South of it lay Namequoick Neck. The islands from north to south were Pochet Island, Samson's Island, Hog Island, Little Tom's Island, Sipson's and lattle Sipson's, the last being opposite Chaqueset Neck. This part of Pleasant Bay was then called Portanumicut Harbor or Eastern Harbor. The Chatham line comes out of Muddy River Cove and passes north of Strong's Island. Portanumicut was the name of the district lying east of the Chatham-Eastham road from Wequassett northward to the Indian burying ground. As many ancient deeds show, considerable numbers of Indians lived in this district and sold land parcel by parcel to the whites. Baker's Tarkill River was a small stream north of Wequassett. Sipson's Purchase was a large tract around Cliff Pond and Baker's Pond. The present town line between Brewster and Orleans starts where the ancient line did, but after crossing Baker's Pond, runs more southerly and reaches the Bay to the south and west of its ancient 'point, thus putting into the town of Orleans some land formerly in the bounds of the ancient town of Harwich.

(See pages 69-71.) Mr. William C. Smith, the historian of Chatham, has communicated notes of two deeds which throw a ray of light upon the widow and daughter of Joseph^ Higgins, who appears to have spent his last years at Chatham. In the deed dated July 10, 1739, from Thomas Parker and Experience, his vaie, of Falmouth to Thomas Doane of Chatham, one of the boundaries is a ditch "which is between the Land of the- widow Higins and said Land." From this it would appear that Ruth, widow of Joseph Higgins, was living at the date of the deed. The other deed, dated March 13, 1762, was from Ruth Eldredge "widow or relict of Mr. James Eldredge of Chatham" to "John Hawes and James Ryder both of Chatham" and contains these words: "It is to be understood all the land or swamp that my Honoured father Joseph Higgins deceased Bought of Mr. Joseph Stewart that Lyeth to the Eastward of said brook, which I had by Birth or Heirship."

Ruth, daughter of Joseph and Ruth Higgins, was born Sept. 11, 1700, and married Oct. 11, 1716, Ebenezer Stewart of Chatham. No children of theirs are on record and there is no mention of him after 1728, when he witnessed the will of Joseph Eldredge. Children of James and Ruth Eldredge are on Chatham records, beginning in 1733. She must have been his second wife, since his will men-, tions eldest son Seth and daughter Mary living in Rhode Island, who must have been born before 1733.

Joshua Higgins, Senior

Some account of the long life of Joshua^ Higgins (Benjamin^, Richard^) has been given in the proper place. A few more facts have been found.

A deed dated Feb. 17, 1737-8, is extant, whereby "Joshua Higgins Senr of Eastham yeoman, conveys to Jonathan Sparrow Junr of Eastham my land in Eastham on the southwesterly side of the pond called the weigh pond, which was laid out to me for a tenement lot in 1711."

"Inquisition of Coroners Jury taken at Eastham Jan. 12, in tenth year of King George Second (1736-7) before John Knowles, gentleman, one of the Coroners of our sd Lord the King, within the county of Barnstable aforesaid upon view of the body of Presillah Higgins of Eastham aforesaid, then and there being Dead, by oathes of Capt. Samuel Knowles, (names of the rest of the Jur3^ follow), good and la^v^uU men of Eastham aforesaid who being charged and sworn to enquire for our Lord the King when and by what means & how the sd Prissillah Higgins came to her death, upon their oaths do say that shee came to her death by the Providence of God by a stroake of a mill going & not by the hand of man and so the Jurors say upon their oaths that the sd Presillah Higgins in maner and form aforesaid was killed & came to her death by misfortune." (Signed) John Knowles, Coroner, Samuel Knowles, Jr., David Smith, Jonathan Sparrow, Thomas Mayo, Theophilus Mayo, John Hurd, Jacob Hurd, Ebenezer Rogers, Prince Doane, John Sparrow, Jabez Sparrow, Josiah Cook, Elkanah Young, Nathaniel Gould. - File 64849.

The Priscilla Higgins, whose death is here described, is undoubtly Priscilla Bixbie, wife of Joshua Higgins, Senior, and we here get a glimpse of a tragedy. Whether she was caught by the machinery of her husband's mill while operating it or was struck by the revolving arms of a windmill is not clear. Probably it was the former that caused her death. This misfortune shows why in 1737 Joshua Higgins was looking for another mate, fQing his intention of marriage with Jane Maker in that year. She did not fullfil her part of the arrangement, and later he married Mary Baker.

The law suit of Joshua Higgins, Junior, plaintiff, against Joshua Higgins, Senior, defendant, came before the Superior Court in October, 1748. The Court appointed three men to audit the accounts of both parties and to report at the next term of Court, but owing to the absence of one of them, no report was rendered. In March, 1748-9, costs of £10.16.9 were allowed. One piece of testimony has been preserved, which is here given in full, because it sheds light upon the personal character of Joshua Higgins, Senior, who was, we must remember, at this time past his eightieth year. The testimony is as follows : -

"Samuel Knowles testifieth and saith that I being at the howse of Joshua Higgins Sener in Eastham on or about the month of March 1748, Joshua Higgins Juner being present the aforesaid higgenses talked of leveing som matters in Controverse between them to Mr. Thomas Freeman and myself, said Freeman being present. The matters said parties contreverted about as I understood from them both wase as follows, that Joshua Higgins Junr was to find and provide for Joshua Higgines Sener sutebal clothing and provisions During the Life of the sd Joshua Higgence sener and in consideration thereof the said Joshua Higgince Juner was to have part of his moveable Estate in hand and the whole of his Real Estate at his Death and sd Joshua Higgence Juner said you have not fulfeld your promas, you have not Delivered me Divers things, or words to that afect, that you promased in our agreemant. Joshua Higgence Sener said you have brok your bargain and have not provided for me as you ought, or words to that afect, for he had kept his negros beter than he was Kept. I asked the said Joshua Sener whether he had meat enufe, he answered yes and I asked him whether he had bread or meal anufe and he answered, yes, when the Mill ground. I asked him whether he had milk anufe, he answered yes, when the cows gave milk and I understood by ther talk that he had buter and melses provided for him : and at said time the sd Joshua Higgince sener and Joshua Higgince Juner talked of leving the matter in contreversie between them to the abovesaid Freeman and myself, but the sd Joshua Higgence Sener Refusing to be come bound to stand to our Determination put that matter by." g^^^^^j Knowles.

File 21407 relates to Court held Fourth Tuesday of April, 1728, and records the case of "Joseph Bixbee of Boxford yeoman and administrator, appallent vs. Joshua Higgins of Eastham and Priscilla his wife appelles." Joseph Bixbee appealed from a judgment of an Inferior Court of Common Pleas held at Barnstable third Tuesday of January 1727-8. He appeals for £40, 14 sh., one tenth of the estate of Joseph Bixbee late of Boxford and due to "sd Joshua Higgins for his wife Priscilla's portion of sd deceased's Estate."

"Sarah Higgins, daughter of Mr. Joseph Byxbee of the town of Boxford in the year 172(5?) deceased, being of lawful age, testified that when she lived with her said father, Mr. Byxbee, she observed that her sd father kept a book of accomts and she observed that he did frequently from time to time enter in said book memorandums of his concerns & deallings with persons both of Debt and

Sworn 13 Jan. 1727-8 at Eastham, "She not being capable to Travel to Coart by reason of Bodily Infirmities on her selfe and family as she Saith."

Another deed in the Paine collection shows that Bryan Martin (whose wife was a Higgins) was a tailor, living at Parsontown, Maine, in September, 1783.

Another deed shows that Thomas Twining, son of William Twining, had settled at Granville, Mass., before Oct. 10, 1786. Solomon Higgins, who married two Twinings in succession, perhaps sisters of this Thomas Twining, also settled at Granville. His third wife was Temperance Smith, born June 1, 1762, at Eastham, daughter of Joseph, 3d, and Ruth (Knowles) Smith.

Another deed dated May, 1786, shows that Simeon Higgins, Junior, of Eastham sold to Eliakim Higgins a parcel of land and a house that "I bought of Mr. Enos Knowles, late of Eastham." Mr. Paine added the following note to this deed: "James Percival lived there in later years. Simeon Higgins was father-in-law of Eliakim Higgins and son-in-law of Enos Knowles. The place was at the head of Kescaogansett pond, where James Percival lived in 1879. From Eliakim Higgins it passed to Asa Higgins, then to

Enos Knowles, born April 30, 1712, married at Eastham, April 12, 1733, Sarah Sparrow, daughter of Jonathan. Their daughter, Martha Knowles, married Jan. 30, 1766, Simeon Higgins, and her sister, Bethiah Knowles, born Jan. 12, 1734-5, married Ichabod

Another deed, dated April 4, 1794, shows that Prince Higgins, son of Samuel Higgins, and Keziah his wife, conveyed real estate to Eliakim Higgins. This date is probably about the time that Prince and Keziah Higgins removed to Orrington, Maine.

Another deed, dated Oct. 1, 1795, shows that Eliakim Higgins (Senior) of Eastham conveyed to his sons, Eliakim Higgins and Reuben Higgins, both of Eastham "all my buildings and all my Real Estate in Eastham and Harwich in equal proportion, and my part of the wind mill and my part of the pew in the meeting house." Reuben Higgins died within less than a year afterward and there are in the collection deeds of William Crosby and Mercy Crosby his wife, of Athol, Worcester County, Mass., and of Abner Freeman and Sarah his wife of Orleans, conveying to their surviving brother, EHakim Higgins, their share in the real estate that "was our brother Reuben Higginses, deceased," described as in the deed of their father to Reuben Higgins.

