From Ballyboyle to Corglass... a Boyle family's story
Part 2 - Corglass
Thomas Higgins 1887-1918
Thomas was born on 30th January 1887, the third child of Patrick and Mary. Along with his elder brother James, he emigrated to the United States. Their contact in the US was a cousin, Peter Reilly, of 67 Columbus Avenue, New York. This was probably the son of their aunt Elizabeth Higgins, who had married Peter Reilly and had sons Peter, Farrell and Hugh.
Thomas worked as a bartender in New York, and it appears he returned to Ireland at least once, as he is seen travelling to the US in October 1913 likely with his brother James and possibly a cousin John Sheridan from Legga - all three were barkeepers. Thomas became a naturalised U.S. citizen in August 1911; James also became a citizen at that stage.
He gave his date of birth as the 13 February 1888 in attestments and naturalisation records, though church and civil records confirm that he was born on 30th January 1887. This may have been a simple error (people were not then very precise about birth dates) or hie may have had a reason to knock a year off his age.
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His address is given as 302 W.30th St, New York. This was probably a lodging-house. As a young single immigrant, he is unlikely to have had an apartment or house to himself. Surprisingly in this heavily redeveloped part of Manhattan, this building was still there until very recently (unless the numbering has changed).
Up until 2019 Google Street View shows what is clearly a 19th century building, but then it disappears and has been replaced with a modern high-rise.
With the entry of the US into the First World War in 1917, conscription was introduced, and Thomas, as a US citizen between the ages of 21 and 31(just!) was required to register for the Draft. Of the 24 million men registered, only 2.8 million were actually called up, but Thomas was one of these, and he was enlisted into the U.S. Army in December 1917. He was initially stationed with 307th Infantry HQ before joining a training battalion in January 1918, and in April he joined the 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Division. During his time in France, Thomas served in the Pas Fini Sector, and likely served in the Occupation of Château-Thierry, and in the Battle of Château-Thierry part of the Second Battle of the Marne.
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A detailed account of the regiment’s contribution is available here, but the following summary describes the circumstances leading to Thomas’s death on 22nd July 1918:
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According to The New York Times, in July 1918 "it was the lot of the Americans [which involved the 104th Infantry Regiment] to drive the Germans back in the region lying north of Chateau-Thierry."[2] The offensive operations of the U.S. 26th Division and 104th Regiment at Chateau Thierry were complicated—the problem being to transition at once from defensive to offensive warfare. "This involved continuous movement under the most hazardous and confusing conditions and included every unit of the [104th] regiment. In the eight days from July 18 to July 25, 1918, the 104th Infantry was to pass through a crucible of fire and steel. Its men were to write sagas of sacrifice, devotion and heroism. In the stress of one of the great, decisive battles in world history, many of these acts failed of proper recognition. It is safe to say that almost without exception, every man of the [104th] regiment was deserving of mention for meritorious conduct during those terrible July days."[Fifield, 1946 p.207]
Thomas is buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in France, which contains the remains of 6,012 American war dead who lost their lives while fighting in this vicinity in 1918 during the First World War [https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/higgins%3Dthomas].
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It was Thomas's cousin, Peter Reilly, now resident on 57th Street, who was notified of Thomas's death. It would have taken some time for Peter to receive the news of his death and to relay it back to the family in Ireland, so it is plausible that there is some truth in the story that his father Patrick dropped dead shortly after hearing the news. On 23rd September 1918, he had been working in the fields, and there was no sign of his return. His daughter Katie went out to look for him and found him collapsed. Whether this was in direct response to hearing of Thomas’s death we cannot tell but it may have hastened his demise.
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