Thomas Jefferson, the first child of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth, was born May 14th, 1857 in Travis County Texas. When they moved to Bandera County he was 9 years old and attended the school there. Thomas was 13 years old when our family moved from Bandera County Texas to the Trinidad area in Colorado. TJ helped with the herd of milk cows and cattle we took with us. After our family settled in the Trinidad area he attended the school that was made available for our family and the neighborhood children. At that time it didn’t matter what age you were, you attended school whenever one was available. Thomas was 20 years old when the family moved to Arizona. TJ stayed in Colorado and went into the cattle business with his cousin, William Carrol Riggs, son of John C. and Jane Riggs. Soon after we arrived in the Sulphur Springs valley, Thomas and “Colorado Billy” (William Carroll) made a trip horseback from Trinidad to Arizona. They stayed and helped the family until we had settled onto our home ranch. He helped our family build a home and outbuildings, develop water sources on the ranch, and in general get the Home Ranch into operation. Thomas returned to Colorado, sold out to his cousins and joined his family in Arizona.

When he returned from Colorado to Arizona TJ and William secured a contract to haul wood to Fort Bowie. He learned a lesson from this venture that served him well the rest of his life. An older man who had been helping them showed them how to stack the wood so that by taking advantage of the crooked limbs there would be cracks and crevices left between the wood, giving the appearance of full cords of wood. The officer that took delivery of the wood at Fort Bowie examined the cords and found the “trick”. TJ received a severe lecture about dishonesty that stayed with him from then on.

Thomas J. decided the Bowie side of the Chiricahua Mountains held possibilities for him to establish his ranch. There was land and he was still close to his family. After the Fort closed the land that encompassed Fort Bowie was auctioned off. TJ had lived in that area for some time so he bought some land and one of the houses from Fort Bowie, had it moved to a nice hill overlooking the San Simon valley and there established his Home Ranch.

On July 11th, 1883 Thomas married Eula Lee Murry, who had been a teacher at the Riggs Home Ranch. They had three sons, Frank Thomas, Edward Murry and Charles Pinckney. Our first grandchild, “Little Frankie T” died on July 28th, 1885. Our family chose a peaceful spot on a little rise beside the road near where we first camped in the Sulphur Springs valley to make our family Cemetery. Frankie T. was the first person buried in the cemetery. Eula Lee died of smallpox in 1890 and is also buried in the family Cemetery. Edward and Charles were mostly raised by us, their grandparents.

Education is important to our family. When BB and JJ went to Valparaiso, Indiana to school it was talked about TJ going to school also. But he decided that he had two small motherless boys that would be left behind and he felt it was his duty to remain near them so he denied himself that opportunity for more education.

After Eula Lee died, Thomas went back to the Trinidad Colorado area and married Louise ‘Lizzie’ M. Sneyden in 1894. They had one son, Brannick T. born in April 1895. He died June 13th, 1896 (age 14 months) and is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery. This was not a happy marriage and in 1901 they divorced.

In April 25, 1904 Thomas married Anna Mae Stafford, daughter of Ja Hu Stafford, a neighbor of the Riggs family.

Their first child Thomas Bell was born on March 20th, 1905 and died on November 8th, 1909 (age 4 yrs.).

How sad for Thomas and his wives, as he lost the first born son and child in each marriage. Thomas and Anna May have five children: Thomas Bell, Pauline Amelia, Lillimae Evelyn, Richard Dana and Donald Lee. Tom’s two oldest boys, Ed and Charlie, lived with us after their mother died and were schooled in the El Dorado school. The boys are 19 and 17 years older than their younger brothers and sisters.

As TJ’s younger children grew it became apparent they needed to live closer to schools so TJ and Anna May obtained a house in Bowie. They live there during the school year and on the ranch in the summer. TJ encouraged his children to get an education. He has served on the Bowie school board. Edward and Charles both went to school in Valparaiso, Indiana, for a time and attended the University of Arizona as well. His sons Dana and Donald attended the University of Arizona

After Thomas established his ranch and it was operating well, he turned to some of his other interests and began to develop them. He is a forward thinking man and can see the benefits of progress. The Riggs Cattle Company was spread out over a large area. The cowboys and the various members of the family didn’t see each other every day. In order to keep the various ranches operating well it was necessary to have a system that allowed them to communicate with each other about the need for supplies or work that needed to be done on various areas of the ranches. It was worked out that a pocket notebook would be left at the Riggs Cattle Company headquarters building. Messages were written in the notebook telling what work needed to be done and what supplies were needed. A reply would be written in the notebook if warranted (Cowboy Texting).

Some examples of the notebook: Are you going to work ZZ tomorrow I think we are more liable to be losing calves at ZZ and Seinega than ever before.

Tom Stafford is threatening to quit. I think you are being too hard on him If he goes so will the cook

Apples for Nettie 2 cans Prince Albert

The telephone was new to the Territory of Arizona. TJ understood that a phone system in the Riggs neighborhood would make communications so much better so he installed phone lines between ranches and phones in each ranch house. When the phones were first installed they just connected the various ranches but were not tied in to the outside world. The phone hung on the wall and had a handle on the side that would make a connection with the phone line as it was turned. Because everyone was on the same phone line, there was an interesting system set up so we would know which ranch was being called. It was a series of rings such as one long ring was for Home Ranch and two short rings was for Star Ranch, etc.

“Feb 1907 11 puting up a tela foam in our house 12 working at Williams with tella foam 13 put tella foam up here we can talk with Williams folks 14 putting it at TB to day Mar 1907 8 charles an David went to Willcox for the wire boyes puting tella foam to JJ ranch 12 boyes got home from puting up the fone line to JJ Riggs an Doscabezes 20 got the telle foam to Dos cabezes June 1907 5 puting Thomas fone to JJ to day Mar 1908 19 we had a good rain got plone in Willcox an Dos cabezas all coneted 25 Thom is puting in a phone line to Wilgus 30 thomas is puting a pfone line in to poartland and other places”

After TJ connected all of our ranches to each other with phone lines, he worked to have telephone lines connecting our ranches from the Chiricahua’s to Dos Cabezas, and then extended the line to Willcox and to Bowie. He was also involved with telephone lines connecting Globe, the Gila Valley, Solomonville, Bowie, El Paso, Tombstone, Douglas, and Bisbee. Although BB didn’t have the saw mill anymore, phone service was even made available at the saw mill.

“Mar 19 1908 we had a good rain got plone in Willcox an Dos cabezas all coneted”

Tom Adams, has a ranch in Texas Canyon and was setting up phone systems in his area. There is also a phone system in Courtland. Telephones are used every day, and more and more small phone companies went into business. As more and more of these companies were connecting to each other, a system needed to be established to connect phones to more than just a local area. Thomas joined with the Adams Phone Company and the Courtland Phone Company to combine their phone companies for the mutual good of all. They incorporated as the New State Telephone and Telegraph Company with headquarters in Willcox. By combining they were able to improve phone service by installing metal wire on poles in places where some phone line had just been lain on the ground. They were now able to cover about 400 miles with phone service.

Besides ranching and the phone company, Thomas had other business interests. Since he was a little boy watching his grandfather Thomas Riggs rob the “bee trees” in Bandera County, TJ had an interest in raising Bees. To his mind no place was home without some stands of bees. He heard of wild bee swarms in the Graham Mountains so he and a neighbor went to the mountains and captured several swarms of bees, along with many painful bee stings. Although he wasn’t very successful with those bees, with time and experience he developed a thriving honey business. He made long cement platforms to put his stands of bee boxes on and placed them among the cat claw and mesquite bushes on his ranch. A room, under a second story room in the house at his ranch, was equipped to be used as the “Honey House”. This is where the frames full of honey were brought to be extracted. This room was cool and after being extracted the cans full of honey could be stored here. You may be interested in how honey is made and extracted. On frames that are placed in the hive, bees make six sided cells from wax they make in their own bodies. These cells are where they store the honey. When the bees complete filling each cell they cap it over with more wax. When all or at least most of the cells in a frame have been capped the honey is ready to be extracted. Using a smoker to quiet the bees and wearing protective gear, the beekeeper removes the frames, takes them to the honey house where the honey is extracted. At the honey house the caps are cut off the cells of honey with a long knife that has been kept hot in a can of water over a fire. The uncapped frames are then placed in an extractor. The extractor is a large barrel type container outfitted with baskets, where the frames of honey are placed. The handle attached to the apparatus that holds the frames of honey is turned rapidly and the honey is flung out of the frames into the barrel. After all of the honey is removed from the frames that have been brought to the honey house, the frames are returned to the hives and the process starts over again. The honey is then drained from the extractor into containers such as 5 gallon cans and is ready to be sold. There is nothing that tastes as good as honey that has been freshly extracted, well maybe chewing the honey right out of the honey comb! TJ kept all of his family in good fresh honey. In good years the honey business could be profitable. As much as 6 tons of honey could be sold and shipped in one year. As his business grew it was necessary to hire men to help him in gathering his honey crop each year. TJ became known as the “Honey King of Southeast Arizona”. TJ’s nephew Thomas, son of BB Riggs, likes to tell about his uncle cutting his hair when he was just a small boy. The hair just kept getting cut shorter and shorter. TJ told him “I’m looking for a bee man. I just want to see the shape of your head to see whether you are going to be a bee man or not.” Finally when the hair was short TJ announced that Thomas was to be a bee man.

Main Street Bowie Arizona

Bank and Opera House

After Thomas moved his family to Bowie, so they could attend school there, he became involved in some business ventures in Bowie. He had an Opera House built on the main street of Bowie south of the railroad tracks. Picture shows were shown in this building, and dances were held. Later one of the buildings on that block was used for a branch of the Riggs Bank. He also had a Telephone office in this same area.

TJ lost at least two homes to fire. One home at his ranch site and his home in Bowie to fire. TJ’s wife, Anna May, was at her home in Bowie and was using gasoline to clean some clothing when there was an explosion. She was quite badly burned about the arms in her efforts to extinguish the flames. The contents of the home were practically all saved before the house burned to the ground.

“22 May 1922 Tom Riggs house burned down”

Thomas Jefferson Riggs died December 9th, 1926 and is buried by his sons in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Thomas Jefferson Riggs

14 MAY 1857 - 09 DEC 1926

Rhoda Riggs

18 MAR 1859 - 16 JUL 1929

Rhoda Riggs, the second child of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth and their first daughter, was born March 18th, 1859 in Travis County, Texas. She was born two days after her Uncle John and Aunt Jane Riggs were killed by the Indians in Coryell County Texas. When they moved to Bandera County, Rhoda was 7 years old. She and her brothers TJ and William and cousins Rhoda, Margaret, William C. and John Roland attended school in the area while we lived at Fort Riggs. Rhoda was 11 years old when the family left Bandera county Texas and headed to Colorado on our way to California. She helped drive the cows and helped her mother care for the younger children. In Colorado she attended the school we started for our children and others of the neighboring families.

In the area where the family lived in Colorado, lived Robert Wolf and his brother James William Wolf. James W. Wolf was the teacher at the school the Riggs children attended for a time. He and his brother were trying to develop a ranch in the area also. Rhoda, age 18, fell in love with James William Wolf and they became engaged before the family started to Arizona. The glowing description of the Sulphur Springs Valley James M. Riggs had written to Mr. Riggs, appealed to the Wolf brothers also. Soon after our family left for Arizona, James and Robert Wolf started to Arizona with their herd of cattle. Rhoda and James William planned to marry when both families were settled in Arizona. Anxious to see Rhoda, James William came ahead to find a ranch so the two of them, along with his brother, could go into the cattle business. He located a ranch near the south Sulphur Springs at the south end of the dry lake. When he had things ready for the herd, James William started back to meet his brother and James C. Pursley who were driving their herd of cattle to Arizona. No one knows for certain what happened but James William disappeared while on this trip. Many sad things happen to travelers. Indians or outlaws could have murdered him; he could have had an accident in some remote area; or he could have drowned while fording a river that was in flood stage. This experience broke Rhoda’s heart and she chose not to marry after losing the man she loved. Although she never married or had children of her own, she was a very loving daughter, sister and Aunt. She always helped with the work and caring for her younger siblings. She helped me with the work of the home and was a capable ranch hand when her skills were needed outside. Although she did not attend school away from the home ranch she helped her brothers get an education by caring for their ranches and interests while they were at school.

When Rhoda was a girl living in Bandera County Texas, her father gave her a heifer calf, as he did each of his children when they reached a certain age. From this calf she began building her own herd. After the family settled in the Sulphur Springs Valley and had established the Home Ranch, the older children began obtaining land for themselves where they could start their own ranches. Rhoda bought the William Downing Ranch located in the mouth of Pinery Canyon. She purchased additional cattle to add to her growing herd and established her ranch here. Rhoda is an excellent horse woman. She always rides side saddle but can out work many a cowboy while working cattle. She is well known for the horses she raises which are among the best raised on the Riggs ranches.

Rhoda is very self-sufficient. She always raises a large vegetable garden, the produce from which is canned for use in the winter. She planted a large apple orchard along with other kinds of fruit trees. This fruit is also dried or canned and shared by the family.

Arizona Range News

Friday, November 21st, 1913

H.L. McCoy estimates that Miss Rhoda Riggs who has several acres of apple orchard in the Chiricahua foot hills, will net about a thousand dollars an acre from her crop this year. This is going some and should make the pessimist who says this isn’t apple country look like the hole in a doughnut.

Rhoda is a very generous woman and willingly shares with family, friends and neighbors. She raises chickens and turkeys. For several years now her flock of turkeys has been large enough to meet the family’s needs and to sell at Dos Cabezas and Willcox.

Arizona Range News

November 18th, 1904

Mayor's Market has ordered a fine lot of Thanksgiving turkeys from Miss Rhoda Riggs. They are expected to arrive about Tuesday.

“20 Nov 1904 Rhoda butcherd her turkeys taking them to Willcox an Sold them at 20 cents a pound”

Arizona Range News

Friday, November 25th, 1904

Miss Rhoda Riggs was in town Monday and delivered a fine lot of Thanksgiving turkeys to Mayor's Market.

Rhoda is always helpful to neighbor and stranger alike. This story found in the newspaper is an example of her concern for others well-being.

MISS RHODA RIGGS, THE APACHE FIGHTER

How She Rode At The Head Of The Cow-punchers

In Pursuit Of Red-Handed Indians

The Apaches Raiding Mack’s Camp

This is the story of a handsome Arizona girl who led a raid against a band of Apaches that she might avenge the death of her friend, who had been slain by one of the tribe.

The girl is Miss Rhoda Riggs. At the head of a detachment of cavalry and with an escort of cowboys from the Riggs ranch, she pluckily pursued the Indians for five miles and shot three of their number.

