Henry Higgins

[Ladyhawk]

Hello gisigirl forgot to Welcome you Rootschat 

Perhaps someone would be kind enough to check Massachusetts records on Anc* I don't have access I'm afraid 

Not sure if it will give mother’s maiden name or whether you would need to order the image this would at least confirm mother Elizabeth’s maiden name
Braidwood Thomas Higgins Event type & date parents names ?

It also may be worth checking the earlier NZ Electoral Rolls to see who Braidwood was living with
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1896 Waiapu East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1900 Waiapu East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1905-1906 Waiapu East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1911 Gisborne East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1914 Gisborne East Cape
Thomas Braidwood Higgins 1919 – 1954 Palmerston Manawatu-Wanganui
Braidwood Thomas Higgins 1928 Palmerston Manawatu-Wanganui

and worth checking NZ & Masssachusetts census records to see if you anyone can find Henry, Elizabeth & Braidwood Thomas Higgins b1862 together hopefully this will give a pob for parents and their ages and any siblings

If Henry & Elizabeth were born in the UK checking passenger lists to find out
When they travelled to USA and when they moved to NZ?

I can’t find their marriage on FreeBMD or family search for HIGGINS/BRAIDWOOD/ARMLEY 
Do you know where Henry Higgins & Elizabeth married?
If you can find it their marriage then obtain the certificate this will hopefully give you both their father’s names, ages & occupations

Purely speculation as there's NO proof as to who the father of Henry or Elizabeth are I was wondering if Braidwood's middle name of Thomas could possibly be after Henry’s father 

There’s this Thomas & Henry Higgins combination on 1851 Middlesex census in UK

1851 HO107; Piece: 1698; Folio: 373; Page: 29
3 Angel Row
Thomas HIGGINS 1811 Bromham Buckingham England Conductor of Ominbus
Jane 1813 City of London
HENRY age 19 1832 Twineham Green Middx occ Conductor of Ominbus
Edwin 1839 Isleworth Middx
William 1843
Sarah 1844
George 1846
Emily 1847
Clara 1849
Frederick 1851

As I said just speculation marriage certificate would confirm

They obviously had a connection to UK (possibly family ) as the firm of solicitors placed the advertisement for them to make contact in 1902 - I wonder if they did
 

[Thamesite2017]

Braidwood interchanges first names

1917 Alien Records
Name HIGGINS Thomas Braidwood
Date 1917
Age 52
Birth Country United States
Years in NZ 45
Place Gisborne
Page 425

So arrived c1872
Bye
Althea

[gisigirl]

Thankyou all so much for all your help, I believe the marriage certificate for Elizabeth Braidwood marrying a Joseph Armfield is indeed Henrys wife Elizabeth there is a story posted in papers from the past mentioning a huge inheritance left to her in Washington which i believe she attempted to secure however the lawyers who held the deeds were both lost during the american civil war, I can find no proof of Henry being a profesor of music either and he is certainly not the founder of the Boston philharmonic, Braidwood did indeed interchange his first names and was mostly known in Gisborne as Thomas, Braidwood married Alice Maude Skilicorn whose father Abraham was on the board of trustees at Ormond school so i assume they met through their fathers my great grandmother was the eldest daughter of this union they had 5 daughters and 4 sons of which only 1 survived, Graham died at 9 years old having jumped into the local river to save his younger brother, he was awarded the NZ medal for bravery posthumously, Henry and Allan were both killed in France in WW1 along with their mothers brother Eddie Skilicorn, according to Henry Higgins obituary he was survived by 4 children of which i know of only 2 Lilly Higgins who we believe was Elizabeths daughter to her previous marriage and Braidwood my great great grandfather, i know there are still Higgins in the area but not sure whether or not we are related  thankyou all again for all your help and all the links

[Ladyhawk]

I believe the marriage certificate for Elizabeth Braidwood marrying a Joseph Armfield is indeed Henrys wife Elizabeth

Braidwood did indeed interchange his first names and was mostly known in Gisborne as Thomas, Braidwood married Alice Maude Skilicorn father  Abraham was on the board of trustees at Ormond school so i assume they met through their fathers

My great grandmother was the eldest daughter of this union they had 5 daughters and 4 sons of which only 1 survived, Graham died at 9 years old having jumped into the local river to save his younger brother, he was awarded the NZ medal for bravery posthumously

Henry and Allan were both killed in France in WW1 along with their mothers brother Eddie Skilicorn

Thank you for updating us

Have you seen the marriage certificate of Joseph Armfield & Elizabeth Braidwood?

You probably have these but have posted just in case

deaths of Henry & Allen sons of Mr & Mrs B T Higgins & Mr & Mrs Thomas Higgins both same address 9 Colombo St Palmerston North NZ

http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/1463337/HIGGINS,%20HENRY%20EDMUND

http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/553235/HIGGINS,%20ALLEN%20HOWARD

and Eddie Skillcorn only son of Abraham & the late Elizabeth Skillicorn 88 Broad St Palmerston North NZ. Native of Gisborne

http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/172410/SKILLICORN,%20EDMUND

Are you trying to find the names of Henry & Elizabeth's Higgins other 2 surviving children?

