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The Higgins Family & Simplified Family Tree.

This all gets a bit complicated, I will do my best to explain.

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It all starts with Hugh Higgins 1628, he was a minor land owner in Weston Underwood a few miles west of Turvey. I am starting this far back as Hugh is the last common ancestor to all of the relevant branches of the Higgins family. I have colour coded these to hopefully make them easier to follow.

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The eldest son of Hugh Higgins & Mary Baker also called Hugh 1658(Blue) married Susannah Hooton and had a son John 1690, John's second son Charles was indentured as apprentice to a Grocer in London and subsequently setting up his own spice business. This is not quite the leap it may seem. In the 18th Century a Grocer, (or Grosser as it was spelt back then) was a dealer in the spice trade. It only came to mean what we think of as a Grocer in the 19th Century.

 

Charles' spice business thrived and he became a wealthy and influential man, culminating in his spending a year as High Sheriff of London. As well as his business in London Charles still had land at Weston Underwood.

 

In 1754 Charles got together  with a cousin John Higgins1740-1813 and banker William Fuller, between them they put up the cash to buy the village of Turvey, the rest of the Turvey estate and the surrounding farms and settlements, for around £38,000 equivalent to around £ 10 million today. They bought all of this from the then Earl of Peterborough who was having a few "money problems" at the time.  There are more details of this on the superbly informative  website of the Turvey Historical Society. 

 

If you are interested, the excellent website of the Turvey Historical Society..  has all of this in much more detail, together with Maps, of the estates, wills as well as extracts of the epitome title for Turvey House & Abbey.

When Spice-boy Charles Higgins dies childless, his nephew John Higgins 1768 is the Lucky lad who gets to inherit the Turvey Abbey estate at age 24. I could so much have done with an uncle like that !!

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He presumably spends a few years enjoying his new-found wealth and status as a bachelor, and spending a large chunk of his inheritance restoring Turvey Abbey to a more habitable condition once its elderly tenant dies finally giving him vacant possession.

 

John got married to Theresa Longuet in 1804, after this marriage subsequent generations adopted the name of Longuet-Higgins and lived at Turvey Abbey until well into the 20th Century.It would seem that the title of Lord of the Manor was also attached to Turvey Abbey and the Longuet-Higgins' continued to be so known, though it is a purely honorific title.

 

Taking a step back To Hugh Higgins 1628-1702, his wife Mary died in 1675. With what must have looked like a somewhat brief period of mourning Hugh re-married to Elizabeth King later that same year. Hugh and Liz had 4 kids, their only son Thomas Higgins 1681 (Red) took over the family lands at Weston Underwood. Their son Bartholomew married Elizabeth Kilpin, and their eldest son John 1740 built Turvey House, their younger son, another Bartholomew (Green) was the cousin of Charles who inherited Picts Hill, he built himself a substantial house there.

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By the late 18th Century the three branches of the Higgins family were established in their three substantial houses. All had been pre-existing houses, Turvey Abbey and Picts Hill were both in need of major work but whilst extended the basics of the original houses are still there. Turvey House however is in different league altogether, the original house, Turvey Old Hall had been demolished prior to the estate being sold to the Higgins family, giving John Higgins a free hand when he started building a totally new house. So far as I understand it was John Higgins' son or possibly Grandson who added an extra floor creating the imposing house that we see now. 

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As well as being the only one built from scratch Turvey House is the only one still lived in by the descendants of the original family. The house passed father to son for four generations until Thomas Higgins 1880 & Doris Van Neck had just the one child, a daughter Prunella.

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Prunella married Hanmer C Hanbury, so on The death of Thomas Higgins,  Turvey House  passed to the Hanbury family who still live at Turvey House.

The Higgins Family Tree

Higgytree 1

Also. 3, 4, 5 

Mary Baker

1632-1675

Wife  1

Hugh Higgins

1628-1702.

Elizabeth Kinge

1638-1716

Wife.  2

To make this tree easier to follow only the "Direct line" in each generation is named. All others are represented just by numbers, with a key at the bottom for who is what number.

Susannah Hooton

1693-?

Hugh Higgins

1658-1751.