This exciting adventure was the result of the recent treacherous killing of J.D. Mack, a prospector in Pinery canyon. He was shot from ambush by an Apache of the Chiricahua tribe, one of half a dozen who in war paint, were out for murder and plunder. They took his ammunition, rifle and six-shooter, and left him, as they thought, dead. He then painfully dragged his bleeding body over the sharp rocks of the trail to the Riggs ranch, where he knew he would receive kindly care, for Miss Riggs had often spoken cheering words to him when he came to her ranch after a fruitless search for gold in the mountains.

She heard his cries early in the morning and, dressing hurriedly, ran down the trail in the direction the moans came from. Mack was almost exhausted and could scarcely speak. She took him in her strong arms and carried him to her cot, where she made him comfortable. The cowboys had started out to attend to their horses and Miss Riggs and her aged father were alone at the ranch house. She bandaged the wound of the injured man, and, learning the story of the shooting, quick as a flash buckled her six-shooter, which hung in a belt on the wall, about her waist and was off to the corral.

There she summoned one of the cowboys to attend to the injured man until her return, and, saddling one of her fastest horses, started on a run along the trail which cut across the foothills to Fort Grant, (she went to Camp Bonito, an outpost of Fort Grant located at the mouth of Bonito Canyon. Fort Grant was about 60 miles across the Sulphur Springs Valley, too far away to easily summon help) where she told the officers what had taken place. A detachment of cavalry was at once ordered to return with the young lady and run down the Indians if possible.

Miss Riggs rode as far as her ranch with the troopers, directing them to the place where they could find the trail of the Apaches. At the ranch, she ordered the cowboys to prepare to go with her and hunt down the renegade Indians. The punchers were jubilant at being led by Miss Riggs on a scouting tour. Horses were saddled, six shooters were buckled on, and the men threw themselves into the saddles and were ready to start almost before the troopers had disappeared over the hill. With yells which could be heard for a mile, the cowpunchers, with Miss Riggs riding at the head of the band, left the ranch and started up Pinera (Pinery) canyon.

The Apaches had stationed their ponies near the place where Mack was shot and Miss Riggs was first to discover the trail of the Indians, where they mounted their ponies. Through the thorny branches of the mesquite trees, the dashing leader took her men, riding at full speed when there was no apprehension of an attack from ambush, and creeping over the ground when dangerous places were encountered on the trail.

A few miles from Pinery canyon, the Indians separated and the soldiers remained together, taking the trail, which led through a pass in the mountains. Miss Riggs saw that the Indians had parted and she also saw that the soldiers were following the trail, which led into the pass. The other pony tracks took an almost straight course up the mountainside, and although they were nearly twenty-four hours old, there was a chance of finding the Apaches concealed in the hills. The young woman was familiar with the tactics employed by the Chiricahua's and was careful not to lead her brave punchers into an ambush.

“These renegades,” she said, “are worse than old Geronimo, and when they come out of the mountains they cover up their tracks pretty well. They are smarter than white folks.”

But the cowpunchers had little trouble in trailing the retreating Indians. The tough cow horses ran up the slopes of the mountain with ease, for they were accustomed to such work. The scouting party trailed the Indians into the deep canyons of the Chiricahuas, where the sharp turns made their progress difficult. Miss Riggs insisted on riding ahead of the men, and whenever a particularly dangerous point in the canyon was reached, she “thumbed” her horse and dashed ahead to make sure that the Apaches were not hiding in the rocks. In spite of her commands, the men pressed their horses close to hers in the narrow canyon and often tried to gain the lead to receive the first leaden missiles in case the sharp windings of the precipitous canyon walls revealed the Apaches hidden in the rocks.

“We got sight of the Apaches and we never lost them”, said Miss Riggs when she returned from the trip. “The Indians that went toward the pass were sure clever, for they left the trail one at a time, half a mile or so apart, and bore off toward the high places where the band we followed hit for. The places where they left the trail were picked out so that the soldiers would not see where the blades of grass were knocked down and trampled. All but one of the Indians jumped the trail, and the one who stayed with it led the soldiers through the pass and around the other side of the mountain and was going to take them to a place where the others could shoot them from ambush. The Indians that left the trail went up over the mountain and down the other side and they were about all together excepting the man who was herding the soldiers, when we saw them. We got out of the canyon and were not long in getting up on the side of the mountain. The Indians were just disappearing over the ridge when we caught a second glimpse of them. We lit out and went straight after them.

“I reckon it was about five miles of the hardest riding the boys ever saw. We sure sifted through the pines, and it was all I could do to keep the men from yelling, they were so glad that the Indians were in sight. We spoiled the prettiest ambush you can imagine when we struck down the mountainside. There were the soldiers coming up on the trail of the lone Apache who was leading them an interesting chase; and not a mile below us were half a dozen Indians hidden behind the rocks so that the soldiers could not see them. They were getting ready to surprise the soldiers, and I reckon those brave men from Fort Grant would not have returned had it not been for us. We cached our horses in the pines where they could not be seen and crept down toward the Indians. There were only two rifles in our crowd and the other men had six-shooters. We could not fight unless we got up close, and this we were trying to do. All the time the soldiers were getting nearer and I was afraid that they would be fired on and killed before we could engage the attention of the Apaches.

“Don’t go any further, boys; I’m going to shoot,” I said to the men, and they jumped toward me and tried to take my rifle from me.

“Can’t you see that the Indians are getting ready to fire on the soldiers, and they will be right in range in a few minutes? Let me alone. I know what I’m about,’ I said, and I pulled away from the men, took good aim and fired. The Apache who was slowly leading the soldiers into the ambush of his companions dropped from his horse, dead, and down we all went on the ground behind a big rock. The soldiers stopped in their tracks when the Indian fell, the ambushed redskins acted like crazy men and the soldiers bunched together and seemed uncertain what to do.

“I saw that the Indians had located our hiding place and their rifles were trained in our direction. It would not do for us to move, because we could not fire at such long range with six-shooters, and the soldiers could not figure out who killed the lone Apache they were trailing. They were too far off to do us any good, but I told the boys that I would start things moving and requested my man with the other rifle to go after the Indians with me from the best place he could find in the rocks. So we just peppered away and the Indians came at us, but did not hit even so much as a piece of leather. We could see them getting into their saddles and in a moment three of them lit out down the mountain, with the soldiers after them. The other three were done for.”

The Indians were not from the San Carlos reservation, but were Chiricahua Apaches, there being a number of renegades who come out of the mountains frequently and cause trouble.

The yells of the cowboys were hushed when they reached the ranch house, for the aged father of Miss Riggs stood at the door with his right arm extended. They know by this sign that Mack was dead. However, his death had been speedily avenged.

This is another version of her story that was found.

Miner Shot by Apaches

Cavalry Pursues the Indians

[By direct wire to the times]

Tucson, April 6-[Exclusive dispatch.] A serious outbreak of Apaches is again threatened. J.D.Mack a mining man, was shot last night in Pinery Canion of the Galliura (Chiricahua) Mountains, just outside of the reservation where he was ambushed by Indians. But one shot was fired and the mining man was left for dead by the Apaches. His camp was plundered and the chief bent of the Indians seemed to be to secure am-munition. They took a rifle and six- shooter belonging to a mining man and left. Mack dragged himself to the ranch of Miss Rhoda Riggs, four miles away, where he told her the story. He said the Indians were dressed for warfare, and he believed they would kill a great many people unless they were taken back to the reservation. Miss Riggs, a young ranch woman, mounted her fastest horse and rode to Fort Grant, where she notified the officers commanding the Ninth Cavalry. A detachment of troopers was sent at once to the scene of the shooting guided by Miss Riggs who rode with them as far as her ranch. There she organized a band of cow-punchers to aid the soldiers in running down the Apaches and the brave young woman rode at the head of her little troop of cowboys. Sympathy for Mack aroused her, so she said she wanted to help fight the Indians, and she knew that her cow-punchers would find the redskins if they were outside the reservation. If they come upon the Apaches there will be a desperate fight.

There is more to this story in my diary (Mary Elizabeth Riggs Diary volume I)

Arizona Range News

date not known

Mr. Mack did not die. Though shot through the abdomen, the peritoneum being perforated, exposed to the cold of a spring night in the mountains, and then taken to Willcox to a physician before his wound could be dressed, he kept his pluck and is now practically well.

Because of open flames in stoves, fireplaces and lamps, fires are common occurrences in homes.

Occasionally some of our family have come from Texas to visit. Leonard Craft, grandson of Mr. Riggs’ sister, Rhoda Copeland, came to visit our Rhoda.

Arizona Range News

Friday June 23rd, 1916

Leonard Craft of Blackwell, Texas, arrived in Willcox last week enroute to visit his relative, Miss Rhoda Riggs.

Rhoda’s health is failing. She is no longer able to take care of her place. She is moving to the Prue place.

“8 Mar 1924 Rhoda sold out to brother JC”

Rhoda passed away July 16th, 1929. She is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery next to her father.

William Monroe Riggs

27 Dec 1861 13 Feb 1949

William Monroe Riggs, the second son of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth, was born December 27th, 1861 in Milam County Texas. While we were living in Bandera County he attended the local school. He was 9 years old when the family left Fort Riggs, Bandera, Texas and headed for Colorado. William drove the wagon, pulled by a single oxen, which carried Grandmother, Rhoda Casey Riggs, and her possessions, to Colorado. This was good training for becoming a teamster, a skill that served him well through the years. When the family decided to travel to the southeastern corner of Arizona, Williams’s brother, TJ, stayed in Colorado. This made William the oldest boy with the family as they traveled to Arizona. Although he was only about 16, he drove the team of six oxen pulling the large covered wagon with all the family goods. When we spent the winter at Fort Apache on our way to southern Arizona, William helped build a two room cabin for us.

EDUCATION

William attended school in Bandera County Texas and also the school that was started when we settled in Colorado. When we first came to the Home ranch area William, Rhoda and Martha attended school in Dos Cabezas, the oldest school in Cochise County. We built a school house at Home Ranch and hired a teacher. William attended this school.

Like each of our children, when he was old enough to take care of it we gave William a heifer calf to use to begin his own herd of cattle. After we decided to settle in the Sulphur Springs valley William helped get the family settled in a home. After a house, outbuildings and corrals were built at Home Ranch he began developing a ranch of his own. Star Ranch, located 3 or 4 miles west of the family Home Ranch became his home ranch. After he married, William and his wife, Ida, lived here and developed Star Ranch into a working ranch.

William Riggs’ Star Ranch in the Riggs Settlement

Miss Ida Lillie Berry from Missouri was our first teacher. A romance ensued between student and teacher and on Jan 3rd, 1884, William married Ida Lillie Berry. William was 23 years old and Ida was 32. They made their home at Star Ranch which is located about a mile west of the Riggs Family Cemetery.

William Monroe and wife Ida Lillie Berry Riggs

In 1893, William and Ida, went to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he attended the Northern Indiana Normal school graduating in 1895 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was 34 years old when he returned to take up ranching again. During his time in Indiana his sister, Rhoda, looked after his ranching interests.

Arizona Range News

Tuesday, August 27th, 1895

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Riggs returned last Wednesday from Valparaiso, Ind., where they have been for the past several years. They looked well, and were exceedingly glad to get to Arizona again, after their long absence, and were impatient to get to their well-appointed ranch, the equal of which they believe to be nowhere in existence. The News is glad to count them among its many staunch friends, and we welcome their return.

William and Ida developed Star Ranch into their Home Ranch, living on the ranch for 29 years. They were very involved in our family. William was involved with his community and spent several years serving on the County Board of Supervisors. Ida was a Christian Scientists and was very involved in her church,

Ida was older when they married and never had children. William wanted an Heir, so they decided to divorce so William could marry again. William was 52 and Ida 61 when they divorced. William was very generous in the settlement giving Ida over half of his estate. Ida remained living at Star Ranch and the family continued to help her with her ranch. Miss Carmen Kennedy lived with and took care of Ida for many years.

SECOND MARRIAGE

William Austin Riggs is the son of Barney Kemp Riggs, Mr. Riggs’ brother. William and his family lived for a time in San Angelo Texas, moved to Arizona after our family moved here and worked for a time for the Chiricahua Cattle Company. The family moved to Yuma where they lived for a number of years. After the Riggs Cattle Company was formed William A. and his daughter, Cora, moved here and worked for the Company. Cora and her father lived at the Riggs Cattle Company headquarters where she cooked for the cowboys and her father worked with them. William M. began courting Cora and on August 29th, 1923, Cora and William Monroe were married. William was 62 and Cora was 20.

William M and Cora Riggs

“29 Aug 1923 William and Cora married in Tombstone

Nov 1923 Biley Riggs children come from Yuma to see him

Billy’s horse fell and hurt him.”

On August 18th, 1924 William Monroe Riggs, Jr., their only child, was born.

“Unto William an Cora Riggs a son born august 18 1924

William M. Riggs and son William Monroe 2nd”

William loves good horses and is an expert horseman. His hobby is to raise and train them. But even the best horsemen sometimes tangle with an ornery critter:

Arizona Range News

December 18th, 1904

While working cattle this week Wm. Riggs' horse fell throwing the rider with great force to the ground. Dave Johnson attempted to catch the horse Mr. Riggs had been riding when his horse found a hole in the ground and went down. Mr. Johnson was not injured but Mr. Riggs has been nursing a badly sprained leg.

Arizona Range News

December 23rd, 1904

Wm. Riggs who was injured last week by the fall of a horse

is now nearly recovered, but he informs us that Dave Johnson, who also met with a similar accident, is pretty badly damaged. In giving account of the affair last week we mentioned that Johnson escaped injury, but it has developed later that he was the most injured.

Bisbee Daily Review

December 22nd, 1904

. . . . Wm. Riggs thrown from a horse, narrowly escaping death. . . .

Mr. Riggs, William and the boys know John Slaughter, for they ride together in roundups. Mr. Slaughter told William once to “never live by the gun for if you do you spend the rest of your life always watching over your shoulder“.

In January 1917 William bought out a Mr. Porch and Mr. Bluskey and started building his second Home Ranch. This ranch is located on Witch Creek and is known as Oak Ranch. A house was moved to the ranch from Light, AZ and William set up housekeeping.

POLITICAL SERVICE

Arizona was growing and land was being developed all over the Territory. Shortly after we settled in the Sulphur Springs valley Pima County was divided and the southeast corner of the state where we live became Cochise County. Before long there was a movement to make Arizona a State.

Our family came to the Arizona Territory when there were very few settlers, especially in the Sulphur Springs valley. Like other early comers, our family settled on land that belonged to the US Government. Mr. Riggs complied with the laws of the time to obtain ownership to the land we were developing. Our children were maturing and developing their own ranches. Some of our land was obtained by proving up on Homesteads. Other land we purchased from homesteaders that had proven up on their homesteads but, for various reasons, were not able to continue to live on them. Some of our land was Federal Lease land. It was very important to Mr. Riggs, and a very wise move on his part, to have the Patent or recorded Deed to his land.

