Sylvester Wesley Higgins

Notes:

It is reported that Sylvester Higgins came to Detroit in 1835. Two years later he joined Douglass Houghton surveying the State of Michigan. In 1849 Sylvester left Detroit after it was discovered that he had submitted erroneous surveys of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He then left with a group of Detroiter's and set out in search of adventure. They left for New York City where they booked passage on the ship Loo Choo which set sail on its voyage around the Horn on march 8, 1849, and arrived in San Francisco 192 days later on September 16, 1949.
Sylvester did not spend his time searching for gold in California but settled on a ranch and began making surveys for the ranch owner Captain Sutter who was the owner of large tracks of land that he had purchased from the Mexican government through grants. Sylvester drew maps of properties that Sutter was going to sell to French and English entrepreneurs.
Sylvester returned to Detroit in 1854 for a visit. When he returned to California many of the land grants that Captain Sutter had him surveying were made null by the Supreme Court.
Sylvester returned to Detroit in 1858 to visit with his family much poorer than previous visits.
Higgins still wanted to make it rich, so he headed to Texas where he purchased a ranch and stocked it with sheep. An unexpected cold spell and blizzard killed off half of his flock. Sylvester still was not beaten and returned to surveying. He found a job surveying railroad routes in the state.
He was drafted into service on 18 Aug 1863 in Victoria Co., TX for 6 months. He appears on two muster rolls. One on 18 Aug 1863 and second on 29 Sep 1863. During his time in Military service in Texas Militia, Sylvester caught a cold and never fully recovered.
When the war ended Sylvester moved to St. Louis, Mo to live with his son Sylvester Higgins, Jr. In ill health with tuberculosis Higgins lingered on for a year dying March 4, 1866. His body was transported to Detroit where he was interred next to his wife.
--Notes from Findagrave.com Memorial ID #36803290

Family/Spouse: Lucinda Irene Beckwith. Lucinda (daughter of Francis Emmons Beckwith and Irene Banning) was born in 1798 in East Haddam, Connecticut, USA; died on 26 Apr 1857 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Justin Higgins was born in 1826 in Utica, New York, USA; died on 29 Nov 1855 in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA.
2. Frances Higgins was born on 12 Jan 1828 in New York, USA; died on 28 Jan 1910 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA.
3. Mary A. Higgins was born in 1830 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; died on 19 Oct 1858 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA.
4. John Higgins was born in 1832 in New York, USA; died in Nov 1850 in New York, New York, USA.
5. Wesley Higgins was born in 1834.
6. James Higgins was born in 1836 in Utica, New York, USA; died on 9 Oct 1890 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA.
7. Sylvester Higgins