Born at Ash, Kent, England on 11 December 1882, son of James Higgens (1853-1904) and Amelia Morris (1857-1950), he came to Canada in 1903 and took up residence at Brandon. He began working as a carpenter and shortly afterward became a building contractor, remaining active until his death.
On 10 November 1909, he married Mabel Gertrude Drake (1885-1963) at Winnipeg and they had four children: James Henry Higgens (1911-1913), Mabel May Higgens (1914-2009, wife of Ira Millen Dunbar), Edwin William “Ted” Higgens (1919-1998), and Wilbert Thomas “Bud” Higgens (1924-1987). He was a member of the AF & AM (Tweed Lodge), Khartum Shriners, Brandon Rotary Club, Brandon Builders Exchange, and IOOF.
He died at Brandon on 3 December 1957 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.
Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
1330 Princess Avenue, Brandon
1912
Sharpe House (Herbert Samuel Sharpe) - renovations
1414 Victoria Avenue, Brandon
1918
Metropolitan Store
804 Rosser Avenue, Brandon
1929
Demolished (?)
Brandon Armoury (expansion)
1116 Victoria Avenue, Brandon
1935
1040 Princess Avenue, Brandon
1939
Marriage registration [Edwin Charles Higgins, Mabel Gertrude Drake], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [James Harry Higgens, Mabel May Higgens, Ethel Mildred Higgens, Erwin William Higgens], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“New buildings and improvements now under way,” Brandon Sun, 23 April 1918, page 1.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
“New Metropolitan store model of efficiency,” Brandon Sun, 16 May 1929, page 19.
Obituary, Brandon Sun, 5 December 1957, page 3.
“Higgens dies at Clear Lake,” Brandon Sun, 11 May 1987, page 2.
Edwin Charles Higgens, FamilySearch.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 5 November 2023
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