Birth

William, the sixth child of William and Hannah Higgins, was born at Hardington in about 1841. His father, William, died in December 1857, aged 67.

Occupations

Until the 1870s, William was a farm labourer, like his father. By April 1881, he was a railway platelayer.

Marriage

In 1865, William married Susan Baker, the daughter of George and Anne Baker. Four years earlier, she was a servant in a farmhouse at Shipton Gorge. Her brother, Henry Baker, was a railway platelayer in April 1871.

Residence

William and Susan lived in one of the railway cottages at Hardington Marsh by April 1891 and possibly by April 1881.

Death

William died on 1 August 1907, aged 66, after a prolonged illness. Two days later, he was laid to rest in the village churchyard, members of the Plymouth Brethren community conducting his funeral. The Western Chronicle reported that “the Church and Nonconformists” had held weekly services at his house for many years.[1]

After William’s death, his belongings were auctioned by William Redwood. The sale included an oak carved chest and sixty head of poultry.[2]

Susan died in the Yeovil district in 1918, aged 79.

Children

William and Susan’s religious devotion may have sprung from the pain and anguish of losing all three of their children. Their son William George, born in 1865, died in September 1877, aged twelve. Their twin sons, Joseph and George, born in September 1866, died when they were only days old and were interred two days apart.

References

[1] Western Chronicle, 9 August 1907, p.6.

[2] Western Gazette, 20 September 1907, p.2.