Correction. Eliakim Higgins and Rebecca Kingman were married Nov. 20, 1831, and their son, Freeman Higgins, was born Dec. 8, 1832. Eliakim Higgins' house is still standing in Orleans, near the road from the Soldiers' Monument to South Orleans. The older house of his father and grandfather stood a* few rods from it.

Another group of deeds shows that Dorcas Freeman, who married Benjamin Higgins and afterwards Mr. Ryder, was a daughter of Isaac and Hannah Freeman and that her dwelling house in 1824 to 1836 was not far from Eliakim Higgins' house or land.

Molly ^ith, born Dec. 3, 1755, married March 19, 1777, Richard Higgins of Chatham. She was daughter of Isaac and Mary (Freeman) Smith of Harwich or Chatham, Mary Freeman, born May, 1721, was daughter of Prince and Mary (Doane) Freeman of Harwich, later of MiddletowTi, Conn. Prince Freeman was son of Deacon Thomas Freeman of Harwich, who in turn was son of Major John Freeman of Eastham.

RACHEL^ HIGGINS (Edmund^ Benjamin^ Benjamin\ Benjamin^, Benjamin'^, Richard^), born Sept. 15, 1770; married April 4, 1802, John Crosby, Jr., of Harwich-Brewster. This marriage is proved by a deed in the Stanley W. Smith Collection, dated March 25, 1802, whereby John Crosby of Harwich and Rachel, his wife, convey to Elkanah Snow "a lot of meddo that was formally our honoured fathers Edmon Higginses."

Another Rachel Higgins married May 1, 1796, Joshua Crosby (see p. 138). She was perhaps daughter of James Higgins. This seems to be confirmed by a deed in the Smith Collection, dated Aug. 9, 1803, whereby Joshua Crosby and his wife Rachel of Orleans sell to Timothy Doane land which "was formerly James Higginses."

Sarah, daughter of Hezekiah Higgins, married Jan. 8, 1800, David Eldridge of Harwich. This is proved by an inscription in the Orleans cemetery.

Mr. Swift was the founder of the vast business in the production of meats and their products, having its headquarters in Chicago and other cities, and operating under the name of Swift & Company. His sons are also engaged in the same business.

BATHSHEBA HIGGINS, daughter of Josiah and Mary (Cousins) Higgins (seep. 259), married about 1837 Heard Moore. They lived on a farm about six miles south of Ellsworth, Maine,* on the east side of Union Bay.

ii. Francis Asbury, b. Nov. 5, 1844; in 1917 resided at Salem, Ore., and was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Oregon, iii. Mary A., b. 1847; d. 1904.

Mr. James Wallace Higgins of Roselle Park, N. J., has furnished, since the main portion of this book was in type, valuable data concerning Jonathan Higgins (No. 72, p. 136) and his descendants. As much of this as space would permit has been placed here.

JONATHAN HIGGINS married (2) June 24, 1759, Mrs. Phebe Frazee. Consequently what is printed under Jonathan No. 167A belongs to No. 72. As there shown, she left or deserted him and he advertised that he would pay no debts of her contracting. Date Nov. 4, 1772. This probably explains why she is not mentioned in his will.

Jonathan Higgins ran a "timber yard" in New York City in 1751-3 and was a builder in Rah way in 1768. A study of the Surrogate's accounts on the estate of Jonathan Higgins appears to show that Jonathan Higgins sold his Rahway estate, or a portion thereof, to Daniel Trembly of Rahway, who in 1779 paid £450 on his bond to the executor of Higgins' estate. After this sale Jonathan Higgins hired a house of Nathaniel Baker's, in the present town of Westfield, and there died.

"To be sold at Public Vendue, on Wesnesday the 6th of November next, on the Premises, a small Plantation in Elizabeth Town, two Miles from the English church and on the Post Road to Philadelphia, containing Twenty-six Acres of Land, about seven or Eight of which are meadow and Ten good Woodland, with a good Stream running by the door, very convenient for a Tanyard; there is on said Plantation a good Dwelling House, with four rooms and three Fire-Places, a Stable, an Orchard of 200 bearing Apple Trees and a Peach Orchard, The title is indisputable. There is to be sold at the same Time and Place, Cows, Horses, Hay and sundry Kinds of Household furniture. Any person inclining to purchase before the day of Sale may apply to Jonathan Higgins at John Ellis's in New York, or at the said Plantation. Said Higgins, who keeps a Timber Yard at Ellis's Slip, is willing to supply any Gentleman, or others, with all the Kinds of Timber, Boards or Plank, Sash Windows, with Sashes and Shutters to them ready made and at the cheapest Rates; he also makes Hatter's Blocks in the best manner, likewise all sorts of Shop Joyner's Ware and will take Timber, or merchantable Produce in all Payments." - Advertisement in N. Y. Gazette and Weekly Post Boy, Sept. 23, 1751; reprinted in A^. J. Archives, I, 19-99.

The property here offered for sale was probably Jonathan Higgins' own homestead, no longer needed, as he had gone into business in New York City. He did not long continue in business there, but in two years there was printed in the same newspaper the following: -

"To be Sold on reasonable terms of Payment, A Lot of Ground on the North Side of Little Queen Street, in the City of New York, containing 33 Feet front, and 70 Feet back the whole Breadth; it bounds easterly on the House and Lot of Mr. John Ellison . . . Any Person desiring to purchase may apply to Jonathan Higgins of Elizabeth Town, or to Jonathan Woodruff in New York." - New Jersey Archives, I, 19-283.

Jonathan Higgins appears later as a builder, probably in Rahway. He obtained a judgment by suit in Court against the property of Henry Lane, where Lane was then living, situated near Rahway Meeting House, and consisting of six and a half acres of land, dwelling house, barn and garden, and offered the same for sale Dec. 23, 1765, at public auction. - A'^. F. Gazette and Weekly Post Boy, Jan. 30, 1766.

On Feb. 29, 1768, he advertised for sale or rent a new house in Elizabethtown-Rahway and offers to build a larger one, if desired, as "the materials are now ready to be put together and building is his trade." He appears to have lived in this vicinity until April 5, 1776, as shown by a mortgage deed (Essex Co. Mortgages, A-390) covering the grist mill propertj'^ and bounded in part by Jonathan Higgins. Soon after he sold to Daniel Trembly, as already related, and lived at Baker's house in Westfield.

The will of Jonathan Higgins, dated April 25, 1775, mentions sons Samuel, Jonathan, and Jacob, grandson Jonathan Higgins Williams, daughter Zerviah, granddaughters Sarah and Zerviah Oliver, daughter Sarah and her daughter Phebe Williams, and his daughter Betty. He bequeaths his timber and shop and turning tools to son Jonathan, if he demands them in three months. A codicil dated Aug. 10, 1778, provides for the freedom of his two negroes. Jonathan Higgins died between Aug. 10 and Sept. 7, 1778. The accounts mention money paid for tombstones, but they have not been discovered.

Zerviah Higgins, daughter of Jonathan, married April 19, 1760, as second wife, David Oliver of Rah way. He died April 1, 1766, in his forty-seventh year, according to inscription in old cemetery at Rahway. His will, dated Feb. 27, 1766, mentions sons David, Samuel, Ichabod, and daughters Jemima Ward (d. May 8, 1768, aged 7), Sarah, and Zerviah. The three sons were rather notorious Tories during the Revolution. - See Hatfield's History of Elizabeth, pp. 469, 476, 509.

SAMUEL HIGGINS (see No. 168, p. 215), son of Jonathan, married Jemima Ward. This is proved by the will of Samuel Ward of Newark, dated July 23, 1752, probated April 16, 1759, which mentions daughter Jemima Higgins. In July, 1765, Samuel Higgins and others, confined in jail at Elizabeth as insolvent debtors, sought release under a new law recently passed for the relief of insolvent debtors. Tradition says that Samuel was very poor, having hardly money enough to buy his seed corn. In 1763 he and Daniel Sayre occupied adjoining farms north of the "Cross Roads," about a mile and a half west from the church at Connecticut Farms and near the Rahway River. This locality is now in Union township, a short distance north of the Kenilworth Borough line. He probably died before 1780.

Mary Higgins, daughter of Samuel, lived \\dth her uncle, John Sayre, on the old Sayre homestead during the Revolution, presumably after her father's death. From these circumstances arose a protracted litigation extending from 1797 to 1804, with result not entirely clear, although two judgments in favor of Mary are recorded. In 1799 her cousin, Daniel Sayre, having acquired the titles of the heirs, except Mary, pulled down the old house over her head, for which she obtained damages. She then lived in a house across the road. She is described as a tall woman of a high-strung temperament, strong in her likes and dislikes, and greatly hating the Sayres and the British, who disturbed her housekeeping arrangements. At the close of her life she lived in a portion of a house at the "Cross Roads" and had a habit of dropping in on the neighbors for meals. She was burned to death, her apron catching fire from the open fire in her rooms, Dec. 14, 1833.

Jemima Higgins, daughter of Samuel, bapt. Nov. 26, 1758, probably died unmarried before 1799, although it is possible that she married Henry Jefferys. In 1799 Samuel Higgins had five children living, probably two other sons besides sons Daniel and James and daughter Mary. One of these two sons is said to have gone South and did not return. The other, probably named John, went to New York state, returned poor, and died in Union township. He owned an acre of land here in 1812.

He served as a private in the Essex County New Jersey Militia during the Revolution and is said to have served at the battle of Springfield, June, 1780, and to have captured a gun from a Hessian at that time, which is now in possession of his great-grandson, Mr. Howard Dada of Orange, N. J. In 1797 he bought a farm on Galloping Hill Road, near the center of the present Kenilworth and on which "Tin Kettle Hill" was located. Previously he probably lived near the present Chestnut Grove School, a little south of the "Cross Roads," and the ancient Sayre homestead. He left no will, the farm being transferred during his lifetime to his son Daniel.

seen again, iii. Mary L.,b. April 13, 1795; d. Aug. 21, 1842; married Joseph B. Tooker. Residence, Connecticut Farms. Three children. iv. Daniel, b. January, 1799; married Sarah Edwards.

