RIGGS FAMILY HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

 HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

The following is a list of major historical documents, their current owner and location.

001     MARY ELIZABETH RIGGS DIARY (VOLUME I)
The first entry in volume I diary was February 9, 1896 and the last entry was December 27, 1912. The diary was donated to Special Collections and the University of Arizona Library, Tucson, Arizona by Mindy Scott from her aunt Elizabeth Ditmars.

002     MARY ELIZABETH RIGGS DIARY (VOLUME II)
The first entry in volume II diary was January 1, 1913 and the last entry was July 16, 1929. The diary was donated to Special Collections at the University of Arizona Library, Tucson, Arizona by Chris Roll, Jeanette Mary (Riggs) Roll's youngest son.

003     "OUR EL DORADO" / ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
The original manuscript of Our El Dorado was initiated by John Casey Riggs and finished by his daughter, Jeanette Mary (Riggs) Roll. It was donated to Special Collections at the University of Arizona Library, Tucson, Arizona by Chris Roll, Jeanette's youngest son.

004     "RIGGS CENTENNIAL REUNION  1879-1979" / ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
The original manuscript of Riggs Centennial Reunion 1879 - 1979 was written by members of the Riggs family then compiled and published by the Historical and Publicity Committee for the Riggs Reunion. The committee was composed of Marjorie Moore Bell, Elizabeth Moore Ditmars, Mary Ann Lamberson Grimes, John B Riggs, Ronald B. Riggs, and Jeanette (Riggs) Roll. It is currently in the possession of John B Riggs and will be donated to Special Collections at the University of Arizona Library, Tucson, Arizona.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

RIGGS FAMILY PAPERS / SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA LISTING OF DOCUMENTS

Collection Name:     Riggs  Family Papers

Inclusive Dates:     1878-1998

Bulk Dates:     (1900-1942)

Physical Description:    9 linear feet

Abstract:    This collection contains materials documenting the Riggs  pioneer family history from the time Brannick Riggs  married Mary Elizabeth Robbins in Texas in 1856, their first wagon train move to Colorado in 1871, and several years later relocating again to southeastern Arizona, arriving and settling in Sulphur Springs Valley in 1879. Their eighth child, John Casey Riggs  (1874-1943), was the family’s historian and creator of the bulk of the papers. The collection includes Our El Dorado, a biographical book written by John C. Riggs  and his daughter, Jeanette Riggs  Roll. Also included in the collection are biographical manuscripts; diaries and journals; business and personal correspondence; business records and ledgers; printed materials, including pamphlets, catalogs, newspapers and clippings; homestead land and mine patents; political papers of John Casey Riggs ; maps; and photographs and negatives.

Collection Number:    MS 580

Language:     Materials are in English.

Repository:    University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
E-Mail: LBRY-askspcoll@email.arizona.edu

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Casey Riggs  (1874-1943) was the eighth of ten children born to Brannick Riggs  (1828-1907) and Mary Robbins Riggs  (1838-1935), pioneer homesteaders from Texas who arrived in the Sulphur Springs Valley area of southeastern Arizona (Cochise County) in 1879. John Casey Riggs  was born in Los Animas County, Colorado in 1874 and traveled by oxen and wagon with his family in 1877 to join other Riggs  relatives in the Dos Cabezas gold mining district of Arizona with a herd of horses and about eight head of cattle. The Riggs  family established themselves in the area as ranchers, bankers, and state and local politicians, as well as attorneys, teachers, miners and loggers in this part of southeastern Arizona where many of their offspring continue to live and work. They established the Riggs  Cattle Company in 1904 and the Riggs  Bank of Willcox, AZ in 1920. Family stories in the collection tell of the tragic deaths of Brannick Riggs ’ brother John and his wife, Jane, in Bell County, Texas by Comanches in 1857, the final years of the Chiricahua Apache Wars and raids on neighboring homesteads, and the earthquake of 1887 that shook southern Arizona, to name a few.

