Vara Elizabeth (Merrell) Riggs (1885 - 1969)

Born 30 Sep 1885 in Soda Springs, Caribou Co. Idaho

Ancestors

Wife of Edgar Leon Riggs — married Jun 1907 in Soda Springs, Bannock County, Idaho

Descendants

Died Mar 1969 at age 83 in Knoxville, Tioga, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile manager: T F [send private message]

Biography

VARA ELIZABETH MERRILL (daughter of FRANCIS MARION MERRELL and MARY ADELINE MARVIN)508, 508, 509, 510 was born September 30, 1885 in Soda Springs, Caribou Co. Idaho511, 511, 511, 512, and died March 1969 in Knoxville, Tioga, Pennsylvania, United States of America513. She married EDGAR LEON RIGGS on June 1907 in Soda Springs, Bannock County, Idaho, son of BENJAMIN H. RIGGS and MARY CATHERINE MAGEE.

Includes NotesNotes for VARA ELIZABETH MERRILL: Vara Riggs was raised by her older half sister Goldie in Soda Springs, Idaho while her father was away trying to earn some money. The children sold food to the travelers on trains. When her father returned he built a sheep dip and she was proud of being able to lift a full grown sheep out of the dips. Her family ran a store and she learned to make candy for the store. She taught us to pull taffy. When she married Edgar Riggs, a mining engineer, they traveled where ever he was needed for mining projects. The children transferred from one school to another as they moved again and again. Ed was working on a job in Mexico when he became ill. He died en route home. She was still quite young when she was widowed. Edgar, her eldest son helped raise his younger sisters. They worked hard to make ends meet but Vara never worked outside the home. She prepared hot Parkerhouse rolls for breakfast and learned ways to feed her family and the boarders on a frugal budget. The children earned a major portion of the income. I can remember wonderful Christmases at her house with the grandchildren fighting for the honor of sitting in her lap while she told stories. We all agreed she was the greatest story teller we knew. Apparently the stories were tales told to children crossing the country in covered wagons. Anyway they were stories we never heard anywhere else The hands down Favorite was 'Old Mister Sharptooth' but none of us remembered the details of this tale of a wolf.

More About VARA ELIZABETH MERRILL: Residence: 1910, Mammoth, Juab Co., Utah.514 Social Security Number: 552-22-2659.515 SSN issued: California.515

More About VARA ELIZABETH MERRILL and EDGAR LEON RIGGS: Marriage: June 1907, Soda Springs, Bannock County, Idaho.

Children of VARA ELIZABETH MERRILL and EDGAR LEON RIGGS are: +VARA MARGARITE RIGGS, b. June 24, 1920, Copperopolis, California, d. June 24, 1985, Cayucos, CA. +Francis Howard Riggs, b. January 04, 1910, Soda Springs, Caribou, Idaho, USA516, d. July 01, 1991, San Jose, Santa Clara, California, USA516. Edgar Merrill Riggs, b. August 17, 1908, Mexico, d. February 1971, Alameda, CA. +Mary Elizabeth Riggs, b. February 04, 1917, Stockton, California, USA516, 516, d. February 1996, KS, USA517.^[1]

Sources

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/l/e/Patricia-Alexander-CA/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0006.html

Footnotes

1. ↑ Entered by Tanya F.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Tanya F for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tanya and others.