Candace Hilligoss

Birth Name: Mary Candace Hilligoss

Place of Birth: Huron, South Dakota, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 14, 1935

Ethnicity: Irish (at least 50%), English, some German, more distant Scots-Irish/Northern Irish and Cornish

Candace Hilligoss is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Mary Henry in the classic horror film Carnival of Souls (1962). She also appeared in The Curse of the Living Corpse.

She has two children with her former husband, British-American actor Nicolas Coster.

Candace’s paternal grandfather was Omar Frederick Hilligoss (the son of Ambrose Hilligoss and Elizabeth Wood). Omar was born in Rushville, Indiana, and had deep roots in the U.S. Ambrose was the son of Silas Hilligoss and Elizabeth Smiley. Elizabeth was the daughter of George Wood and Sarah Fee.

Candace’s paternal grandmother was Mary Jane O’Brien (the daughter of Edward B. O’Brien and Mary Jane Costigan). Candace’s grandmother Mary Jane was born in Minnesota, to Irish parents, from County Meath. Edward was the son of Terrance O’Brien, who was from Moynalty, and of Mary Catherine Smith, who was from Killeigh. Candace’s great-grandmother Mary Jane was the daughter of Edward A. Costigan and Margaret Buckley, who were from Tipperary.

Candace’s maternal grandfather was Edmund B. Dinneen (the son of Michael J. Dinneen and Catherine Fitzgerald). Edmund was born in Stark, Minnesota. Michael was an Irish emigrant, from Fermoy, Cork, and was the son of Dennis Matthew Dinneen and Katherine Callahan. Catherine was born in Newfoundland, Canada, and was of Irish descent.

Candace’s maternal grandmother was Eleanora B. Bates (the daughter of John Oliver Bates and Zulima C. Vance). Eleanora was born in South Dakota, and had partial deep roots in the U.S. John was the son of Evlyn Bates, who was born in Connecticut, and of Elizabeth Burgess, who was born in New York. Zulima was the daughter of Samuel Vance and Zulima Waller Bainbridge.

Source: Genealogy of Candace Hilligoss – https://www.familysearch.org