John Casey Riggs  graduated from Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1894 and obtained his law degree in 1906. He practiced law in Tombstone, Arizona until 1911. He then became general manager for the Riggs  Cattle Company until 1917. He helped organize the Riggs  Bank in 1920, and after it closed in 1933, he was elected to the Senate of the Eleventh State Legislature. He married Jeanette (Nettie) Mary Brauns of Upper Sandusky, Ohio in 1910, and together they built the John Riggs  Ranch. They had four children, Paul William Riggs  (1911-1990), John Stark Riggs  (1912-1998), Ellerbe Brauns Riggs (1915-2007), and Jeanette Mary Riggs  (1916-2004), who continued to marry and settle on ranches in the same area where their family has resided since 1879. The Riggs  family celebrated their centennial in Arizona with a family reunion in 1979 in Willcox, AZ.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Papers, 1878-1998 (bulk: 1900-1942). This collection contains the papers of John Casey Riggs  and various other family members. The collection was donated by John Casey Riggs ’ grandson, Chris M. Roll, in 2007. The Riggs  family Bible, and the diaries of Mary Robbins Riggs  from 1896 to 1929 were donated by Nancy Sloan and added to the collection in 2011. John Casey Riggs , was the family historian, therefore, the bulk of the papers are his. The collection includes Our El Dorado, a biographical book written by John C. Riggs  and his daughter, Jeanette Riggs  Roll, and the Riggs  Centennial Reunion, 1879-1979 book. Also included in the collection are biographical manuscripts, Valparaiso University certificates of diploma; diaries, notebooks, and journals; business and personal correspondence, including a handwritten letter to John Riggs  from Albert F. Potter, first Chief of Grazing for the U. S. Forest Service, dated 1902; business records and ledgers; printed materials, including pamphlets, catalogs, newspapers and clippings, homestead land and mine patents, and an original 1910 mining claim signed by President William H. Taft; the political papers of John Casey Riggs , Arizona State Senator; maps; photographs and negatives. 

ARRANGEMENT

This collection is organized into 5 series.

Series I:Biographical Materials and Family Records, 1878-1998
Series II:Activity Files, 1898-1954
Subseries 1:Homesteading and Ranching Papers, 1900-1942
Subseries 2:Banking and Financial Papers, 1898-1957
Subseries 3:Mining and Logging Papers, 1896-1943
Series III:John Casey Riggs , Political Papers, 1911-1942
Series IV:Correspondence of John C. and Nettie B. Riggs , 1900-1943

RESTRICTIONS

Restrictions
There are no restrictions on this collection.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

ACCESS TERMS

Personal Name(s)

Riggs, Brannick, 1828-1907.

Riggs, John Casey, 1874-1943.

Corporate Name(s)

Riggs Bank of Willcox (Ariz.), 1920-1933.

Riggs Cattle Company, 1904-1922.

Geographic Name(s)

Bisbee (Ariz.).

Chiricahua Mountains (Ariz.).

Cochise County (Ariz.).

Dos Cabezas (Ariz.).

Sulphur Springs Valley (Ariz.).

Tombstone (Ariz.).

Willcox (Ariz.).

Subject(s)

Apache Indians--Arizona.

Banks and banking--Arizona.

Cattle brands--Arizona.

Cattle trade--Arizona--History.

Comanche Indians--Texas--History--19th century.

Frontier and pioneer life--Arizona--Cochise County.

Grazing--Arizona.

Lawyers--Arizona.

Mines and mineral resources--Arizona--Cochise County.

Politicians--Arizona--Biography.

Ranches--Arizona--Cochise County--History--Records and Correspondence.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Credit Line
Riggs  Family Papers (MS 580). Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries.
Processing History
Processed by Susan L. Mergenthal.

CONTAINER LIST

Series 1 Biographical Materials and Family Records, 1878-1998

This series contains the Riggs  family genealogy back to Maryland in 1663, the research notes of John Casey Riggs  on the Arizona branch of Riggs  starting with Brannick Riggs  born in 1828, diaries, ledgers, notebooks, and estate documents of Riggs  family members. This series is arranged chronologically.

box     folder

1          1          John C. Riggs , family history and genealogy, 1663-1942 

1          2         John C. Riggs  and Jeanette Riggs  Roll, research papers on family history, 1891-1990 

