One Descendant of

William Huggins (1811-1879)

1. William Huggins, son of John and Permillia Gullin Huggins,[1]  was born in Varmon, Monmouth, New Jersey on 2 Jun 1811[2] and died in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 5 Jan 1879.[3]  He married (1) in New Egypt, Monmouth, New Jersey, abt 1837,[4] Emeline Aker, who was born in Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey on 14 Mar 1816[5] and died in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah 16 Jun 1899,[6] daughter of Stephen Aker and Elizabeth Bird.[7]  In Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, on 22 Feb 1857,[8] William married (2) Harriet Susannah Saynor, born 11 Jan 1826, daughter of James and Susannah Wolstenholme Saynor.[9]

William Huggins was a man of the frontier.  He helped settle the town of Fountain Green, Utah, and before moving there, was actively involved on the city council in Springville, Utah.  He was the oldest of the five children of John Huggins and Permillia Gullin, even though he had an older brother, John Huggins Jr.,[10] that died most likely as an infant.  William chose to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 9 Feb 1839.[11]  “In 1837, shortly after the sect was founded by Joseph Smith, one of his disciples, Elder Benjamin Winchester, moved to New Egypt and made a number of converts.  A Mormon Branch was organized at Hornerstown which was visited by Smith in 1840.  The Branch does not seem to have survived very long, however, and it was not until the 1920's that the Mormon faith was reintroduced in New Jersey.”[12]  The establishment of the church in its early days was not without consequence.  There was much opposition.  The Church was beginning to make converts of Baptists, and this did not make the Baptists very happy.  “Not only did they debate and speak out against the Mormons, but they dealt out punishments to those who didn’t heed their advice.  In Mount Holly, New Jersey, a woman was excluded from the Baptist Church for heresy, in 1844, on the grounds that she adopted the sentiments of the Mormons.”[13] 

In 1853, William and Emeline decided to move west—to Utah, with the Anthony Ivans Company.[14]  When they reached the valley on 10 Oct 1853, they decided to settle in Springville, Utah County for a time.  On 14 Apr 1855, William was elected, along with seven other men, to be a member of the Springville City Council.[15]  He was reelected two more times to this position—4 Apr 1847 and 11 Apr 1859, when it is said that they were in such need of men because most of the officers had left town, involved with the militia.  Here also William took his second wife, Harriet Susannah Saynor, in 1857, in accordance with the doctrine of plural marriage.  Harriet was a widow who had come across the Atlantic from England with two children to care for, Anne Elizabeth and Joseph.[16] 

In 1861, William moved his family, now including his five children, from Springville to Fountain Green, Sanpete County.[17]  Beginning 1 Apr 1865, William became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Utah Territorial Militia.  It is recorded that on 9 Apr 1865, a major battle of the Blackhawk War was fought in Manti City, Sanpete, Utah.[18]  He served under Captain James Guyman, Captain Thomas Robertson, and Captain Thomas J. Holbrook while in the militia, and served “guarding, scirting, baricading, and detached Service for the suppression of Indian Hostilities.”[19] Also serving with him were Pvt. William H. Adams (his daughter-in-law’s father), Pvt. Robert L. Johnson (his son-in-law’s father), Pvt. Joshua Coombs (his son-in-law), Pvt./Drummer/1st Lieutenant William Cordingly (his son-in-law), and Pvt. George Huggins, his son.

In 1866, the people of Fountain Green built a fort in order to be protected from the Indians.  The fort was located where the school houses are now located in Fountain Green.  The walls were made of rocks.  All doors opened into the fort.  On each corner was a bastion where guards were on the lookout at all times.  One large gate was the only entrance to the fort.  Drums were used to warn the people of the approaching enemy.  All public gatherings were held in the central part of the fort.[20]  Fountain Green became the first city in Sanpete County to secure a connection to the railroad.  Fountain Green also became known for its sheep production, brick manufacturing, oats, wheat and potatoes.[21]

On 1 Nov 1875, William purchased 120.48 acres of land near Fountain Green from the Government Land Office.[22]  On 5 Jan 1879, William died in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah,[23] and was buried in the Fountain Green City Cemetery.[24]

Children of William Huggins and his first wife Emeline Aker:

i.                    Elizabeth Ann Huggins, b. in Varmon, Monmouth, New Jersey, on 18 Jan 1838,[25] d. in Varmon, Monmouth, New Jersey in Feb 1838.[26]

ii.                  George Aker Huggins, b. in Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey, on 5 Apr 1839,[27] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 2 Nov 1893[28] and was bur. in the Fountain Green City Cemetery on 5 Nov 1893;[29] m. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah about 1866, Eliza Adams,[30] b. in Dover, Kent, England on 6 Oct 1847,[31] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Jan 1913[32] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 26 Jan 1913.[33]

iii.                Permillia Huggins, b. in Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey, on 23 May 1841,[34] d. in Marysville, Fremont, Idaho on 23 May 1916[35] and was bur. in Marysville, Fremont, Idaho on 27 May 1916;[36] m. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 1 Aug 1868, William Thomas Cordingly,[37] b. in Idal, Yorkshire, England on 20 Aug 1835,[38] deceased.