William was not of a nature to be just a bystander. He saw that it would be to the advantage of the family to become involved in the political doings of the County. He ran for and served on the County Board of Supervisors serving from 1904 until 1911. The last four years he served as Chairman of the Board. When he ran for the Board in 1904 he won with the most votes. William is a hands on personality and filled his place on the Board of Supervisors well.

Here are some of the articles written about him in the various newspapers of our area.

Arizona Range News

March 13th, 1908

Salaries for County Board of Supervisors

Wm. Riggs, Chairman Board of Supervisors

for Feb. $125.

Tombstone Epitaph

October 8th, 1911

“W.M. Riggs is in the city today from his ranch. Mr. Riggs was one of the original progressives in Cochise Democracy and as supervisor for four years performed his duties faithfully and honestly. He is an aspirant for the same position in the new state and if elected would bring to the position the added prestige of practical supervisor experience and mature judgment.”

Safford Guardian

August 29th, 1913

it was learned that as County Supervisor, William was involved with getting a road built from Willcox to Safford and on to Greenlee County. The road went by the Monk ranch, the Ten ranch and Artesia. (The road today pretty much follows the same route.) It was no longer necessary to travel to Bowie, then north to about half way between Duncan and Safford, then west to Safford.

As a county supervisor he made many trips throughout the County looking at the conditions of roads and the land in general.

Arizona Range News

May 3rd, 1912

Supervisor Wm. Riggs has been going over the roads in this end of the county with a view of establishing all those for which petition has been presented to the Board for the establish-of. Now is the time to establish roads. Later when the land gets more expensive, and lines fenced up it will be an endless source of trouble to establish a road.

Arizona Range News

Friday May 10th, 1912

ROAD WORK COMMENCED

Supervisor Wm. Riggs is spending considerable time establishing roads in this section. In company with County Superintendent of Roads Benton, he is working in this section. A road is being graded and laid out from Willcox south, this road will turn off the Dos Cabezas road near the Speaks place. It will continue south along the foothills and along the valley to Light, thence south to Douglas. Branches will go to Pearce, Gleason and Courtland and other points. Another road is being laid out on the west side of the valley, which will skirt the foothills and cross near Cochise and go south and west of the dry lake, joining the Dos Cabezas-Douglas road not far from the Allaire ranch. Another great highway is planned from Lordsburg, following the Southern Pacific across the San Simon valley and on to Bowie, and from there to Willcox, where it will connect with the road running on the east side of the valley to Dos Cabezas, Pearce and other points south, and will swing from Willcox on the west side of the valley to Johnson and Dragoon and on to Benson to the west line of Cochise county, when the Pima county authorities will take it up and continue it on to Tucson and Phoenix. Another line will also branch off from this road at or near Lordsburg and swing south along the El Paso Southwestern to Douglas, thence run to Bisbee and on west to Tucson. This great net of highways will be of inestimable value in the future development of this section, as it will make two great routes through Cochise County for automobilists coming from the east during the winter season and going to the Coast. A road grader was taken out by Mr. Riggs and Mr. Benton Monday which will be used in building roads, and the work is being pushed on this great road system with all haste. Mr. Riggs as well as the other members of the board and the road superintendent, are to be congratulated on their magnificent work, and the splendid conception in laying out this system now while the country is in its infancy and before it is too thickly settled and land values have become too great. It will save the county a vast sum for right of way, as well as laying the foundation for a road system diverting the great train of travel from east to the coast throughout Cochise County. This will do more to bring the attention of Cochise County to people from the east and south than any other enterprise that could have been undertaken. Autoists travel slower, and have a better chance to see the country than people who are whisked across the country on trains. It is a noted fact that the railroads are always built through the worst and most unsightly places, following ravines, and water courses, hence it will be a relief to know that the autoists will have a chance to see some of the real good things which we have and not be led through the most undesirable sections of the country on their journey from coast to coast.

Arizona Range News

July 25th, 1913

Supervisor Wm. Riggs, while in town the other day, informed us that he was formulating plans for the improvement of the highway between Willcox and Dos Cabezas. It is his idea to spend as little money as possible in temporary repairs as he realizes the need of putting some kind of a surface covering on this road that will pack and remain smooth and solid permanently. If his plans carry he will secure an appropriation sufficient to do the work right, but he has little hope of securing the county grading outfit in the immediate future, owing to the fact that it is now engaged in the building of other roads in the county which will take several months to complete.

William even traveled to Washington D.C. in behalf of the people of Cochise County.

“4 June 1914

William M Riggs went to Washington DC”

Tombstone Prospector

June 3rd, 1914

MANY BONA FIDE ARIZONA SETTLERS ENTER CHALLENGE

Supervisor Riggs Leaves for Capital Today to Represent Cochise countites

HOLD UP PATENTS

A Washington dispatch says--

The secretary of the interior has set Tuesday, June 9th as the date for the hearing of the protest of Mulford Winsor, chairman of the State Land Commission of Arizona against the patenting of the land of settlers in Arizona who purchased Moqui and Navajo base and scripped their lands.

The senators and representatives in Congress have been appealed to by hundreds of settlers to represent them at the hearing. There are 920 settlers in Arizona who would lose if the protest of Winsor were to be upheld and many of them haven’t sufficient funds to send a lawyer to Washington to represent them at the hearing. In their letters they have been bitter against Winsor, a state official, for holding up their patents.

Supervisor Riggs of Cochise Makes Strong Protest

SENATORS PRESENT

A Washington dispatch says.--

Scrip hearings before Secretary Jones were concluded today. A number of Arizonans are here who are interested in scrip and a strong showing was made by Wm. Riggs of Cochise, Wright and Taylor of Pima, Clark of Yavapi, Heldreth, Page and Davis of Maricopa, Rittenhouse and McInnery of Pinal. Winsor represented the state land commission. The decision of the secretary will not be rendered for a few days.

Those interested in scrip selections made an excellent showing. Senator Ashurst and Smith were at the hearing and also Congressman Carl Hayden. All are strongly in favor of patents issuing.

These hearings came because Arizona had just received statehood making it necessary to clarify land ownership.

Arizona Range News

Friday, June 12th, 1914

Supervisor Wm. Riggs is in Washington looking after some land matters. Some time ago he and others sold to settlers Moqui Base and Navajo scrip, which was applied on vacant government land throughout Arizona. One of the land commissioners, Mulford Windsor, objected to the scrip being applied, contending the land was more valuable than the price paid for the scrip. As a result patents were held up and now the warring factions have all gone to Washington for a hearing.

Arizona Range News

Friday, July 3rd, 1914

Wm. Riggs has returned from an extended visit to eastern points. During his absence he visited Washington where a hearing was had on the question of granting patents to settlers and others who applied Navajo and Moqui Base scrip to government lands in this state. Mr. Riggs believes the action, which is yet to be taken by the land commissioner, will be favorable to the settlers.

Not all men that had the responsibility for granting Patents were honest and working in the best interest of the rancher or even of the State. The ranchers didn’t particularly like the “government men”.

William Monroe Riggs

Arizona State Senator

Arizona became a state on February 14th, 1912. William had a number of years’ experience in the county government, he was 53 years old and no longer married. He didn’t have a ranch to maintain at that time and he could devote his time to the work of a Senator, so he decided to run for office in the 2nd State Legislature. He was well known in the state and after his trip to Washington D.C. was interested in developing a new land code for Arizona.

April 8th, 1914

SUPERVISOR RIGGS FOR SENATOR

Hon. William Riggs, of Dos Cabezas, at present a member of the board of supervisors of this county, has “sheild his hat into the ring” and will go after the nomination of State Senator in the coming primaries on the Democratic ticket.

Mr. Riggs is a man who has a most excellent reputation from any direction the most scrutinizing eye may be cast and his nomination would mean his election, beyond the peradventure of a doubt if Cochise county should be so fortunate as to secure Mr. Riggs as one of its state senators for 1915 and 1916.

Though most people supported William in his run for the Senate there were those who did not support him. People have always had differing political views.

Courtland Arizonan

October 17th, 1914

William Riggs wants a seat in the senate, where he can tell his colleagues how hard he worked to lower the price of Sulphur Springs valley lands to three dollars per acre, for assessment purposes, to help the settler. He never can think to tell that he purchased over 30,000 acres of those same lands by means of scrip. Of course his anxiety for a low assessment was wholly for the poor settler.

Arizona Range News

Friday, December 4th, 1914

Wm. M. Riggs was elected as senator from Cochise County along with W. P. Sims.

William won the election as a State Senator from Cochise County with 2541 votes and served in the second State Legislature. He became known as the “father of the state land code”. As a result of his trip to Washington D.C., he saw the need for change from the land code of a territory to one that fit the needs of a new state.

Mohave County Miner

February 13th, 19

Death to Land Code

The long expected land code made its appearance in the Senate Monday, being the offer of Senator Riggs (Cochise). The measure, which is one of the important features of the session, is about 15,000 words long and embraces a complete land code, abolishing the present land commission and vesting its powers in various officers, boards and commissions as they appear from the provisions of the act. –

Coconino Sun

Friday, February 5th, 1915

Wm. M. Riggs served on the following committees while a State Senator: Public Land, Labor, Appropriations, Corporations, Live Stock, Agriculture and Irrigation, and Counties and County Affairs.

Arizona Range News

May 21st, 1915

WANTED--SUGGESTIONS

Senator Wm. M. Riggs has sent out a circular letter to the press of Arizona asking for suggestions relative to the handling of state lands.

Mr. Riggs says:

"As an extra session of the Legislature, to enact a land code is almost sure, and as Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, I hereby ask for suggestions from any and all who have ideas in regard to how our State Lands should be handled, with a view to getting the greatest results and development in Arizona, this being one of the most important matters that will ever come before the Legislature in Arizona.

"All communications will be gladly received and given due consideration by this Committee.

SOME OF WILLIAM'S OTHER INTERESTS ALONG POLITICAL LINES

Arizona Range News

October 16th, 1912

. . . . William Riggs helped organize a group of men in Willcox that favored Women’s Suffrage . . . .

Friday, April 18th, 1913

The women have until May 1st to register. If they don't register before that time they can't register for one year. If they expect to vote they must register. They should all do this if they are able to read and write and have lived in the state one year.

Arizona Range News

April 29th, 1917

. . . . Senator Wm. Riggs opposed to moving county seat to Bisbee. He was also opposed to splitting Cochise County . . . .

CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION

The Riggs men first and foremost were cattlemen. They had large holdings of ranch land where they ran large herds of good beef stock. Joining together with other ranchers gave them all a greater voice in matters of livestock and land laws with the state legislature. William and James J. were both involved with the leadership of the cattlemen’s associations.

Arizona Range News

March 3rd, 1912

. . . . Wm. Riggs elected President of Cochise County Stock Growers Association.

Arizona Range News

March 22nd 1912

CATTLEMEN HOLD CONVENTION

The Cochise County Stock Growers' Association convened here Thursday, March 14, and was well attended by many cattlemen from the surrounding country.

The citizens of Willcox extended a most cordial welcome to the visitors and after a most satisfactory business session, which was held at Norton's Hall in the afternoon, the visitors were banqueted at the hotel dining room in the evening. A dance which followed concluded the day's program.

The officers of the association are: Wm. Riggs, president; Jno. Slaughter, first vice president; Wm. Neel, second vice president and Thos. Hood, Secretary and treasurer.

OTHER BUSINESS VENTURES

AUTOMOBILES

Progression is coming to the rural areas of Arizona. The automobile, though considered a passing fad by some of the family earlier, has proven its usefulness in transporting people over a long distance faster. The men of the Riggs family understood quickly the future of the automobile. William became a part owner in the McCourt - Riggs Ford Agency in Willcox, AZ.

Wm. Riggs and T.B. Stark have ordered automobiles. Autos are getting almost as common in this district as horse teams. Within just a couple of years each member of the family will have their own car.

Ed Riggs and wife were down in their auto Saturday night to take in the show.

Thursday night of last week the Mascot auto, Ed Riggs, driver, brought down from the property Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Baskett and little son who had been making an inspection of the camp and who left for Chicago on the 10:45 train the same night. They were accompanied to Willcox by Mr. and Mrs. J.E. France and son and Mrs. Susan Liebenthal. A.B. Sanderson, a stockholder from Hanover Mich., was taken to the camp on the return trip.

RIGGS BANK

In 1920 William, John and Kay decided to start a new venture. We sold the building we owned in Safford and used the money to open a Bank in Willcox. William was President and John C. Vice President. Mr. McAleb was the teller and Miss Bette Craig secretary. When the Riggs Bank opened in 1920 William, aged 59, was not married. He put a cot in his office and lived in the bank. It soon became apparent that his living arrangements were not satisfactory to his health and he was too readily available to the customers of the bank. It was better that he find another place to live.

The boys had the bank for about 10 years. Before the Bank Holiday of 19?? they had sold the bank but it still carried the name of The Riggs Bank. The family had a reputation of being honest men of integrity that they did not want to lose. They didn’t want their former investors to lose everything so they used their own monies to cover the losses.

RETIREMENT FROM PUBLIC LIFE

The Riggs Bank was sold in 1933. William was married by then and he was a father. He walked away from his public life and settled down at his home at Oak Ranch and enjoyed his life as a husband, father and cattleman.

William was known and highly respected for his honesty and strength of character all over the state. In the November 16th, 1919, Tombstone Epitaph there was an article about William Riggs coming to Tombstone to pay his taxes. It mentioned “he always came in person to pay his taxes“.

William passed away February 13th, 1949. He is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Martha (Riggs) Stark

05 Mar 1865 09 Jan 1949

Martha was born 15 March 1865 in Milam County Texas. She was the 2nd girl, and 4th child. She was about 5 years old when the family left Fort Riggs, Bandera, Texas, and journeyed to the Trinidad Colorado area.

Thomas Bell Stark and his brother William A. Stark came to Arizona from Missouri and were doing some ranching in the San Simon Valley. T.B. came to Home Ranch to teach at the Riggs school.

1886 Martha married T.B. Stark at her home. They lived for a time in the San Simon Valley before they moved back to the Riggs settlement where they built a home east of the Home Ranch.

A story was found in the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson. Reminiscences of Mrs. Martha Stark as told to Edith O. Kitt, Oct 1932 about the Brannick Riggs family move from Colorado to Arizona.

"My father, Brannick Riggs, and his family came to Arizona in 1877, from Colorado. We had an ox wagon for the goods and a spring wagon for the family. But I walked most of the way. We also drove from 50 to 60 head of milk cows. We children had a wonderful time. I guess mother did not enjoy it so much.

We came by way of Zuni, the Little Colorado and on to Fort Apache. We were never troubled by the Indians. When we came onto the reservation the officer said, “Treat the Indians right and you will get along.” We did. Mother even divided our provisions with them. When we moved camp they came along with us on foot. But when we reached near Fort Thomas and the end of the reservation they stopped and went back. We were rather glad to get rid of them as they were hard to feed.

