Capt. Samuel Higgs, Sr.

Capt. Samuel Higgs, Sr. is one of the leading patriarchs of Bahamian families alive today. He was born around 1756 to unknown parentage, likely at Harbour Island, Eleuthera.

With his first wife, name unknown, he had one child:

1. Mary (Higgs) Johnson, b. c. 1774

He later married Jane Gould. With her, he had the following children:

1. Jeremiah Higgs, b. 1775
2. Elizabeth (Higgs) Saunders, b. 1778 at the Cove, Eleuthera
3. Sarah (Higgs) Curry Pinder, b. 1784
4. Samuel Higgs, Jr., b. 1786 at Harbour Island
5. Jane (Higgs) Kelly, b. 1788 at Harbour Island
6. Margaret (Higgs) Thompson, b. 1790 at Harbour Island
7. Charlotte (Higgs) Johnson, b. 1791
8. Ann Higgs, b. 1794 -- see below regarding birth date
9. Susannah (Higgs) Cleare, b. 1796 at Harbour Island
10. Thomas Higgs, b. 1798 at Harbour Island

On April 7, 1800, Capt. Samuel Higgs died at Harbour Island. In his will, dated September 3, 1792 and proved August 2, 1800, he gave "all my lands of inheritance" in trust to his friends Robert Rumer, Esq. and Thomas Johnson. He left a third of his estate to his wife, who has the sole executor, and the remaining to third to his children Mary (wife of Samuel Johnson by the time the will was written), Jeremiah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel, Margaret, Ann, Jane, and Charlotte.

Susannah and Thomas were not listed in Capt. Samuel's will as they were not born by the writing of the will. Ann, however, is listed, even though she is known to have been born in 1794. This could mean that a) her known birth date is incorrect, b) Capt. Samuel added her in between 1794 and Susannah's birth in 1796, and/or c) another child named Ann was born before the 1794 Ann but died early.

Transcriptions of Capt. Samuel's will and a list of his known descendants are included in the Documents section of his profile. Please click on the "Media" tab above to see them.