EXTENDED FAMILY

AVAILABLE INFORMATION OF
BRANNICK AND MARY ELIZABETH RIGGS
EXTENDED FAMILY

Although we have concentrated on the family that came from the joining of the Riggs families and the Robbins families in this history, I want to recognize the parents and siblings of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth. These are the people that make a family complete. Each person in that family plays a part in the development of each of the other members of the family. No one grows up alone in a family. The values that each of us carry through life had their beginnings in the family.

Let me introduce you to some of the family that were part of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth’s life.

THE ANCESTRY OF MARY ELIZABETH ROBBINS RIGGS
Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs is the daughter of John L. Robbins and Sarah (Sally) Ann Hudson. She was born 27 July 1838 in Franklin County, Tennessee. Her father, John L. Robbins, was born 17 Apr 1817 in Spotsylvania, VA. Her mother, Sarah (Sally) Ann Hudson was born 29 Sep 1819 in Franklin, TN. They married 23 Dec 1836.
Mary Elizabeth is the oldest child. Her siblings are:
Martha Jane Robbins, 16 Oct 1840
James Monroe Robbins, 9 Feb 1843
William Hudson Robbins, 23 Jun 1845
John Thompson Robbins, 17 Nov 1846
Melvina (Mellie) Ruth Robbins, 12 Oct 1853
Louisa (Lu) Emiline Robbins, 9 May 1856

There is a William Lewis (1849-1849) and a Joseph Edward (1851-1852) listed but I know nothing about them.
Martha Jane married John Baptist Burleson.
Melvina (Mellie) Ruth married William Pleasant Hudson. Her two sons, James Hudson and Asbury Hudson moved to Arizona and lived in the Riggs settlement. James came because of severe lung problems. He stayed with his cousin, Rhoda Riggs, who, along with the good Arizona climate, nursed him back to health. James and his family developed a ranch in the neighborhood of the Riggs Home Ranch. Melvina came to visit her sons and her sister more than once.
Louisa (Lu) Emeline married George William Woodress. In her diaries, Mary Elizabeth tells of her sisters, Lu and Mellie, coming to visit.

Mary Elizabeth’s linage can be traced back through her mother’s lines to early English royalty.
Mary Elizabeth’s father had poor health. The family left Tennessee and came to Bastrop County Texas hoping his health would improve. It did for a time but in 1855 her father passed away. After her father died her mother married Martha’s father-in-law, Joseph Burleson.


THE ANCESTRY OF BRANNICK RIGGS
Brannick Riggs was the son of Thomas and Rhoda Casey Riggs. He was born 10 July 1828 in Marion County, Alabama. We do not know who his Riggs, or Casey, grandparents were, although we have searched for many years.
Brannick’s siblings are:
William Carroll, 1822, married Nayoma Flannary
Rebecca, 1824, died as an infant
John C, 1825, married Elizabeth Jane Johnson Killed by Indian’s leaving 4 children to be raised by their Riggs grandparents.
Brannick 10 July 1928, married Mary Elizabeth Robbins
Barney Kemp, 1831, married Louisa Hilger
Thomas, 1832, marred Hanna Felton
James Monroe, 1835, married 3 times
Margaret, 1838, married Charles Stuart
Martha, 1840, married J.B. Whitehead
Rhoda, 1842, married William Copeland
Charles, 1845 I know nothing more about him

After the Civil War Brannick and his younger brother, James Monroe Riggs worked together along with their father, Thomas Riggs to develop a home in Bandera County, Texas. They called it Fort Riggs. Thomas Riggs drowned in the Medina River leaving a wife and 4 grandchildren. Brannick and James brought their mother and 2 nieces and 2 nephews to live with them at Fort Riggs.
A couple of years later Brannick and James decided they could provide better for their families by leaving Texas and heading for the gold fields of California. They traveled north through Texas and New Mexico, settling in a canyon in the mountains near Trinidad, Colorado. They spent about 7 years in this area raising cattle and running a sawmill where they made and sold shingles.

