STEPHEN R. RIGGS AND FAMILY:

An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For details, please see restrictions.


Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator:Riggs, Stephen Return, 1812-1883, creator.
Title:Stephen R. Riggs and family papers.
Dates:1837-1988 (bulk 1837-1869).
Language:Materials in English and Dakota.
Abstract:Letters, reminiscences, genealogical data, and miscellany of this Presbyterian missionary, his wife Mary Ann Longley Riggs, and other family members, focusing on the Riggs' missionary service at Lake Harriet (now Minneapolis) and Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota (1837-1862), his work as an interpreter during the U.S.-Dakota War (1862), and his subsequent activities as an author of Dakota-language teaching materials.
Quantity:1.50 cubic feet (2 boxes).
Location:See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Reverend Stephen RiggsStephen Return Riggs, a Presbyterian missionary, was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on March 23, 1812, the son of Stephen and Anne (Baird) Riggs. He studied at Jefferson College and the Western Theological Seminary in 1833 and 1834, and he was licensed to preach in 1836.

He came to what is now Minnesota under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1837, settling first at Lake Harriet (in what is now Minneapolis). Later he was sent to the Hazelwood Mission, Lac Qui Parle, where he built and constructed a boarding school for Native American children. He remained there until the Dakota War of 1862. He was an interpreter, attached to Henry H. Sibley's staff during the war. Later he moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, where he died on March 24, 1883.

Riggs authored a Dakota lexicon, translated the Bible into Dakota, and wrote the volume, Mary and I, forty years with the Sioux, which was published in 1880.

He married Mary Ann Clark Longley on February 16, 1837. She was the daughter of Thomas and Martha Anne (Taylor) Longley and was born on November 10, 1813. She died on March 22, 1869. There were eight children born of this marriage.


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Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENTS

The papers include extensive correspondence with Riggs and Longley family members; letters from other missionaries in Minnesota and Dakota Territory; letters from Minnesota and national political leaders; letters from religious organizations, especially the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American Bible Society, and the American Tract Society; and many letters from Native Americans, most in the Dakota language. There is also information on the Civil War, settlement of Indian claims for land and money, and the publication of Riggs' writings, as well as a set of biographical sketches of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions missionaries.

Included in the correspondence is a letter appointing Riggs as interpreter for the Sibley staff (September 30, 1862); a draft of a letter sent by Riggs to President Abraham Lincoln concerning punishment of Dakota involved in the Dakota War (November 17, 1862); a letter discharging Riggs as interpreter for the Sibley staff (September 29, 1863); a Civil War letterhead depicting General McClellan (October 29, 1863); certificates of deportment from Rockford Female Seminary issued to Anna J. Riggs (1864); a letter from Riggs to his daughter Isabella describing a stereoptican exhibition by A. J. Ebell in St. Anthony (April 23, 1864); and a letter from L. W. Lynd, the father of James W. Lynd, one of the first victims of the Dakota War, to Riggs (December 5, 1864). Correspondence also includes a letter from George T. Harris to Riggs requesting Riggs' assistance as chaplain to Dakota leaders Little Six and Medicine Bottle, who were to be executed for their part in the Dakota War (September 25, 1865); a Civil War letterhead depicting a soldier in a Zouave uniform (January 13, 1866); and a letter from Riggs to his daughter Martha (March 18, 1869) describing the last illness and death of his wife.

Correspondents represented in the collection include Joseph, Mary, Thomas, Moses, Isabella, and Martha Riggs; Moses N. Adams; George L. Becker; Joseph R. Brown; Samuel H. Chute; George D. Crocker; George E. H. Day; W. P. Dole; Lucy Spooner Drake; John W. Dulles; Theodore Dwight; Adrian J. Ebell; A. D. Frenier; Thomas J. Galbraith; Charles D. Gilfillan; James Harlan; Alfred J. Hill; James W. and Jane Holtsclaw; Robert Hopkins; Amos W., Eliza, and Mary L. Huggins; Lorenzo Lawrence; Julia Laframboise; Mary C. LeDuc; Joseph and Moses Longley; William R. Marshall; John L. McCullough; Andrew R. McGill; Stephen Miller; D. Wilson Moore; Fannie and Jonas Pettijohn; George G. Poage; Gideon H., Samuel W., and Selah B. Pond; Alexander Ramsey; Angelique, Antoine, John B., Mary A., and Michel Renville; Edmund Rice; Alfred L. Sewall; Henry H. Sibley; John H. Stevens; Alfred Sully; Henry A. Swift; Selah B. Treat; William W. Wales; Henry T. Welles; J. Fletcher Williams; Andrew W., Jane S., John P., and Thomas S. Williamson; and William Windom.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions:

Original materials that have been digitized are closed to general use.

Use Restrictions:

Copyright to the Mary Anne Longley Riggs correspondence, 1837-1851 is reserved, except for photocopies of the original and a typed copy of a letter by Mary Riggs dated November 27, 1842, and may not be further reproduced without written permission of the Presbyterian Historical Society. Please consult the reference staff for more information.

Copyright to pioneer reminiscences is reserved. The manuscripts may not be further reproduced without written permission of the Presbyterian Historical Society. Please consult the reference staff for more information.

