Ada (Littlefield) Higgins (1875 - 1933)

Born Dec 1875 in Winchester MA (officially Winn ME) [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Charles E Hemmingway — married 3 Aug 1892 (to before 1916) in Bangor, ME

Wife of Patrick Higgins — married 16 Sep 1916 in Boston, MA

Descendants

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Biography

Birth

Ada was born in 1875. She was listed as an "adopted daughter" in 1880 census in the household of Charles and Emily (Vreeland) Littlefield in Bangor, ME.

For a long time, Ada's descendants believed that she had been left on the Littlefield property by Native Americans, however a DNA test showed that she was not Native American. It turns out that she was born to a close relative of Emily (Vreeland) Littlefield, most likely her sister Frances, who was a schoolteacher and therefore not allowed to marry or have children. It appears that Frances had the baby out of wedlock, so to protect her the family made up a cover story involving Native Americans.

Since the details of Ada's birth were concealed by her family, it's hard to know for sure her exact birth date or place, but it was probably Winchester, MA. It's unknown if Ada knew her true origin, but she did name one of her children "Frances" after her biological mother, and another "Vreeland", hinting that she was close with that side of the family. She also moved to Winchester, where Frances resided, after she married Charles Hemingway.

She and Charles had divorced by the time she married Patrick Higgins in 1916. She died in 1933 and is buried by her former husband Charles's side.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9TK-ZZS : 6 March 2015), Ada Hemingway in household of Cha E Hemingway, Winchester Town (west part), Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; citing sheet 5A, family 92, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,668.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25158-2433-0?cc=1417683 : 24 December 2015), Maine > Penobscot > Bangor > ED 27 > image 36 of 56; citing NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZQ6-GSR : 27 December 2014), Hemmingway in entry for Chas E Hemmingway and Ada E Littlefield, 1892.

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KB89-5J1 : 4 December 2014), Patrick F Higgins and Ada E L Littlefield Hemingway, 16 Sep 1916; citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, certificate number 6021, page 135, State Archives, Boston.

• Family DNA test

• Gravestone