[gisigirl]

Thanks again for your help was great to see an actual photo of the gravestones, the story I have added in regards to Washington appears to confirm Elizabeth Armfield was originally Elizabeth Braidwood and became known as Elizabeth Higgins I cannot find a marriage certificate for her and Henry Higgins so perhaps they never married I have however found a birth certificate for Braidwood Higgins in Boston this story though really confuses me as the birth record for Braidwood Thomas Higgins i have found states his year of birth as 1862 not old enough to have a daughter in 1860 who could travel to Washington to search for records, any help on this greatly appreciated as would be any info on Henry Higgins other two children, Thanks Gisigirl
ps cannot seem to attach birth certificate i have for Braidwood but details as follow
Braidwood Thomas Higgins
7 May 1862
Father Henry Higgins
Mother Elizabeth
Boston Suffolk Massachussets

[gisigirl]

Would certainly like to find Braidwoods other 2 siblings, especially as there are other Higgins living in the area who may well be relations, according to the article I have posted in regards to the land in Washington it seems that Elizabeth did infact inherit money from a relative in England, so must assume it was her who went back to America to try and claim this considerable estate, I wonder if she ever managed to 

[Ladyhawk]

Would certainly like to find Braidwoods other 2 siblings, especially as there are other Higgins living in the area who may well be relations

On the Massachusetts records for 1620 –1988 I can only see birth for
Briadwood Thomas Higgins birth 7 May 1862, 30 Gouch St.
parents Henry Higgins (teacher) & Elizabeth born England

Do you have a time frame or any idea where the other two may have been born?

Looking at various dates for Electoral Register NZ

1896 /1900 Waiapu East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins Carpenter Ormond
Alice Maud Higgins married Ormond
Lily Elizabeth Higgins widow  Gisborne

1911 Gisborne East Cape
Braidwood Thomas Higgins Carpenter Whataupoko
Alice Maud Higgins married Whataupoko
Elizabeth Higgins widow Palmerston Rd Gisborne

there are a few other names with Braidwood & Alice on various ER dates - I'm presuming their children
Euphemia Agnes, Gwendoline Isabell, Raymond Braidwood Higgins, girls noted as spinsters

Braidwood married Alice Maude my great grandmother was the eldest daughter of this union
they had 5 daughters and 4 sons of which only 1 survived.

Graham died at 9 years old having jumped into the local river to save his younger brother, he was awarded the NZ medal for bravery posthumously, Henry and Allan were both killed in France in WW1

Were you aware that Graham Higgin's two cousins also died in the same river a year earlier 27 Feb 1906?  – How terribly sad for both sets of families 

Her sister tried to save her too but sadly she also drowned they were aged 11 & 15
Dulcie Lawson & Vernon Florence Currie daughters of Henry & Lillie Mason Currie

1896 Gisborne
Henry Currie Road Overseer Gisborne
Lilie Mason Currie married Gisborne

Just in case you don't have the info. here are the links to the newspaper article & their burials

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NEM19060228.2.16&srpos=8&e=--1906---1907--10--1----0waimata+river--

Headstone
In loving memory of Vernon Florence age 15 & Dulcie Lawson age 10
daughters of Henry & Lillie Mason Currie Dulcie ,
also Carmen Isabel Tidswell born 28 June 1894 , died 18 June 1968.

Carmen Isabel Tidswell perhaps another daughter of Henry & Lillie's

ER 1919 Gisborne East Cape Carmen Isabel Currie spinster Wainui Rd Kaiti
ER 1938 Gisborne East Cape Carmen Isabel & Joseph Tidswell wool expert 521 Childers Rd
ER 1957 Gisborne East Cape Carmen Isabel Tidswell widow 521 Childers Road

http://www.gdc.govt.nz/online-cemetery-record-search/detail/32059?backLink=%2Fonline-cemetery-record-search%2FForm%3FLastName%3Dcurrie%26FirstName%3D%26action_find%3DSearch%26start%3D10

Headstone
In loving memory of Lilie Mason Currie aged 49 & Henry aged 80

http://www.gdc.govt.nz/online-cemetery-record-search/detail/32062?backLink=%2Fonline-cemetery-record-search%2FForm%3FLastName%3Dcurrie%26FirstName%3D%26action_find%3DSearch%26start%3D10

[tmsj]

I am pretty sure that your Henry Higgins is the same one that I have been researching.  Mine was a music teacher in Boston in the early 1860s whose wife was described as having "resided some years in Australia."  They were hired to go from Boston to Portland in 1864, where they lived through 1865 and possibly 1866.  I found him listed as living in San Francisco in 1867-1868 and then lost track of him. It would make sense that they may have emigrated to NZ.

I would love any additional information on this couple.
-Teresa from the Boston area.

[gisigirl]

Very interesting it certainly fits the time frame for my Henry Higgins, and indeed his occupation he was the band leader here in Ormond and there are many newspaper reports of his musical ability, there are many romantic stories of him and the Boston Philharmonic but can find no proof of this, also that his wife was an opera singer of Spanish descent who according to stories still wore a mantilla as an old women, my great great Grandfather was Braidwood Thomas Higgins and I have found a birth record for him in massachusets which states both parents as being English, a more truthful family story appears to be that Elizabeth, Henrys wife was married prior to marrying Henry, from my research her real maiden name was Braidwood, but she is also known as Elizabeth Armfield and there are records of a marriage between Joseph Armfield and Elizabeth Braidwood in England in the right time frame, our family has always believed Henry was also a music teacher in Hawaii before coming to NZ but can find no proof of it, in his eulogy he is said to have 4 children I know of only 2 for certain Braidwood my great great Grandfther who stayed in Gisborne for many years and Lilly who married Harry Currie a family we have been in touch with here in Gisborne. Any information you have from that side is very interesting I have had terrible trouble finding any early records, Henry was struck blind suddenly and lingered for several years before passing away at Ormond where he had been a teacher, his old house still stands in the little township but sadly his grave is unmarked in the tiny cemetery, his wife is also of great intrest as it seems she was left a vast estate by her parents see article earlier in this thread....very interesting as we don't know whether she managed to prove her claim Thanks so much for your response anything else I can help you with I will certainly try Sarah