He enlisted in 1777, then aged 14, serving as a private in Capt. Thomas Mulford's company, First Regiment, Essex County Militia, Col. Samuel Potter. He enlisted again in 1779 and served as private for six months in Capt. John Craig's company of New Jersey State Troops. These services are proved by records in the oflBce of the Adjutant General, State of New Jersey, and by his widow's application for a pension in 1848, which was granted. He appears to have served in the vicinity of his own home.

About the time of his marriage James Higgins lived on a small farm situated on the old road to Springfield, south of the Chestnut Grove school, in the borough of Kenilworth, but in later years he acquired several tracts, lying about a mile to the southeast. This land now lies in the northeast corner of the township of Cranford, on Orange Avenue, the boundary line running through the original homestead farm. Here stands the house in which he lived, owned by his descendants until 1910. He was one of the largest landowners in the township, and his land being wooded, much of his work consisted in cutting, hauling, and selling wood and timber. He was a hard working man, of strong character, and of much influence in the community. His financial success was entirely the result of his own labor. He left a will. After his death his homestead was sold to his son-in-law, Moses Faitoute.

a physician, residing at Brooklyn, N. Y., had one son, Daniel Knight Drake; Elmer W. Drake, b. Jan. 13, 1834, d. 1905 in Denver, Col., married Mrs. Hawkins, but had no children.

(2) Philemon Dickinson, son of Philemon Dickinson of Springfield, N. J., b. March 11, 1820, d. March 15, 1889, a bank note engraver, residing at Newark, had eight children; Ellen Roll, b. Feb. 24, 1821, d. April 12, 1840, married Feb. 27, 1839, John Dickinson, son of Philemon Dickinson of Springfield, N. J., had no children; John D. Roll, b. Feb. 27, married Jane Brokaw, daughter of Caleb Brokaw of Bound Brook, N. J., and sister of above Isaac Brokaw, moved to Illinois. The number of descendants of Isaac and Rebecca (Higgins) Roll is large, and although a nearly complete list was furnished, it has been impossible to include them all here.

Nov. 9, 1827. She was an invalid. Children: Phebe Townley (married Isaac Newning and went out West), James Townley (an invalid), and Henrietta Townley (who married Blackford Holden after 1845).

vi. Elizabeth, b. Nov. 15, 1800; d. Jan. 31, 1861; married Sept. 30, 1821, Moses Faitoute, b. May 20, 1799, d. July 4, 1875, son of Aaron and Phebe Faitoute. He was a farmer and lived on the James Higgins homestead in the northeast corner of present Cranford, N. J. Children; Phebe Ogden Faitoute b. March 7, 1822, d. Dec. 3, 1907, married Nov. 2, 1844, W^illiam Henry Woodruff and had seven children; Elizabeth Rebecca Faitoute, b. May 14, 1826, d. young; Aaron Higgins Faitoute, b. Oct. 12, 1829; d. April 24, 1881, married March 1, 1855, Sarah Maria Winans, b. Dec. 4, 1832, d. Oct. 20, 1899, and had five children; Moses Baker Faitoute, b. Nov. 11, 1833, d. Dec. 25, 1869, married May 26, 1863, Mary Robins Thompson, b. May 26, 1841, daughter of Jacob Thompson, was a farmer and had three children; James Wilford Faitoute, b. Sept. 6, 1835, d. June 9, 1859, unmarried; Thomas Benton Faitoute, b. Nov. 6, 1838, d. Nov. 24, 1912, married Feb. 2, 1876, Mary Elizabeth (Mooney) Sturtevant, b. Nov. 8, 1836, d. Oct. 10, 1913, daughter of Elias Mooney, had two children, both of whom d. in childhood; WilHam Littell Faitoute, b. Dec. 13, 1840, d. Jan. 27, 1872, unmarried. The number of descendants of Moses and Elizabeth (Higgins) Faitoute is large, but it was impossible to include them all on account of limitations of space.

DANIEL^ HIGGINS {Daniel^, Samuel\ Jonathan^ Richard^, Zerah^, Richard^) (see p. 321), born January, 1799, in Union township; died June 6, 1849, in New York City; married Sarah Edwards, b. Feb. 15, 1803; died Jan. 27, 1874, at Orange, N.J.

Daniel Higgins was a farmer and owned and lived on the farm in Union originally purchased by his father in 1797. Later he went to New York City and engaged in business as a truckman. He died of the cholera.

i. Sarah Jane, b. about 1824; d. Feb. 23, 1896; married Dec. 30, 1845, Albert Smith Jamison, b. May 29, 1824, in New York, d. Feb. 3, 1880, at East Orange, N. J. Had four children: Sarah Jamison, d. in infancy; Daniel Higgins Jamison, b. Feb. 15, 1848, in New York, d. Aug. 8, 1916, at East Orange, N. J., married March 11, 1871, Maria E. Leeman, b. May 13, 1850, in New York and had five children, all living at Orange or East Orange, N. J.; James Albert Jamison, b. May 4, 1850, at Orange, N. J., d. there November, 1895, married Feb. 14, 1873, Phcebe McCloud of Newark, was a hatter with business in Orange and had three children ; the fourth child d. in infancy.

JAMES WARD^ HIGGINS (Jame.y«, Samuel\ Jonathan*, Richard^, Zerah^, Richard^) (see p. 321), born Jan. 30, 1796, in Union township, N. J.; died April 26, 1848; married Eleanor .

He was a merchant and engaged in the grocery or provision business in the city of New York, with Thomas S, Doremus, under the firm name of Higgins & Doremus. Owned a store on the south side of Dey Street, where the Globe Building now stands, which he acquired in 1830. The title of this property passed to his brother, David S. Higgins, who retained it until his death.

David Sayre Higgins was born at the old homestead of James Higgins, still standing in the northeast corner of Cranford township, adjoining Faitoute Avenue and Orange Avenue. He died in his own house on Orange Avenue, not far from his birthplace. He received his early education at the old district schoolhouse which stood near his home. He then went to New York City and spent seven years in mercantile business, associated with his brother-inlaw, Moses Faitoute. He then returned to the vicinity of his birth and on April 1, 1832, purchased the "Stites" farm, located on the old road to Springfield, and the house stood north of Monroe Avenue, between 18th and 19th streets in the present Borough of Kenilworth. Here all his children were born. The house was torn down in 1899, and a brick from the house bore the date 1747. He sold this farm in 1857 and purchased the Kingsland farm on the road to Craneville (now Cranford) , now Orange Avenue, where he lived until his death. He was one of the leading and successful farmers of the community.

He early joined the Baptist Church at Scotch Plains and later was one of the constituent members of the First Baptist Church of Elizabeth, N. J., on June 5, 1843. Of the fifteen original members of this church, eight were his relatives, including his mother and wife, and two sisters. He was its first deacon. He was trustee of the School Committee of the old Chestnut Grove School, which was but a short distance north of his first farm. He was politically a Whig and later a Republican. Though interested in public affairs, he never aspired to public office, nor engaged in political contests. In his later years he was an invalid. He was a man of the highest character, deeply loved and respected by all.

Children. i. Elizabeth, b. July 1, 1828; d. May 12, 1879; married May 26, 1852, Reuben S. Van Tassel of Dubois, Penn. Children: Alexander Reuben Van Tassel of Dubois, Penn.; Edward Denning Van Tassel of Boston, Mass. ; Elizabeth Van Tassel, who married (1) Rodell Adelbert Wood of Dubois, Penn., (2) William Carlyle Arnold; Annie Van Tassel, who married Samuel Higenbotham; Willard Sherwood Van Tassel, b. Jan. 31, 1860, at Irvington, N. Y., residing at Woburn, Mass.; Ida Van Tassel, d. in infancy. The five eldest of these children all married and had children, ii. Hannah, b. Feb. 27, 1833 ; d. Oct. 19, 1863 ; married June 20, 1859, James Clark, son of Ephraim Clark of Plainfield, N. J., and had two children that d. in infancy.

iv. Rebecca, b. Oct. 22, 1836; married Henry H. Richards, son of John Richards of Springfield, N. J. Resided at Peekskill, N. Y., and d. 1911. No children. V. James Ward, b. Feb. 21, 1839; married Adelia J. Littlefield.

ix. Phebe Newning, b. Jan. 3, 1848; living at Raritan, N. J.; married (1) May 6, 1869, Jonathan Townley, b. Dec. 14, 1833, Princeton College 1858, Capt. Co. K., Ninth Regt., N. J. Volunteer Infantry in Civil War. Children: David Higgins Townley, b. November, 1871, married March 11, 1902, Belle B. Brown and resides at Elizabeth, N. J.; Janette Townley, b. Feb. 15, 1873, married Oct. 28, 1897, Abram Amerman and resides at Raritan, N. J. Mrs. Phebe N. Townley married (2) Morgan Long.

He was educated by his father's estate, attended college and received the degree of M.D. In 1835 for a time he taught school near his father's homestead in Union township. He then removed to Jersey City or to Newark and practiced medicine there. He had at times an ungovernable temper. His only child, Elmer Faitoute Higgins, was in the insurance business in Newark. His body was found drowned in Newark Bay about July 30, 1894. He was married, but had no children.

JAMES WARD« HIGGINS (David Sayre\ JameH\ Samuel\ Jonathan^, Richard^, Zerah"^, Richard^) (see No. 850, p. 539). Additional data. His wife, Adelia J. Littlefield, was born Aug. 21, 1841.