1          3         Riggs  family history,Our El Dorado, manuscript copy, 1951 

1          4         Riggs  family history, Our El Dorado, manuscript, 1951 

1          5         Riggs  family history, Our El Dorado, manuscript with notes and preface by Jeanette Riggs  Roll,
                      1951 

1          6         Riggs family history, Our El Dorado, 4 copies of published books with handwritten notes by the
                      author, 1958 

1          7         Our El Dorado, correspondence, 1951-1959 

1          8         Riggs  Centennial Reunion,1879-1979, book, reunion committee papers and clippings, 1979 

1          9         Brannick Riggs , biography, 1828-1907 

1          10       Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs , biography 1838-1935 

1          11        Thomas Jefferson Riggs , biography, 1857-1926 

1          12       Rhoda Riggs , biography, 1859-1929 

1          13       William Monroe Riggs , biography, 1861-1949 

1          14       Martha Riggs  Stark, biography, 1865-1949 

1          15       Brannick Benjamin Riggs , biography, 1867-1913 

1          16       James Jay Riggs , biography, 1870-1911 

1          17       Mary Frances Riggs  Stark, biography, 1872-1961 

1          18       John Casey Riggs , biography, 1874-1943 

1          19       John Casey Riggs , Valparaiso University, 1893-1906 

1          20      John Casey Riggs , Valparaiso University, 1893-1906, 1930 

1          21       John Casey Riggs , writings, undated, 1940 

1          22      John Casey Riggs , drawings and notes, undated 

1          23       Lucy Elizabeth Riggs  Moore, biography, 1876-1965 

1          24       Barney Kemp Riggs , biography, 1879-1963 

1          25       Edward Murray Riggs , biography, 1885-1950 

1          26       William Carroll Riggs , biography, 1856-1924 

1          27       Jeanette Riggs  Roll, personal papers, 1934-1998 

1          28       Brannick Riggs , estate documents, 1908-1909 

1          29       Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs , estate documents, 1929 

1          30       Thomas Jefferson Riggs , estate documents, 1923, 1927 

1          31        Rhoda Riggs , estate documents, 1929, 1935 

1          32       William Monroe Riggs , estate documents, 1935 

1          33       Martha Riggs  Stark, estate documents, 1929, 1936, 1949 

1          34       John Casey Riggs , estate documents, 1942-1945, 1954 

1          35       Barney Kemp Riggs , estate documents, 1927 

1          36       F. P. Armstrong, estate document, 1927 

1          37       Clara E. Brauns, estate documents, 1955 

1          38       Mary Dumm, estate document, 1916 

1          39       James L. Hudson, estate document, 1931 

1          40       Thomas A. Stafford, estate document, 1926 

1          41        William A. Stark, estate documents, undated 

1          42       John G. and Margaret Stephens, estate documents, undated 

1          43       Harett Elizabeth Waughtal, estate documents, 1907-1909
 

box     folder

2          1         Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs , diary, 1896-1912 

2          2        Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs , diary, 1913-1924, 1926, 1929 

2          3        John Casey Riggs , diary, 1916-1937 

2          4        John Casey Riggs , diary, 1938-1942 

2          5        John Casey Riggs , ledger, 1900-1912 

2          6        John Casey Riggs , lumber set, 1906 

2          7        John Casey Riggs , notarial record books, 1908-1924, 1931-1934 

2          8        John Casey Riggs , notebook/scrapbook, 1900-1931 

2          9        John Casey Riggs , pocket notebooks, 1886-1935 

2          10       John Casey Riggs , pocket notebooks, 1930-1942 

2          11        Nettie Brauns Riggs , journal of rainfall and one page with grandchildren’s birthdays, 1943-1957 

2          12       Nettie Brauns Riggs , household account books, 1943-1958

Series 2 Activity Files, 1886-1957

Includes ranching records, banking and financial records, and mining and logging records arranged chronologically.