James decided he could do better elsewhere, so he and his family left for Arizona, ending up in Dos Cabezas, Arizona. The Chiricahua Apache Indian reservation was closed, and the Indians moved to the San Carlos reservation just after James and his family arrived. James wrote to his brother about the beautiful Sulphur Springs valley; the wonderful grass land that was perfect for ranching that had become available; and encouraged him to bring his family. Brannick and Mary Elizabeth and their children joined them in Cochise County Arizona in 1879.

James and his wife, Elizabeth Drucella, had 5 children: Mattie, John Dorsey, Elizabeth (Lizzie), Florence, and Lula K. James’s wife had a son, Richmond Lee Hudson, when they married. James and his family lived in Dos Cabezas where James operated a store. James and Elizabeth divorced in 1886 and James returned to Texas. His family all remained in the area of Cochise County.

Elizabeth lived with her son on a ranch down the San Pedro River north of Benson, AZ. She then moved into Tucson where she lived until her death. Grandmother Riggs wrote in her diary several times of Elizabeth visiting; also, her son John and her daughter Mattie.

Mattie Riggs was married 4 times. Her first husband was James Finley. They had one son, Jim Finley, who later in life lived in the Texas Canyon area. This was not a happy marriage and they divorced. Mattie then married John Duncan and they lived on the NO Ranch west of Willcox, AZ. John was shot and killed by a neighbor in a dispute over a cow. Mattie then married H. J. “Doc” Goodin. They lived on a ranch near Elgin, Santa Cruz County, AZ. Mr. Goodin fell through the floor of his tack room getting a large splinter in his leg. He died from blood poisoning as a result of the injury. She then married Charles Johnson and continued to live on her ranch until her death.

John Dorsey never married. I don’t know much about him except that he did seem to visit his uncle at the Home Ranch often.

Lizzie married Emmett Alex Hinson. I’m not sure where she lived except that she visited my grandmother, Martha Riggs, in St. David several times during my childhood. When Mr. Hinson died, she married Owen Smith and lived in the Dragoon area.

Florence married Rob Roy McGregor and they lived in California.

Lula K. Riggs married James Duncan, brother of Mattie’s husband John Duncan. They lived on the NO Ranch also. Lula died in childbirth.

All of James Monroe and Elizabeth Riggs’ children are buried in the Black Oak Cemetery in Santa Cruz County between Canelo and Patagonia, along with their mother.

Again, we have concentrated on the family that came from the joining of the Riggs families and the Robbins families in this history. However, there was extended family that lived in Cochise County and the surrounding area and interacted with the family of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth.

Mary Riggs Baker is the daughter of Brannick Riggs’ brother, Thomas Riggs, that lived near Kimbell, Texas. She married John Sterling Teague Baker and they had 8 children. The Baker’s lived in the area near Fort Grant, Graham County, AZ. I know about 3 of their children:
Roberta “Bert” Baker married William “Wil” DeBorde and they lived somewhere between Dos Cabezas and Home Ranch. Bert was an avid rock collector. She left her collection of rocks to the Northern Cochise Community Hospital, and it is displayed in the hospital.
Faye Baker married Edward DeBorde, a brother of her sister’s husband. They lived in the area near Fort Grant, AZ.
Their son, Thomas Baker worked as a cowboy for the Riggs Cattle Company.

A son of Thomas Riggs, Richard Riggs and his wife Carrie and their 4 children lived on a ranch south of Tucson near Arivaca, Pima, AZ.

A son of Thomas Riggs, Barney Kemp Riggs, came from Texas and worked on the ranch for his uncle, Brannick Riggs. He married Vinnie Hicklin from Dos Cabezas, AZ. We refer to him as “Yuma Barney” to distinguish him from the other Barney Kemp Riggs relatives. Barney and his step cousin, Richmond Lee Hudson, the stepson of James Monroe Riggs, uncle of Yuma Barney, got into a severe disagreement and Barney shot Richmond in the back. He was arrested and sentenced to life in Yuma prison. Some prisoners tried to make a prison break and took the Warden hostage. Barney saved the Warden’s life and was given a pardon after serving one year of a life sentence. He was pardoned but told that he must leave the state of Arizona and never come back.

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