We stopped at Fort Apache the first year and the next winter came on to the Gila between Fort Thomas and Safford, opposite the Hot Springs. Here we camped and after we left they used to call it Buttermilk Point. We built a house here and lived on the country. Next we went to Emigrant Canyon, east of Goodwin canyon, near Fort Bowie and under Helen’s Dome. There was not a ranch here when we came except a CCC horse ranch.

Our folks would never let us go to the Fort but they let us have dances at home and the officers would come and bring their music and we had a fine time.

As I said, we were never afraid of the Indians, though sometimes they tried to milk our cows. However, the cows would not stand for it. The Indian girls used to come around and want us to make dresses for them, which we often did -- just run them up. An Indian scare was a picnic for us because everyone in the country came flocking to the home ranch.

I was married at the home ranch on 20 December 1886 to Thomas Bell Stark -- married by the Justice of the Peace from Willcox. My sister and I married brothers.

Mr. Stark came from Missouri for his health. He taught school at Dunn’s Springs for a while then worked for the CCC cattle company and then came to the home ranch to teach us. It is a serious thing to marry for life, but I saw what I wanted and I have never regretted it."

While coming home from Martha's father's funeral, she was struck by lightening. She and T.B. were in a buggy and it was WINDY AND DUSTY; then lightening, which looked like a big ball of fire, struck and killed both horses.

Martha lived a long life , two months shy of 84 years old. While she never had children she made a substantial contribution to the Arizona Children’s Home in Tucson.

Martha is buried next to her husband T.B. Stark in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Brannick Benjamin Riggs

21 Oct 1867 19 Mar 1913

Brannick Benjamin was born October 21st, 1867 in Bandera County, Texas when the family was living at Fort Riggs. He was our 5th child, 3rd son. This was a little over a month after his Grandfather, Thomas Riggs, had drowned in the Medina River. B.B. was not quite 3 years old when we traveled to the Trinidad, Colorado area.

Brannick’s Grandmother (Rhoda Casey Riggs) lived with us. He was very fond of her. She always wore a lace cap on her head. Brannick asked me if I would make him one to wear so he could look like Grandma.

He was 9 almost 10 years old when we left Colorado. He rode a little mare named Blaze, and helped drive the cattle from Colorado to Arizona.

When Mr. Riggs decided to leave Colorado and go to Arizona, we had to leave Grandma Rhoda Riggs with our nephew, W.C., as we feared the trip would be too hard for her to make. Brannick never forgot the sad parting. As he rode away on his horse he wanted to get one last look at her as she stood leaning on her cane waving, but the tears came so fast he could never see her clearly. Grandmother Riggs was 73 years old when we left Colorado. How hard it was to know that we would probably never see her again in this life. Grandmother Riggs died in January 1881 in Texas where she was living with her daughter Rhoda Riggs Copeland.

GROWING UP IN ARIZONA

Brannick had a terrible fear of the dark but he had an experience soon after reaching Arizona that completely cured him of that awful fear. There were no fence laws in those days and so the cattle drifted for many miles. His older brother and he had gone over the mountain range to the San Simon Valley and had found one cow and had heard of another, so William started Brannick toward home with cow and her calf up a long canyon while he took a long circle to look over several bunches of cattle. William was to come to this canyon later in the night. Everything was fine until the sun began to throw long shadows down the canyon and the coyotes started howling. That was just too much for a ten year old boy. He turned his horse and galloped all the way to the mouth of the canyon. He took one look at the lonely valley, there was no sign of his brother, and it was scarier than the canyon, so he headed his horse once more up that canyon. Finding his cow and calf bedded down, he unsaddled and staked his horse where he could get some grass. He rolled himself in his saddle blanket and let the coyotes howl. Later in the night, William came up to him and praised him very highly for using such good judgment about letting the cow and calf bed down until morning. William never did know until many years later of the wild ride down the canyon.

Mr. Riggs got a contract to furnish beef to Ft. Bowie, and Brannick and his younger brother Jim delivered the meat. They had to get up at four o’clock every morning and drive about twelve miles to have the meat cut and ready to sell by six o’clock, then come back and get another beef in ready to butcher in the cool of the evening, do their school work and then to bed. This was very hard on growing boys, and very unsatisfactory, especially when Jim got his leg badly broken, and Brannick had to do the delivering alone. They were breaking two colts and were riding near a deep rut made by an old road being washed out. Jim’s horse ran sidewise and fell into a deep rut, then threw himself over with Jim’s leg caught under the horse. Brannick had to lift the horse by brute force off Jim and get his leg out from under the horse. Brannick always said he was given some supernatural strength or he could never have done it. Anyway the leg was broken in the knee, so that Jim always had a stiff leg. As Brannick and Jim grew older the meat delivery was taken over by the younger brothers.

EDUCATION

When he was old enough, Brannick began his education in the school we had started in Colorado. He continued his education in the one room school house we built soon after we settled in the Sulphur Springs valley. When he was 20 years old, B.B. and his brother J.J. Riggs went to school for a year in San Diego, California. Because of the influence of his sister-in-law, Ida Riggs, Brannick was the first of our family to go east for an education. He attended the Northern Indiana Normal School in Valparaiso, Indiana. Brannick rode the train, helping with a load of cattle, to Chicago, then took the train the 50 miles southeast to Valparaiso. He started school at Mid-term 1890 and graduated August 10th, 1892 with a B. S. degree in Civil Engineering. The Northern Indiana Normal School was started in 1873. It was a private college. In 1900 it was renamed Valparaiso College. In 1906 or 1907 it became the Valparaiso University.

When he returned to Home Ranch, Brannick taught school at Wilgus for a year. This school was located at the mouth of Turkey Creek about 10 miles south from Home Ranch. The next year he taught in a country school located near Fort Grant, in Stockton Pass, in Graham County, Arizona. The following year he again taught at the Wilgus School.

Following are some excerpts from local newspapers. Brannick was also interested in giving his best to his community.

March 20th, 1892

Teachers Institute

Wed. March 16th

. . . . This was a training for teachers in the county. It was an all day workshop and was attended by B.B. Riggs who was teaching at the Wilgus School at the time. . . .

Tombstone Epitaph

March 29th, 1893

B.B. Riggs from Wilgus School and C.S. Prouty from Brannock attend a Teachers Institute.

(1894)

. . . . B.B. Riggs helping with election

Sulphur Valley News

Tuesday, December 17th, 1895

B. Riggs of Ft. Grant, spent Sunday in town.

Arizona Range News

Wednesday, April 19th, 1899

Brannick Riggs, Jr., was elected as a trustee of El Dorado school district.

Bisbee Review

July 30th, 1902

. . . . Brannick Riggs, Jr., (Democrat) may be available to run for probate judge. . . .

MARRIAGE

Martha (Mattie) Smith was one of Brannick’s students at Wilgus. He later asked her to marry him. B.B. was 29 years old and Mattie was 20 years old when they married.

Brannick Benjamin and Martha Alfretta Smith Riggs

Arizona Range News

Tuesday, November 17th, 1896

A HAPPY EVENT

Last night at eight o'clock, at the residence of Mrs. Hudson on Haskell Avenue, Judge W.F. Nichols pronounced the words which united in marriage Mr. Brannick Riggs, Jr. and Miss Martha Smith daughter of C.P. Smith, of Wilgus, Ariz. The News wishes the young couple every happiness in life and regrets that lack of space precludes the giving of a more extended notice.

To this marriage were born seven children: Mary, Benjamin, Walter, Thomas, Brannick, Martha and Rhoda

SAW MILL

From the time BB was a little boy the lumber business had been a part of his family’s life. His Grandfather Thomas, his father and his uncle James had a saw-mill in Bandera County Texas. Again in Colorado his father and uncle James set up a saw-mill. It provided a large part of the family income. The country in Cochise County and the surrounding areas was developing. Homes were being built and large mines were being developed. The need for lumber was great and the nearby mountains provided the availability of trees. BB was not a rancher at heart. He loved being in the mountains and the work of a lumberman.

In the summer of 1896 Brannick, age 29, and his brother, James J., bought the saw-mill in Barfoot Park in the Chiricahua Mountains from Major William Downing. Brannick was able to use his degree in Civil Engineering as he used and maintained the saws and machines in the mill and located appropriate sites and grades for the tracks used to bring the felled trees to the mill for sawing.

Arizona Range News

Tuesday, September 15th, 1896

Messrs. Jas. J. and Brannick Riggs went to Tucson on Wednesday to make application in the U.S. Land office for permission to cut timber on public lands in the Chiricahua Mountains, as per notice previously published in our columns. The Riggs brothers are enterprising and deserving young men, and we hope their application will be allowed.

B.B. & Mattie’s home at the sawmill in Barfoot Park

Brannick Riggs Saw-mill Barfoot Park, Chiricahua Mountains

Brannick B. did eventually sell his sawmill because of the timber laws. He was required to pay a tax on every stump on the mountain not just on the trees he cut. He did not however sell it at this time.

Arizona Range News

Friday, January 30th, 1903

B. B. Riggs was in Willcox Tuesday. He informed this paper that he has just been granted the sale of 2,000,000 feet of timber in the Chiricahua Mountains by the Department of the Interior.

Arizona Range News

Friday, February 13th, 1903

Brannick B. Riggs was in town Tuesday and left Wednesday for Clifton on business. Mr. Riggs reports the snow knee deep in the vicinity of his saw mill in the Chiricahua's and states the water supply for the year is now an assured fact. In some places the snow is so deep that it will not disappear till May or June.

Arizona Range News

Friday, April 3rd, 1903

B.B. Riggs, the lumber king of the Chiricahua's, has just closed a contract with the Troy Copper Co. of Morenci, to furnish 600,000 feet of lumber. Mr. Riggs expects his saw mill will supply between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 feet of lumber to the various camps this coming season.

Arizona Range News

Friday, May 8th, 1903

Wanted--Fifteen or twenty teams to haul lumber from Riggs’ sawmill to Pearce, Rodeo, and Black Diamond. Apply at Soto Bros. & Renaud, Pearce, Arizona.

Entrepreneurship is not without its tragedies!

Bisbee Daily Review

September 6th, 1903

Teamster Is Killed

Run Over by Heavy Load While Inspecting Faulty Brakes

Tombstone, Sept 5th, -- Advices, which reached here today, are to the effect that a teamster named Sharpe, while driving toward this town from the Riggs ranch in the Chiricahua’s was run over by the wagon and instantly killed.

The most acceptable explanation of the fatality is that the brake refused to work while Sharpe was driving down a steep grade and that he leaned over to see what was the matter with it and he fell or was thrown from his seat, and the wagon, containing its heavy load, passed over his body, crushing his life out instantly. Sharpe is said to have a family in either Lordsburg or Silver City, N.M. where he formerly resided.

Arizona Range News

September 4th, 1903

OUR CHIRICAHUA LETTER

A very sad accident occurred on the road near the Riggs' saw mill about noon yesterday which resulted in the death of Mr. Cortez Sharp, who has been acting in the capacity of sawyer for B.B. Riggs. While riding down the mountain on a wagon loaded with lumber, something went wrong with the brake which deceased was manipulating, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. One wheel of the wagon passed diagonally over the stomach and between the hips crushing the pelvis and left kidney, causing almost instant death. Deceased formerly resided in Silver City and Lordsburg N.M., but nothing is known of the where abouts of his relatives. The remains were carried by wagon to Rodeo last night where they will be taken in charge by the Odd Fellows lodge of which order deceased was a member.

Bisbee Daily Review

March 27th, 1903

. . . . Another recent deal, which will greatly add to the commercial importance of Rodello, was a contract taken by Brannick Riggs, Jr., to supply the Detroit Copper Company at Morenci with six hundred thousand feet of lumber. This lumber will be cut at Mr. Riggs’s sawmill in the Chiricahua Mountains and will be hauled to Rodello and shipped from there by rail. . . . .

Arizona Range News

Friday, July 10th, 1903

THE CHIRICAHUAS

Mining Operations in This District Are very Active

A few Brief Notes From This Interesting Mineral Field

Through the kind invitation of Brannick Riggs to spend the Fourth at his saw mill camp in the Chiricahuas, and which we accepted, enables us to give our readers a few interesting lines concerning this interesting mineral field.

Friday we arrived at the saw mill, where Mr. Brannick Riggs has a number of experienced lumbermen engaged in converting pine trees into all kinds of mining timber. The output from the mill is from 12,000 to 15,000 feet per day. The lumber is shipped to the Common Wealth mine at Pearce and the Morenci and Clifton mines.

Mr. Riggs says he could use a few more men with teams to haul lumber to the Pearce mines and to Rodeo, where it is taken to Clifton and Morenci.

We had often heard of the Chiricahua saw mill, but one has to pay it a visit to appreciate the nature of the enterprise.

Good roads lead to the mill from both sides of the mountain.

The Fourth was spent knocking around camp and building a platform for the dance which took place in the evening and was well attended.

Mr McGloan was the Forest Service Supervisor.”

July 14th, 1903

W.E. Estes and family of Pinery canyon have moved to the saw mill. Mr. Estes will work for B.B. Riggs.

Friday, July 31st, 1903

OUR CHIRICAHUA LETTER

Special correspondence to the Range News

July 20th, 1903

Messrs. B.B. Riggs and Chas. McGlone are in Tucson on business and will return to the saw mill the first of next week.

A crowd of men from the saw mill and Eagle City were in Paradise over Sunday and should have been happy, as they were in "Paradise."

Mrs. B.B. Riggs is visiting relatives and friends in the Sulphur Spring valley.

The Rev. Dicky and wife of Lordsburg are spending a few days at the saw mill.

Dr. H.R. Hitchins and wife will spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the saw mill.

Mr. Chas. T. McGlone, the forest supervisor, has returned to the saw mill after several days absence.

B.B. Riggs left today for Safford, where he will remain several days on business.

Miss Anna M. Stafford and Miss Lillian Erickson of Bonita canyon, spent Tuesday at the saw mill.

Mr. Jim Hudson is going to move his family to the saw mill. Mr. Hudson is the bookkeeper for B.B. Riggs.

Little Mary Riggs and Walter, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. B.B. Riggs have been quite sick the past few days, but both are now convalescent.

A box social and ball to be given in Sulphur Spring valley Saturday night is expected by all to be a grand affair. Most of the saw mill picnickers are going to attend.

Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Estes are rejoicing over the arrival of a baby boy. Mother and son are doing nicely and the father--well we have hopes of his recovery. The baby made its advent into this world July 20th.

F.W. Murdock, who is spending his vacation at the saw mill, was out hunting his horses last Sunday and when he found them, some unknown "friend" had taken their hobbles and bells off. Upon his return, we judged from the tone of his voice that he did not appreciate the joke.

A large party of picnickers are camped at the saw mill, among them being Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Cummings, Miss Daisy Miller, Miss Ethel Morgan and F.W. Murdock. The ladies are spending their time riding horse back, climbing mountains and gathering flowers, while the men go out looking for game. They have had very good luck, but say the game is scattering.

A number of people from the Sulphur Spring valley went out on a picnic in Pinery canyon several days ago. Their object was to search for a copper hammer Mr. Archie Shaw lost about a year ago. Most all the ladies joined in the search, some with picks, some with shovels and after several hours work the hammer was found by Miss Rhoda Riggs. After lunch the merry picnickers enjoyed themselves for several hours and departed for home.

Arizona Range News

September 11th, 1903

B.B. Riggs, proprietor of the Chiricahua Lumber mills, was a visitor to Willcox Friday and Saturday. Mr. Riggs informs us that he is busily engaged supplying the Morenci and Clifton mining camps with large quantities of lumber for timbering purposes and that business never was better.

Arizona Range News

October 9th, 1903

HIS LIFE CRUSHED OUT

Levi Curtis is no more. He met a tragic death last Friday, by a load of lumber tipping over on him, crushing him into a shapeless mass and causing almost instant death. The accident occurred at the camp of the Chiricahua Lumber Mills in the Chiricahua Mountains, while Curtis was starting out with a load of lumber for Rodeo.

What caused the wagon to tip over is a mystery. It was just one of those sad accidents that seem to occur in the ordinary routine of life and from no apparent cause whatever. The remains were brought to Willcox by wagon and shipped to Safford for interment. The deceased was a man about 50 years of age and single. He was well known on the Gila where he made his home on a small farm.

Thomas Riggs, son of BB and Mattie Riggs, was born this day at the home of JJ and Maggie Riggs. He was born prematurely .

Alice Sabin is the niece of Martha and BB Riggs

After the Forest Service was started they came to the Saw Mill and counted stumps. BB was taxed for all of the stumps on the mountain, not just the ones that he had cut. This ruined him financially and he had to sell the saw mill.

Arizona Range News

Friday, May 27th, 1904

B.B. Riggs proprietor of the Chiricahua saw mills, was in town Sunday. Mr. Riggs has about closed a deal to sell his saw mill plant. He states that the country in his section is having a great boom. He has purchased a number of lots in Paradise and will hold them as a speculation. Keep your eye on those lots B.B. and see that the annual assessment work is kept up on them or some smooth individual with more nerve than principle may jump and relocate them after the clock strikes twelve some quiet night.

Bisbee Daily Review

June 17th, 1904

. . . . B.B. Riggs sold sawmill to Crosby & Sweeny and hoped to build a 20-room hotel in Paradise . . . .

PARADISE

Arizona Range News

September 9th, 1904

B.B. Riggs, who formerly operated the Chiricahua saw mill, was in Willcox on business Wednesday. Mr. Riggs says the Paradise camp is going ahead quietly without any very loud demonstrations and believes it has a good future. Mr. Riggs has sold the saw mill to eastern parties who will conduct it in the future. He has not as yet decided definitely as to what course he will pursue in the future.

WORKING FOR THE COPPER QUEEN

After Brannick B. sold the sawmill he worked at the mine in Paradise for about a year. That soon proved to not be satisfactory so he went to work for the Copper Queen Mining interests in Bisbee and Douglas. Brannick spent about a year traveling through the mountains in New Mexico and in Old Mexico in the state of Chihuahua. He estimated stands of timber and looked for grades where tracks could be laid for hauling lumber out of the mountains for the Copper Queen mining company. Brannick fell in love with the area and the people of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico and decided to move his family to this area.

MEXICO

In 1907 B.B. became interested in the possibilities of saw-milling in Mexico. He moved his family to Colonia Dublan where they lived for two years, then came back to the U.S. to take charge of some real estate in El Paso, Texas, for his sister Rhoda.

In the spring of 1910 he again went back to Mexico and bought a home in Colonia Juarez where his family resided while he managed a saw mill in the mountains for L.E. Booker until the Americans were driven out in 1912.

El Paso Herald

August 29th, 1910

While B.B. Riggs was at work building a house in Pearson he fell from the scaffolding, breaking his collar bone, dislocating and crushing his shoulder, and tearing loose several of his ribs. He is very sick but there does not seem much fear for his recovery. He has been taken to his home in Colonia Juarez.

EXODUS FROM MEXICO

A Revolution took place in Mexico that changed the life of B. B. and his family. Poncho Villa and his troops set up camp on the hills overlooking Colonia Juarez where the family lived. Although B. B. and his family didn’t have any trouble from them, others did. The people living in these colonies were still US Citizens. The leaders of the Mormon Church and the US Government knew they couldn’t keep these people safe so directions came for all U.S. citizens to come out of Mexico. B. B. sent his wife and children out on the train but he stayed.

Friday, August 23rd, 1912

Brannick Riggs, who formerly lived in this section, arrived from Mexico the other day. His family came in a couple of weeks earlier. They are refugees from Chihuahua, Mexico, and will remain until the unsettled conditions in Mexico are over.

REAL ESTATE AND EL PASO

B.B. and Mattie, like many of the other families that had to leave Mexico, hope they can one day return to their home. Meanwhile B.B. needed work so he can care for his family. Several members of the Riggs family own properties in El Paso. It was decided that B.B. would take his family to El Paso and he would manage the Real Estate properties for them. While working on some of the properties B. B. contracted small pox.

Before he died B. B. instructed Mattie to take the children and go to St. David, Arizona, where she would be close to her family. William M. and her brother, Bert Smith, helped Mattie to buy some property and have a nice home built. Mattie is raising her family in St. David. Brannick Riggs was 46 years old when he died and Mattie was 36.

Brannick Benjamin Riggs died of smallpox on March 19th, 1913 in El Paso Texas. Because he died of smallpox his body could not be brought to the Riggs settlement for burial. He was buried in El Paso the same day of his death.

OBITUARY

Arizona Range News (front page)

Friday, March 21st, 1913

Brannick Riggs, who formerly resided here and at one time run the old saw mill in the Chiricahuas, died at El Paso Wednesday night. The cause of death was smallpox. Up to the time of going to press no particulars had been received about funeral arrangements. Mr. Riggs is a brother of Wm. M. Riggs, well known in these parts, and his death will be much regretted by the many friends he had throughout the valley. Mr. Riggs leaves quite a large family.

Arizona Range News

Friday, March 28th, 1913

Brannick Riggs died at El Paso one day last week from smallpox. All the family was down with it at the time of his demise. Wm. Riggs and other relatives went to El Paso to attend the burial. Mr. Riggs had spent several years in Mexico, but on account of the unsettled conditions last summer in that country he was driven from home and forced to take up his abode in El Paso. He and his family have been visitors with their relatives at this point quite frequently, and Mr. Riggs was here less than a month ago. Mr. Riggs lived here for many years and owned a saw mill in the Chiricahuas, and was also interested in cattle and mining, and was well known in this section and his demise has cast a gloom over the entire community.

We continue to have contact with Mattie and her children. Her son Ben has worked for Rhoda and William. Her son Tom also has worked for William.

Brannick passed away March 19th, 1913. He is buried in the El Paso Cemetery.

James Jay Riggs

31 Jan 1870 24 Jan 1911

On January 31st, 1870 at Fort Riggs, Bandera, Texas, James Jay arrived. He was our 4th son, 6th child. In April of that same year, when he was just 4 months old, he traveled with the family to the Trinidad, Colorado area.

EDUCATION

When he was old enough J.J. attended the school we had started in Colorado near where we lived. James J. was 8 years old when the family headed south for Arizona. At 8 he was old enough to help herd the milk cows we brought with us. James J. was 11 years old when the school house was built at home ranch and a teacher hired. Brannick Benjamin and James Jay were the first of our children to go away to school for higher education. They went to a school in San Diego, California for a year.

James Jay later joined his brothers at the Northern Indiana Normal School where he studied Law. He graduated in 1894with an LLB. After graduation, he returned to Arizona where he practiced Law in Tombstone Arizona for a time.

BEEF DELIVERIES TO FORT BOWIE

As James J. grew older he was given more responsibility. When he was in his teen years, J.J. and his brother, B.B., were given the task each day of taking the beef that had been butchered to Fort Bowie. The boys got up early, delivered the beef, returned home, got up a beef that would be butchered in the evening, did their school work and went to bed just to do it all over the next day. On March 5th, 1887 when J.J. was about 17 and B. B. about 19 they were delivering the beef. J.J. was riding a half broke horse that got into a deep rut, fell over and caught J.J.’s leg under him. B. B. had to lift the horse off J.J. so he could get his leg out from under the horse. The leg was broken in the knee. He was put to bed in the living room at Home Ranch and had to stay put until the bones healed. His leg didn’t heal quickly.

On May 3rd 1877 there was a severe earthquake in the area. Because it cracked the house, J.J. was moved to the school house and in doing so his broken leg was dropped and injured again.

LAW PRACTICE AND POLITICS

When J.J. returned from school with his Law Degree he opened a Law Practice in Tombstone, AZ where he practiced Law for a short time.

In 1896 James Jay began his political career. Arizona was a Territory at that time so his service was in the 19th Territorial Legislature. His political party was Democrat.

The following are articles in the Arizona Range News about J.J.’s service in our Territorial government. I am sharing these because they explain so much clearer than I can what service he gave to this area.

Arizona Range News

Tuesday, October 20th, 1896

STOCKMEN FOR THE LEGISLATURE

Shortly before the date of the conventions in this county The News editorially urged the stockmen to secure the nomination of honest representatives of their industry for supervisors and the legislature. It is not desirable that all members of these bodies should be cattlemen but at least one third of them should be, to secure a proper recognition of our special interests. The republican and democratic conventions in Cochise County, conceding the right of the stockmen to representation, nominated two young men from the northern part of the county as candidates for the assembly. Wm. Speed, of Willcox, candidate on the republican ticket, is a thorough cattleman and a heavy tax payer. He was for several years manager of the O.T. outfit and still retains his interest in the company. He is well known among stockmen in this and adjoining counties and fully qualified to promote the interests of stockmen in the coming session of the legislature.

Mr. J.J. Riggs, while educated for the legal profession, owns a herd of cattle and belongs to a family of stockmen whose united holdings aggregate several thousand head. The entire wealth of the family being in cattle and pasture lands, Mr. Riggs can, aside from his established reputation for honesty, be safely depended upon to protect the interests of the cattle-growers in the territory. Either of these young men would make a good legislator and the stockmen should give them their loyal and hearty support. It would be no misfortune to the county if both of them should be elected.

Arizona Range News

November 10th, 1896

THE OFFICIAL COUNT

The following figures, wired from Tombstone, show the relative votes received by the winning candidates for assembly. Riggs, 510; Speed, 443; Jones, 433. For Supervisor; Montgomery, 485; McPherson, 483.

Arizona Range News

January 18th, 1897

Riggs of Cochise Co. is chairman of the Judiciary Committee., member of committee on Printing and on Public Buildings and Grounds.

Arizona Range News

February 5th, 1897

J.J. Riggs introduced a bill that would combine the Board of Equalization and the Board of Control.

The Board of Equalization determined the taxes to be paid on one’s property.

Arizona Range News

August 25th, 1897

Board of Equalization

. . . . J.J. Riggs appeared before the Board on behalf of the Riggs Bros. And asked the Board to cancel the raise on their saw-mill. After hearing the statement of Mr. Riggs the Board ordered the raise cancelled.

Communication received from T.J. Riggs asking a reduction on the raise of his cattle. The Board considered the matter and refused to grant the request,

Over the years there have been at least 3 attempts to split Cochise County into 2 counties.

Arizona Range News

November 1897

THE NEW COUNTY MOVEMENT.

Our able representatives, Riggs and Speed, need fear no serious injury from the mudslinging of the Tombstone Prospector or any other newspaper which lowers itself to the level of personal invective. Violent abuse is always the weapon of those who lack argument and the resort to it is properly regarded as a confession of weakness. Having no work of reason or argument to offer, save the calamity cry of increased taxation, which is a pitiful begging of the whole question, our Tombstone contemporary burdens its columns ad nauseam with vilifying epithets aimed at our two young assemblymen, and no doubt intended to annihilate both them and all advocates of county division.

The situation in a nutshell is this. The people resident in the territory proposed to be embraced in the new county are practically unanimous in their demand that it be created. We do not, in fact, know of a single prominent taxpayer who opposes the measure.

The natural topography of the region and the location of Willcox on the main line of a great trans-continental railroad render this point the commercial center of the land area embraced within the boundaries of the proposed county of Chiricahua. The people resident in this region with one voice demand the organization of a separate county. Their cause is just and will prevail. Successive defeats only widen the breach and intensify the determination of our people to win the fight; and the new county, whether it be Miles or Chiricahua or some other name, will be an issue in every legislative session until it is a geographical fact. The efforts of the Prospector to make it appear that the demand for a new county is not general but emanates from a few property owners and office seeking politicians in Willcox, is utterly unworthy of a reputable journal, its claim being absolutely untrue. From Aravaipa camp on the north to Rucker Canon on the south, the citizens depend upon Willcox for their supplies and want the place to be made the seat of their county government. The chief objection of the people residing just outside of the boundary of the proposed county is that they are not included.

As to the position taken by Messrs. Speed and Riggs on the question they follow the lead of many illustrious men in casting their lot with their immediate section. The citizens resident in that portion of Cochise County proposed to be embraced in the new county want division. The people of the remaining portion oppose division. Could Messrs. Speed and Riggs be expected to array themselves in line against their own section and their own interests? Many of our readers are from the south. Do they condemn Lee and Stonewall Jackson for casting their fortunes with the Confederacy though under oath to support the constitution of the United States and defend the country against enemies, foreign or domestic? Was not Washington a rebel against the established government when he drew his sword in defense of the colonies?

Speed and Riggs are acting in behalf of the citizens of their section, and the people of this section willingly assume all responsibility in the matter. If the Prospector and the Guardian, in order to be solid with the citizens of their respective towns, must abuse somebody, they may abuse the citizens of the proposed county of Chiricahua, and may also rest assured that every word of their recent tirades will be treasured up to the coming day of retribution.

Arizona Range News

Friday, February 15th, 1901

Hon. J.J. Riggs, well known as an ex-legislator and prominent cattleman of Cochise County, arrived in the city Wednesday morning for a stay of several days on business. Mr. Riggs gave very material assistance in the preparation and passage of the present livestock code, and it is hoped that he will remain in the city for the meeting of cattlemen on Monday. The spring rains have been ample in the section of southern Cochise, where Mr. Riggs with the other members of the family reside, and the cattle business has a promising future as a result. -- Phoenix Stockman.

Tombstone Epitaph

August 11th, 1901

J.J. Riggs, who represents Cochise in the notable 19th, is in Phoenix consulting an eye specialist. Mr. Riggs has been troubled with an injured eye for some time and it was feared that he might be obliged to have same removed. The oculist however hopes to save the injured member and restore his eyesight.

James Jay served only one term in the Territorial Legislature. He returned to his ranch in the Riggs Settlement and spent time ranching.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

Tombstone Epitaph

May 27th, 1900

The following press dispatch dated May 18th explains itself, the groom being well known in Cochise County.

