University of Arizona

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Riggs Family Papers

Brannick and Mary Riggs with their 10 children

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.