Staggs Family History

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    Thankful Mayo (1678-1739)

    BIRTH: 1678 • Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA
    DEATH: 12 MAR 1739 • Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA
    FATHER: William Mayo (1654-1691)
    MOTHER: Elizabeth Ring (1652-1691)
    SPOUSE: Samuel Higgins (1676-1761)

    When Thankful Mayo was born in 1678 in Barnstable, Massachusetts, her father, William, was 24, and her mother, Elizabeth, was 26. She married Samuel Higgins on March 20, 1717, in Eastham, Massachusetts. They had three children during their marriage. She died on March 12, 1739, in Eastham, Massachusetts, at the age of 61.

    Her story

    Born around 1678 in Eastham, on Cape Cod in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Thankful Mayo entered a world still deeply shaped by the legacy of the Mayflower. Her parents, William Mayo and Elizabeth Ring, were part of the second generation of settlers in Plymouth Colony. Through her mother, Thankful was a granddaughter of Deborah Hopkins, making her a direct descendant of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Mayflower Compact and one of the colony’s most colorful and resilient figures.

    Growing up in Eastham, Thankful would have been immersed in a community of farmers, fishermen, and tradespeople—families bound together by faith, kinship, and the demands of survival in a rugged coastal environment. Her upbringing likely included both domestic instruction and religious education, shaped by the Puritan values that governed daily life.

    On 20 March 1718, at about age 40, Thankful married Samuel Higgins, a man from another long-established Cape Cod family. Their marriage, relatively late by colonial standards, may have followed the death of a previous spouse or reflect a second union for either party. Together, they had at least three children, William Higgins, born 16 August 1719, (who later married Deborah and settled in Medfield), John Higgins and Simeon Higgins.

    Thankful’s role as a mother and matriarch would have been central to her household. She lived through the aftermath of King Philip’s War, the expansion of colonial settlements, and the early stirrings of dissent that would one day lead to revolution. Her son William would go on to have children in Medfield, including William Jr., Deborah, and Lucrecy Higgins, extending her legacy into the 19th century.

    She died sometime before 12 March 1740, likely in Eastham, at around 61 years old. Though her burial site is not definitively known, her life is preserved in town records and genealogical memory, linking her to one of the most storied families in early American history.

    Thankful Mayo’s story is one of generational continuity—bridging the Pilgrim experience with the expanding communities of colonial Massachusetts. Her descendants carried forward the Hopkins legacy, quietly shaping the fabric of New England life.

    Legacy of Thankful Mayo

    Parents

    Father: William Mayo (1654-1691)

    Mother: Elizabeth Ring (1652-1691)

    Married

    Married Samuel Higgins (1676-1761) March 20, 1717 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA

    Children

    • William Higgins (1719-1786)
    • John Higgins (1720- )
    • Simeon Higgins (1722- )

    Documents

    • Birth Records
      • None
    • Marriage records
      • U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Name: Thankful Mayo; Gender: Female; Birth Place: MA; Spouse Name: Samuel Higgins; Spouse Birth Place: MA; Spouse Birth Year: 1676; Marriage Year: 1717; Marriage State: MA; Number Pages: 1
    • Death records
    • Other Records
      • Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol. 1 and 2 > Volume 2 > Hopkins > Children of Samuel Higgins and Thankful Mayo
      • Mayflower Deeds and Probates, 1600-1850 > Name: Thankful Mayo; Event Type: Deed; Record Date: 4 Jan 1718; Record Place: Barnstable County; Residence: Eastham (Thankful Mayo of Eastham was a daughter of Elizabeth Mayo (deceased) of Eastham and a granddaughter of Andrew Ring. On January 4, 1717/8, she and her sister Hannah Tucker sold land inherited from their grandfather Andrew Ring to their brother Eleazer Ring.)
      • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) > Name: Thankful Mayo; Birth Date: 1680-1689; Birth Place: Massachusetts, USA; Volume: 112; Page number: 492; Reference: A Genealogical Dict. of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. By James Savage. Boston. 1861. (4v.)V.3:189

    Relation of Thankful Mayo to Steven Barry Staggs: 8th great-grandmother

    Page last updated November 7, 2025

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