James Ward Higgins received his early education at the Chestnut Grove School, near his father's home, and later at SuflSeld, Conn., and at Claverack Academy, Claverack, N. Y. He then spent about a year farming in Ohio. Then owing to his father's illness, he returned home and took charge of the latter's farm. In 1871 he purchased the old Trembly Watkins farm, a short distance east of where the Kenilworth railroad station now stands, and lived there until 1897, when he purchased property at the corner of Chestnut Street and Webster iV venue, now in the Borough of Roselle Park, where he lived until his death in 1914. He was a prominent farmer, and for years a member of the Union County Board of Agriculture. From 1892 to 1900 he conducted a business in agricultural implements, feed and grain at Roselle Park. He was a trustee of the school district, an ardent Republican in politics, casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and active in everything that advanced his community. He early joined the Baptist Church at Elizabeth and in 1878 the First Baptist Church of Roselle. For years he was one of its staunchest supporters, serving as trustee and deacon for almost the entire period until his death. He was a strong Christian, and of a sunny disposition, and had the love of all his wide circle of acquaintances and friends.

His son, James Wallace Higgins (see No. 973), was educated at the schools of Union township, graduated at Rutgers College in 1893 and received the degree of C.E. in 1902. He has been a member or secretary of the Board of Education of Roselle Park from 1901 to 1917 and Borough Engineer from 1901 to 1913 and from 1917 to the present. Is a civil and landscape engineer with office in New York City. Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and of the First Baptist Church of Roselle Park, of which he is clerk.

His younger son, Spencer Littlefield Higgins, while stationed on U. S. S. Arkansas, participated in the occupation of Vera Cruz by the U. S. forces in 1914. In 1917 he was stationed at U. S. Naval Hospital, Las Animas, Col. Surgeon, U. S. N.

GERSHOM^ HIGGINS {Eliahim\ Richard'). Additional matter. The will of Gershom Higgins, blacksmith, dated Sept. 14, 1751, probated Feb. 18, 1758. To son Nathaniel he leaves a lot of land in Ehzabethtown, adjoining Matthias Baldwin, Daniel Jewet, Robert Little and highway ; also seven acres near Oyster Creek. To grandsons Michael and William, sons of his son William deceased, and to his three daughters, Mary, Hannah and Abigail, £30 apiece, to be paid from sale of the homestead. To wife Mary the residue of the personal estate, also other provisions.

Mary Higgins, widow of Gershom Higgins, and Nathaniel Higgins and Mary, his wife, conveyed to Broughton Reynolds, innkeeper, land' that was formerly of Samuel Marsh and conveyed to Gershom Higgins by Susannah Marsh, only child of Samuel Marsh, by deed dated Sept. 3, 1730, and devised by will of Gershom Higgins to Nathaniel Higgins. Bounded on southeast and southwest by land of Timothy Higgins. Dated 1767.

Nathaniel Higgins mortgages to Benjamin Spinning land and dwelling house in Elizabethtown, formerly of Gershom Higgins deceased. Six and one half acres. Bounded by Matthias Baldwin, Broughton Reynolds and Timothy Higgins. Dated Nov. 14, 1767. This appears to be Gershom Higgins' homestead, willed to Nathaniel in 1751.

Nathaniel Higgins, blacksmith, again mortgages the same property to Benjamin Spinning on May 24, 1769. This time it was but six and one tenth acres. Nathaniel probably had to lose a part to satisfy the prior mortgage.

Jan. 8, 1770, Nathaniel Higgins and others, now prisoners in the Co. of Middlesex, ask discharge under the act and that their estates be assigned to their creditors.

and March 11, 1808. Hannah died between March 9 and May 7, 1811. Both left wills. Residence, Borough of Elizabeth. Children: Elizabeth (married Mr. Canaday), Jane (married Mr. Davis), Sarah and Elias Tooker. V. Sarah, b. .

Luke Haviland Higgins married Fanny Dawes. She died probably at Newark. Her will, dated Oct. 20, 1849, probated Nov. 5, 1849, mentions children given below.

A record of a suit in the Court of Chancery, dated Jan. 19, 1852, shows that all the above children, except James D. Higgins, were then living.

He sailed in March, 1829, on the schooner Lovely Hope, which was lost with all on board. Mrs. Harriet Higgins married (2) Capt. Eldredge of Orleans.

By Paul Hagans Ludington Of Omaha

It seems particularly appropriate to introduce a genealogic discussion that is based upon data largely hitherto unpublished, with a brief statement of the scope of the discussion, the work done by those interested, the field covered in the collection of data, and a general statement of the method of presentation of the subject.

The discussion has to deal with but one single topic, which will be stated as a distinct proposition at the close of these introductory remarks.

This subject has been made into an Appendix to this book because it is concerned with but one single branch of the Higgins family, and because to include it in the body of the book would trespass too much upon the subject matter of the book, on account of the necessary length required to present the subject.

The data here presented was collected by three descendants of George Hagans - Josiah Higgins, although various members of the family have given of their knowledge to these three collectors.

As early as July 13, 1865, Horace Ludington, M.D., a grandson of George Hagans, through Lovila (Hagans) Ludington, wrote to his uncle Harrison Hagans, the only surviving child of George Hagans, asking for information regarding the Hagans family. Harrison Hagans' reply is now in Dr. Ludington's possession and it gives invaluable information that will presently be quoted.

About 1894, Mr. Wilbur Eggleston Hagans of Chicago, greatgrandson of George Hagans, through both Harrison Hagans and Elisha Merrill Hagans, began his researches into his ancestry. Through a large correspondence throughout several years Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans collected a large amount of data, and was particularly fortunate in securing from his uncle, the late Judge John Marshall Hagans, a grandson of George Hagans, through Harrison Hagans, a great deal of the family tradition, some of which has proven of the greatest value. To Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans belongs the credit of first reaching the conviction that his ancestor, George Hagans, was none other than Josiah Higgins.

In 1911, Paul Hagans Ludington, M.D., a son of Dr. Horace Ludington, became interested in the subject, and visited in person those localities in INIassachusetts, New York, and Illinois with which the George Hagans family is associated. Because of the work done previously by Dr. Horace Ludington and Mr. Win)ur E. Hagans, the labor of this investigation was rendered easier and more successful and some additional data was secured.

What is here presented is, therefore, a composite of the data thus secured by the collectors, and their indebtedness to various members of the family, custodians of public records, and others who have assisted in the collection of data is gratefully acknowledged.

Although done chiefly for the benefit of any one who may care to investigate this subject further, it has seemed well to add, at the conclusion of the discussion, a fairly complete list of the sources that have come under investigation. This list will comprise only sources that are outside the family, because these public records are available to any one.

In presenting this discussion the chief consideration is, of course, to prove the claim that is made, and the chief factors to this end are considered to be fullness and accuracy of data and a logical and orderly progression from one point to another.

As to the data. It is considered better to err on the side of including too much data rather than not enough, so in some instances data apparently foreign to the George Hagans - Josiah Higgins family is included. The amount of this data is not sufficiently great, however, to cause confusion to the careful reader, and its advantages seem to outweigh the possible disadvantages.

Every possible care has been taken to secure absolute accuracy in the data presented. Quotations from letters are made from the originals in every case, and the originals are now either in the possession of Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans or the writer. In the case of public records, the quotations are made from certified copies of these instruments as obtained from the official custodians of these records.

While it is not possible to give these letters and deeds in full, nor is it at all necessary, it may be stated that all this evidence was submitted to the Editor of this book.

What follows is given in as condensed a form as possible, but with due regard to stating the essential facts in the case with sufficient fullness, it is hoped, to make them easily followed and understood.

The only logical thing to do seems to be to begin with George Hagans - Josiah Higgins where positive knowledge is had of him and to work backward from this point, so this will be done.

The method has been adopted of constructing at first the story of the Hagans family as it has been handed down by the family tradition, and then comparing this with whatever matters of public record or .outside data may be found. This method is obviously fair and it also has the advantage of preserving the chronology.

The man who Uved and died in Brandonville, Preston County, Virginia (now West Virginia), under the name of George Hagans, changed his name from Josiah Higgins to George Hagans; the change of name was made between March 20, 1817, and the fall of 1817. Josiah Higgins was a son of Elisha^ Higgins and therefore a descendant of the settler Richard Higgins; George Hagans being identical with Josiah Higgins is also descended from Richard Higgins.

(3) According to data collected by Rev. Ambrose Eggleston for the Eggleston family, Persis Eggleston married Josiah Higgins, whereas, according to the Hagans record, Persis Eggleston was the wife of George Hagans.

(4) The family tradition regarding George Hagans, of whom no record can be found, is exactly paralleled by all the records that have been discovered for Josiah Higgins.

It may as well be stated at the beginning of this discussion that no oflBcial record exists to show that Josiah Higgins made record of the fact that he saw fit to change his name to George Hagans. Hagans is obviously a variant of Higgins, but the change from Josiah to George makes it certain that a complete change of name was made.

That a person has a perfect right to completely change his name for any reason that may seem good to him, must be freely admitted; and that a person living on the frontiers might not go into a convenient court and make record of the fact is quite possible.

The fact that the name was changed is a thing quite apart from the reasons that impelled the change, and this furnishes a very convenient division of this entire subject into two heads: The Identity of George Hagans and The Reason for the Change of Name.

The Identity Of George Hagans

Harrison Hagans' letter to Dr. Horace Ludington is the earliest and most complete statement regarding the Hagans family that exists whose source is absolutely known, therefore it will serve as a means to construct the story of the Hagans family as given by one of that family. This letter is of sufficient interest to quote in full.

