Nelson Higgins (1806-1890) was a church leader and Utah settler in the early LDS church.
Nelson Higgins was born on 1 September 1806 in Milford, New York to Daniel and Mary Daggets Higgins. He married Sarah Blackman on 24 December 1826 in Ohio.The had ten children together. He married Nancy Meribah Behunin on 20 February 1856. They had six children together. Higgins converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1836. As a member of the early church he participated in many historic events. He was a member of "Zions Camp," knew the prophet Joseph Smith, was driven with the saints from Missouri and Nauvoo, was a company captain with the Mormon Battalion, and went with the saints to Salt Lake Valley. He became the first bishop in Richfield in 1864. He left Richfield to participate in the Black Hawk War where he served as a general and then returned to Sevier County to serve as a bishop again. He ended his bishop years in 1871 and moved to Elsinore. He lived there with his family until his death on 20 November 1890.
From the guide to the Nelson Higgins family papers, 1836-1977, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)
