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12. |
JAMES RIGGS (EDWARD, EDWARD, EDWARD)
Born about 1664. Although Wallace says that James was born in Newark, Essex Co. NJ, his parents did not move there until 1667, and so he was probably born in Derby, New Haven Co. CT.
Wallace could find no record of James's marriage nor the name of his wife, but states that Mr Conger locates him at Elizabeth, Union Co. NJ in 1739.
Recent researchers [S33],[S52] state that his wife's name was Elizabeth (surname unknown) but, since they state that James and Elizabeth moved to Maryland and name other children of theirs as having been born there from 1704 onwards, I believe there were two separate JAMES RIGGS who have been confused with each other.
Wallace states that Mr Conger "gives him, traditionally, the following children":
35. |
JOHN RIGGS
Born about 1710. |
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36. |
ZOPHAR RIGGS
Born about 1712. |
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37. |
PRUDENCE RIGGS
Born about 1715, married DANIEL OSBORN. |
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38. |
EUNICE RIGGS
Born about 1717, married Mr. LAMBERT. |
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39. |
ELIZABETH RIGGS
Born about 1719, married BETHUEL PIERSON. |
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14. |
EDWARD RIGGS (EDWARD, EDWARD, EDWARD)
Born about 1668 in Newark, Essex Co. NJ.
Married APHIA STOUGHTON about 1692. Wallace states that traditionally Edward had 8 sons "but we have never been able to identify more than 3 of them fully." A road record "located him at the end of the mountain and near the village of Milburn, and in 1708 he settled at Basking Ridge", Somerset Co. NJ.
Wallace documents the children of EDWARD and APHIA as follows:
40. |
EDWARD RIGGS
Born about 1693, traditional and not fully traced. |
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41. |
DANIEL RIGGS
Born about 1695, traditional and not fully traced. |
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42. |
SAMUEL RIGGS
Born about 1695, traditional and not fully traced. |
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43. |
THOMAS RIGGS
Born 13DEC1701, married EUNICE MORRIS. |
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44. |
JOSEPH RIGGS
Born about 1703, married JANE PLUMB of Newark, no issue. |
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45. |
MARY RIGGS
Born about 1707, married DANIEL MORRIS. |
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46. |
DAVID RIGGS
Born about 1709, married ELIZABETH COX, daughter of Philip Cox. |
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78. |
DOROTHY RIGGS
Born about 1711 or 1713, married JOHN BREESE, buried in Basking Ridge, NJ.[S73]
A recent researcher [S73] has advised me that the above details are listed in the (USA) Breese family genealogies, where Dorothy's parents are given as Edward Riggs and Aphia Stoughton, both of Newark/Basking Ridge, NJ.
This would mean she was born two or four years after David, the last child listed by Wallace as above. Apparently there are no surviving birth records for New Jersey for those years, and therefore no proof has yet been found to substantiate Dorothy's parentage, However if, as Wallace states, traditionally there were two more sons, there might have been another daughter as well.
Some web-sites quote the date of her death as 23NOV1803 [S74] [S75], and one site[S74] also states that she was buried in Basking Ridge, NJ, Presbyterian Meeting House and that her marriage to John BREESE took place in 1734. [However the latter site [S74] states that Dorothy's father "Edward Riggs was born Ulster, Scotland 1687" and that Dorothy herself was born in Scotland or Ireland, despite also including on a separate tree details of Dorothy's possible brother Thomas and his ancestry back to Edward of Roxbury.]
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16. |
JOSEPH RIGGS (EDWARD, EDWARD, EDWARD)
Born about 1675 in Newark, Essex Co. NJ.
Wallace could find no record of his marriage nor the name of his wife. A recent researcher [S33] states that his wife's name was Sarah (surname unknown), who was born circa 1683 and died on 17 Jun 1735. There is a tradition that he was an active member of the first church organisation at Orange, Essex Co. NJ, which was then called "The Mountain Society". He was buried there 11SEP1744.