Before quoting this letter, however, the reader's attention is invited to one outstanding fact that will become evident: Harrison Hagans states his maternal, or Eggleston, ancestry with suflficient fullness to make it easy to identify that family ; with regard to his paternal, or Hagans - Higgins, family, however, he only says that his grandfather was born on Cape Cod. In other words, the Eggleston line is very clearly indicated, whereas the Hagans - Higgins line is left very indefinite, although Harrison Hagans certainly knew enough about it to state the birthplace of his paternal grandfather. It is thought that this circumstance is of sufficient importance to bring it to the reader's attention before quoting Harrison Hagans' letter.

Yours of the 13th inst. reached us on last evening and found us in usual health; for which, as well as that of our dear Penn. [sylvania] friends, we are very thankful.

My paternal grandfather I saw once when I was quite small, and was impressed with his towering frame and snow-white hair; I believe he was born on Cape Cod and was a farmer.

Our ancestry, so far as I know, were in moderate circumstances and held a respectable position in society, although their careers were not marked by any remarkable incidents to make them famous. In fact, I have but little hope that the acutest ethnologist of this generation would succeed in allying himself with royal blood.

I cannot boast a nohle ancestry, according to modern parlance, and I hold that no sensible man ever did. I believe, however, that measured by a better standard - "an honest man is the noblest work of God" - our lineage stands fair; and that a faint sprinkling of royal blood would not "add one cubit to our stature." I would rather magnify the grace of God that gave us Godly progenitors - humble as they were - whose pious prayers are still crowned with blessings now resting upon us their descendants.

The memorial I enclose I believe to be complete, except the blanks in your dear mother's line, which you will please fill; also please correct the date of your uncle Zer's death if it be wrong.

I am the only survivor of my father's household, and am aware that the only connecting link must ere long be broken. May God prepare us all to meet finally in His Kingdom.

I am sorry to hear of Lin's poor health; hope she will soon recover. Poor Hagan! his fitful career is over! His days have verily been "few and full of trouble," we ivill hope he is happy.

The "memorial" enclosed consists of data regarding George Hagans, Persis (Eggleston) Hagans, and their children. It is arranged in tabulated form that cannot be here reproduced. The complete data will, however, be given.

George Hagans: born June 2, 1762, in Massachusetts; died June 21, 1834, in Virginia; married December 23, 1783, Persis Eggleston; was a farmer; had ten children; "local preacher M. E. Church, strong in faith and hope."

Church, in triumph." Harriet: born March 18, 1801, in New York; died in Illinois. Lovila: born September 10, 1803, in New York; died in Pennsylvania; "M. E. Church, in holy triumph." David: born July 18, 1807, in New York; died June 30, 1809, in

As Harrison Hagans was the author of the above "memorial," it is evident that his death record is lacking. The data regarding Lovila Hagans is that referred to in his letter wherein he says: "except the blanks in your dear mother's line, which you will please fill." The "memorial" states that its author "had no account" of the death. of Harriet Hagans. Thus the data is complete.

It will be noted that a double certification of this data appears; in the letter Harrison Hagans says: "the memorial I enclose, I believe to be complete," while he attests his "memorial" by saying: "the above statistics I believe to be correct."

It may be urged that if a change of names was made the force of these attestations would be weakened; but it must be conceded that any one has a perfect right to change his name at any time he pleases, and that, having once made a change, he is perfectly justified in recording it under the change as made. For this reason it is apparent that the above statistics must be accepted as correct at the time when they were written, and there is no reason at all to suppose that the dates are incorrect.

Such material has all the appearances of having been taken from a Bible record, although this is not specifically so stated. It remains, therefore, to introduce evidence that such a Bible record existed, since the record itself cannot be produced.

Judge John Marshall Hagans apparently discovered a copy of the above "memorial" among his father's papers thirty years afterward, for writing to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans he says: "I enclose you a copy of a record which bears date in 1865, and is in father's handwriting. Of its accuracy I have no doubt. Why he came to prepare it I don't know. Of its existence I had no knowledge until a few days since. Father doubtless took this record from the family Bible, which we have no reason to believe other than correct."

This specific reference to "the family Bible" is corroborated by an even more definite reference by a daughter of Harrison Hagans, Mrs. Virginia (Hagans) Frey. W^riting to Dr. Horace Ludington, nearly twenty years later, Mrs. Frej'^ says: -

"As long as I was an inmate of the old home, grandfather's Bible was kept in the top drawer of what was once grandmother's bureau. ... I fear if it was left there in the house it met with the same fate as the letters; everything was disposed of during the last administration."

This very specific reference to "grandfather's" Bible, and the exact place it was kept, indicates clearly that a family Bible was in existence and also that it was George Hagans' Bible. It is believed, therefore, that it is fair to assume that Harrison Hagans made up his "memorial" from such a record.

In the possession of Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans there is another record that is,,according to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans, in the handwriting of his father, the late Lucian Adams Hagans, a son of Harrison Hagans. This record will not be copied here in full, as it agrees perfectly with Harrison Hagans' data, but one or two entries will be given to show that it must surely have been taken from a Bible record.

The above examples are sufficient to show the detailed account, and it may be said that comparison of these days and dates with a perpetual calendar will show that they are correct. This same detail occurs with all the ten children, and every date is correct for the day stated, except in the case of George Hagans himself, and here it is only one day wrong.

Such a record surely must be from a Bible record, and the correctness of the dates and days given would seem to make it worthy of all credence that might attach to any similar record.

This record of Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans states that "Polly, wife of Joseph, died October 6, 1816." Harrison Hagans says: "his (Joseph's) wife Mary had died just two months before" December 6, 1816. As Polly seems to have been a favorite name for Mary, it is probable that Mary was the correct name and Polly the commonly used name. At any rate the records agree perfectly.

In an affidavit, Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans states that he had in his possession a family Bible belonging to his maternal grandfather, Elisha M. Hagans, containing records of the Hagans family and that this Bible was destroyed in a fire that destroyed Mr. Hagans' home at Elmhurst, Illinois, in 1907.

So it is clear that all the evidence points to the fact that Bible records were kept in the family and that both the records that have been quoted were taken from such records.

One very interesting and valuable record appears in this list of Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans: "Urban Harrison, son of Joseph and Polly, died September 10, 1816." Please keep in mind the name Urban in view of what will appear later on.

From the data furnished by Harrison Hagans quite a fair outline may be constructed for George Hagans and his family, probably more complete than would appear at first reading. Before summarizing an analysis of this, however, it will be well to consider one question,

Harrison Hagans says that the first child was bom in Vermont in 1784, the next one in New York in 1786, the next one in Vermont in 1788, the next two in New York in 1791 and 1793, the next one in Vermont in 1796, and the others in New York.

As the records of Josiah Higgins indicate that he lived continuously in New York between the years 1784 and 1810, it is believed that the border difficulties between Vermont and New York explain why these children appear to have been born in these two states rather than that the family was actually jumping from place to place.

(6) The family was in New York as early as November 19, 1784, as the children were born in Vermont or New York between 1784 and 1807. It has been explained why it is believed they were all born in New York and not in Vermont.

(7) As Harrison Hagans "often saw" his maternal grandparents, and as "his name was Eggleston," it follows that George Hagans must have lived near his wife's parents and that they, too, must have lived in New York.

(8) As Harrison Hagans says his maternal grandfather was an Eggleston, and his grandmother's "maiden name was Merrill," the ancestry of Persis Eggleston, Harrison Hagans' mother, becomes clear, and as Persis Eggleston was born in Connecticut, it becomes necessary to find a Connecticut family where an Eggleston married a Merrill, who had a daughter, Persis, born in Connecticut, and which family later moved to New York state, and in New York lived near George Hagans.

(9) As Harrison Hagans also saw his paternal grandfather once, it is probable that this grandfather also lived in New York state, and in the same locality as did George Hagans.

(11) George Hagans was born in Massachusetts, therefore the Hagans family were probably a Massachusetts family that are identified with Cape Cod,

From all this it would appear that George Hagans had lived in Illinois prior to settling in Virginia, had lived for a number of years in New York before going to Illinois, that he was born somewhere in Massachusetts, and that his father was born on Cape Cod.

After reaching Brandon ville, Va., the wanderings of the family ceased. George Hagans and his wife both lived there until the end of their lives. Of the surviving children who settled at Brandonville, David died not long after reaching there, but all the others continued to reside there, or near there, until they married and gradually dispersed. The following comprise those who settled at B randon ville : George Hagans, his wife, Zer, Harrison, Elisha Merrill, Harriet, Lovila, David, and three orphan children of Joseph Hagans, - Joseph Squire, Ammi Fuller, and Fernandez. Of the original ten children, the two Thankfuls had died in New York, while Joseph and Josiah died in Illinois.

The most essential thing for present purposes is, however, to determine the date at which the family reached Virginia. Harrison Hagans gives June 30, 1819, as the date of David's death, but earlier dates are easily approximated. Harrison Hagans was married, on the authority of his daughter, Mrs. Virginia (Hagans) Frey, to Jane McCoUum, May 28, 1818, "at her father's house, two and one half miles from Brandon ville."

It is necessary to state that Jane McCollum belonged to a family that had lived for j'^ears in that part of Virginia. The 1790 Census records a McCollum living in Monongalia County (from which county Preston County was set off) as early as 1784. The importance of this lies in the fact that Harrison Hagans did not meet Jane McCollum until he arrived in Virginia, and it is reasonable to think that the young people knew each other for a short time, at least, before they married. As they were married May 28, 1818, it is probable that the Hagans family reached Virginia at some time previous to this date.

