Maryland Eastern Shore Higgins References, 1860-1869

 

 

Year:

1860

Meanwhile:

President Buchanan vetoes a Homestead Bill, providing federal land grants to Western settlers, under pressure from the South. The veto divides Buchanan's Democratic party, clearing the way for Abraham Lincoln's election in a three-way race.

 

 

Year:

1860 Talbot Co.

 

Daniel Higgins, Mary M. Higgins

 

Daniel and Mary M. Higgins purchased house on corner of Washington Street and Old Chapel Rd, Easton, MD from James and Margaret A. Parrott for $600 on 14 Feb 1860. Daniel and Mary M. Higgins sold the property to Alex A. Pascautt for $600 on 18 Oct 1862

Source:

Talbot Co 1860 Land Records Liber 68/612. 1862 Land Records Liber 70/45

Clues/Cross Reference:

The couple moved to Neavitt, MD also in Talbot County.

 

 

 

Year:

1860 Dorchester Co.

 

James Higgins, Samuel Higgins, Thomas Higgins

 

13 Feb 1860/8 Jul 1864. James Higgins, exec. of estate of John H. Willoughby. Sureties: Samuel Higgins, Thomas Higgins

Source:

Abstracts of Dorchester County Distributions 1852-1885, Debra Smith Moxey

Clues/Cross Reference:

21 Mar 1870/7 Sep 1971. James Higgins, exec. of estate of Ann Willoughby.

     Source: Abstracts of Dorchester County Distributions 1852-1885, Debra Smith Moxey

 

 

Year:

1860 Talbot Co.

 

Josiah Higgins

 

24 Jan 1860. John W. Baker and Henrietta F. Baker his wife and Josiah Higgins of Talbot County... in consideration of $365... grant unto William J. Bromwell of Washington City in the District of Columbia... parcel of ground situated in Talbot County near the village of Trappe being part of a lot or parcel of ground owned by John Boyle, deceased, purchased by John W. Baker and conveyed to him by Alexander Bowdle administrator of the said John Boyle deceased and afterwards sold by the said John W. Baker to Josiah Higgins... containing fifteen acres more or less.

Source:

Talbot County Land Records 1860 Liber/Folio 68/584

 

 

Year:

1860 Queen Anne's Co.

 

Thomas Higgins

 

Married Elizabeth Butter. License 22 May 1860 Min: Rev. Miller

Source:

Upper Shore Genealogical Society - "Chesapeake Cousins", Vol. 18-1-22

 

 

Year:

1860 Dorchester Co.

 

William H. Higgins

 

Married Eliza Ann Ward 26 Dec 1860

Source:

USGenweb Archives Marriage Records 1780-1867 Dorchester County Maryland, contributed by Barbara & Steve Woolston

 

 

Year:

1861

Meanwhile:

Feb 9- The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president.

 

Mar 4- Abraham Lincoln sworn is as the 16th U.S. president. Maryland representatives to the Electoral College had voted: John C. Breckenridge, 8. On the Eastern Shore, the popular vote was divided between John Bell, the moderate Southern pro-Union candidate, and John Breckinridge, the extreme pro-southern candidate.

 

Apr 12- Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina..

 

Apr 17- Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

 

Jul 21- The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington.

 

Jul 27- Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac, replacing McDowell. In November McClellan would become commander of all Union forces.

 

 

Year:

1861 Dorchester Co.

 

James Higgins

 

17 Apr 1861/17 Feb 1870. James Higgins surety for estate of John F. H. Vincent

Source:

Abstracts of Dorchester County Distributions 1852-1885, Debra Smith Moxey

 

 

Year:

1861 Dorchester Co.

 

Mary Ann Higgins

 

Married John W. Ward 30 Jan 1861

Source:

US GenWeb Marriage Records 1780-1867 Dorchester County Maryland, contributed by Barbara & Steve Woolston

 

 

Year:

1861 Dorchester Co.

 

Samuel Higgins

 

School commissioner for District #3

Source:

"The Cambridge Herald", 20 Jul 1861. Eastern Shore Genealogical Abstracts from The Cambridge Herald, Cambridge, MD, Robert Edward Nichols Jr.

Clues/Cross Reference

School commissioner for District #3

Source: "The Cambridge Herald", 25 Jun 1862. Eastern Shore Genealogical Abstracts from The Cambridge Herald, Cambridge, MD, Robert Edward Nichols Jr.

 

School commissioner for District #3

 

Source: "The Cambridge Herald", 1 Jul 1863. Eastern Shore Genealogical Abstracts from The Cambridge Herald, Cambridge, MD, Robert Edward Nichols Jr.

 

 

Year:

1862

Meanwhile:

Apr 6/7- Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined.

 

Aug 29/30- 75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army retreats to Washington.

 

Sep 17- The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia.

 

Dec 13- The Army of the Potomac under Gen. Burnside suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men after 14 frontal assaults on well-entrenched Rebels on Marye's Heights. "We might as well have tried to take hell," a Union soldier remarks. Confederate losses are 5,309.

