Surname Saturday: HIGGINS

According to the Dictionary of Family Names, HIGGINS can have Irish or English roots. If Irish, it can be a variation of the Gaelic "Ó hUiginn," which means "a descendant of Uiginn," itself meaning "viking" or "sea-rover." It can also a variant of Hagan. If English, it can be a patronym of the medieval personal name Higgin, which can be a nickname of Hick.

In writing this post, I realize I haven't researched this family very well. With all the new resources available online as well as having improved my research skills since I last investigated this line, it would be a worthy project to revisit.


Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #148 - John HIGGINS, Sr. (dates unknown) - he married Fannie BAUGGESS (b. c. 1773 in Loudoun Co., Virginia). They had six known children.

Ahnentafel #74 - Hiram HIGGINS (1791 - 1879) - married Polly WILLIS (1795 - 1863) - two known children

Ahnentafel #37 - Matilda HIGGINS (1829 - 1906) - born in North Carolina, she married Jacob F. TOLIVER in 1851 in Ashe County. He served in the Civil War. They had five known children. Matilda and Jacob divorced by 1882, when he remarried.

Ahnentafel #18 - Clark Pleasant - or Pleasant Clark - TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918) - I have written about him here.

Ahnentafel #9 - Margie Ethel TOLLIVER (1889 - 1971) - born in Nebraska, she came west with her parents to Colorado, where she met and married a widower, John Franklin MIDKIFF, Sr. They lived all over the West: California, Idaho, and Washington.

Ahnentafel #4 - John Franklin MIDKIFF, Jr. (1910 - 1957) - see the Surname Saturday: MIDKIFF post for more information on him.

Ahnentafel #2 - my children's paternal grandfather (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - my children's father (living)

More About the HIGGINS Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): HIGGINS ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about HIGGINS ancestors and relatives on this blog


My children's HIGGINS Immigration Trail:

Ashe Co., NC > Madison Co., NE > Delta Co., CO > Montrose Co., CO > Mesa Co., CO > Custer Co., ID > Los Angeles and/or Butte Co., CA > Yakima Co., WA > Thurston Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Clark Pleasant TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918)

Source: Tombstone of P.C. Tolliver, Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California. Digital photograph taken by "Guardian," Find A Grave photo volunteer, at the request of Miriam Robbins Midkiff. 11 September 2006. Digital copy in the possession of Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 2006.

Clark Pleasant TOLLIVER...or was it Pleasant Clark TOLLIVER?...was my ex-husband's great-great-grandfather, born 25 May 1861 in North Carolina, probably in or near Glade Creek, Allegheny County. His parents were Jacob F. TOLIVER (1831 - 1898), a Civil War veteran, and Matilda HIGGINS (1829 - 1906). Clark had two older siblings (Amanda Phidella and Rose Phidella) and two younger siblings (Solomon and John Houston) before his parents divorced sometime before 1882. That was a time when divorce was not as common nor easy to obtain as it is today, and I hope to someday obtain a copy of their court records to discover more about that situation.

In 1882, Clark's father remarried to Caroline CHEEK (1849 - 1927), with whom he had one known son, Clayton. Clark was a young man by this time, and not long after, he removed to Battle Creek, Madison Co., Nebraska, where he met and married Senna "Senie" COLLINS (1870 - 1950) on 3 July 1886. The couple had five children while they lived in Nebraska: a child who died young; Margie Ethel (my ex-husband's great-grandmother, whom he remembers well); John Houston; Zada Elizabeth; and Emma Leah. The family then moved further west to Hotchkiss Twp., Delta Co., Colorado, where they had four more children: Mae; Mitchell Luther; Elsie (who died in infancy); and Lorna Ermine.

It was in Delta County that they met the MIDKIFF family. Margie married a widower in 1907, John Franklin MIDKIFF, who had four older children, including Edna Susan, whom Mitchell married 13 years later in California. Thus there were Midkiff and Tolliver cousins who were doubly related: first cousins on the Tollier side of the family and half-nieces and nephews on the other.

Sometime before 1915, Clark and Senie moved once again, this time to Los Angeles. Clark died there 22 May 1918. Senie lived until 1950. They are buried in separate cemeteries: Clark at Evergreen and Senie at Forest Lawn in Glendale.