John Wiggins
MSA SC 3520-13638
Carpenter, Anne Arundel County, c. 1870
Biography:
CENSUS RECORDS: John's father Daniel H. Wiggins, born in New York c.1780, first appeared in Maryland in the 1830 census with 4 children and a wife. An examination of the 1800, 1810 and 1820 Maryland census records does not show any references to Daniel Wiggins, so he probably moved to Maryland between 1820 and 1830. In 1840, Daniel was living in Annapolis. The 1850 Anne Arundel County census of the Annapolis District listed Daniel, aged 70, his wife Wilhelminia, aged 46, and four children: Margaret A (23), William (16), Henrietta (13) and Mary (4). John, who would have been 20, is not listed in this census. The 1860 Baltimore Census Index lists a "John Wiggans" living in Ward 8 who was a 19 year-old butcher apprentice.) In 1870, John (40) was listed in the Anne Arundel County Census as a carpenter. He continued to live with his mother, Willie, who was listed in the census as the head of household. There were four young women living with John at home, but they seem to be sisters. John's sister Margaret has married Nelson Basil, and I think lives two doors down from John and Willie. In the 1880 Anne Arundel County census, John (50) is listed as head of household, with his wife, Mary, and their three daughters Florence (7), Helen (5), and Mary (2). In the 1900 census, John lives at 41 East Street in Annapolis with wife Mary, Florence, Randall (19), Ollie (14), daughter Bessie M. Beral (21), and granddaughter Mollie Beral (2).
DEATHS: Census records suggest that John's children, Helen and Mary, died very young. When John died in 1912, he was listed as a widower, suggesting Mary died between 1900 and 1912. Wilhelmina died in 1891 and left a will that is now in the collections of the Maryland State Archives. This reveals much about the family's wealth, dynamics, and which members still live in the area in 1891.
RELIGION: John is buried at St. Anne's Church in Annapolis. A search through the church's parish registers shows that John and Mary were not married at St. Anne's and their first three children were not baptized there. John Randall Wiggins, born January 6, 1882 was baptized in June 1882. William Oliver Wiggins born Nov. 21, 1885 and baptized in April 1886. The parish register also contains a record of John's death and burial.
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