Writing to Wilbur E. Hagans, Judge John Marshall Hagans says: 'T think I have told you the story of how our folks got to Virginia. If not, and you choose to hear it, I will write it for you sometime. Part of it I got from father and part from other sources." Continuing, Judge Hagans wTites: "Father and Uncle Zer piloted the way to Virginia. The last death occurred, as did all the rest of the four, at Mt. Carmel, in Illinois, a place on the Wabash opposite the mouth of the White River. From here they took up again their weary way in the spring of 1817, after the last death in March of that year. The pilots probably reached Virginia sometime in April, as I learn that father, about a week before he died, remarked one morning that it was just fifty years that day since they came to that country. He died, you remember, May 7, 1867. . . . The residue of the family did not come on until fall, when they rented a farm on Cheat River Hill."

This would seem to fix "the fall Qf 1817" as the date of the arrival of the family in Virginia, and this agrees quite well with Harrison Hagans' mar^-iage there in May of 1818. It is believed, for these reasons, that "the fall of 1817" closely approximates their arrival in Virginia.

If the family reached Virginia in the fall of 1817, it seems that they must have gone directly from Illinois to Virginia, because Harrison Hagans states that Josiah Hagans died in Illinois, March 19, 1817. Under such circumstances it is probable that they were not in any one place long enough to have become recorded and hence records of them are hardly to be expected during this short period.

Harrison Hagans does not state the locality in Illinois where the family w^ere, but Judge John Marshall Hagans, in a letter to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans, says: "The last death occurred, as did all the rest of the four, at Mt. Carmel, a place on the Wabash opposite the mouth of the White River." In another letter. Judge Hagans wrote: "I think I have told you the story of how our folks got to Virginia? If not, and you choose to hear it, I will write it for you sometime. Part of it I got from father, and part from other sources."

As Judge Hagans was a son of Harrison Hacans, it follows that he received some, at least, of this information directly from Harrison Hagans. As Harrison Hagans was born in 1796, he was twenty years old at the time he was with his family in Illinois, and so knew all about whatever events occurred at that time. Judge John Marshall Hagans' statement, therefore, would seem quite authentic as to the place of the family residence in Illinois.

Rev. Dr. George Harrison McGrew, a grandson of Harrison Hagans, told me that his father, the late Hon. James C. McGrew, who married a daughter of Harrison Hagans in 1841, had said that whatever record might exist of the family in Illinois w'ould be found at Mt. Carmel; thus independently corroborating Judge Hagans' statement.

"Grandfather George was born about 1760. He had one sister and no brothers. The sister - he had only one - married a man by the name of Adams, who died about 1830 at Wooster, Ohio, having come with the family of grandfather first to western New York, then to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and on their passage through Ohio to the river at Marietta he stopped at Wooster. He was a merchant. The family reached the Ohio at Marietta, as I learn, sometime in 1812 or 1813. They built a boat and floated to Vincennes in Indiana where they settled. Misfortunes seemed to follow them. The two oldest sons, Joseph and Josiah, who were married, died, as did also their wives, with the fever incident to a new country. One of them left three children, Ammi, Fernandez (married Sam Byrne of Kingwood) and Joseph Squire, who died in Uniontown, Pa., a few years ago. One son, William, was drowned in the Wabash one night when they were trying to save some logs during a freshet. Uncle Zer and father then started out on a prospecting tour, both quite young, and after traveling east and south struck the rugged mountains of Virginia in the county of Monongalia, on the waters of Sandy Creek near the town of Brandonville which then had no existence. It was the land of Alabama to them, and resembled in some respects the green hills of Vermont from which they had emigrated."

It will be observed that Vincennes is mentioned in the above account as the place of settlement, whereas Mt. Carmel was stated previously to have been the place. In 1816 Mt. Carmel had no existence although Vincennes was the chief settlement in that locality. Mt. Carmel and Vincennes are about twenty miles distant from each other, so there is no real discrepancy in the account.

The family tradition, therefore, states that George Hagans and his family emigrated westward through New York to about central Ohio, then to Marietta, and thence by boat down the Ohio and up the Wabash to a point now approximated by Mt. Carmel, 111. The date of this migration was sometime about 1812 or 1813. March 19, 1817, is the latest date of their being in Illinois, and October 6, 1816, the date of death of Mary, wife of Joseph Hagans, is the earliest date available from the family record of their being in Illinois. During this period of five months, no less than six of the family perished from "the fever incident to a new country." The two oldest surviving sons, Zer and Harrison, then went on a "prospecting tour" to find a new place of settlement and "struck the rugged mountains of Virginia" which "resembled in some respects the green hills of Vermont from which they had emigrated."

One other point in Judge John Marshall Hagans' account deserves attention; he says "one son, William, was drowned in the Wabash one night while they were trying to save some logs during a freshet." This statement will become of more interest presently and will need some consideration then.

Before turning from the family tradition to such records as were found at Mt. Carmel, it will be necessary to introduce some evidence derived from the manuscript genealogy of the Eggleston family as collected by Rev. Ambrose Eggleston.

According to a statement in a letter of Ambrose Eggleston that came under my notice, he was born in 1793, was a minister in the Presbyterian Church, and lived for a time at Great Bend, N. Y., and later at Coldwater, Mich. He issued a printed prospectus of his work in 1864 and in it made an appeal for funds to enable its publication. From this prospectus the following is taken. He says that from Bigot Eggleston "has sprung a progeny of which the names of upward of seventeen thousand have been collected," thus giving some idea of the magnitude of research done by Ambrose Eggleston. Describing the work, he says: "The undersigned, Rev. A. Eggleston . . . commenced many years ago an inquiry into the present membership of the family. At first his purpose in this inquiry did not extend beyond that of personal gratification, but, as his researches were continued and extended, his interest in the subject deepened and he gradually formed the purpose of a complete genealogical history. For the last six years he has devoted himself exclusively to this work and now has it completed, with the exception of the final transcribing, upon which he is at present engaged."

The appeal for funds to secure publication was a failure, so the manuscript was never printed. Through the courtesy of the owner of the manuscript, the entire manuscript was sent to me in order that needed extracts might be made from it, and the photographs here shown will give a very good idea of the entire work as well as present the records that are of present interest in connection with the problem under discussion.

It will be remembered that Harrison Hagans said: "My maternal grandparents I often saw; his name was Eggleston and her maiden name was Merrill," and the conclusion has been reached that these people must have lived in New York.

From the Eggleston manuscript, as is shown by the photograph, a family is found that seems to fulfill these requirements. Here is Elisha Eggleston marrying Elizabeth Merrill, their children being born in Connecticut, having a daughter Persis, and later "removing into Essex County, New York." The statement is also made that "some of their descendants say they removed into Wilhamstown, Mass.," but the Vital Statistics of Williamstown indicate that they did not "remove into Williamstown," while the 1790 Census shows that they did "remove into Essex County, New York."

It must be understood that the present county of Essex was set off from Clinton County about 1800, and that the present counties of Essex and Clinton were originally included in Washington County. This fact is of more importance later on, but is mentioned now.

According to Harrison Hagans, Persis Eggleston was his mother and was the wife of George Hagans; surely a son should be good authority for the identity of his mother.

Here is the positive statement made by Ambrose Eggleston that Persis Eggleston married Josiah Higgins, and this statement will be repeated presently when the subsequent history of Persis Eggleston is detailed in the Eggleston record. This evidence is of prime importance to the discussion of the identity of George Hagans, hence it is of no small importance to learn from what source Rev. Eggleston received this data.

Among the children of Elisha and Elizabeth (Merrill) Eggleston all of whom are detailed by Rev. Eggleston, was a son, Richard Eggleston, who niarried as his first wife Hannah Higgins. Rev. Eggleston records that she was a "sister to Josiah" Higgins. Richard and Hannah (Higgins) Eggleston had two daughters, Naomi, born in 1794, and Hannah, born in 1797. In Book 19, page 888, Ambrose Eggleston specifically states that Hannah and Naomi Eggleston gave him data concerning their families. While it is not specifically stated whence the data regarding the Josiah Higgins family was secured, it is stated that Naomi gave information regarding the family of her uncle, Ebenezer Eggleston. One thing seems certain: Ambrose Eggleston could hardly have gotten his data from any one of the George Hagans family, because they had changed their name to Hagans at a date when Ambrose Eggleston was but twenty-four years old and had probably not begun his genealogic work. As he was interested only in Eggleston families, he probably did not get his data from Higgins sources. Richard Eggleston certainly lived in Essex, N. Y., and his daughters Naomi and Hannah grew up there. As will appear later, Josiah Higgins also lived in Essex, N. Y.

So, although it cannot be positively stated that Naomi and Hannah Eggleston gave this particular data, still it is certain that they were among Ambrose Eggleston's informants, and therefore are probable sources of his information.

It must be here stated that Josiah Higgins appears to have lived at or near Essex, N.Y., between the years 1784 and 1810. In 1810 Naomi Eggleston was sixteen years old and Hannah was thirteen. It would seem, therefore, that Ambrose Eggleston received his data that Josiah Higgins was the husband of Persis Eggleston from good and authentic sources, and hence is correspondingly more valuable.

A photographic reproduction of this Eggleston record, which relates to the family of Persis Eggleston and Josiah Higgins, is here shown. It repeats the assertion that Persis Eggleston married Josiah Higgins, repeats that Josiah Higgins was a brother of Hannah Higgins, describes him as a "Methodist preacher," and says that he "removed to Little Scioto river" and "afterward went to Iowa a missionary to the Indians." The children of Josiah and Persis (Eggleston) Higgins are also listed. It will be observed that no dates, even approximate dates, are assigned to any of these children. The bare statement that Joseph married a Miss Fuller is the only data given except the names of the children.

This fact seems to indicate that this data was given simply from personal knowledge or recollection, and that it was not based upon any record of the family statistics.

In listing these children a parallel list will be given of the Hagans children as given by Harrison Hagans. The Eggleston list is not arranged in order of seniority, according to the Hagans data, but it will be here given as it appears in the Eggleston record and the Hagans list will be arranged according as the names may be indentical in both lists.