Also. 1, 2 

Thomas Higgins

1681-1748

Also. 3, 4, 5 

Sarah Kiteley

1681-1711

Owner of Weston Turv and later Turvey Abbey

Picts Hill House.

John Higgins

1690-1764.

Also. 6, 7, 8

Ann Kilpin

1689-1745

Bart Higgins

1712-1778.

Also. 9, 10, 11, 12

Elizabeth Kilpin

1706-1748

Susannah ???

   ?-1797

Thomas Higgins

1732-1794.

Mary Parrott

?? -1791

Charles Higgins

1725-1792

THE SPICEMAN

No Wife.

Also. 13, 14, 15

John Higgins

1740-1813.

Also. 17 

Martha Farrer

1779-1845

Thomas

Higgins

1741-1810

Mary Bettam

1745-??

Bart

Higgins

John Higgins

1768-1845.

Also. 18

Theresa Longuet

1781-1845

Thomas Charles Higgins

1797-1865

Also. 19, 20, 21

Charlotte Price

1807-1868

William Bart Higgins

1799-1878

22, 23, 24, 25,

26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Henry Hugh

Higgins

1814-1893

Anne

Gouthwaite

1837-1907

Charles

Longuet-Higgins

1806-1885

Also. 31

Ellen Eliza

Burgon

1823-1902

William

F.Higgins

1845-1899

Fanny Adela

Wilby

1847-1924

43,  44,  45

43,  44,  45

H.L. Longuet

Higgins

1853-1927

Also. 32,33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

Gertrude

Longuet Higgins

1858-1939

Prunella

Higgins

1916-2004

Hanmer

Cecil

(Peter)

Hanbury

1916-1994

46,  47,  48

Cara

Akers-Douglas

1892-1969

John Esmond

Longuet Higgins

1887-1968

Henry Hugh

Longuet Higgins

181885-1966

Also. 40, 41, 42

Pamela Longuet Higgins

1917-?

Arthur Munn

1908-1981

Albina

Bazeley

1899-1968

Daniel Hanbury

1946-

Mrs

Hanbury

Charles Hanbury

1978-

Turvey House

Higgins' as numbered in the family tree.

1.  Mary Higgins                        1655-?

2. Thomas Higgins.                  1662-?

3. Elizabeth Higgins.               1675-1676 

4. Ann Higgins.                        1676-?

5. Elizabeth Higgins.               1687-1711

6. William Higgins                 1685-1744  

7. Daniel Higgins.                   1697-1778

8. Susannah Higgins.            1693-?

9.  Hugh Higgins                    1708-?

10. William Higgins               1710-?

11. Sarah Higgins.                   1714-?

12. Ellen Higgins.                   1724-?

13.  John Higgins.                   1724-? 

14.  Bartholomew Higgins.   1729-1755

15. William Higgins.              1730-?

16. Bartholomew Higgins     1742-1781

17. Ann Higgins.                     1746-1752

18. Henry Higgins                  1778-? 

19. Harriet Higgins.               1794-1871

20. Anna Maria Higgins.      1795-1838

21. Charles Higgins.               1801-??

22. Bartholomew Higgins.   1766-1857

23  Thomas Higgins              1767-??

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24. William Higgins.             1772-1851

25. Hugh Higgins.                  1773-?

26. Bartholomew Higgins    1776-1857

27. Mary Higgins                    1780-?

28. Sarah Higgins.                 1780 

29. Henry Higgins.                1784-1845

30. Comfort Higgins.            1788-??

31.  Mary Higgins.                 1808-1899

32.  Edith Longuet Higgins.1855-?

33. Theresa L.H.                    1857-?

34. Ellen L.H.                         1858-??

35.  Charles L.H.                    1860-??

36.  Mabel L.H.                      1861-?

37.  Mildred L.H.                   1862-??

38.  Francis L.H.                    1863-?

39. Horace L.H.                     1864-?

40. Kathleen L.H.                  1890-?

41. Gertrude L.H.                  1891-1952

42. Kenneth L.H.                  1896-1915

43. Harriet Higgins.             1841-?

44. Dennis L Higgins.          1844-?

45. Emily Higgins.                1844-?

46. Gustavus Higgins.         1873-1912

47. Adela Higgins                 1876-1954

48. Louisa Higgins.              1979-1961

Higgins 2.5.tiff
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