She thought this Bible was left by a former resident of the house, an old Henry Higgins believed to have died between 1945 and 1955. The births, marriages and deaths begin in the 1700s and the last entry is dated in 1847. Knowing that family researchers should have access to these genealogy records, Nancy forwarded them to Kenneth R. Brown, a Boston genealogist. He then arranged for their publication in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
Sewall Family Connection
Phebe Higgins (1810-1851) was the third wife of Dumner/Dummer Sewall, a descendant of Henry Sewall (1614-1700) of Coventry, England and Newbury, Massachusetts, who married Jane Dummer (1628-1700) at Newbury in 1646.
Dumner/Dummer Sewall (1783-1848) was the first white child born in Chesterville, Maine, a son of Dummer and Jenny (Dunning) Sewall, who were pioneers in Franklin Co., Maine. Some interesting anecdotes about the elder Dummer Sewall can be found on the excellent Sewall website, which lists additional resources in its documentary citations.
These are the old Higgins family Bible entries:
Marriages
- Elkanah Higgins and Azuba Knowles, Dec. 30, 1787
- Nathan Higgins and Anna Leland, Dec. 28, 1808
- Nathaniel Higgins and Remember Blaisdell, May 9, 1816
- Thomas Higgins and Jane Gifford, Dec. 2, 1819
- Levi Higgins and Charlotte Russell, Nov. 29, 1826
- Jonathan Mayo and Eunice Higgins, Oct. 23, 1828
- Henry Higgins and Mahala Davis, Jan. 17, 1833
- Dumner Sewall and Phebe Higgins, Aug. 12, 1838
- Richard Wood and Sarah Higgins, Aug. 8, 1847
Births
- Henry Knowles, Aug. 10, 1729
- Levi Higgins, Aug. 15, 1743
- Mahala Davis, July 8, 1809
- James Ripley Higgins, Dec. 10, 1833
- Abigail Knowles Higgins, March 23, 1836
- Angeline Davis Higgins, Sept. 20, 1839
- Henry Benson Higgins, Feb. 22, 1843
- Elkanah Higgins, Aug. 16, 1769
- Azubah Knowles, Nov. 5, 1767
- Nathan Higgins, born in Eden, July 7, 1788
- Nathaniel Higgins, born in Eden, March 1, 1790
- Polly Higgins, born in Eden, March 29, 1792
- Sarah Higgins, born in Eden, Oct. 8, 1793
- Thomas Higgins, born in Eden, Nov. 19, 1795
- Henry Higgins, born in Eden, June 12, 1798
- Levi Higgins, born in Eden. April 1, 1800
- Benjamin Higgins, born in Eden, May 4, 1802
- Polly Higgins, born in Eden, Aug. 23, 1804
- Eunice Higgins, born in Fairfield, Oct. 8, 1807
- Phebe Higgins, born in Fairfield, Oct. 18, 1810
Deaths
- Polly Higgins, died March 23, 1793
- Benjamin Higgins died Oct. 7, 1803
- Polly Higgins died Oct. 17, 1816
- Thomas Higgins died May 29, 1837
- Levi Higgins died Jan. 6, 1851
- Phebe Sewall died Jan. 19, 1851
- James Ripley Higgins died Dec. 23,1835
- Angeline Davis Higgins died Jan. 29, 1842
- Elkanah Higgins died Jan. 6, 1847
Sources:
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. CXI (April, 1957, Boston, MA); information in the writer’s personal files.
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
