Name origin: From the Danish rig, wealthy, rich; or the name may be local denoting a steep elevation, a range of hills, or the upper part of such a range.
b.1631-5 prob. England; parents ukn
d.Jan/Feb. 26, 1722 Gloucester, MA; aged abt.90 years
m.June 7, 1658 Gloucester, MA; Mary Millet
b.Aug. 21, 1639 Dorchester, MA; d/o Thomas Millett and Mary Greenaway
d.Jan. 23, 1694 Gloucester, MA
m.(2)Oct. 30, 1695 Gloucester, MA; Elizabeth (______) Frese; widow of James Freeze (or Frieze)
d.Jun 16, 1722 aged 80
CHILDREN included:
Mary Riggs b.Jan. 23, 1657/9 Gloucester, MA d.y.
Mary Riggs b.March 6, 1658 Gloucester, MA d.Jan. 29, 1698/99 Gloucester, MA m.Nov. 21, 1677 Gloucester, MA; Benjamin Haskell
Thomas Riggs b.Jan. 23, 1660/61 d. Feb. 1, 1660 Gloucester, MA
Sarah Riggs b.Feb. 16, 1661/62 Gloucester, MA d.ME m.May 9, 1681 John Tucker
Anna [Ann, Anne] Riggs b.Apr. 27, 1664 Gloucester, MA d.Dec. 17, 1701 m.Jan 30, 1684 Nathaniel Wharff
Thomas Riggs b.Dec. 7, 1666 d.Aug. 1756 Gloucester, MA
John Riggs b.Dec. 25, 1669 [or Jan. 1, 1669 or Feb. 25, 1670] d.Jan. 12, 1740 or Jan. 12, 1748
Elizabeth Riggs b.April 22, 1673 Gloucester, MA d.Apr. 28, 1728 Gloucester, MA m.Apr 28, 1692 Ezekiel Collins
Abigail Riggs b.Dec. 29, 1678 Goucester, MA
Andrew Riggs b. Jan. 8, 1682 d. 1749 or 1771
NOTE: Thomas was the Town Clerk of Gloucester, MA for 51 yrs., a selectman for 20 yrs, a periodic schoolmaster, and a Rep. to the General Court in 1700.
From Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700, by Holmes: THOMAS, town clerk Gloucester, Mass., fifty-one years; married 1658.
He is said to have been educated in England as a scrivener and his ability in that line made him a welcome addition to the community [Gloucester, MA]. The Thomas Riggs House, near Goose Cove-the oldest house on Cape Ann 9circa 1645) and one of only three surviving squared-log houses in Massachusetts.
b.b.Dec. 25, 1669 [or Jan. 1, 1669 or Feb. 25, 1670] Goose Cove, MA; s/o Thomas Riggs and Mary Millett
d.Jan. 1, [or 18 or 12], 1748 or 1740 Gloucester, MA
m.Jan. 1, 1690 Gloucester, MA Ruth Wheeler
b.May 15, 1677 Salisbury, MA; d/o Henry and Abigail (Allen) Wheeler
d.ca.1731/32 Gloucester, MA
CHILDREN included:
Ruth Riggs b.Nov. 4, 1690 Goose Cove, MA d.Aug. 18, 1711 Gloucester, MA m.Oct. 25, 1710 James Lane
John Riggs b.March 22, 1691 Goose Cove, MA d.March 30, 1732/3 Gloucester, MA
unnamed child b.abt.1693 d.abt.1693 Goose Cove, MA
Mary Riggs b.June 30, 1696 Goose Cove, MA d.Jan. 31, 1742 Gloucester, MA following the birth of her first child. m.Jan. 1, 1711 John Lane who was subsequently killed by Indians at Penobscot June 22, 1724 aged 36 years. John was a younger brother of James Lane who married Mary's older sister Ruth. He was also an brother of Dorcas Lane who married William Tucker, and of Sarah Lane who m.Thomas Riggs, son of Thomas and Ann.
Comfort Riggs b.March 3, 1698 Gloucester, MA m.July 28, 1717 Thomas Cotton
Jonathan Riggs b.Jan. 3, 1699 Gloucester, MA d.Jan. 16, 1699 Gloucester, MA
Jonathan Riggs b.Dec. 20, 1700 Gloucester, MA d.Dec. 7, 1759 Attleborough, MA
Abigail Riggs b.Sept. 10, 1702 Gloucester, MA d.Aug. 6, 1744 Gloucester, MA
Rachel Riggs b.Aug. 30, 1704 Gloucester, MA m.(1)Dec. 8, 1720 Thomas Lufkin m.(2)May 11, 1769 Thomas Choate
Elizabeth Riggs b.June 26, 1707 Gloucester, MA m.Jan. 1, 1724 Daniel Hill
Ruth Riggs b.Feb. 16, 1712 Gloucester, MA d.Aug. 22, 1744 m.Jan. 1, 1728 Andrew Wellman