MARTHA (RIGGS) STARK

MARTHA (RIGGS) STARK

Martha was born March 15th, 1865 in Milam County Texas.  She was our 2nd girl, our 4th child. She was about 5 years old when the family left Fort Riggs, Bandera, Texas, and journeyed to the Trinidad Colorado area. 

EDUCATION 

    Martha attended the school we started for our children in Colorado until 1877 when we started to Arizona.  She was 13 when we left Colorado.  She attended the school at Dos Cabezas with William and Rhoda.  When the school house was built at Home Ranch in 1881, she was age 16 but attended school for a time.  Martha did not go away to school.

MARRIAGE

    Thomas Bell Stark and his brother William A. Stark came to Arizona from Missouri and were doing some ranching in the San Simon Valley.  T.B. came to Home Ranch to teach at our school.

    Martha and T.B. Stark were married Dec 20th, 1886 at our home.  T.B. was 31 years old and Martha was 21 years old. After their marriage they lived for a time in the San Simon Valley. When T.B. and Martha moved back to the Riggs settlement they built a home east of Home Ranch about half way to Bonita Canyon and started ranching. When the Riggs Cattle Company was organized they put their cattle in and participated until the company closed.  They were always involved with the family caring for their growing cattle empire.  Martha came often and stayed with me.  

    Martha and T.B. Stark do not have children

STORY OF AN ARIZONA PIONEER

    The following story was found in the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson Arizona.

Reminiscences of Mrs. Stark as told to Edith O. Kitt, October 1932.

    My father, Brannick Riggs, and his family came to Arizona in 1877, from Colorado.  We had an ox wagon for the goods and a spring wagon for the family.  But I walked most of the way.  We also drove from 50 to 60 head of milk cows.  We children had a wonderful time.  I guess mother did not enjoy it so much.

    We came by way of Zuni, the Little Colorado and on to Fort Apache.  We were never troubled by the Indians.  When we came onto the reservation the officer said, “Treat the Indians right and you will get along.”  We did.  Mother even divided our provisions with them.  When we moved camp they came along with us on foot.  But when we reached near Fort Thomas and the end of the reservation they stopped and went back.  We were rather glad to get rid of them as they were hard to feed.

    We stopped at Fort Apache the first year and the next winter came on to the Gila between Fort Thomas and Safford, opposite the Hot Springs.  Here we camped and after we left they used to call it Buttermilk Point.  We built a house here and lived on the country.  Next we went to Emigrant Canyon, east of Goodwin canyon, near Fort Bowie and under Helen’s Dome.  There was not a ranch here when we came except a CCC horse ranch.

    Our folks would never let us go to the Fort but they let us have dances at home and the officers would come and bring their music and we had a fine time.  

    As I said, we were never afraid of the Indians, though sometimes they tried to milk our cows.  However, the cows would not stand for it.  The Indian girls used to come around and want us to make dresses for them, which we often did -- just run them up.  An Indian scare was a picnic for us because everyone in the country came flocking to the home ranch.

    I was married at the home ranch on 20 December 1886 to Thomas Bell Stark -- married by the Justice of the Peace from Willcox.  My sister and I married brothers.  

    Mr. Stark came from Missouri for his health.  He taught school at Dunn’s Springs for a while then worked for the CCC cattle company and then came to the home ranch to teach us.  It is a serious thing to marry for life, but I saw what I wanted and I have never regretted it.

    When we were married Mr. Stark and I moved to Animas valley because we thought it was too crowded around here.  When he would go on round-ups I would stay with Mrs. Chenowith.  She was a small spry and interesting woman, very dark.  My brother Tom married her sister and Ed Riggs is the oldest of their sons.  I never had children of my own so took a great interest in hers.  We stayed on the Animas for two years then came back here.

    Twenty years ago, while coming from father’s funeral, I was struck by lightning.  We were in a buggy and it was WINDY AND DUSTY; then lightning, which Mr. Stark said looked like a big ball of fire, struck and killed both horses.  It burned my hair and two long streaks down my back.  The buggy stopped so suddenly that I was pitched out but I did not know what had happened.  I could not see straight and for a long time I could not hear.  I was in bed a month and some said that my wounds would never heal, but they did.