Emma (Barker) Higgins was born in Poplar, Middlesex, England.
Birth
Emma was born 26 December 1851 in Poplar, Middlesex at 4 Grundy Street[1] and christened 17 December 1856 at St Paul's Parish Church, Chatham[2] living at 9 Whittaker Street in Chatham. She was the daughter of William Barker (1823-1878) and Sarah Ann Wren (1823-1910).
Residences
Emma was born at 4 Grundy Street in Poplar, Middlesex[1] and lived in Poplar for 2 or 3 years with her parents and 6 siblings before they moved to 9 Whittaker Street in Chatham.
Emma then lived in Chatham except for a brief time with her parents and 8 siblings at Upper Street in Gillingham, Kent during the 1861 census[3].
After marrying in Frindsbury, Kent at the age of 16, she and her new husband moved to the growing town of Strood in Kent. They were living with their 2 sons on the High Street in Strood during the 1871 census[4].
Sometime after 1877, they moved to Chatham in Kent and were living at 25 Richard Street with 6 of their children during the 1881 census[5] and living at 56 Cross Street with 9 of their children during the 1891 census[6].
After her husband became a patient at Medway Union Workhouse, Emma continues living at 56 Cross Street with 6 of her children and 1 lodger during the 1901 census[7]; and with 1 child and 3 boarders during the 1911 census[8] when widowed.
Marriage
Emma married John Henry Higgins on 17 August 1868 in Frindsbury, Kent at All Saints Parish Church[9]. This was the same church that John's parents Henry and Maria Higgins (16 October 1843) and Emma's parents William and Sarah Ann Barker (3 December 1843) were married. Emma and John's children were:
The 1911 census[8], although crossed out as she was widowed, says that she had 12 children born alive, 8 were still living and 4 had died at the date of the census.
Occupation
Having married aged 16 and bringing up 11 children, Emma is not listed having an occupation in any census or other source. However, she did have 3 family members listed as boarders in the 1911 census[8] which would have helped with living expenses.
Death
Emma died 16 June 1923 in Chatham, Kent at 56 Cross Street[24]. The cause of death was recorded as Senile dementia due to atrophy of Brain (also says that she had optic atrophy causing blindness) and the informant was Alice Booth of 56 Cross Street, Chatham (daughter) and present at the death. Her occupation says Widow of John Higgins, formerly a Horse Omnibus Driver.
Burial
Emma was buried 23 June 1923 in Chatham Maidstone Road Cemetery at plot HH, 122[25].
Obituary
A recollection from the Pocock Family Collection says the following: "Emma was blind and very religious, attending her local church with the help of her granddaughter Mary Ann Pocock (1910 - 2009). When she died, her wish was to have a priest by her bedside."
Sources
↑ 1.01.1 Birth Certificate BXCC 495576 (General Register Office certified copy dated 21st May 2007) for Emma Barker held by Kevin Higgins
↑ St Paul Parish (Chatham, Kent), Parish Registers, 1855-1862, vol. P85C/1/1, p. 22, Baptism of Emma Barker (1856); Medway Archives Centre, Strood, Kent
↑ "General Register Office: 1861 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for E Barker in household of William and S. A. Barker, Upper Street, Gillingham, Kent, England; from 1861 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG9, Piece 479, Folio 120, Page 26, GSU roll 542646, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ "General Register Office: 1871 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for Emma Higgins in household of John and Emma HIGGINS, High Street, Strood, Kent, England; from 1871 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG10, Piece 899, Folio 69, Page 2, GSU roll 823487, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ "General Register Office: 1881 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for Emma Higgins in household of John and Emma HIGGINS, 25 Richard Street, Chatham, Kent, England; from 1881 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG11, Piece 894, Folio 19, Page 32, GSU roll 1341212, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ "General Register Office: 1891 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for Emma Higgins in household of John and Emma HIGGINS, 56 Cross St, Chatham, Kent, England; from 1891 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG12, Piece 662, Folio 119, Page 32, GSU roll 6095772, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ "General Register Office: 1901 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for Emma Higgins in household of Emma HIGGINS, 56 Cross St, Chatham, Kent, England; from 1901 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG13, Piece 726, Folio 111, Page 32, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ 8.08.18.2 "General Register Office: 1911 Census Returns database" [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Entry for Emma Higgins in household of Emma HIGGINS, 56 Cross St, Chatham, Kent, England; from 1911 England Census, database and images (accessed 13 Oct 2020); citing The National Archives RG14, Piece 3900, Schedule Number 275, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
↑ Marriage Certificate MXD 044793 ((General Register Office certified copy dated 3rd February 2007) for John Henry Higgins and Emma Barker held by Kevin Higgins
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, John William (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1869 S Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 412
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Henry James (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1871 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 485
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Arthur Charles (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1872 J Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 427
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO death index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 18 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Arthur Charles (Age at Death: 0), GRO Reference: 1872 S Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 241
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Fred (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1873 S Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 420
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Walter (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1875 S Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 445
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Ellen (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1877 J Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 444
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Frank (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1878 S Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 524
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO death index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Frank (Age at Death: 1), GRO Reference: 1879 S Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 248
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Emma (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1881 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 555
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Ada (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1882 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 603
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Alice (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1884 D Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 594
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, Amy (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1887 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 565
↑ "England & Wales General Register Office: GRO birth index records" [database], GRO (GRO Online Index Search : viewed 17 Mar 2021), entry for Higgins, George (Mother's Maiden Name: BARKER), GRO Reference: 1889 D Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 600
↑ Death Certificate DYC 133056 (General Register Office certified copy dated 18th November 2008) for Emma Higgins held by Kevin Higgins
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 12 July 2021), memorial page for Emma Higgins (1853–23 Jun 1923), Find A Grave: Memorial #224936351, citing Chatham Maidstone Road Cemetery, Chatham, Medway Unitary Authority, Kent, England ; Maintained by woowoo (contributor 49949980)
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Emma by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Emma: