Riggs Family Cemetery
RIGGS FAMILY CEMETERY
On the side of State Route 186, as it wanders through Riggs family cattle ranches in Cochise County, nestled among a grove of Arizona Cypress trees, is the Riggs Family Cemetery. The towering Chiricahua Mountains rise majestically to the East, a view of the pastures of family ranches and the Sulphur Springs Valley opens out to the South and West and the Dos Cabezas peaks rise to the Northwest. It is a quiet place. A place to sit and listen to the sounds that surround you, the buzzing of insects, the songs of birds, the occasional car passing by or the far away sound of an airplane flying overhead, and feel a cool breeze swirl easily past. There is peace here.
In October 1879, the Riggs family arrived in Cochise County, at that time Pima County. At first, they set up camp in Emigrant Canyon on the Northeast side of the Chiricahua Mountains. Life then as now depended on a perpetual water supply. The water disappeared in Emigrant Canyon forcing a move by the family. The men folk had been exploring the area and had discovered the Sulphur Springs Valley. It was a large valley with lots of grass. On the Southwest side of the mountain in the foothills, they found a permanent water supply. So they moved, settling first just below the hill where the cemetery is located. Later they moved up the canyon. This was the beginning of Home Ranch and the founding of a small cattle empire.
On July 28 and August 2, 1885, tragedy struck this family with the deaths of two children, Frank Thomas and Edith Bessie Riggs. This was the beginning of the Riggs Family Cemetery.
The two large headstones in the center mark the resting place of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth Riggs, father and mother of this large family. Their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, even great-great-great-grandchildren, lay gathered around them.
Family members married and took up ranching in the Riggs Settlement, not roaming far. For those that did move away, when their time came to leave this life they wanted to return home to be laid to rest under the large Arizona Cypress trees of the family cemetery. The Cemetery was small at first but as it filled with family members an expansion was necessary.
This is a family cemetery. The requirements for burial here are simple. You must be a direct descendant of Brannick and Mary Elizabeth Robbins Riggs or married to a direct descendant.
RELATIONSHIPS OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE CEMETERY
A visitor, unrelated to the Riggs Family, posted a video of the Riggs Family Cemetery on YouTube. The video includes comments as the visitor walks through the entire cemetery. We were very lucky to find this 15 minute video and very appreciative of the visitor’s authorization to link the video from our website.
A VISITOR’S VIDEO OF THE RIGGS FAMILY CEMETERY