RIGGS FAMILY LAND

 HISTORY OF RIGGS FAMILY LAND

The war must have been hard on Thomas Riggs and his family living in Arkansas. Their state government was in chaos. I don’t know particulars about the various battles of the war but I know there were some battles that took place in or close to Stone and Izard counties that may have been near enough to their properties to destroy buildings and farm land.  

There are a lot of possibilities that could have happened to the Riggs family making it desirable to leave Arkansas and move to Texas near children who were already living there. 

Things were as difficult when the war was over as they were during the war. As the Jayhawkers and others moved into the southern states, the difficulties continued. Land was claimed by these people. Some of the settlers had moved into the area right after the Indians were moved to Oklahoma. They claimed tracts of land but were not able to file for deeds of ownership. Some of the land claimed by early settlers didn’t have the correct paperwork, some of it had not been filed on, some the records were unclear.  Strangers came in, filed on the land and they were given claim to the land. It took years and money to straighten all of this out.  

Thomas drowned only a few years after leaving Arkansas. His sons, Including Brannick, were now living in Texas. I don’t know if any of them tried to fight for land their father had claimed. I do know that Brannick was adamant that a patent or deed should be obtained on all land he and his sons claimed for their ranches through homesteads or had purchased. It protected them from someone coming in and making claims on the land. He knew what had happened where he grew up and wanted to be protected from it ever happening to him or to any of his family. 

Brannick filed for homesteads as the law allowed in the Sulphur Springs Valley at the western base of the Chiricahua Mountains and out into the east side of the valley. His sons filed for homesteads within a few miles of their father. Other people were coming into the area and trying to get land holdings developed. Some of them succeeded but some of them did not. Brannick bought out the homestead claims of these neighbors wishing to leave and finished proving up on the land. Growing up I heard it said that the Riggs people would start roundup at Rock Creek, drive their cattle toward Willcox to be shipped on the railroad, hold them at the Lap Circle until shipping time and never get off of Riggs land. 

The following is a chronological list of Riggs Family land purchases and sales from available public records in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and Arizona. The listing includes a footnote [YEAR-#] which can be clicked on (if the font is blue) to take you to a page with more detailed information about the purchase or sale and in some cases actual photographs of the deed or legal recording. If you have any additional information regarding Riggs Family land purchases / sales or if you have any corrections to the information listed here, please CONTACT us.

ALABAMA

182X / Marion County, Alabama:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Marion County, Alabama (xxxxxxx xx, 182x ):
640 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [182X-04}

1832 / Tuscaloosa County, Alabama:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (February 10, 1832):
80.3 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1832-01]

1832 / Tuscaloosa County, Alabama:    
(1) Thomas Riggs sold land in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (May 5, 1832):
80.3 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1832-02]

MISSISSIPPI

1833 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (July 26, 1833):
92.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1833 - 01]

1833 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (August 1, 1833):
40.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1833 - 02]

1835 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (February 9, 1835):
90.75 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1835 - 01]

1835 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (July 8, 1835):
39.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1835 - 02]

1836 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (June 6, 1836):
79.5 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1836 - 01]

1836 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Monroe County, Mississippi (June 23, 1836):
39.75 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1836 - 02]

1839 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs sold land located in Monroe County, Mississippi to Reubin Y. Rynolds (April 26. 1839:
90.75 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1839 - 01] 

1839 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs sold land located in Monroe County, Mississippi to Reubin Y. Rynolds (April 26. 1839):
39.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1839 - 02]

1839 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs sold land located in Monroe County, Mississippi to Reubin Y. Rynolds (April 26. 1839):
79.5 plus acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1839 - 03]

1839 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs sold land located in Monroe County, Mississippi to Reubin Y. Rynolds (April 26. 1839):
39.75 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [0839 - 04]

1841 / Monroe County, Mississippi:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land located in Monroe County, Mississippi (February 1, 1841):
92.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1841 - 01]

ARKANSAS

1849 / Izard County, Arkansas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Izard County, Arkansas (October 1, 1849):
40.0 acres
$ unknown (? per acre) [1849 - 01]

1855 / Izard County, Arkansas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Izard County, Arkansas (March 1, 1855):
(became Stone Canyon in 1873 and is currently Stone County)
43.2 acres
$ unknown ($? per acre) [1855 - 01]

1855 / Izard County, Arkansas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Izard County, Arkansas (March 1, 1855):
(became Stone Canyon in 1873 and is currently Stone County)
40.0 acres
$ unknown ($? per acre) [1855 - 02]

1855 / Izard County, Arkansas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Izard County, Arkansas (March 1, 1855):
(became Stone Canyon in 1873 and is currently Stone County)
40.0 acres
$ unknown ($? per acre) [1855 - 03]

1860 / Izard County, Arkansas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Izard County now Stone County - the southwest portion of Izard County became part of Stone County in 1873, Arkansas (May 1, 1860):
40.0 acres, NWNW of section 12 T14N R11W
$ unknown ($? per acre) [1860 - 03]

TEXAS

186X / Bandera County, Texas:
(1) Thomas Riggs purchased land in Bandera County, Texas (...... ......, 186X):
3,000.0 acres
$1,500.00 ($0.50 per acre) [65]

COLORADO

ARIZONA

1886 / Cochise County, Arizona:
(1-4) Brannick Riggs purchased his first land in Cochise County, Arizona from Thomas Hannon (January 11, 1886):
87.64 acres, the “Comet Mill Site” (82.65 acres) and the “James Gordon Bennett Mill Site” (5.0 acres)
$600.00 ($6.85 per acre) [year - #]

LAND REPORT 100 RANKING