- With one exception, all U. S. records found to date say only “Ireland.”
- The only mention of a specific locale came from a U. S. passport application for Aloysius T. Higgins. He was a Jesuit priest who intended to leave the United States to do mission work in Jamaica. When asked for the birth place of his father [the same John Higgins], Aloysius wrote “Watertown, Ireland.” One speculation is that he meant to write “Waterford.” [1]
- Add to this that the John Higgins household in Boston, MA listed "Anna Corrigan" (born in CT) as an adopted daughter in the 1880 U. S. federal census. [2]
- And that 'Annie's father was "Lawrence Kerrigan" of Hartford, CT. [3]
- And that one 'Laurence Carrigan' of Hartford, CT placed an ad in the Boston Pilot on 20 July 1867, seeking the whereabouts of John, Mary, and Bridget Carrigan -- all "late of Lismore, Waterford." [4]
- And that baptismal information has been found not only for one 'Laurence Carrigan,' but also for one 'John Higgins' and one 'Edmund Higgins' -- in the Roman Catholic parish of Lismore, Co. Waterford --whose parental information happens to match the U. S. records for my gg grandfather Edward, as well as his brother John--and the case for Co. Waterford gets a bit stronger..
The current objective to find full birth dates for John and Edward
Higgins –by analyzing and comparing U. S. records I already had – with baptismal
records found in Lismore, Co. Waterford (where Annie's father Laurence Carrigan may have been
baptized) resulted in the need to find more records.
U. S. records for John indicate a possible birth circa December 1843-1847,
and Edward’s records indicate a possible birth circa 1846-1849 (see previous posts).
The need to find more records is evident, but this should include finding new records for all of my gg grandfather's known siblings as well. There was a sister Bridget and a much younger brother named Michael. Such records may hold information about a more specific birth place in Ireland.
Notes:
[1] “U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925,” database, Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Nov 2007), entry for Aloysius T Higgins;
citing National Archives, Washington D. C., series M1490, Roll 638.
[2] 1880 U. S. census, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Boston, enumeration district 740, p. 3 [household continued from page 2], dwelling unreadable, line 5, John Higgins household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed August 2006), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 559.
[3] Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, Vol. 491, Pg. 244 (From original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society.)
[4] Search for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements, 1831-1920. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2005.) The Search for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in The Boston Pilot 1831-1920, edited by Ruth-Ann M. Harris and B. Emer O'Keeffe.