Subseries 1 Homesteading and ranching papers, 1902-1952

This subseries includes land transactions, abstracts of titles, cattle breeding and shipping records, and various other ranch-related documents.

box      folder

3          1         Riggs  Cattle Company, 1904-1922 

3          2        Riggs  Cattle Company, grazing permits, 1909-1920 

3          3        John Casey Riggs , Pump Invention Patents, 1929-1930 

3          4        John Casey Riggs , homestead papers, 1910-1942 

3          5        John Casey Riggs , ranching business, 1923-1929 

3          6        John Casey Riggs , ranching business, 1930-1939 

3          7        John Casey Riggs , ranching business, 1940-1943 

3          8        John Casey Riggs , registered Polled Herefords, 1930-1942 

3          9        John Casey Riggs , American Hereford registrations, 1928-1941 

3          10       John Casey Riggs , American Hereford records, 1930-1941 

3          11        John Casey Riggs , Cattle Growers Association memberships, 1924-1943 

3          12       John Casey Riggs , land leases, 1920-1929 

3          13       John Casey Riggs , land leases, 1930-1939 

3          14       John Casey Riggs , land leases, 1930-1939 

3          15       John Casey Riggs  and Nettie B. Riggs , land leases, 1940-42, 1952 

3          16       John Casey Riggs , property deeds, 1900-1919 

3          17       John Casey Riggs , property deeds, 1920-1929 

3          18       John Casey Riggs , property deeds, 1930-1939 

3          19       John Casey Riggs  and family, property deeds, 1940-1946 

3          20      John Casey Riggs , State Land purchases, 1940-1942 

3          21       John Casey Riggs , property lists and maps, undated, 1936-1942 

3          22      U.S. Forest Service maps and information, Chiricahua National Forest, undated, 1910, 1924, 1942 

3          23      John Casey Riggs , Abstracts, 1902-1941 

3          24      John Casey Riggs , agreements and contracts, 1906-1935
 

box      folder

3a        1         Riggs  Cattle Company, account ledger, 1909-1924 

3a        2        John C. Riggs , Cattle sales and shipping record book, 1936-1942 

Subseries 2 Banking and Financial Records, 1899-1957

This subseries includes records of the Riggs  Bank of Willcox, tax and insurance documents, banking and purchase receipts of John Casey and Nettie B. Riggs . This series is arranged chronologically.

box      folder

4          1          Riggs  Bank, Willcox, Arizona, 1920-1925 

4          2         Riggs  Bank, Willcox, Arizona, 1926-1927 

4          3         Riggs  Bank, Willcox, Arizona, 1928-1929 

4          4         Riggs  Bank, Willcox, Arizona, 1930-1932 

4          5         Riggs  Bank, Willcox, Arizona, 1933-1939 

4          6         Riggs  Bank, loans, 1925-1935 

4          7         John Casey and Nettie B. Riggs , banking documents, 1909-1943 

4          8         John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1898, 1900-1909 

4          9         John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1910-1919 

4          10        John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1920-1929 

4          11         John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1930-1939 

4          12        John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1930-1939 

4          13        John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1930-1939 

4          14        John Casey Riggs , tax documents, 1940-1943 

4          15        John Casey Riggs , Arizona Tax Research Association papers, 1932-1942 

4          16        Nettie B. Riggs , tax documents, 1943-1957 

4          17        John Casey Riggs , receipts, 1899-1909 

4          18        John Casey Riggs , receipts, undated, 1917-1939 

4          19        John Casey and Nettie B. Riggs , receipts, undated, 1940-1957 

4          20       John Casey and Nettie B. Riggs , insurance documents, 1938-1954 

4          21        John C. and Nettie B. Riggs , bank books, 1906-1920
 

boxfolder

101 “Compliments of Riggs  Bank, Willcox-Bowie, Arizona” calendar, 1933

Subseries 3 Mining and Logging Records, 1886-1943

Includes mining claims, deeds, and location records, as well as maps, and John Casey Riggs ’ research on mining. Subseries is arranged chronologically.

box      folder

5          1          Riggs  Family Bowie Marble Placer Mining Claim signed by President William H. Taft, 1910, 1912 

5          2         John Casey Riggs , mining claims, deeds, and locations, undated, 1886-1928 

5          3         John Casey Riggs , mining documents, undated, 1926-1938 

5          4         John Casey Riggs , mining documents, 1940-1943 

5          5         John Casey Riggs , mining research papers, undated, 1902-1926 

