Looking for a dead-end ancestor in Michigan!
I am trying to find my seventh-great grandmother. Unfortunately, the only mention of her is a sentence in a brief life story for her son. It reads, "Higby, William E., son of Ezra Higby, was born in Michigan, December 4, 1849. His mother died at the time of his birth".
Other sources indicate that William was born in Flint, Michigan, so I believe that is also where his mother died. Her name is listed in FamilySearch as Martha Keith, but I have no sources for this.
I would love if I could find a grave, death record, birth record, or anything else that may help me find more information about Martha, but I don't know where to start. I hope someone here is able to help me find my ancestor.
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@Hale, Shalin Drew Have you checked newspapers.com? I believe that the FamilySearch Centers have free access to this website.
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@SDHale Is it possible her name could be Clarisa Spragua/e? The timeline generally works with Ezra Higby's approximate birth date, and the Bureau of Land Management has record of a land patent for Ezra Higby in Ottawa County, MI, which isn't too far from the county of marriage. I haven't been able to trace her anywhere other than this marriage record, but hopefully it's another avenue to pursue!
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The Barrien County marriage record is from 1846 and gives their residences as Barrien County, the southwestern-most county in Michigan. The 1850 census for Tompkins, Jackson, Michigan, lists a household consisting of Ezra Higbee, age 49, Clarissa Higbee, age 32, and Hannah Higbee, age 72. If this is the same Ezra Higby I would expect William Higby, b. 1849, to also be listed. The 1840 census shows him in Tompkins, Jackson, Michigan (spelled Higby) and does not list a male child but does list 4 females (1 aged 10-15, 2 aged 20-30, and 1 aged 60-70). As far as I can see, this is the only Ezra Higby in Michigan in the 1840 or 1850 census. Jackson County is about midway between Barrien County and Flint.
Clarissa could be a second wife and the date of the marriage would seem to indicate that she would be the mother of William Ezra Higby.
FYI - The land office record is dated 10 Sep 1838 and is for land in Ottawa County. T6N R13W is west of Grand Rapids and clear across the state from Flint. About 120 miles distant. The land record says Ezra Higby was from Kent County (Grand Rapids is in Kent County). However, there is no indication that he ever occupied the land.
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