Analysis of the two lists shows that just one half of the ten children appearing in both lists agree exactly: Joseph, Thankful,, Josiah, Harriet, and Elisha.

The correspondence between Zer and Ebenezer and between Davis and David is so close as to require no comment. Dr. Horace Ludington is authority for the statement that in his boyhood the girls named Lovila, and there were several so named, were commonly called by a name approximated by the spelling "vile" or file." Wi^^h this understanding the correspondence between Lovila and Phila becomes clear, and the apparent discrepancies between the two records disappear in the cases of three additional names.

In other words, eight of the ten names listed agree; there are but two real discrepancies, William and Irbin in the Eggleston list as against an additional Thankful and a Harrison in the Hagans list.

Surely no one can analyse these two lists without being convinced that Ambrose Eggleston and Harrison Hagans were listing the same family, even though Ambrose Eggleston lists them as the children of Josiah and Persis (Eggleston) Higgins, whereas Harrison Hagans lists them as belonging to George and Persis (Eggleston) Hagans.

An additional point in support of the notion that Ambrose Eggleston received his data from some well informed source is found in his statement that Joseph Higgins married Miss Fuller. The Hagans family story is that a Mary Fuller was the wife of Joseph Hagans. Miss Margaret J. Hagans of UniontowTi, Penn., is authority that from her father, the late Joseph Squire Hagans, she learned that Mary Fuller and Joseph Hagans were the parents of Joseph Squire Hagans. Judge John Marshall Hagans, in a letter to Wilbur E. Hagans, wrote: "The death of Joseph and his wife left four orphans, Ammi F., Joseph Squire, Fernandez, and one whose name I have not been able to learn. Ammi bore his mother's maiden name. Fuller."

The family record in possession of Wilbur E. Hagans gives the name of the fourth child when it says: "Urban Harrison, son of Joseph and Polly, died September 10, 1816."

In view of the appearance of an Irbin Higgins in Ambrose Eggleston's list, it is of great interest to learn that there was also an Urban Harrison Hagans. This will require further reference presently.

It may also be stated that another point of agreement between the Eggleston data and the Hagans record is to be found in the case of the occupation of Josiah Higgins - George Hagans. Ambrose Eggleston says that Josiah Higgins was a Methodist preacher and Harrison Hagans says that George Hagans was a local preacher in the Methodist Church.

This digression to introduce the Eggleston record was made necessary at this point on account of the names of the sons as listed by Ambrose Eggleston. According to Eggleston's list the sons were William, Joseph, Josiah, Ebenezer, Irbin, Davis, and Elisha, while according to Harrison Hagans they were Joseph, Josiah, Zer, Harrison, David, and Elisha.

Before quoting Illinois records, it may be well to state the positive statement of one of the Hagans family regarding the change of name from Higgins to Hagans. Writing to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans, Judge John Marshall Hagans wrote: "Some years ago, Joseph Squire Hagans of Uniontown, who was a son of Joseph, the oldest son of grandfather George and Persis, told me that the name was originally Higgins. He remembered it, and the time of the change," and in a later letter Judge Hagans said: "Whether the change of name occurred in New York or not I am not able to say. The intimation I got from Squire was that it occurred at Mt. Carmel. He was not definite, however, in his information, though quite certain as to the fact of the change of name."

Joseph Squire Hagans was born in 1812, was a son of Joseph Hagans, and was with the family in Illinois. After the death there of his parents, he was taken to Virginia by his grandparents, as were also his brother Ammi Fuller Hagans and his sister Fernandez Hagans. So his testimony, given direct to Judge John Marshall

In view of this Hagans testimony that the "name was originally Higgins" and the Eggleston records, already quoted, that Persis Eggleston married Josiah Higgins, the Illinois records may be given.

Early in September of 1912, Paul Hagans Ludington, M.D., made a personal visit to Mt. Carmel, 111., in search of data. This was the first time any of the family had investigated these records.

Mt. Carmel is the county seat of Wabash County. Prior to 1825 Wabash County was embraced within Edwards County, lying immediately to the west of Wabash County, of which the county seat is Albion, An earlier settlement was made about two miles up the Wabash from Mt. Carmel, but owing to the unhealthfulness of this site, - known as Palmyra, - the original site was abandoned and the settlement made at Mt. Carmel; whose name was given to indicate the higher ground and more healthful location of the new settlement. From J. C. Utter, M.D., of Mt. Carmel, whose ancestors were among the early settlers at Palmyra, - it was learned that the early settlers suffered greatly from malaria and that many of them died. Daniel Drake, M.D., in his scarcely appreciated, but monumental, work, - Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America, Cincinnati, 1850, - bears testimony to the prevalence of malaria in this region (page 314) and says "in latter years malignant cases, late in autumn, have not been uncommon."

This agrees very well with the Hagans story that four of the family died between October and April "of the fever incident to a new country."

Years ago the old courthouse at Mt. Carmel was burned and all the records thus destroyed. An attempt to restore these records was very unsuccessful, so it is almost impossible to trace the land transfers.

It may be said that absolutely no record in the name Hagans could be discovered in Wabash County, and the Recorder of Edwards County is authority, in a personal communication, that none are to be found in Edwards County, which originally embraced Wabash County.

One book apparently escaped the fire, a book containing the names of those who purchased government land in Wabash County in the early days. This book contained the names of several persons named Higgins, and it was possible to secure from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in Washington, photographic copies of the records of the Vincennes Land Office covering these transactions. From these photographic copies of the Washington records the following abstracts will be made. The accompanying map of Wabash County will indicate the localities very well. This map was given me by B. A. Harvey, Esq., of Mt. Carmel, and not to particularly refer to the many kindnesses shown me by Mr. Harvey would be unpardonable. (See p. 652.)

Ransom Higgins: previous residence Knox County, Indiana, filed on June 22, 1814, made subsequent payment in 1816, and made final payment June 19, 1819.

William Higgins : previous residence Edwards County, Illinois, filed August 14, 1819, made subsequent payments in 1821, 1822, 1823, and made final payment December 24, 1824.

It will be observed that three of the six Higginses above recorded, Josiah, Ebenezer, and Urban, all give Perry County, Indiana, as their place of previous residence, and also that the dates of filing and final payments are identical in their case. There is no such agreement found in the cases of Ransom, John, and William Higgins.

Recalling that in the early days Edwards County embraced the present county of Wabash, a request was made for the names of Hagans or Higgins appearing on the records of Edwards County. From the Recorder it was learned, through correspondence, that "George W. Higgins, Ransom Higgins, and John Higgins . . . Israel Higgins, Barney Higgins, and William Higgins" appears between the years 1814 and 1860.

Adding these names to those previously listed from the W^abash County records, it follows that George W. Higgins, John Higgins, Barney Higgins, Israel Higgins, Ransom Higgins, William Higgins, Josiah Higgins, Ebenezer Higgins, and Urban Higgins appear among the early records. It remains to identify them.

Who Israel Higgins may have been is not known, but as he appears neither in the Eggleston nor Hagans lists, he may be fairly disregarded here.

The great kindness shown me by B. A. Harvey, Esq., of Mt. Carmel must be here acknowledged. Mr. Harvey is an old resident of Mt. Carmel, and, through the fact that his father was one of the early physicians in that region, has not only a wide acquaintance but also some valuable old records made by his father. Mr. Harvey's assistance was first sought in the attempt to discover the transfer of the Higgins lands from the Higgins, but he gave valuable assistance in other ways as well.

Quoting a "History of Wabash County, 111.," L. L. McDonagh & Co., Philadelphia, 1885, Mr. Harvey wrote: "On page 77: 'In 1816, quite a little colony left Allegany County, New York, to make their homes upon the wild frontiers. Among these with their families were George W. Higgins, John Higgins, Willis Higgins . . . They secured boats at the Allegany River and floated down

Through Mr. Harvey's kindness, it was learned that Mr. Bryant Higgins, the only surviving son of Ransom Higgins, was living at Olney, III., and a letter to him brought the following information: "My grandfather, whose name was George, was born in Connecticut, in the city of Hartford; he was a tanner by trade. All his children were born in Hartford, Willis, William Ransom, and John. . . . Barney Higgins, of whom you speak, was my brother - dead long ago."

This certainly indicates that George W. Higgins, Ransom Higgins, John Higgins, and Barney Higgins all belonged to the same family and, according to this authority, William Higgins also belonged to that family. As William Higgins is also listed by the Eggleston record as belonging to the Josiah Higgins family, he will require a more detailed consideration, which will be given presently.

The Land records plainly indicate that Josiah Higgins, Ebenezer Higgins, and Urban Higgins belong to the same family, particularly Ebenezer and Urban, who bought land jointly.

The relationship of the George W. Higgins family has not been attempted and is not known to me; Bryant Higgins, however, says that Barney Higgins was named from George Barney, so this might furnish a clue as to their origin.

The Eggleston record lists them all as sons of Josiah and Persis (Eggleston) Higgins. The Harrison Hagans record lists Josiah and Zer as sons of George and Persis (Eggleston) Hagans. The Land records certainly show Josiah, William, Urban, and Ebenezer Higgins as purchasing public land in Wabash County in 1816-19.

Josiah and Ebenezer require no discussion, they agree substantially in both the Eggleston and Hagans records. Urban and William remain for consideration.

The Eggleston record states that there was an Irbin Higgins and the Land Office records substantiate this. The fact that Urban Higgins joined with Ebenezer Higgins in the purchase of a quarter section of land indicates a close relationship. The Eggleston record is, therefore, perfectly substantiated by the Land record.

