The family was clearly of a certain standing and his uncle was a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Anthony was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1568 and taking his BA in 1571-72.
By the time of his death, Higgin had assembled what was, by contemporary standards, a very substantial library.
Around 1250 volumes survive as part of the Ripon Cathedral Library, but the original figure was undoubtedly significantly higher, perhaps approaching 2,000.
In his will, Higgin bequeathed his books to his cousin, William Cleburne (who was a prebend of Ripon from 1616) and to his nephew Mr. Lumley, but with the condition that when they died, they should give the books to Ripon Cathedral “for a library”.