Name: Merrill HIGGINS
Location: Portsmouth, Ohio
Date: 1891/1892
This striking photograph completely caught my eye. That is one intense baby gaze!!
According to the back of this photo, taken in "Portsmouth, O.", the baby pictured here is named Merrill Higgins. Merill Higgins was luckily pretty easy to find. The name Merrill isn't terribly common, and the image came from Lutz photography studio in Portsmouth, Ohio--not a big town. I did a quick search and found out quite a bit about how this striking baby grew up. According to the 1900 Federal Census and his WWI draft card, Merrill was born on Dry Run Road, Scioto County, Ohio 16 July 1891. He was the son of a grocer, Amois L Higgins and Dora A, both of Ohio. They had three other children at the time: Leroy, Ollie, and Ralph. By 1917/1918 was married with two children, and was living on 2113 7th Street, in Portsmouth, Ohio as a shoemaker for Selty shoe company.
From here, Merrill's path is harder to follow, and is easily confused with another Merrill Higgins in Ohio, but born four years later in 1895. Is this your Merrill? And what became of him?
-B.G.