The Hagans record does not record an Urban Hagans among the sons of George Hagans, but the Hagans family record in the possession of Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans does specifically state that "Urban Harrison Hagans" was a grandson of George Hagans and establishes fully that there was an Urban in the Hagans family. This Urban Harrison Hagans died in infancy in 1816, so cannot be confused with the Urban Higgins who bought land.

There is another Urban associated with the Hagans family. Judge John Marshall Hagans, writing to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans, wrote, regarding a sister of George Hagans: "The sister, he had only one, married a man .by the name of Adams," and says that Adams and his wife located somewhere in Ohio. In another letter Judge Hagans wrote: "Along about 1830, a long awkward youth named Urban Adams spent the summer in Brandonville" and believes that this Urban Adams was a son of these people.

Weighing the evidence, it is seen that the Eggleston record is substantiated by the Land record, and it is also certain that there was the name Urban among the Hagans family at that time.

It is believed that the weight of evidence is in favor of the notion that if the George Hagans family is identical with the Josiah Higgins family there must have been an Urban Higgins who subsequently changed his name when other members of his family made changes in theirs.

It is of interest to see whom this Urban Higgins became among the sons of George Hagans. As listed by Harrison Hagans, the sons were: Joseph, Josiah, Zer, Harrison, Elisha Merrill, and David. Of these sons, Joseph and Josiah died in Illinois and David died in 1819. Joseph, Josiah, and Davis appear as such in the Eggleston record so they cannot be the ones. This leaves Zer, Harrison, and Elisha Merrill Hagans in the Hagans list and Ebenezer. Urban and Elisha in the Eggleston list. Elisha is constant in both lists and Zer and Ebenezer correspond so closely that they may be fairly excluded. This leaves Urban in the Eggleston list and Harrison in the Hagans list. That Urban Higgins became Harrison Hagans is the only possible solution.

It seems more than. a coincidence that the name Urban Harrison should be found in the Hagans records. The name Harrison does not occur in the earlier Higgins generations. It must be borne in mind that in 1816 and 1817 General William Henry Harrison was a very popular figure in that western country, and it is by no means a far cry to think that this is where the name Harrison came from. Urban Harrison Hagans died in 1816; Urban Higgins certainly did not change his name until after March 20, 1817, - the date shown on his land papers, - so no duplication of names occurred.

With William Higgins the case is not so easy. He is listed by Ambrose Eggleston as a son of Josiah Higgins, and the Land record clearly proves that he bought land in Wabash County in 1819. William Higgins appears to have resided in this locality all his life.

Harrison Hagans excludes a William from his list of the George Hagans children. There is, however, some slight reference to a William among the Hagans tradition. Judge John Marshall Hagans in a letter to Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans says: "One son, William, was drowned in the Wabash one night when they were trying to save some logs during a freshet." Dr. Horace Ludington has a memorandum, the authority for which he cannot recall, that says "William Hagans, son of George and Persis, lived and died near Mt. Carmel, Illinois."

William Higgins certainly was not "drowned in the Wabash" as John Marshall Hagans says William Hagans was, but did "live and die near Mt. Carmel, Illinois," as Dr. Horace Ludington's note says William Hagans did.

Through Mr. Harvey's kind interest an interview was secured with Mr. Rozander Smith who was, in 1914, the oldest inhabitant of that region. Mr. Smith was born in 1817 and was taken to near Mt. Carmel at the age of three. According to Mr. Smith, William Higgins did not claim relationship to the "Palmyra Higgins," who were of the George W. Higgins family.

It appears from the Land Office records that William Higgins bought land in 1819, and it has been shown that George Hagans left Wabash County in 1817; in other words, William Higgins did not buy land until two years after George Hagans had left. The record of his previous residence being Edwards County, 111., does not help solve the problem.

It must not be forgotten that Mr. Bryant Higgins claims William Higgins as an uncle, and it might be supposed Mr. Bryant Higgins would know who his uncles were.

In the face of this conflicting evidence the census record from the 1850 Census wall be quoted. This census is the first census that gives the detailed information needed, according to a letter from a former director of the census.

Anticipating what will be shown in detail later, Josiah Higgins was a resident of Willsborough, N. Y., in September of 1784, and there is abundant reason to believe he continued to reside there. Under this circumstance William Higgins could not possibly have been a son of Josiah Higgins and have been born in 1785, as he says he was, and be born in Massachusetts.

Analyzing the Hagans data, it is seen that the first child was born in November of 1784, and the second was born January 1, 1786. Clearly there is no possible place for a William born in 1785 in this family.

The weight of evidence, it is believed, indicates that William Higgins was not a son of Josiah and Persis (Eggleston) Higgins, and therefore not a son of George and Persis (Eggleston) Hagans.

Amid such confusion it may be pardonable to suggest a theory that seems to cover all the points in dispute. Ambrose Eggleston's informants certainly associated a William with the family of Josiah Higgins, and from some source that cannot be traced it appears that there was a William associated with the family of George Hagans. It seems incredible that Harrison Hagans would have doubly certified a list of his brothers and neglected to list William. Ambrose Eggleston's informants very probably knew nothing of the first Thankful who died when one month old, and who was the first child, but the Hagans Bible record would certainly have listed her. A William Hagans born in Massachusetts in 1785 is clearly an impossibility.

The supposition - purely a supposition - that William Higgins was a member of the family of Josiah Higgins - George Hagans although not one of their children, covers every point. He would thus have been listed, even as a son, by Ambrose Eggleston's informants; he would have very probably accompanied the family to Illinois, but he would have been omitted in Harrison Hagans' list of the children, and very properly so.

Returning to the Josiah Higgins family in Illinois, it is seen that they bought land in April of 1816 and made their final payments in March of 1817. No further record of them is to be found in Wabash or Edwards counties. The 1820 Census does not record them, so it must be concluded that they left that locality between March of 1817 and 1820.

While in Indianapolis, Dr. Horace Ludington searched the files of the Vincennes "Western Sun" for that period. The only record found for any one identified with the Josiah Higgins family was an unclaimed letter advertised for Josiah Higgins for the quarter ending July 1, 1817.

The Hagans story, according to John Marshall Hagans, is that "they took up again their weary way in the Spring of 1817" which agrees perfectly with the letter advertised for Josiah Higgins on July 1, 1817.

The Land records show conclusively that the name was Higgins as late as March 20, 1817, and it is also known that when George Hagans reached Brandonville, sometime in the fall of 1817, the name was Hagans, The change was made, therefore, between the time they left Illinois and the time they settled in Virginia. To change it before they left the place where they had lived for over a year would have been ridiculous; it was necessary to make the change before they settled elsewhere.

Mr. Harvey's assistance was sought primarily in an effort to find the transfer of property from the Josiah Higgins family to the next owner, for this would have given most valuable information. Mr. Harvey's best efforts have failed to discover this transaction.

In this connection it is of more than passing interest to know that Dr. Horace Ludington is authority for the statement that his recollection is that Harrison Hagans and Zalmon Ludington made a trip to Illinois to rescue whatever they could of the Hagans' possessions there. Mr. Wilbur E. Hagans says that he, too, has heard of this.

Zalmon Ludington was living in New York as late as 1819 and married Lovila Hagans in 1822. It is hardly likely that he would have been taken into the Hagans family councils before he became related to the family. The story, as given by Dr. Horace Ludington, is that they traded oflE whatever there remained for horses and drove these back to Pennsylvania and Virginia.

1822 is the earliest reasonable date for this trip, and this was five years after the Hagans family had left Illinois; it is difficult to imagine that anything but land remained of their possessions after five or more years. Land, alone, will satisfy the conditions.

This is why earnest efforts were made to find to whom the Higgins land was transferred, because Zalmon Ludington's name on such deeds would have absolutely settled the question, and it is most keenly regretted that no success has attended this search.

The Hagans story, that the family were in Ohio sometime about 1812 or 1813 and that they later went to near Mt. Carmel, ID., where they lived until the "spring of 1817" and then left there and went to Virginia, may now be compared with what the records show.

According to the records, Josiah, Ebenezer, and Urban Higgins bought land about fifteen miles from Mt. Carmel, in April of 1816, were certainly living there until March of 1817, had a letter advertised for one of them on July 1, 1817, and certainly are not included in the 1820 Census.

In the face of the paralleling of the records as above given, with the absence of any Hagans, and also in view of the Eggleston record that the Josiah Higgins family emigrated further west from Ohio, it is not thought necessary to further continue this part of the discussion.

It is but fair to say that the Eggleston record is that Josiah Higgins went to Iowa from Illinois. In 1817 it is hard to imagine people going to Iowa to settle. The abbreviation used for Indiana on the Land Office records is la. xA.lthough this meant Indiana in 1817, it means Iowa now, and may possibly explain how Iowa is mentioned. However this may be, the Eggleston record indicates that they left Ohio and emigrated further west.

The records that have been found in Indiana and Ohio are too few to warrant a separate heading; they will be given here where they chronologically belong.

The only reference to Indiana, aside from the mention of Vincennes in the Hagans accounts, is found in the records of the Vincennes Land Office. Here Josiah, Ebenezer and Urban Higgins give Perry County, Ind., as their previous place of residence.

Inquiry was made, by letter, of the County Clerk of Perry County, Ind., who very kindly replied that he had no records going back as far as 1816, and that he had no records of Hagans or Higgins at that period.

It is quite possible that the family may have wintered in Indiana on their way to Illinois. Perry County is on the Ohio River, so if they went by boat, as John Marshall Hagans says they did, it is possible that they wintered in Perry County, Ind. So far as is known, however, no great importance attaches to the sojourn in Indiana.

From Ohio only one record has been secured. John Marshall Hagans wrote: "Having come with the family of grandfather first to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and on their passage through Ohio to the river at Marietta . . .," and further on he writes: "the family reached the Ohio at Marietta, as I learn, sometime in 1812 or 1813."