Higgins Matthew James

Higgins, Matthew James, who wrote under the name of "Jacob Omnium." was born at Benown Castle, County Meath, in 1810, and educated at Eton and Oxford. He spent his early manhood in travel, visiting the West Indies and most parts of Europe, and it was not until 1847 that he came into prominence in connection with the relief of the Irish famine in 1847, when he tried unsuccessfully to enter Parliament. From 1848 to 1854 he took an active interest in the Morning Chronicle, then the organ of the Peelites. He next associated himself with the Times, and his letters signed "J. O.," "Paterfamilias," "A Belgravian Mother," etc. etc., appeared in that paper until 1863. He sent contributions later to the Pall Mall Gazette, though many of his longer articles appeared in the reviews and magazines, especially the Cornhill. whilst under the direction of his intimate friend Thackeray. Mr. Higgins, who was a Catholic, married a daughter of Sir A. J. Tichborne, and died in 1868.