 1798 - 1866 (67 years)
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| Name |
Sylvester Wesley Higgins |
| Born |
24 Mar 1798 |
Connecticut, USA  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
4 Mar 1866 |
St Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Buried |
Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA |
| Person ID |
I27699 |
Family Tree |
| Last Modified |
10 Jun 2019 |
| Family |
Lucinda Irene Beckwith, b. 1798, East Haddam, Connecticut, USA , d. 26 Apr 1857, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Age 59 years) |
| Children |
| + | 1. Justin Higgins, b. 1826, Utica, New York, USA , d. 29 Nov 1855, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA (Age 29 years) |
| + | 2. Frances Higgins, b. 12 Jan 1828, New York, USA , d. 28 Jan 1910, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Age 82 years) |
| | 3. Mary A. Higgins, b. 1830, Detroit, Michigan, USA , d. 19 Oct 1858, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Age 28 years) |
| | 4. John Higgins, b. 1832, New York, USA , d. Nov 1850, New York, New York, USA (Age 18 years) |
| | 5. Wesley Higgins, b. 1834 |
| | 6. James Higgins, b. 1836, Utica, New York, USA , d. 9 Oct 1890, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Age 54 years) |
| + | 7. Sylvester Higgins |
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| Last Modified |
30 Jun 2019 |
| Family ID |
F13532 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Headstones |
 | Sylvester Higgins
Sylvester W. Higgins
Major, Texas Rangers, C.S.A.
Mar. 24, 1798 - Mar. 4, 1866
Commander, Fort Indianola, Texas
Sylvester Wesley Higgins
Maj Texas Cav
Confederate States Army
Mar 24 1798 - Mar 4 1866 |
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| Notes |
- It is reported that Sylvester Higgins came to Detroit in 1835. Two years later he joined Douglass Houghton surveying the State of Michigan. In 1849 Sylvester left Detroit after it was discovered that he had submitted erroneous surveys of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He then left with a group of Detroiter's and set out in search of adventure. They left for New York City where they booked passage on the ship Loo Choo which set sail on its voyage around the Horn on march 8, 1849, and arrived in San Francisco 192 days later on September 16, 1949.
Sylvester did not spend his time searching for gold in California but settled on a ranch and began making surveys for the ranch owner Captain Sutter who was the owner of large tracks of land that he had purchased from the Mexican government through grants. Sylvester drew maps of properties that Sutter was going to sell to French and English entrepreneurs.
Sylvester returned to Detroit in 1854 for a visit. When he returned to California many of the land grants that Captain Sutter had him surveying were made null by the Supreme Court.
Sylvester returned to Detroit in 1858 to visit with his family much poorer than previous visits.
Higgins still wanted to make it rich, so he headed to Texas where he purchased a ranch and stocked it with sheep. An unexpected cold spell and blizzard killed off half of his flock. Sylvester still was not beaten and returned to surveying. He found a job surveying railroad routes in the state.
He was drafted into service on 18 Aug 1863 in Victoria Co., TX for 6 months. He appears on two muster rolls. One on 18 Aug 1863 and second on 29 Sep 1863. During his time in Military service in Texas Militia, Sylvester caught a cold and never fully recovered.
When the war ended Sylvester moved to St. Louis, Mo to live with his son Sylvester Higgins, Jr. In ill health with tuberculosis Higgins lingered on for a year dying March 4, 1866. His body was transported to Detroit where he was interred next to his wife.
--Notes from Findagrave.com Memorial ID #36803290
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