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John Riggs (abt. 1740)

John Riggs
Born about in West Country, Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 20 Jul 1788 in Bay de Verde, Newfoundlandmap
Descendants descendants
Died [date unknown] [location unknown]
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Profile last modified | Created 22 Nov 2011
This page has been accessed 475 times.

Biography

John baptized 4 boys - John, Stephen, William and Andrew - with Elizabeth, in 1788 Bay de Herbes (Verde), Newfoundland.

John is believed to also be the father of a Thomas (m. Mary Blundon, bef 1806) and g-grandfather to James (m. Rachel Foley, 1804). There are female Riggs that may be his, but the females listed may have been using married names and not maiden.

Stephen Riggs who married Bridget. James Riggs who married Margaret. Mary Elizabeth Riggs who married Charlie. Thomas Riggs who married Honora. Mary Riggs who married William North. Are all Riggs who more likely belong to one of John's numerous boys. But the records for which child belongs to which son have not been available online yet, nor have I met anyone who has seen them. Educated guesses only.

No information on John, Stephen or Andrew other than the Bapt date. Possibly Andrew went to Burin, but no idea on the other two.

Based on naming patterns I would guess that James and Mary Elizabeth are James and Rachel (Foley) Riggs children. Stephen and Thomas both had Ellen and Anne, whereas the others did not, I guess they are brothers. But still to many unknowns to guess their parentage. And a female named Mary Riggs is just to common to hazard a guess.

From the Riggs of Bay de Verd (Dec. 2018) by Gerald Joseph Riggs (1938-): Riggs was a surname of England. In Newfoundland a (unknown first name) Duff who had been impressed and on a ship deserted and settled at Bull's Cove (Burin District) and changed his name to Riggs. A John Riggs, an apprentice and one of 72 "impressed" men from Ireland sailed to Newfoundland 1811 Co 194.51.

Others included George Riggs (1790-1863) from Lawn, NL who settled at Grand Bank, NL.

John Riggs was the first Riggs to settle in Bay de Verde. He came from somewhere in West of England. He was a fairly substantial fisherman as he had a piece of prime fishing property in Foreside... called Riggs' Stage.

"John moved to Old Perlican where he accumulated some property. On the 6th of March 1841 he had a will registered leaving all his land and property to one John Tilley of Old Perlican. The will #2061 was registered with Justice of the Peace John Thompson. The land was located adjacent to the the Methodist church. In return, according to the will: "...on the condition that after I become disabled and not able to procure my own living or livelihood, that the said John Tilley shall provide a comfortable maintenance as long as I live and give my body a decent burial after my decease..."


Sources

  • "Newfoundland Vital Statistics, 1753-1893," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9Y-3LVZ : 11 March 2018), John Riggs in entry for Stephen Riggs, 20 Jul 1788; citing Birth, Bay Herbs, Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, Canada, Provincial Archives, St. John's.




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John:

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Riggs-543 and Riggs-310 appear to represent the same person because: same wife and son, James
posted by Robin Lee

R  >  Riggs  >  John Riggs

Categories: Bay de Verde, Newfoundland Colony