Nancy S. Bryant Higgins was a missing daughter of Rhoda and Anthony Bryant, who was discovered in 2013. One of the surprises was the naming pattern among Nancy's children.[1] It shouted her heritage. After locating Nancy, we obtained a copy of her marriage certificate from Washington Co, Ky, which confirmed that her mother was Rhoda Bryant. (At some point in the future, this page with be updated with additional information about descendants of Nancy Bryant and Thomas Higgins.)
Details on Nancy S. Bryant Higgins
According to the 1810 census, when Nancy S. was living with her siblings and widowed mother, she was b. 1800-1810. The 1830 Hendricks census indicated she was born 1790-1800. If this was not an ennumerator error, it suggests her DOB was ca 1800. In 1850, Nancy S. said she born in 1803. As a general rule, we place the most emphasis on the earliest censuses, leading to an estimated DOB of 1800-1803. A unverified transcription of her gravestone lists her DOB as 1 Sept 1803.
Kentucky marriage records show that Nancy married Thomas Higgins on 4 June 1819 in Washington County, Ky (the county of her mother's residence; her father was deceased). Based on other family marriage records, it's safe to say that she was at least 16 (certainly not younger, but perhaps older). This reinforces a DOB of 1800-1803. Surety for the marriage was provided by Thomas Higgins and George Rice (Son of Edwin), a family friend of the Bryants, dating back to Buckingham Co., Va. There was one witness: S. C. Brown.
There were no "Higgins" households in 1820 in Washington Co. but there was a Hagin and several Hagens. None lived near Nancy's mother Rhoda. However, Thomas' brother David Higgins was next door to Nancy's oldest brother, David Bryant, in Summersville, Green Co. (adjacent to Washington C0.) Based on census analysis, we determined that Thomas' parents (Daniel Higgins and Nancy Hart) and siblings (David, John, and others) had moved to Green Co. before 1810.[2]
But where were Thomas Higgins and Nancy Bryant Higgins in 1820? A bio submitted by a descendant to "The History of Hendricks County" published in 1885 stated that Nancy's oldest son, Michael, was born Sept 7, 1820 in Mercer Co, Ky. It also stated that the family moved to Putnam Co, Indiana around March 1821 and lived there a short while before moving to Hendricks.
Family stories are often wrong, but one dated 1885 certainly has more credibility than most. In 1820, there were six Higgins households in Mercer Co (also adjacent to Washington) as well as a Hagen and a Haggin, but none had a "Thomas" as head of household. Only two Higgins households could have incorporated the young couple: John Higgins, who lived in Harrodsburg, or John Higgins Sr.[3] Both were older men, suggesting that Thomas may have had an uncle named "John."
In Oct. 1818, the State of Indiana had signed a treaty with the Miamis, Delawares, and Potawatomies to purchase 8 million acres in the Wabash Valley, the most fertile land in Indiana. This transaction is known as the “Wabash New Purchase.” Surveying began in 1819. Hendricks was created in 1824.
It wasn’t easy to find Thomas and Nancy in the 1830 census, due to the spelling of his name compounded by a likely transcription error. In any event, they were living next door to William Briant also from Washington County, Ky. (There's more information about him in Chapter 13.) Living in the household on the other side was Thomas' father, Daniel Higgins (60-70).[4] A land map of the area where Thomas Higgins owned 240 acres shows several familiar names: Staley (one of Nancy's nieces married a Staley), Hardwick (another niece married a Hardwick), and Strange.
Ennumerated separately in Hendricks in 1830 was John "Hagans" (30-39), brother of Thomas.
In 1836, Thomas Higgins voted in the first Hendricks County election.
In 1840, there were three Higgins families ennumerated in Hendricks. The head of the of the households were Thomas (40-50), his brother David (40-50), and their father Daniel (80-90). Daniel's age was an ennumerator error; it should have been 70-80. By 1840, John Higgins, had moved to adjacent Morgan Co, Indiana and was living just two households from William Price Bryant.
In the 1850 census, Michael was married and living next door to his parents, Nancy and Thomas Higgins. Three households away was David Higgins. Living with him was Daniel Higgins (87) b. 1763 in Virginia. William Price Bryant had moved to Hendricks but John Higgins remained in Morgan.
Thomas Higgins died in March 1854. In 1860, Nancy was ennumerated in Hendricks, and her widowed daughter, Elizabeth Higgins Bryant lived next door. (Elizabeth married her first cousin, James Madison Bryant, son of Nancy's brother Willis.) In 1870, David's wife Helen was still in Hendricks Co but there is no sign of Nancy. There are seven graves in the Higgins cemetery in Hendricks Co., including Daniel, David, Helen, Thomas, and Anna S. This is the only place Nancy was listed as "Anna," apparently a nickname. An image of Nancy's gravestone on findagrave.com is difficult to read. An unrelated person has transcribed her DOB as Sept. 1, 1803 and her DOD as July 26, 1873.
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[1] Anthony for her father. Rhoda for her mother. Mildred for her sister. Sarah for her sister. David for her brother (and brother-in-law). The naming pattern had another dimension. Nancy's brother, William Price, named a daughter Nancy S.
[2] Looking back at 1810, we located Daniel Hagan (a variation on the spelling) in Green County. Daniel was over 45. He had one son who was 16-25, 2 sons 10-15, and 1 son under 10. Three of the sons are known: David, Thomas, and John.
[3] The official enumeration day of the 1820 census was 7 August 1820. Ennumerators had six months after that to complete the census, but all questions were supposed to refer to that date. New babies were the most difficult to get correct. So we were looking for a Higgins household that had a male 16-25, a female 16-25, with either 0 boys under 10 or 1 boy under 10.
[4] Daniel Higgins submitted an application for a Revolutionary War pension in 1832 in Hendricks, Co. In the application was a spelling variation: Higgans, a possible carryover from an earlier spelling of Hagan. Daniel stated that he was born 1763 in Augusta Co, Va and enlisted as a soldier in 1779 in Mercer Co, KY. In the pension application, he also stated that he had lived in Ky until 1819-1820 and then moved to Indiana. A later letter from a probable descendant, Joseph A. Daniel, dated Feb. 1896 was inserted in the pension file. The letter stated that Daniel's wife was Nancy or Cency Hart