Santa
Clara County
Biographies
JOHN T. HIGGINS, M.D.
Very few of us are equally good at many
things, as in most cases nature has fitted us to do one thing and has given us
the ability to do that one thing well, and if every man could get into the line
of effort for which nature has peculiarly constituted him, the percentage of
failures in the world would diminish almost to nothing. In Dr. John T. Higgins we have one who has
concentrated his efforts in the medical field, and as he has entered heart and
soul into his chosen profession, his success is an assured fact. For the past nine years he has been a general
practitioner at Morgan Hill, Cal., and by his intelligent and skilled manner of
treating and baffling disease has won his way into the confidence of the people
who recognize him as a man of ability.
It was in Hutchinson, McLeod county, Minn., that Dr. Higgins was born, September 1, 1868,
the eldest child and only son of John T., SR., and Emily (Lydiard) Higgins, to
whom two children were born. His father
was a New Englander, a native of Maine, and in 1859 he went to Colorado to seek
his fortune and followed mining pursuits in that section for some time with
fair success. He subsequently located in
Minnesota, where for a few years he was successful as a farmer. He afterward engaged in mercantile pursuits
in Hutchinson for some time. February
25, 1864, he enlisted in the Union army as a private in Company K, Second
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and as a soldier he made a creditable record, receiving
honorable discharge at Washington, June 19, 1865. It was many years after this that he
journeyed to California, arriving in this state in October, 1894. He located at Berkeley, but spent a great deal
of time traveling through various parts of the state. He died in Berkeley December 20, 1903, and
his widow is still a resident of that city.
Mrs. Higgins is a native of Nova Scotia.
Dr. Higgins was exceptionally well educated
and fitted for his work. After
completing the common school and high school courses, he became a student in
the University of Minnesota, which he entered in the fall of 1886, graduating
in the academic department in 1890. Four
years later he began a course in the Medical Department of the State University,
graduating from that institution in 1894, with the degree of M.D. During this time in connection with his
studies, he was for three years engaged in hospital work in the same city. Immedicably after his graduation Dr. Higgins
commenced the practice of his chosen profession at Minneapolis, but continued
there only for a short time, as he decided to locate permanently in the Pacific
coast country. In August of the same
year (1894), he pursued his way to California, and spent some time in looking
about for a favorable location. He was
attracted by the outlook at Morgan Hill in Santa Clara county,
and in February 1895, he opened a drug store and office there. He carries a full line of pure drugs and in connection
he gives part of his attention to the real estate business. In 1900 Dr. Higgins went east to New York City
and took a three months’ post-graduate course in clinical and laboratory
work. He is well read and employs
up-to-date and practical methods of curing diseases and ameliorating
suffering. Suffering. By his marriage, March 14, 1900, he was
united with Miss Clara G. Hale and they have one little daughter, whom they
call Helen e. Fraternally, the doctor is
prominently connected with the Masonic blue lodge and chapter, of Hutchinson,
Minn., with the local Independent Order of Foresters, Modern Woodmen of America,
Fraternal Aid and other societies. Aside
from his business and professional duties he takes a fitting interest in his
adopted home and is regarded as one of her most public-spirited citizens. Politically he is a Republican.
Transcribed by
Louise E Shoemaker, October 25, 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 814. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Louise E. Shoemaker.