Exploring histories mysteries, one leaf at a time.
William F. Miggins
1879-1934
On September 4, 1934, the body of William F. Miggins was found by five boys on their way home from school. He was discovered in the Sawkill Creek. It was unclear how long he had been there or what circumstances caused his death.
William F. Miggins was born in 1879 in Kingston, New York, the fifth child and third son of William Miggins and Ellen Haggerty Miggins. By 1900, the family had moved to Hallihan Hill in Sawkill where William worked as a stone cutter. On November 12, 1901 he married Mary E. Neenan in Kingston. The couple owned a house on Hallihan Hill in Sawkill and had three children.
By 1915, William and his three children had moved in with his brother Patrick, sister Bridget and brother-in-law William Birmingham. His wife, Mary passed away in 1912. In 1922, William started a blue-stone quarry with William Goldpaugh, the husband of his younger sister Jennie. It is unclear what happened with this venture.
At the point of his death, William was working as a foreman of town roads. He was seen a couple of times walking past a ball field the afternoon before his death by people who were attending a game and was also spotted in the village of Sawkill that evening. His hat was found in a cemetery that borders the bank of the creek.
At the location where William’s body was found, the bank was 15 to 20 feet high. The injuries on his body were consistent with him falling down the bank instead of drowning even though he was found in the creek. But, did he fall or did something more nefarious happen? Rain, in the morning, prior to the body being found obliterated all traces of what led to William’s death.
Ultimately, the coroner ruled that William fell down the embankment and fractured his skull. It was ruled an accident. Perhaps that is the case. William was obviously well liked within the community because the announcement of his death warranted an article on the front page of the local newspaper and his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Sawkill.
William F. Miggins was my great-granduncle and although we may never know what caused the slide down the bank that took his life, at least now we know his story.
References
“Sawkill,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 3 August 1922, p. 10, col. 3.
“William Miggins of Sawkill Found Dead,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 4 September 1934, p. 1, col. 3.
“Local Death Record,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 8 September 1934, p. 10. col. 2.