Simeon Coffin Higgins (1832 - 1897)

Born 23 Sep 1832 in Thorndike, Waldo, Maine, United States

Died 9 Feb 1897 at age 64 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Simeon Coffin was born in Thorndike, Maine, in 1832, the son of William and Phebe (Coffin) Higgins.^[1] He was presumably named for his grandfather, Simeon Coffin. He grew up on the family farm in Thorndike.^[2]

He attended the Bangor Theological Seminary, graduating with a class of 12 students in 1860.^[3] The following year, he was a resident of Turner, Maine, when he married Mary Gardner of Brewer, Maine, in 1861.^[4] They resided in Turner, where he was a pastor from 1860 to 1863.^[5]

Simeon enlisted in the Civil War on December 12, 1863, and mustered in as a Chaplain in the 30th Maine Infantry on the same day. He mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, on August 20, 1865. ^[6]

After the war, he and his wife, with their 2 children, settled in Somerville, Massachusetts, where he was a school teacher. He was elected as principal of the Luther V. Bell School in Somerville in 1874, with a salary of $1,800,^[7] a position he held through 1879. In 1880 was still employed as a teacher,^[8] but retired shortly after due to "nervous exhaustion" ^[9] and got into painting later in life. ^[10] He and his wife lived in Melrose (1890) and Malden, Mass., as well.

He died in 1897, at the age of 64 years.^[11] He is buried at the Forest Dale Cemetery in Malden.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ "Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4SQ-NJJ : 10 February 2018), Simeon Coffin Higgins, 23 Sep 1832
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6V4-QW7 : 12 April 2016), Simeon C Higgins in household of William F Higgins, Thorndike, Waldo, Maine, United States
3. ↑ Anniversary, Vol. 57, General Conference of the Congregational Churches of Maine, 1883, p. 144
4. ↑ Ellsworth Herald, 28 Jun 1861, online transcription; text: Bucksport, 19th inst., by the Rev. H. K. Craig, Rev. Simeon C. HIGGINS of Turner to Miss Mary S. GARDNER of Brewer.
5. ↑ A History of Turner, Maine by W. R. Riley, 1887, p. 117
6. ↑ Civil War Soldiers Database, Historical Data Systems, Inc, Simeon C. Higgins, accessed 12 Jul 2018
7. ↑ Annual Report of the School Committee of Somerville, E. Tufts, 1875, p. 9
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHXW-V9M : 12 August 2017), Simeon C Higgins, Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
9. ↑ "United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8SV-J44 : 12 March 2018), Simeon C Higgins, 1890
10. ↑ Painting and Decorating by Kelly, Maire and Jennings, 1897, p. 225
11. ↑ "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N71Z-3Z7 : 10 March 2018), Simeon C. Higgins, 09 Feb 1897
12. ↑ FindAGrave.com, Simeon C. Higgins, Forest Dale Cemetery, Malden, MA, accessed 28 Jul 2018

• "United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDYY-5VT : 13 March 2018), Simeon C Higgins, 1888.