Springfield, O., -- The romantic marriage of James J. Riggs of Wilcox, Ariz., and Miss Margaret Dumm took place at the home of the bride’s mother, Mrs. May Dumm, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, today. Miss Dumm during the past year acted as deputy probate judge and is a graduate of the public schools of this place. Mr. Riggs is well-to-do and served one term in the legislature of Arizona.

James Jay and Margaret Dumm Riggs

Arizona Range News

May 23rd, 1900

The many friends of J.J. Riggs congratulate him upon his marriage to Miss Margaret Dumm of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and wish the happy couple a long and prosperous voyage on the matrimonial adventure.

Jim and Maggie had three children: a daughter Ida Berry, a daughter Edith Leoi who died at 10 months and William Christopher.

MINING VENTURES

There was copper and other ores found in the mountains around the Riggs Settlement leading to the development of a number of mines in the area. This led to the men of the family becoming involved in some of the mining ventures. J.J. was involved with several mining ventures in the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas mountains.

Arizona Silver Belt

February 1st, 1900

J.J. Riggs was in town yesterday and reported the shipment of a 25-ton lot of ore from the Riggs -- Bridger mine. The last car of 15 tons yielded over $800.

Bisbee Review

January 29th, 1903

. . . . James J. Riggs, VP of company of the Hill Top Mine . . . .

Bisbee Daily Review

September 10th, 1903

. . . . J.J. Riggs was a director of the Chicago & Arizona (Casey Copper, properties) . . . .

LIVESTOCK SANITARY BOARD

Up until the 1900’s Arizona was sparsely populated and in some parts fairly lawless. The Territorial government was struggling to get laws and regulations in place that would better protect its citizens. J.J. was back on his ranch when the Governor made this appointment.

Bisbee Review

September 6th, 1902

Governor Brodie Appointees

On Thursday, the following appointments were made by Gov. Brodie: J.J. Riggs of Dos Cabezas Cochise County was appointed a member of the Livestock Sanitary Board . . . .

LIVESTOCK SANITARY BOARD: The Board is responsible for the prevention, control and eradication of diseases in livestock and poultry. The laws governing and regulating the raising and handling of livestock is administered by a board of 3 commissioners known as the Livestock Sanitary Board.

The Board was responsible for cattle brands and ear markings. They collected the Brand taxes. The first Brand recorded in Arizona was recorded April 28th, 1897.

The Board had Range detectives and dealt with Cattle Rustlers.

There were cattle inspectors that verified the ranchers brand at the time of shipping.

The Board issued Butcher’s licenses. The cattle inspectors examined the hides of the butchered cattle to identify proper ownership.

The Sanitary Livestock Board employed a Veterinarian.

Arizona Range News

Friday September 12th, 1902

J.J. Riggs of Dos Cabezas, was in town Saturday. He has been appointed a member of the Live Stock Sanitary Board by Gov. Brodie. The appointment is a good one as Mr. Riggs is not only thoroughly competent, but a man of intelligence and force of character who will render valuable service to the stockmen of the territory.

Arizona Range News

June 5th, 1903

J.J. Riggs a member of the sanitary board was in Willcox Wednesday and left for Pearce to assist at a cattle trial held Thursday at that place.

J.J. was well respected among his contemporaries. He enjoyed his work and was successful in helping bring law and order to the Territory although he was not a lawman.

Arizona Range News

September 25th, 1903

The Douglas Dispatch says: J.J. Riggs, of Dos Cabezas, arrived in Douglas and will stop a few days to get acquainted with many of his old time friends who are now living in this city. Mr. Riggs is a member of the Live Stock Sanitary Board and has done much toward getting conditions in a satisfactory shape. He was a member of the nineteenth legislature and has been largely interested in politics since that time. He has one of the big copper properties in the Dos Cabezas Mountains which promises to be one of the finest in that district. For many years Mr. Riggs has been interested in cattle, and is eminently fitted to serve on the Live Stock Sanitary Board with best results.

J.J. Riggs gave very material assistance in the preparation and passage of the present livestock code.

Sometimes accidents happen. Thank goodness the accident J.J. and Maggie had was not terribly serious.

Arizona Range News

Friday, December 11th, 1903

THROWN FROM BUGGY

Hon J.J. Riggs and His Wife While Enroute

From Dos Cabezas to Willcox Meet

With an Exciting Experience

MIGHT HAVE BEEN WORSE

Mrs. Riggs Escaped Without a Scratch, But

Mr. Riggs was Dragged and Received an Ugly Scalp Wound

Saturday morning as Hon. J.J. Riggs, a member of the Live Stock Sanitary Board and cattleman of Dos Cabezas, was driving to Willcox in company with his wife, they met with an accident they will not soon forget.

The morning was an exceptionally cold one and Mr. Riggs' hands had become numb from driving, and he had turned the team over to Mrs. Riggs, who was driving at the time the accident occurred. It seems the roads are in exceptionally bad condition, being full of holes and very uneven. When they were driving over a piece of this bad road the horses shied at something, running the buggy up onto an embankment. Mr. Riggs made a grab for the lines to get the team back into the road, when the buggy overturned, pitching the occupants out. Mrs. Riggs landed on a sand hill and received not a scratch.

With Mr. Riggs it was a different story. He became entangled in the wreck and was dragged a short distance before he could extricate himself. He was pretty badly bruised, besides receiving an ugly scalp wound over the right eye about three inches in length.

After the accident the team proceeded on its way to Wilcox and was caught by Mr. Tom Thomas. The team was recognized and the friends of Mr. Riggs, fearing a terrible accident had occurred, at once left to meet him. But in the meantime the Dos Cabezas stage had overtaken Mr. and Mrs. Riggs and picked them up and was just arriving on the outskirts of town when met by the party who had left Wilcox a short time before.

Mr. Riggs was attended by Dr. Nicholson and left for his ranch in the afternoon, where it is thought that after a few days of quiet rest he will be none the worse for wear.

Sometimes news would go statewide.

Coconino Sun Flagstaff

December 19th, 1903

Saturday morning as Hon. J.J. Riggs a member of the Live Stock Sanitary Board and cattleman of Dos Cabezas, was driving to Willcox in company with his wife, the buggy was upset and its occupants thrown out. The team ran away and Mr. Riggs became entangled in the wreckage and was badly bruised and a three-inch gash cut in scalp. Mrs. Riggs escaped injury.

J.J. was very interested in and involved in the forming of the State of Arizona. As was reported in the newspapers he was willing to travel to Washington D.C. to do his part in the forming of a new state.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Coconino Sun

January 6th, 1906

. . . . J.J. Riggs went to Washington D.C. as part of a group opposing Arizona and New Mexico being admitted to the Union as one state . . . .

Bisbee Daily Review

February 6th, 1906

. . . . James J Riggs in Washington D.C. with a delegation that oppose Statehood with New Mexico . . . .

Arizona Silver Belt (Globe City, Pinal County Ariz.

February 15th, 1906

Will Talk To Death The Statehood Bill

James J. Riggs, a member of the Arizona delegation at Washington in a letter to the Bisbee Review says:

“The joint statehood bill will be talked to death in the Senate. Not because of any love senators may have for Arizona or the demerits of the present bill, but because solely of the personal regard of friends in both houses of congress for one man, and that man is Mack Smith. There are also a large number of Senators who hate the man on the other end of the Avenue, and who will seize upon the righteous cause of Arizona to hide the real cause of the grievance.

“This has been one of the bitterest struggles in all the history of congress. Parties and principles have gone to pieces. Legislation in the national capital is purely a matter of barter. Public building bills, favors and patronage are the commodities in exchange. In our country we call it bribery, but here in Washington it goes under more polite parlance.

“Mark Smith has served Arizona well. Ask any member of the Arizona delegation, and you will get the same answer.”

The sad thing with this is that J.J. died before Arizona became a state.

ARIZONA BOARD OF CONTROL

Arizona Silver Belt

March 22nd, 1907

. . . . J.J. Riggs becomes citizen member of Board of Control . . . .

What is the Board of Control?

(The Board of Control was started by Louis Hughes sometime between 1893 and 1896. The Governor and Auditor of the territory and one citizen who shall be appointed by the Governor, who shall hold office 2 years, who shall be ex-officio Secretary, shall constitute a Board of Control. Not more than two members shall belong to the same political party.

The Board shall have full charge of all charitable (the Insane Asylum), penal (Territorial Prison) and reformatory (State Reform School for Boys) institutions and the upkeep of the capitol building and grounds. They were responsible for the financial and administrative matters of these agencies.

The Board of Control established policies and procedures regarding declarations of insanity, patient confinement in and terms of release from the Insane Asylum. They established policies and procedures for the Territorial Prison and the Territorial Reform School. The Board was in charge of purchasing supplies for these agencies. They visited all of the institutions once every three months.)

People served voluntarily on the Board of Control. They received no pay for their service to avoid people trying to influence their decisions.

James J. served twice. He took the Oath of office on July 1st, 1907 and again on March 27th, 1909.

Serving as he did in his Territorial government J.J. had many interesting jobs and experiences. Learning how to herd cattle certainly prepared him for the following assignment.

Daily Arizona Silver Belt (Mohave, AZ)

May 2nd, 1909

Increasing Duties

J.J. Riggs, citizen member of the Board of Control, has been subpoenaed as a member of the Federal Grand Jury in Cochise County. As the holder of a Federal office, he is exempt from such service, but being a dyed in the wool patriot, he would not shirk it for that reason alone. However, Thomas Rynning, Superintendent of the Territorial Prison has been subpoenaed as a witness before the same tribunal, and the only way he can answer the summons without turning the prisoners at Florence loose, is to turn them over to Mr. Riggs as the law provides in such emergencies, the citizen member of the board being required to ride herd on them while the Superintendent is temporarily off the job. Mr. Riggs has therefore wired the Court at Tombstone asking him to please excuse him from jury duty. --

Arizona Range News

October 22nd, 1909

……J.J. Riggs was involved with a case concerning prison properties at the time the Yuma Prison was closed and the State Prison moved to Florence.

J.J. had health problems for a number of years. He was getting worse so resigned from his position.

Tombstone Prospector

March 11th, 1910

J.J. Riggs Resigns from Board of Control

Governor Sloan has announced that Robert Craig, the superintendent of the Phoenix water works, has been tendered the position of citizen member of the board of control to succeed J.J. Riggs. Mr. Craig has accepted.

Hon. J.J. Riggs, citizen member of the territorial board of control, has tendered his resignation to Governor Sloan, to take effect on or about the fifteenth of this month. Mr. Riggs has not been in good health for some months and on the advice of his physicians he will retire from the position of trust which he has long held with credit to himself and satisfactory to the people of the territory. Sometime ago Mr. Riggs suffered a nervous breakdown and took a brief rest in California. He will leave Phoenix after his retirement and devote three or four months on the coast to recuperation.--Gazette.

ARIZONA CATTLE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

J.J., along with William, understood the importance of being involved in situations where laws and policies were being determined that affected the ranching business. When the Cattle Growers Association was formed the family became a vital part of it in Cochise County.

Arizona Range News

October 1907

After spending a week at his ranch near Dos Cabezas, Hon. J.J. Riggs returned to his Phoenix headquarters Tuesday. Mr. Riggs is president of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and says there will be something doing at the association meet during fair week. All cattlemen should make it their special business to be present.

Arizona Range News

Friday, January 31, 1908

J.J. Riggs is appointed to the Executive Committee of the American National Live Stock Association. Arizona will be represented in the executive committee of the National Live Stock Association the ensuing year by E. Gosney of Flagstaff, Dwight B. Heard of Phoenix, N.O. Perkins of Junction, and J.J. Riggs of Dos Cabezas.

ILLNESS AND DEATH

James J. was involved in many things through his life but from the time his knee was broken when he was 17 he had not enjoyed the best of health. Over the years he had many problems with his eyes requiring medical attention from Specialists. There was even a point where the removal of one eyeball was considered but it was decided that was not necessary.

Phoenix Stockman

August 1901

Hon. J.J. Riggs, a prominent cattleman of Cochise County, who represented his county in the legislature a few years ago, came to Phoenix on Wednesday morning to consult with Dr. Martin, eye specialist, concerning his left eye, which had been injured to an extent that Mr. Riggs believed the eye would have to be removed. Dr. Martin made a thorough examination and assured his patient that the eye could be saved and that the eyesight will be as good as ever. This was encouraging to Jimmie and he will remain in the city for a few days while under the treatment of the doctor. By saving this member, Jimmy will have to “wink the other eye” when he shoots, just as he always did.

In March 1910 his health had deteriorated to the point that he was forced to resign from his position on the Board of Control. J.J. and Maggie came from Phoenix to the Prue place. A nurse was hired to help care for him. He was ill for almost a year. The Death Certificate states that no physician was present at time of death and that the cause of death was probably Tubercular Laryngitis. He was 59 years old and his wife was 53.

James Jay Riggs died on January 24th, 1911. He was buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

(Riggs Family Cemetery location, row 1 headstone e)

As can be seen by the following obituaries, J.J. was highly thought of all over the state of Arizona.

Arizona Range News

January 24th, 1911

J.J. RIGGS DIES AT HOME IN DOS CABEZAS

Deceased Was Former Member of the Territorial Board of Control

J.J. Riggs, a prominent Cochise county cattleman, and until a few months ago citizen member of the territorial board of control, died this morning at his home near Dos Cabezas.

Mr. Riggs was one of the best-known citizens of the territory and possessed possibly the widest acquaintance among the residents of Arizona generally. He was especially well known in Cochise, Pima and Maricopa counties. As the citizen member of the territorial board of control he had most of the work of that important organization to administer. He was compelled to resign because of ill health.

The deceased was about 45 years of age and is survived by a family. It is understood that his remains will be shipped east for burial. The news of his death was received by the Parker Undertaking Company.

Graham Guardian

February 10th, 1911

Death of J.J. Riggs

Well known Cattleman Passes Away at Dos Cabezas

J.J. Riggs, a prominent cattleman of Cochise County, died at his home at Dos Cabezas, Tuesday morning, January 24th. Mr. Riggs was well-known in this section and had many friends in this city. Until a few months ago, he was a member of the Territorial Board of Control, which he was compelled to resign on account of ill health.

Mr. Riggs was about 45 years of age and is survived by a widow and several children. The remains were sent back east for interment. As a Territorial official, he was active in the discharge of his duties. Since he was compelled to forego the activities of public life has been residing at Dos Cabezas, looking after his private interests.

Tombstone Epitaph

January 29th, 1911

Prominent Cochise Cattleman is Dead

J.J. Riggs, a prominent Cochise County cattlemen, and until a few months ago a Citizen Member of the Territorial Board of Control, died yesterday morning at his home near Dos Cabezas.

Mr. Riggs was one of the best-known citizens of the territory and possessed possibly the widest acquaintance among the residents of Arizona generally. He was especially well known in Cochise, Pima, and Maricopa counties. As the Citizen Member of the Territorial Board of Control he had most of the work of that important organization to administer. He was compelled to resign because of ill health.

The deceased was about 45 years of age and is survived by a family. It is understood that his remains will be shipped east for burial.

James Jay Riggs

1870 - 1911

From Fort Riggs, Texas, where he was born in January 1870, James Jay Riggs migrated to Arizona with his family in 1877. His father established a cattle ranch in the Sulphur Springs Valley, and young Riggs became an expert bronc-twister.

Riggs received his initial education from a private tutor. He went to college in San Diego for two years, and later went to the University of Valparaiso in Indiana. After graduation, he returned to Arizona and opened a law office in Safford.

Always active in Territorial politics, Riggs was elected to the Territorial Legislature in 1898 and served under Governor Kibbey as citizen member of the Board of Control.

Two years later he went to Upper Sandusky, Ohio and married Margaret Dumm. He brought his bride to Arizona and set up a cattle ranch near Dos Cabezas. They had three children.

His renewed interest in cattle prompted Riggs to become a member of the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association and the organization elected him their president in 1907. Riggs served in this office one term. Failing health forced him to retire to his ranch where he died in 1911.

From: Pioneer and Well Known Cattleman of Arizona by Roscoe Willson

El Paso Herald

January 30th, 1911

J.J. Riggs died at his ranch home after a lingering illness of more than a year. The funeral was conducted by Rev. Light of Curtis (Rev. Curtis of Light?), and interment was made at the Riggs cemetery. Mr. Riggs was a native of Belton, Texas, but for many years had been a resident of this section, being prominent in politics and social circles. He was several years ago a representative in the legislature, for a long while a member of the Livestock Sanitary Board and up to within a year of his death a member of the Board of Control, being chosen under the administration of Governor Kibby. He leaves a wife, two children, a mother, several brothers and sisters.

After the death of her husband, Maggie stayed in the Riggs settlement where she was set up with a ranch. Our family help look after her ranch until her children are both old enough to take over running the ranch themselves. She spends the school year in Long Beach, California, where her children attend school.

Mary Frances (Riggs) Stark

21 May 1872 02 Feb 1961

On May 21st, 1872 Mary Frances was born in Las Animas County Colorado. She was the 3rd girl 7th child of Brannick and Mary. Mary was 5 years old when they left Colorado. Like the younger children, she rode in the wagon driven by her mother as they traveled from Colorado to the Sulphur Springs valley.

EDUCATION

Although the Riggs family had started a school in Colorado, Mary being 5 years old when they left may not have attended school there. She was 9 years old when the El Dorado school was started at Home Ranch so she and her siblings attended school there. In 1893, Mary graduated from a Teachers Course at the Northern Indiana Normal School in Valparaiso, Indiana. I don’t know if she ever taught school.

Arizona Range News

Tuesday, January 7th, 1896

Miss Mary Riggs, now a student at the University at Tucson, spent the holidays with her parents at the ranch and returned to her studies at the University Sunday.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

T.B. and W.A. Stark, brothers, had come to the Sulphur Springs Valley area from Missouri. The Stark brothers met, courted and married the Riggs sisters. William A. Stark was 19 years older than Mary Frances Riggs when they married.

Tombstone Prospector

December 21st, 1896

Probate Judge today issued licenses permitting the following named persons to wed . . . . W. A. Stark to Mary Riggs . . . .

“31 Mr William Stark and Mary was married hereJanuary 1th 1897

11 they went to mosury a snow storm”

Arizona Range News

January 5th, 1897

One of the most interesting events which it has been our privileged to record for some time was the marriage on New Years eve of Mr. Wm. A. Stark, the well known stockman, to Miss Mary Riggs, daughter of that sterling citizen and veteran cattle-grower, Mr. B. Riggs. The wedding took place at the residence of the bride's parents at Brannick and a large number of invited guests shared in the festivities appropriate to the occasion. The ceremony was performed by Justice W. F. Nichols in his happiest style and hearty congratulations were tendered by all present. The happy pair drove to town the following day and left on the morning of the 2d inst. for a protracted visit at the old home of Mr. Stark in Missouri. The best wishes of the news accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Stark on their journey.

“December 24 1896 Mr and Mrs Pursley”

The Pursley’s were ranching neighbors. They were friends of the W.A. Starks and were living in Safford at the time of the wedding.

Graham Guardian

January 1st, 1897

Mr. And Mrs. Jas. Pursley left Tuesday for Riggs ranch to attend the Stark -- Riggs wedding.

Their children are Harold Kinzie, William Frank, Mary Eunice and John Riggs Stark. The family lived in Safford when the first 3 children were born. W.A. and Mary had a farm there. He also ran a store in Solomonville.

For a time they owned and lived at the “Ten” ranch which is located about halfway between Safford and the Riggs settlement.

W.A. and Mary Stark lived near Solomonville.

Arizona Range News

April 19th, 1899

Wm. A. Stark, who recently sold his Safford farm to ex-Supervisor Hayes, has purchased land near the Groesbeck Hotel on which to build a new residence.

Arizona Range News

Friday, June 29th, 1917

Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Stark and three sons of Long Beach arrived Friday of last week to spend the summer at the Home Ranch in El Dorado. They motored from Long Beach, making the trip in seven days and came through without any auto trouble. They stated that the trip from Black Canyon near Prescott to Phoenix afforded the most beautiful scenery they ever saw and that El Dorado seemed fully as cool as Long Beach did the day they left. They look forward to their summer among their relatives and our valley with pleasure.

Mary passed away February 2nd, 1961. She is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

John Casey Riggs

John Casey Riggs was born September 21st, 1874 in Las Animas County, Colorado. He is our 5th son, 8th child. John was only 4 years old when the family left Colorado.

EDUCATION

After we settled in Arizona he started school at the Home Ranch School. Upon completing what education he could at home, John also attended school at the Northern Indiana Normal school in Valparaiso, Indiana. John and his brother, James Jay, were members of the Star Literary Society in 1893. In 1894 J.J. Riggs was President 1st term and John C. was Vocal Chorister. In his papers there is an invitation for a performance Saturday August 11th, 1894. John C. graduated the first time in 1894 and graduated in Civil Engineering.

In 1900 John attended a business school in San Francisco. After finishing school there in 1904 he went back to school again at Northern Indiana Normal School. This time his nephew, Charles Riggs, went with him. John studied Law and graduated in 1906.

Arizona Range News

January 31st, 1900

J.C. Riggs returned Saturday from San Francisco, where he has been taking a course in a business college.

Arizona Range News

September 2nd, 1904

J.C. Riggs and Charlie Riggs left for Valparaiso, Ind., Tuesday. The former will take a two year course at the state normal of that state, making law his study.

Arizona Range News

Friday, September 22nd, 1905

John C. Riggs, of Willcox, was elected president of the 1906 Law Class, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, on Wednesday. This is a well-deserved complement to our fellow townsman, and is not only a tribute to his popularity at the university but is also a recognition of his marked ability. This is not the first time that Mr. Riggs' many accomplishments have been recognized at Valparaiso University; he has been prominent in the debating sections and his literary efforts are far above the average. Willcox should be as proud of him as his university is.

LAW PRACTICE

Arizona Range News

Friday, June 15th, 1906

J.C. Riggs who has been taking a law course at a Valparaiso, Ind., law college for the past two and a half years, returned home yesterday a full-fledged attorney. Mr. Riggs has expressed himself as inclined to follow his profession in some good town of Cochise county and we predict for him every success, as he possesses the happy faculty of making a friend of every man he meets, is always sincerely in earnest with every task he undertakes, besides being industrious and reliable.

Bisbee Daily Review

June 14th, 1906

Upon motion of Attorney Flannigan, J.C. Riggs was admitted to practice in the district court upon presenting a certificate from the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana.

State of Indiana,

County of Porter.} ss

Before me, Kate Corboy, a Notary Public, in and for said State and County aforesaid, personally appeared J.C. Riggs, known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within annexed instrument, and being duly sworn, on oath, acknowledged that he executed the same as his free act and deed for the purpose and consideration therein expressed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my notarial seal in the said State and County, this 22nd day of April, 1905.

(Seal) Kate Corboy,

Notary Public.

My commission expires July 11th, 1908

“July 18 1906 John moved to Tombstone”

Arizona Range News

1906

. . . .John C. Riggs was an attorney in the law firm of Cunningham, Ellerbe and Riggs in Tombstone.

Arizona Range News

January 11th, 1907

J.C. Riggs, the well-known Tombstone attorney, is visiting his parents at the Home ranch. Mr. Riggs is developing into quite a politician and has noted several weak points in the primary election laws that he believes every good citizen should insist on having changed.

Arizona Range News

1907

. . . .John C. Riggs and Chris Ellerbe were defense attorneys on a case . . . .

Arizona Range News

March 1st, 1907

Attorney D.L. Cunningham, of Cunningham, Ellerbe and Riggs of Tombstone, was here on business Saturday.

“11 May 1908 John come home he is tax colector

12 September 1908 John come in his otombele to See us”

January 10th, 1909 Tombstone Epitaph

. . . . John C. Riggs elected president of the Cochise Club, the only men’s social club in Tombstone.

John Casey and Jeanette Mary Brauns Riggs

MARRIAGE

Arizona Range News

March 4th, 1910

We have just been informed that Attorney J.C. Riggs has sneaked off to Sandusky, Ohio, where it is said he will be married to a charming society belle of that place. We hope we are not giving away any of J.C.'s secrets.

March 7th, 1910 Tombstone Prospector

TOMBSTONE ATTORNEY MARRIES

J.C. Riggs Joins Ranks of Benedicts While Visiting East

Attorney John C. Riggs of this city stole a march on his friends and without giving any warning or previous announcement, has quietly joined the ranks of the benedicts. When Mr. Riggs left here for the east it was not suspicion that he had slyly entered into an agreement with Cupid, but it appears that the compact was duly carried out to the letter, when on March 3rd, at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, he led Miss Jeanette M. Brauns to the altar, and the happy couple joined in wedlock. Now that we think of it, the earnest John was a little persistent in knowing how to master his auto and the many things his bachelor friends observed and could not fathom, while perfecting himself in several other matters are now quite clear. The plans of the couple are not known, but hearty congratulations are extended and a royal welcome awaits their arrival in Tombstone.

Arizona Range News

Friday, June 25th, 1915

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

Department of the Interior, United

States Land Office at Phoenix, Arizona

June 4th, 1915

Notice is hereby given that John C. Riggs, of Dos Cabezas, Arizona, who, on August 10th, 1908, made homestead entry No. 0435, for W1/2 SW1/4, NE1/4 SW1/4, SE1/4 NW1/4, Section 25, Township 16S., Range 28E., G.&S.R.B & Meridian, has filed notice of intention to make five year proof, to establish claim to the land above described, before L.V. McCourt, United States Commissioner, at Willcox, Arizona, on the 14th day of July, 1915.

Claimant names as witnesses: John W. Robinson, Virgil A. Amalong, Thomas B. Stark, Barney K. Riggs all of Dos Cabezas, Arizona

Thomas F. Weeden

Register.

Arizona Range News

June 21st, 1929

The John C. Riggs family returned home Tuesday from a two weeks’ vacation spent in Northern Arizona, taking in points of interest including the Grand Canyon.

Arizona Range News

October 18th, 1929

Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Burkhardt and Miss Clara Brauns of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, arrived last Friday for a visit with Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Riggs and family. The ladies are sisters of Mrs. Riggs. The trip was made overland.

MINING

John was involved in some mining interests in the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua Mountains. C. B. Bosworth of Deming, New Mexico, was one person he was in partnership with.

POLITICAL SERVICE

John served as Deputy County Attorney when the county seat was in Tombstone, Arizona.

John served in the Arizona State Senate in the 1930’s. (Need more info)

Brewery Gulch Gazette

August 26th, 1932

John Riggs of Willcox declares himself for some real economy in state affairs. He isn’t for a little saving here and there, he is for cuts up to fifty per cent. He is going to get down to rock bottom, if given a chance, and help put the state government on a business basis instead of political. He believes that this is a good time to forget politics and he finds many of the voters who agree with him.

“OUR EL DORADO"

John C. Riggs is interested in his family’s history. Over the years of his life he compiled a book about his family and their lives and travels.

John passed away January 4th, 1943. He is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Lucy Elizabeth (Riggs) Moore

Lucy Elizabeth Riggs was born October 20th, 1876 in Las Animas County, Colorado. She was 2 years old when the family started for the Sulphur Springs Valley where we settled. She is our 4th daughter 9th child.

EDUCATION

When she was old enough Lucy started school at the Home Ranch School. After 1900 she attended school in the El Dorado School.

Lucy attended Northern Indiana Normal School for a year but it was too cold for her and she was too homesick so she didn’t return. She then attended the U of A.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

Arizona Range News

Friday August 8th, 1902

NUPTIALS

Mr. Gus L. Moore and Miss Lucy E. Riggs were married at the residence of Mr. And Mrs. Brannick Riggs, the bride’s parents, at 1 p.m. Wednesday August 6th, 1902. The ceremony was performed by Justice C.O. Anderson. Mr. Wm. Riggs performed the function of the best man and Mrs. J.J. Riggs the best lady. The ceremony was witnessed by a large number of relatives and friends of the contracting parties, at the conclusion of which congratulations were exchanged and the happy couple and guests then repaired to the dining room where lunch was served.

The young couple are well and favorably known throughout this valley. The groom is a young man of energy and ability and the bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brannick Riggs and is a bright and accomplished young woman. Both have hosts of friends in this section who join in wishing them a long, happy and prosperous matrimonial career.

The young couple started the same afternoon for their new home on a nearby ranch where they will reside in the future.

“Gus L. Moore came to Arizona in 1900 and became an employee of Mr. Riggs. He worked for us over a year. Gus married Lucy Elizabeth and started into the cattle business for himself. In August of 1903 Gus, Lucy and little son, William Riggs Moore, moved from the Prue Ranch in the Riggs settlement to a ranch six miles east of Willcox, at the foot of the Dos Cabezas mountains where they took up a homestead about a mile south of their present ranch. Gus and B.K. moved a small three room frame house from the 202 Ranch for them to live in. Two wells were already here as this was an established watering place. Mr. Moore built corrals, a barn, and sheds for which the material was hauled by wagon and team from Brannick B. Riggs’ sawmill in the Chiricahua Mountains. Later a porch, and a small lean-to room were added to the house, and a cellar dug just back of the kitchen door for storage of vegetables and meats. A few years later they located where they live now. The ranch is situated seven miles easterly from Willcox on the western slope of the Dos Cabezas Mountains and is one of the best grass ranches in this locality. During a severe rain storm on September 14th, 1907, lightning struck the barn, burning it to the ground. Total losses were all the new cut prairie hay, wagon, buggy, harness, saddles, including Mrs. Moore’s side-saddle.

Arizona Range News

Friday, September 20th, 1907

On Saturday afternoon during an electrical storm lightning struck the large barn on the ranch of Gus Moore. Fire followed destroying the barn and contents.

