Sons of Leitrim
Biggins
James
Soldier Profile: James Biggins
Co. C, 2nd United States Sharpshooters Regiment
James Biggins's life followed the path of many Irish immigrants: arrival in America in the 1850s, service as a Union sharpshooter, a wound with no recorded details, and finally a farm in McKean County, Pennsylvania, where he raised five children and lived until 1916.
Early Life and Family
Born: Circa 1834, Mayo, County Leitrim, Ireland
Emigration: 1851 (though some records suggest 1857; the 1900 census states he had been in the country for forty-nine years, confirming 1851)
Marriage: Married Ella (Ellen) Elizabeth Welch (1844–1910) around 1870 (though the 1900 census lists 1873 as the marriage year)
Children: Five children survived:
Mary A. Biggins (1871–1895)
Ellen, (1873 - 1948)
John Edward Biggins (1878–1925)
Patrick Edward Biggins,(1880 - 1950)
James John Biggins (1885–1966)
Military Service
James joined the Union Army and was mustered into Company C of the 2nd United States Sharpshooters Regiment as a private. The U.S. Sharpshooters were elite units, requiring prospective recruits to demonstrate exceptional marksmanship before being accepted.
Wounded in Action
James's military record states he was wounded during the war, but no details are given—neither the battle, the date, nor the nature of the wound. The 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters saw extensive service throughout the war, participating in major campaigns from the Peninsula to Gettysburg to the Overland Campaign, but which engagements James fought in remains unknown.
Invalid Pension
James applied for an invalid pension on July 14, 1865—just months after the war's end. The timing suggests his wound was serious enough to affect his ability to work, though he would go on to become a successful farmer.
Life After the War
The 1880 Census: A Farmer's Life
By 1880, James and his family were living in Ceres, McKean County, Pennsylvania. James worked as a farmer. His two daughters, Mary and Ellen, were attending school. His two sons, John Edward and Patrick Edward, were at home with his wife Ellen, who kept house. James John, the youngest, would not be born for another five years.
The 1900 Census: A Prosperous Household
The 1900 census provides additional details about James's life:
Immigration: Listed as 1857, with [1851] in brackets—the census taker seems to have recorded both dates, perhaps reflecting confusion in James's own recollection or conflicting documentation
Time in Country: States James had been in the United States for forty-nine years, confirming 1851 as the true emigration date
Marriage: Listed as 1873 to Ellen (though daughter Mary was born in 1871, suggesting the marriage date may be incorrect or Mary was born before the marriage)
Property: James owned his own farm
Citizenship: Naturalized
1910 Census
The family are still living in Ceres Township James is 75 and he is a general farmer. James can read and write. Ellen is 64 and cannot read or write. Their son John E. age 31 is living with them. He is a farm laborer.
Family Tragedies
Not all of James's children survived him:
Mary A. Biggins died in 1895 at just twenty-four years old
Ellen Biggins (Welch) died in 1910 at sixty-six years old—six years before James
Death
James Biggins died on November 28, 1916, at Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York, at approximately eighty-two years old. He is buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Sartwell, McKean County, Pennsylvania.
Date Event Detail
c. 1834 Birth Mayo, Co. Leitrim
1851 Emigration Arrived in the United States
1861–1865 Service 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters (Wounded in Action)
July 14, 1865 Pension Applied for Invalid Pension
c. 1870 Marriage To Ellen Elizabeth Welch
Nov 28, 1916 Deceased Olean, New York