iv.                Hannah Potter Huggins, b. in Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey on 2 Jun 1844,[39] d. in St. John, Tooele, Utah on 2 Mar 1933[40] and was bur. in St. John, Tooele, Utah on 5 Feb 1933;[41] m. in St. John, Tooele, Utah on 8 Jun 1861, Alonzo Putnam Nay,[42] b. in Massachusetts in about 1842,[43] deceased.

v.                  Mary Ann Smyth Huggins, b. in Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey on 24 Aug 1847,[44] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 10 Sep 1905[45] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 12 Sep 1905;[46] m. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 4 Apr 1868, Robert Hyrum Johnson,[47] b. in Kanesville, Pottowatomee, Iowa on 15 Sep 1847,[48] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 5 Oct 1905[49] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah.[50]

vi.                Sarah Lane Huggins, b. in Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey on 2 Jul 1850,[51] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 5 Aug 1899[52] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 7 Aug 1899;[53] m. (1) in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 22 Jul 1865, John Reedhead,[54] and (2) in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 22 Jul 1872, Joshua Coombs,[55] b. in England on 4 Feb 1841,[56] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 8 Nov 1924[57] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah.[58]

2. George Aker Huggins, son of William Huggins and Emeline Aker, was born in Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey on 5 Apr 1839,[59] and died in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 2 Nov 1893.[60]  He married in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah about 1866, Eliza Adams,[61] who was born in Dover, Kent, England on 6 Oct 1847,[62] and died in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Jan 1913,[63] daughter of William Henry Adams Sr. and Martha Jennings.[64]

Children of George Aker Huggins and his wife, Eliza Adams:

i.                          George William Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 23 Oct 1866,[65] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 14 May 1932[66] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 17 May 1932;[67] m. (1) in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 2 Nov 1887, Christena Hansen,[68] b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 29 Oct 1870,[69] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 23 Sep 1916[70] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 27 Sep 1916[71] and (2) in Manti, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Nov 1921, Hattie Ward Lassen,[72] b. in Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah on 7 Feb 1886,[73] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 8 Feb 1972[74] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah.[75]

ii.                        John Ephraim Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 5 Mar 1869, d. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 28 Mar 1942; m. in Manti, Sanpete, Utah on 17 Jun 1896, Lovinia Ann Draper,[76] b. abt 1874,[77] deceased.

iii.                      Joseph Stephen Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 10 Sep 1871,[78] d. in Bear River, Box Elder, Utah on 23 Nov 1940[79] and was bur. in Bear River, Box Elder, Utah on 27 Nov 1940;[80] m. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 11 Dec 1895, NAOmi E. Holman,[81] b. in Utah in Apr 1875,[82] deceased.

iv.                      Franklin Dee Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 7 Dec 1873,[83] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 2 Jun 1941[84] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 5 Jun 1941;[85] m. in Manti, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Jun 1898, Emma Jensen,[86] b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 8 Oct 1873,[87] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 31 Aug 1945[88] and was bur. in Fountain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah.[89]

v.                        Martha Frances Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 17 Oct 1876,[90] d. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 8 Apr 1962;[91] m. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 26 Nov 1896, William Gee Orme,[92] b. in Nephi, Juab, Utah on 15 Feb 1872,[93] d. in Ogden, Weber, Utah on 10 Sep 1956.[94]

vi.                      Joshua Huggins, b. Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 8 Jul 1881,[95] d. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 9 Jul 1881.[96]

vii.                    Emeline Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 27 Jun 1882,[97] d. in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 4 Nov 1943;[98] m. in Nephi, Juab, Utah on 4 Dec 1906, Heber Ernest McPherson,[99] b. prob. in Nephi, Juab, Utah about 1880,[100] deceased.

viii.                  Elva May Huggins, b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 2 Apr 1892,[101] d. in Roy, Weber, Utah on 16 Nov 1963[102] and was bur. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 21 Nov 1963;[103] m. in Manti, Sanpete, Utah on 26 May 1913, Wilford Green,[104] b. in Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Mar 1886,[105] d. in Roy, Weber, Utah on 14 Aug 1965[106] and was bur. in Foutain Green City Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete, Utah on 22 Aug 1965.[107]