From modest beginnings their ranch and their herd have increased. The whole ranch is fenced and cross fenced and divided into five pastures. Each pasture has one or more windmills and wells with storage water tanks and watering troughs. Near the ranch house over 50 acres are cleared and under cultivation. A well was drilled to a depth of over 200 feet providing water for irrigation. Yearly tons of hay is cut which is fed during the winter and dry season to the cattle. The cattle on this ranch are the usual white faced Herefords.

In 1907 the Riggs Cattle Company had purchased the Cross J Ranch and cattle, and the Moore Family moved back to the Prue Place in the Riggs Settlement so Mr. Moore could help gather the Cross J cattle out of the mountains. The family lived at the Prue Ranch until June of 1910, and moved back to a new house which had been built one-half mile north of the original ranch site. In 1909 Mr. Moore’s parents had moved from Sherwood, Texas, and were now living at the old ranch.

Arizona Range News

Friday, March 9th, 1917

010875

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

Department of the Interior, U.S. Land Office at Phoenix, Arizona, February 19th, 1917.

Notice is hereby given that Gus L. Moore, of Willcox, Arizona, who, on June 13th, 1910, made Homestead Entry, No. 010875, for the NE 1/4 of NW 1/4, of Section 7, Township 14 S., Range 26 East, G.&S.R. Meridian, has filed notice of intention to make Final Five Year Proof, to establish claim to the land above described, before L.V. McCourt, U.S. Commissioner, at Willcox, Arizona, on the 23rd day of April, 1917.

Claimant names as witnesses: Albert E. Keeth, Henry C. Martin, Stanley W. Craig, Ivey B. Gardner, all of Willcox, Arizona

J.L. Irvin, Register.

Gus and Lucy have six children, three boys, William Riggs Moore, Frank Roberts Moore and Gus Lee Moore, Jr. and three girls, Elizabeth Moore, Lila Belle Moore and Marjorie Caroline Moore .

Lucy passed away March 5th, 1965. She is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Barney Kemp (BK) Riggs

In 1877 Brannick and Mary Elizabeth left Colorado and traveled to the southeast corner of Arizona, looking for a place where we could settle down and make a home. With our covered wagons and tents we set up a camp at the mouth of Emigrant Canyon on the Bowie side of the Chiricahua Mountains. On August 23rd, 1879 Barney Kemp Riggs arrived, our 10th child, the seventh son of our Riggs family. By October the water in the springs had dried up in Emigrant Canyon and we had to move through Apache pass and into the Sulphur Springs valley where we found a permanent source of water. Here we built our home.

B.K. can remember seeing the captured Geronimo as he was being taken with his braves to the railroad at Bowie. General Miles came by the ranch with Geronimo and members of his tribe. Mr. Riggs was butchering a beef. General Miles asked for the beef with which to feed his men and the Indians so it was provided for them. The Indians ate their meat raw but General Miles and his men cooked theirs. Then a youngster of six, BK just had to see Geronimo so ran over to the encampment. Geronimo wore Levi’s and a regular work shirt. He also wore silver and turquoise jewelry. He was abashed, however, at the mean look the warrior gave him. He said his eyes were “mean”. The group camped nearby all night and went on the next morning.

All of the children had to do their share of the chores of the ranch. When B.K. was about 12 years old it became time for him and his older brother J.C. to be responsible for delivering a butchered beef to Fort Bowie. They would start out early in the morning, before daylight and sometimes when they reached Apache Pass their imagination got the best of them and they were just sure that the giant soap weeds along the way were skulking Indians!”

EDUCATION

B. K.’s education began at the frame school house in the front yard of Home ranch. He also attended El Dorado school after it was built. He attended the U of A, also a school in CA.

Arizona Range News

June 27th, 1900

B.K. Riggs. , who has been attending a business college at San Francisco during the past year, returned home today.

Arizona Range News

July 4th, 1900

Kay Riggs, the youngest son of Hon. B. Riggs returned from San Francisco last Wednesday and later went out to his home. Kay has been attending a commercial college for several months past. He finished up the business course, but said he might return in the fall to take up another course in short hand.

Class notes 1897 - 1919

Barney Kemp Riggs, Prep ‘97, still lives on the ranch of his father, Brannick Riggs, who founded the vast Riggs Settlement ranching empire in the Chiricahua's near Willcox, Ariz., in 1880. Born in 1879 at Fort Bowie, Ariz., he was admitted to the Preparatory School at the University of Arizona from El Dorado District School in 1895. He spent the year 1895 - 1896 here, completing the 11th grade. Mr. Riggs has lived all of his life on his ranch, with the exception of trips away to school -- besides Arizona he went to Tempe Normal School and to an engineering school in California.

Barney Kemp, known as B.K. to his family and later as Uncle Kay to his nieces and nephews, grew up on our ranch, went away to school but returned to take up the family tradition of ranching. After his father’s death, B.K. made Home Ranch his home, managing the ranch for me.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

Barney Kemp and Mary Elizabeth Murphy Riggs

Barney Kemp Riggs married Mary Elizabeth Murphy 2 January 1911 in Kansas.

Arizona Range News

Friday, January 6th, 1911

B.K. Riggs and Miss Murphy stole away the other day and were married. The bride is Mrs. A.H. Jelley's sister and some time ago was Postmaster Hauser's obliging assistant. The groom is a prominent young cattleman, being the secretary of the Riggs Cattle Co. To this union came 4 children: Martha Elizabeth, Edward Kemp, James Murphy, and Herbert Robbins.

Because there were so many Mary’s and Elizabeth’s in the family BK’s wife was called K’s Mary or Aunt Mary K.

Arizona Range News

Friday, February 18th, 1910

Wm. M. Riggs, J.C. Riggs, B.K. Riggs and Gus Moore, members of the Riggs Cattle Co., were business visitors to Willcox Tuesday and Wednesday.

Arizona Range News

Unknown date

UNITED STATES VS. B.K.RIGGS

A case entitled United States vs. B.K. Riggs was heard before John F. Crowley, U.S. Commissioner, Tuesday. Some time ago the defendant filed on a homestead about five miles east of Willcox and according to the plaintiff did not comply with the law as regards residence on the land.

Final commutation proof was made in October 1908.

The first witness called for the United States was S.N. Kemp, who was questioned regarding the registration of B.K. Riggs for the election of November 3rd, 1908. The witness testified to publishing the register; that it was the official register of Cochise County; that it contained the name of B.K. Riggs whose residence and voting precinct was given as El Dorado, a precinct some twenty five miles distant from the land on which the defendant was supposed to reside to comply with the land laws.

The next witness was Neil Erickson, who testified that he had known the defendant for the past twenty years and that his residence had always been understood to be at the Riggs home ranch in El Dorado precinct.

Wm. Riggs for the United States testified that B.K. Riggs had not made continuous residence on the land.

The case was defended on the ground that the defendant had never claimed continuous residence and simply stood on the claims as set forth in the final proof.

Jim Speaks testified for the defendant, telling of the improvements defendant had made on the land since the final prove up.

From the prosecution of this case it is very evident that Uncle Sam intends to see that those who enter upon his lands must comply with the law.

Ibid.

W.M. Riggs, former supervisor of the county, is assisting his brother B.K. Riggs erect some new buildings on his ranch a few miles from town and was purchasing supplies Tuesday.

B.K. has a great sense of humor and a very infectious laugh. When reading the following story I could just hear he and his friend “whooping and hollering” as they drove across the pasture chasing the Lobo.

Arizona Range News

August 20th, 1916

Trusty Ford Runs down a Big Lobo Wolf

Courtland, August 14th -- There are so many stories about the Ford car that they have been gathered and put in book form, but here is one that happened in this section and was participated in by a couple of well-known residents of Cochise county. It seems that Kay Riggs, having Jas. Hopkins for company, started from some point in the Riggs Settlement for Dos Cabezas right recently taking along a shotgun with three or four shells. On the route they noticed a bunch of cattle acting in a peculiar manner and drove up to investigate, finding that a Lobo wolf was among them.

The varmint, evidently concluding that discretion was better than valor, made a hasty retreat when confronted with the armed Ford. A shot was fired but served only to accelerate the movements of the animal. Though handicapped in the start, Riggs decided to give chase, and the race was on in earnest, across country having no terrors for the boughty car and driver. Thinking that to run over the animal would end the excitement, Mr. Riggs let her out as they came close up to the brute, driving the car completely over the animal, but his surprise was great to see the wolf jump to his feet and make his getaway, this time apparently on “high”. Resuming the chase, the former experience was again passed through. More determined than ever that they would have that wolf if the Ford would hold out, they started again in hot pursuit. This time it was “do or die” with all concerned and the wolf certainly did nobly, but he had misjudged the capabilities of that little “peace ship” and its crew. When getting close up to the hurrying animal, Hopkins having dug up a shovel from among the equipment about the car, got out on the foot board and as the car passed over the brute, managed to give it a blow that partially stunned it, so that he was able to get to it before it regained its feet, and dispatched it with the humble prospectors shovel, thereby cinching the $75.00 bounty and reward now on these calf killers.

HEALTH ISSUES

El Paso Herald

December 4th, 1916

PATIENTS AT ROLSTON HOSPITAL

Mrs. B.K. Riggs of Willcox, Ariz., who left the hospital for Hotel McCoy, a week ago, after recovering from a very severe operation left the last of the week for her ranch home at Dos Cabezas, Ariz. Mr. Riggs who was with her at the hospital during her illness, accompanied her to the ranch.

“1922 Aunt Mary K had an operation in Minnesota”

Arizona Range News

November 10th, 1916

A.H. Jelley spent Saturday, Sunday and a part of Monday with K. Riggs in the El Dorado district. He visited Hill Top mine while there, and reports that the tunnel which is being driven through the mountain will be completed this week.

(Enlarge on the tunnel)

JURY SERVICE

The world was changing all over. There was a war going on in Europe and the effects of it were being felt in Cochise County. Kay was called to serve on a jury. The following found in the newspapers explains it better than I can.

During WWI the need for Copper and Silver grew and the price for these metals went high. There were not enough workers in Bisbee to keep up the necessary production so miners were brought in from Mexico and Europe, mainly Germany and Poland. The I.W.W. - Industrial Workers of the World known as the “Wobblies” - was an international Union that became active in Bisbee at that time. In the early summer of 1917 there was great unrest with the miners over what they called unfairness of wage scales and working conditions. The I.W.W. advocated slowdowns and sabotage. In June the miners struck. On July 12th, 1917 an armed vigilante group, led by Sheriff Harry Wheeler and groups of “Deputies” from the Citizen’s Protective League and Workman’s Loyalty League, kidnapped 1,186 men out of their homes and off their jobs and loaded them into filthy cattle cars, taking them across the state line, leaving the group stranded in Hernanas, New Mexico. Several days later food and water were brought to them.

The case of The State of Arizona vs. Harry E. Wootton was brought against the Copper Companies with Harry E. Wootton being named as a representative in the en masse trial. Mr. Wootton ran H.E. Wootton Hardware on Main Street in Bisbee. Attorney Burges from El Paso defended the copper companies.

El Paso Herald

February 5th, 1920

PREJUDICE AGAINST I.W.W. SAYS JUROR

B.K. Riggs Says He Could Not Be Impartial if Wobblies Appear

Court Praises Frank Admission

New Venire of 500 Drawn for “Kidnapping” Trial at Tombstone, Ariz.

Tombstone, Ariz. Feb. 5.---B. K. Riggs tentatively passed by both sides as a juror in the trial of Harry E. Wootton, accused of kidnapping in connection with the Bisbee deportations of 1917 created a furor in court this morning when he arose and declared he could not be impartial as a juror if testimony was given by any witness who was an I.W.W.

Riggs had obtained permission from the court to qualify an answer to a question by county attorney Robert N. French, asked when he was examined and passed as a juror two days ago, as to whether he was prejudiced against labor organizations.

“I most certainly am prejudiced against the I.W.W.’s” he said, “and if any testimony is given concerning this organization I could not be impartial”.

Following Riggs’s statement, county attorney French declared the prosecution had no I.W.W.’s as witnesses and no man would be put on trial for deporting them. He challenged Riggs but the challenge was over-ruled by Judge Samuel L. Pattee upon French’s statement. Riggs’s brother, William M. Riggs, another tentatively accepted juror, then arose and said he held similar sentiments concerning I.W.W.

COURT COMPLIMENTS JURORS

French said he knew both men and that he considered their integrity of the highest. Both jurors were complimented by the court for expressing their views instead of sitting silent.

But a dozen venire men of 300 already drawn were on hand for examination when court convened this morning and court was to adjourn until Tuesday afternoon after they had been examined. A new venire had been ordered drawn to report Tuesday.

Only half a dozen of the 210 defendants in the deportation cases can be tried and the other will of necessity be determined because there will not be enough jurors obtainable in the county to try them, lawyers connected with the case said today.

MANY DISQUALIFIED

There are 7500 names on the jury rolls possible to be called it was said. Fifty percent or more are disqualified as employees of the copper interests, some officials of which are among the defendants. Claims for exemption and bias are taking a great proportion of the remainder and it was expected each case would require . . . . .

El Paso Herald

April 12th, 1920

WOOTTON TRIAL HALTS; JUROR ILL

Tombstone, Ariz., April 12th--- The trial of Harry E. Wootton, charged with kidnapping in connection with the Bisbee deportations of July 12th, 1917, was receded today by judge Samuel L. Pattee, to permit of a medical examination into the condition of B.K. Riggs of Dos Cabezas, a juror.

In the above trial the copper companies were found at fault in the deportations of I.W.W., but the deportations were justified by the “Law of Necessity” because of the actions of the union bringing risk to a country at war. Harry E. Wootton, who was tried for kidnapping, was found not guilty. The civil suits that were brought by those who had been deported were settled for a total of $100,000.

Attorney Burges told the mining companies they should let the miners organize in a responsible union.

B.K. passed away May 9th, 1963. He is buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Edith Bessy Riggs

In October 1879 Mr. Riggs and I and our children settled in the Sulphur Springs valley at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains. We built a home and the beginnings of the Riggs cattle ranch were put in place. Ours was a large family but on August 2nd, 1884 it was made complete with the arrival of Edith Bessie Riggs, our 5th daughter, the 11th and final child. There were many siblings to love and care for this sweet little girl but her time on this earth was to be short. Brannick was aged 56 and I was aged 46 when Edith Bessie was born.

“May 24 1884 Edith Riggs borned in cochise co Arizona”

Bessie died August 9th, 1885. She lived but one year and one week. Edith Bessie was the second family member to be buried in the Riggs Family Cemetery.

Brannick and Mary Elizabeth's first grandson, Bessie's nephew, Frank Thomas Riggs preceded her in death by two weeks. What a sad time.

This is not an actual photo of Edith Bessy as there are no know photos of her available. Only a representation of a child around 1884-1885.

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