 

 

Year:

1862 Dorchester Co.

 

Francis Higgins

 

Listed in Vienna. Retail dealer, retail liquor dealer

Source:

Internal Revenue Assessment List for Upper Shore Tax Divisions 1862. - Upper Shore Genealogical Society - "Chesapeake Cousins"

 

 

Year:

1862 Talbot Co.

 

Josiah Higgins

 

14 Jul 1862/4 Oct 1862. Will of Thomas Robinson. Wit: Josiah Higgins, Chas. E. Adams, Charles H. Ross

Source:

Talbot County Wills 1862 TNC 11 p. 68

 

 

Year:

1862 Talbot Co.

 

Josiah Higgins

 

11 Jun 1862/17 Jul 1866. Will of Henry Troy. Wit: Josiah Higgins, Levin H. Delahay, William Mullikin

Source:

Talbot County Wills 1862 TNC 11 p. 201

 

 

Year:

1862 Talbot Co.

 

Mary A. Higgins

 

Married R.T. Mullikan, license 13 Feb 1862 Min: Skinner

 

9 Feb 1862. "At the Trappe, Talbot Co., Md., by the Rev. Thos. E. Skinner, Robert T. Mullikan and Miss M. Antoinette, daughter of Josiah Higgins, esq., all of that county".

Source:

Talbot County Maryland Marriage Licenses 1850-1875, R. Bernice Leonard

 

"Cambridge Herald", 9 Feb 1862. Eastern Shore Genealogical Abstracts from The Cambridge Herald, Cambridge, MD, Robert Edward Nichols Jr.

 

 

Year:

1862 Dorchester Co.

 

Samuel Higgins

 

Listed in Vienna. 1-horse carriage

Source:

Internal Revenue Assessment List for Upper Shore Tax Divisions 1862. - Upper Shore Genealogical Society - "Chesapeake Cousins"

 

 

Year:

1862 Dorchester Co.

 

Thomas Higgins

 

Listed in Vienna. Retail dealer, 1-horse carriage

Source:

Internal Revenue Assessment List for Upper Shore Tax Divisions 1862. - Upper Shore Genealogical Society - "Chesapeake Cousins"

 

 

Year:

1863

Meanwhile:

May 1-4- The Union Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing. The Confederates, 13,000 killed, wounded and missing.

 

Jun 3-   Gen. Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania. On July 1-3, the war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg. Confederate causalities in dead, wounded and missing were 28,000 out of 75,000. Union casualties were 23,000 out of 88,000.

 

Jul 4-     Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West after a six-week siege. With the Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies.

 

 

Year:

1863 Talbot Co.

 

Josiah Higgins

 

20 May 1863/8 Sep 1863. Will of Ralph Mackey. Wit: James Bartlett, Josiah Higgins, Levin H. Delahay

Source:

Talbot County Wills 1863

 

 

Year:

1863 Talbot Co.

 

Margaret J. Higgins

 

Married John W. Jones, license 15 Sep 1863 Min: Colclazer

Source:

Talbot County Maryland Marriage Licenses 1850-1875, R. Bernice Leonard

 

 

Year:

1863 Dorchester Co.

 

Samuel Higgins

 

27 Apr 1863/30 Oct 1865. Samuel Higgins, surety for estate of William Jackson

Source:

Abstracts of Dorchester County Distributions 1852-1885, Debra Smith Moxey

 

 

Year:

1864

Meanwhile:

May 4- The beginning of a massive, coordinated campaign involving all the Union Armies. In Virginia, Grant with an Army of 120,000 begins advancing toward Richmond to engage Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, now numbering 64,000, beginning a war of attrition that will include major battles at the Wilderness (May 5-6), Spotsylvania (May 8-12), and Cold Harbor (June 1-3).

 

Dec 21- Gen. Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300-mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta.

 

 

Year:

1864 Talbot Co.

 

Charles Higgins

 

Married Mary E. Henry, license 26 Dec 1864 Min: Colclazer

Source:

Talbot County Maryland Marriage Licenses 1850-1875, R. Bernice Leonard

 

 

Year:

1864 Queen Anne's Co.

 

Thomas H. Higgins

 

Married Martha J. Cole, license 17 Feb 1864 Min: Rev. Cook

Source:

Upper Shore Genealogical Society - "Chesapeake Cousins", Vol. 18-1-22

 

 

Year:

1865

Meanwhile:

Jan 31- The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification.

 

Apr 3- Union troops enter Richmond, VA.

 

Apr 9- Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

 

Apr 14- Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. He never regains consciousness, and dies the next morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.

 

May - The remaining Confederate forces surrender. Over 620,000 Americans died in the war, with disease killing twice as many as those lost in battle. 50,000 survivors return home as amputees.

 

 

Year:

1865 Dorchester Co.

 

Francis Higgins, Thomas Higgins

 

13 Mar 1865/18 Feb 1869. Francis Higgins exec. of estate of Aaron Hughes. Sureties: Thomas Higgins, Josiah Kerr

Source:

Abstracts of Dorchester County Distributions 1852-1885, Debra Smith Moxey

 

 

Year:

1865 Talbot Co.