5          6         John Casey Riggs , mining claims and rights forms, undated 

5          7         Map of Mascot Copper Company townsite, Cochise County, Arizona, 1915

Series 3 John Casey Riggs , Political Papers, 1911-1942

Includes the letters and records of John Casey Riggs  as a member of the Democratic Party and State Senator in the Arizona legislature from Cochise County, Arizona. This series is arranged chronologically.

box      folder

6          1          John Casey Riggs , Arizona State Senator, undated, 1933-1934 

6          2         John Casey Riggs , papers on the impeachment of Charles R. Howe, Arizona Corporation
                       Commissioner, 1933 

6          3         John Casey Riggs , Arizona State Senator, political papers, 1935-1939 

6          4         John Casey Riggs , political correspondence, undated, 1932-1942 

6          5         John Casey Riggs , Democratic Party papers, undated, 1911-1940 

Series 4 Correspondence of John Casey and Nettie B. Riggs , 1900-1956

Includes personal correspondence from family and friends, business correspondence concerning cattle ranching, banking, and mining activities. Arrangement is chronological.

box      folder

6          6         John Casey Riggs , family correspondence, undated, 1900-1942 

6          7         John Casey Riggs , letter from Albert F. Potter, U.S. Forest Service Chief of Grazing, 1902 

6          8         John Casey Riggs , general correspondence, undated, 1900-1918 

6          9         John Casey Riggs , general correspondence, 1920-1927 

6          10        John Casey Riggs , general correspondence, 1930-1935 

6          11         John Casey Riggs , general correspondence, 1936-1939 

6          12        John Casey Riggs , general correspondence, 1940-1942 

6          13        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, undated, 1900-1919 

6          14        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, undated, 1920-1929 

6          15        John Casey Riggs , Barfoot Park Road, right-of-way dispute, 1926 

6          16        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, undated, 1930-1935 

6          17        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, 1936 

6          18        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, 1937 

6          19        John Casey Riggs , Chiricahua National Monument Highway, right-of-way, 1938 

6          20       John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, 1938-1939 

6          21        John Casey Riggs , business correspondence, 1940-1942 

6          22       Jeanette (Nettie) B. Riggs , business correspondence, 1943-1955 

6          23       Jeanette (Nettie) B. Riggs , personal correspondence, 1944 

6          24       Jeanette (Nettie) B. Riggs , personal correspondence, undated, 1943-1956 

6          25       John Casey Riggs , business and membership cards, undated 

6          26       John Casey Riggs , letterhead stationery, postcards, undated 

6          27       John Casey Riggs , business forms, undated 

6          28       John Casey Riggs , newspaper clippings, undated, 1894-1942

Series 5 Oversized Materials, Photographs, and Memorabilia, 1894-1929

Includes photographs, advertising brochures, Riggs  family Bible, diplomas, certificates, and maps. This series is arranged by item type.

box      folder

7          1          Riggs  Family Photographs and Negatives, circa 1890-1940 

7          Item A, photograph, Willcox Union High School, graduating class of 1928, 1928 

7          Item B, photograph, Annual Convention of Cochise-Graham Cattle Growers Association, Willcox,
            Arizona, April 20, 1929, 1929 

box

8          Riggs Family Bible and eyeglasses, 1866
 

box

9          Miscellaneous brochures, stamps, and advertizing button, undated, 1901-1953
 

box      folder

10         2         John Casey Riggs , 4 certificates for practicing law, 1906 

10         Map A, Cochise County, Arizona with markings of Riggs  properties, undated 

10         Map B, Mines of the Chiricahua Developement Co. in the California Mining District, Cochise County A. T.
            Surveyed August 1903 by John A. Rockfellow, U.S. Dep. Mineral Surveyor, 1903 

10         Map C, Topography--Arizona--Cochise County--Pearce Quadrangle, 1916 

10         Map D, Camp Bowie Abandoned Military Reservation, undated 

10         Item E, Diploma, John Casey Riggs , Bachelor of Science, Valparaiso University, 1894 

10         Item F, Diploma, John Casey Riggs, Bachelor of Law, Valparaiso University, 1906 

10         Item G, Photograph, Valparaiso School of Law, Graduating class, 1906