Contents [hide]

Higginson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Higginson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

The original Gaelic form of Higginson was Ó hUgin, which is derived from the word uiging, which is akin to the Norse word Viking. 1

Early Origins of the Higginson family

The surname Higginson was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where they held a family seat from early times.

Early History of the Higginson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Higginson research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1588, 1616, 1629, 1630, 1652, 1692, 1698, 1708 and 1764 are included under the topic Early Higginson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Higginson Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Higginson that are preserved in archival documents are Higginson, Hickinson, Hickenson, Hickeson and many more.

Early Notables of the Higginson family

Notable among the family name at this time was

Francis Higginson (1588-1630), was an English-born Puritan minister who led a group of about 350 settlers on six ships from England to New England in 1629, one year before the Winthrop Fleet...
Francis' grandson, Nathaniel Higginson (1652-1708), born at Guilford, Connecticut Colony moved back to England to become a politician, and under the service of the British East India Company, he trave...

Higginson Ranking

In the United States, the name Higginson is the 12,820^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Higginson migration to the United States +

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Higginson name:

Higginson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anne, Charles, Frances, John, Mary, Neophytus, Samuel, Pheophilus, Timothy Higginson, who all, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts in 1629
Francis Higginson, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1629 3
John Higginson, who landed in New England in 1629 3
Humfrey Higginson, aged 28, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 3
Humphrey Higginson, who settled in Virginia in 1635
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Higginson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Abbigal Higginson, who landed in Virginia in 1701 3
Stewart Higginson, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 3

Higginson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Higginson, who landed in New York, NY in 1834 3
W Higginson, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
Thomas Higginson, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1886 3

Higginson migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Higginson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mrs. Martha Higginson, aged 24 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Yorkshire" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle In September 1847 4

Higginson migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Higginson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Richard Higginson, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. John Higginson, British Convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Ralph Higginson, (b. 1811), aged 23, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years for robbery, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1860 7
Mr. George Higginson, British Convict who was convicted in Stafford, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Henry Higginson, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Calphurnia" in 1849 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Higginson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Higginson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Higginson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Phoenix" in 1860
John Higginson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Portland" in 1864
James Higginson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
Amelia Higginson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
William Higginson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Higginson migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Higginson Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Margaret Higginson, who settled in Barbados with her husband and servants in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Higginson (post 1700) +

William J. Higginson (1938-2008), American poet, translator, and author
Henry Lee Higginson (1834-1919), American banker and philanthropist and founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911), American author, abolitionist, and soldier
Stephen Higginson (1743-1828), American politician, Delegate to Continental Congress from Massachusetts, 1783 11
Jerry C. Higginson, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Utah, 1972 11
James Macaulay Higginson (1805-1885), British Governor of Antigua from 1847 to 1850
Lyall Higginson, Canadian Cardiologist and former Chief of Staff of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Torri Higginson (b. 1969), award winning Canadian stage and film actress
General Sir George Wentworth Alexander Higginson GCB, GCVO (1826-1927), British Crimean War hero
Stephen Higginson Tyng (1800-1885), American leading clergyman of the evangelical party of the Episcopal Church

Historic Events for the Higginson family +

HMS Hood

Mr. William Higginson (b. 1902), English Stoker 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Southampton, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 12

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Hyram Higginson, British Wireman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 13

The Higginson Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Malo mori quam foedari
Motto Translation: I would rather die than be disgraced.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 33)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The CALPHURNIA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Calpurnia.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html