Wallace states that "Mr Conger, by tradition, gives him 6 sons, but from one of his descendants we have a list embracing 7 sons and 4 daughters. This list contains evident marks of authenticity, and we do not hesitate to adopt it in preference to that of Mr Conger, as follows:"
47. |
JOSIAH RIGGS
Born about 1703, married and left issue. |
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48. |
MILES RIGGS
Born about 1705, married ELIZABETH WHITNEY 25JNE1735. |
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49. |
HANNAH RIGGS
Born about 1707, married Mr HEDDEN. |
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50. |
MARY RIGGS
Born about 1709, married Mr THOMAS CUSHMAN. |
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51. |
BENJAMIN RIGGS
Born 1711. married, had issue |
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52. |
GIDEON RIGGS
Born 1713. married, had issue |
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53. |
DINAH RIGGS
Born about 1716. |
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54. |
ZEBULON RIGGS
Born 23JAN1719, had issue |
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55. |
JOSEPH RIGGS
Born about 1720, had issue |
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56. |
DANIEL RIGGS
Born 29MAY1724, married SARAH LAMSON. |
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57. |
SARAH RIGGS
Born about 1726, married THOMAS ROBERTS. |
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19. |
JOHN RIGGS (EDWARD, EDWARD, EDWARD)
Wallace states that John was born "about 1679". However, Wallace always lists children in the order in which they were born and Edward and Joseph, listed either side, are shown as being born about 1668 and about 1675. So it is possible that there was a printer's error in Wallace's book and John was born in 1669 or 1670.
Wallace states that John married FRANCES COLBURN by licence at Trenton, Mercer Co. NJ on 19MAY1705, and that tradition gives 4 sons who Wallace names with approximate years of birth. Recent researchers [S33][S52] add that Frances was born in 1688 at Trenton, Mercer Co. NJ, and quote specific dates for the births of their 4 sons at Trenton, which Wallace was unaware of:
58. |
EDWARD RIGGS
Born 22SEP1713 at Trenton, Mercer Co, NJ.[S33][S52] |
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59. |
CHRISTOPHER RIGGS
Born 10DEC1715 at Trenton, Mercer Co, NJ.[S33][S52] |
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60. |
JOHN RIGGS
Born 30OCT1717 at Morristown, Morris Co, NJ.[S33][S52]
Confusingly, the researchers also report that John, like his father, also married a FRANCES COLBURN, who was the daughter of Isaac Colburn and Mary Lewis and was born about 1719. Entries recently submitted to the IGI show this marriage as having taken place about 1738. However, these were submitted only as estimates, not extracted by the LDS from records, and one of the researchers[S52] states there is no proof of this marriage. |
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61. |
JEDEDIAH RIGGS
Born 17MAY1720 at Morristown, Morris Co, NJ.[S33][S52] |
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20. |
SAMUEL RIGGS (EDWARD, EDWARD, EDWARD)
Born about 1681 "near" Newark, Essex Co. NJ.
Whilst Wallace could find no subsequent record of Samuel, he states that by tradition Samuel lived near a locality known as Bottle Hill, in Morris Co. NJ and had 4 sons, two of whom being named Edward and Timothy. A recent researcher [S33] states that Samuel married a Kesiah BALDWIN, who was born circa 1690, and names a daughter as well as the 4 sons.
Another recent researcher [S51] quotes from "Colonial Families of The Americas, Lineage Number 8: Riggs of Massachusetts" which apparently says that Edward with others established in Morris Co. NJ a plantation known as "Bottle Hill" in the vicinity of Basking Ridge and that this property was left to Edward (Samuel's father).
Wallace "fixed upon" Samuel "as the altogether probable father of Timothy that went to North Carolina and left 10 very prolific sons, whose descendants are numerous in the South, in the West, and on the Pacific Coast.". He stated that "Tradition has assigned to this Samuel the following four sons but I will not attempt to approximate their dates". A recent researcher however shows more details[S33]:
62. |
EDWARD RIGGS
Born 1720 at Hanover, Morris Co, NJ.
An Edward Riggs and his children moved from Morris Co. NJ to Surrey Co. NC in 1765.[S52]
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63. |
TIMOTHY RIGGS
Born about 1723 at Newark, Essex Co, NJ, married SARAH DUNKHAM. |
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64. |
REUBEN RIGGS
Born 1725 at Hanover, Morris Co, NJ, married SARAH CARTER. |
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65. |
SAMUEL RIGGS
Born 1728 at Morris Co, NJ, married ELIZABETH TOMPKINS. |
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