Copyright in Riggs letters, 1832-1869 is held by the Presbyterian Historical Society and Maida L. Riggs. Please consult the reference staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Stephen R. Riggs and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Location of Originals:

In part, copies of materials in various repositories and loaned by various individuals.

Original Mary Anne Longley Riggs letter of November 27, 1842 is owned by William Sneed, Chicago, Illinois.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 2905; 3220; 3431; 3485; 4427; 4461a; 4548; 5423; 6064; 9664; 9695; 10,981; 11,337; 15,839; 16,415.

Processing Information:

NHPRC logo

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990017336890104294


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

LocationBox
144.G.7.1B1Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, undated, 1843-1883, 1935, 1937.Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, undated, 1843-1883, 1935, 1937. 31 folders.
RESTRICTED. Closed to general use.
Includes extensive correspondence between Stephen R. Riggs and members of his and the Longley family, letters from missionaries, political leaders in Minnesota and the nation, letters from religious organizations, and Dakota. Correspondents include Alexander Ramsey and Henry Sibley. Other frequent correspondents include members of the Renville and Williamson families. The files include some typed transcripts of letters.
Also included are deeds, miscellaneous personal financial accounts, and financial accounts with the American Tract Society and the American Bible Society.
Digital version, undated
Digital version, undated, 1862
Digital version, 1843-1861
Digital version, January-July 1862
Digital version, August-December 1862
Digital version, undated, 1863
Digital version, January-March 1863
Digital version, April-September 1863
Digital version, October-December 1863
Digital version, undated, 1864
Digital version, January-March 1864
Digital version, April-June 1864
Digital version, July-September 1864
Digital version, October-December 1864
Digital version, undated, 1865
Digital version, January-March 1865
Digital version, April-July 1865
Digital version, August-December 1865
Digital version, undated, 1866
Digital version, January-March 1866
Digital version, April-December 1866
Digital version, January-March 1867
Digital version, April-December 1867
Digital version, January-April 1868
Digital version, May-December 1868
Digital version, January-February 1869
Digital version, March-May 1869
Digital version, June-December 1869
Digital version, 1870
Digital version, 1872-1879
Digital version, 1880-1883, 1935, 1937
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers: Copies of correspondence, 1862-1880.
RESTRICTED. Closed to general use.
Handwritten and typed excerpts of letters written to Riggs family members by Stephen Riggs, including those when he was an interpreter attached to the Sibley forces in 1862 as well as letters written while on a visit to missions in Dakota Territory in the 1880s. Includes extracts from letters not included as part of the Correspondence and miscellaneous papers.
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers:  Copies of correspondence, 1862-1880. Digital version
A Tableau of the families, and single persons, connected with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission in the Dakota Mission, during the quarter of a century 1835-1860, September 1861. 1 volume.
RESTRICTED. Closed to general use.
Prepared by Stephen R. Riggs and copied by Martha T. Riggs, Hazelwood, Minnesota.
Biographical sketches of people connected with the Dakota Mission, including missionaries Thomas S. Williamson, Jedidiah D. Stevens, Alexander G. Huggins, Stephen R. Riggs, Robert Hopkins, Jonas Pettijohn, Moses N. Adams, John F. Aiton, Joseph W. Hancock, Hugh Doak Cunningham, Lucy Cornelia Stevens, Jane S. Williamson, Lucy Jane Spooner, Mary Roche Spooner, Anne Boke Sekley. Label pasted to the front cover: "HISTORY, Riggs, S.R. Biog. of Men connected with Dakota Mission 1835-1860."
A Tableau of the families, and single persons, connected with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission in the Dakota Mission, during the quarter of a century 1835-1860, with the boarding scholars, September 1861. Digital version
LocationBox
144.G.7.2F2Lovingly, Lucy: Vignettes of a Pioneer Women's Life, circa 1980.
By Maida L. Riggs. Compiled circa 1980.
Lovingly, Lucy: loose materials, undated, circa 1988.
Manuscripts:
James W. Lynd, Dakota tribes of the N. West, undated. 52-page manuscript.
Manuscript copied by Riggs.
Thomas L. Riggs, Hazelwood Republic, 1862. Two typewritten manuscripts, one 6 pages in length and the other 5 pages in length.
Thomas L. Riggs reminiscences, 1928. Typewritten copy, 10 pages in length.
Stephen R. Riggs, Memoirs of Joseph R. Brown, 1871.
Riggs and Williamson Family genealogies, 1861, 1951.
Newspaper clippings, undated, 1862-1865.
Relate to the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and the Sully expedition.
Mary Anne Longley Riggs correspondence, 1837-1851. 7 folders.
COPYRIGHT RESERVED.
Photocopies of letters written by Mrs. Stephen R. Riggs to her family in Hawley, Massachusetts, describing her trip with Riggs to and arrival in Minnesota, and their life at the school and mission at Lake Harriet and Lac Qui Parle. The letters are addressed to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Longley, and to her two brothers, Joseph and Thomas.
Original Mary Anne Longley Riggs letter of November 27, 1842 is owned by William Sneed, Chicago, Illinois.
Amrud, Anna: pioneer reminiscences, 1958.
COPYRIGHT RESERVED.
File contains four typed manuscripts: History of the Lac Qui Parle Indian mission, Early history of the Dakota mission, Early recollections of my childhood, and Recall the placing of historic marker at site of mission.
Riggs letters transcribed by Elizabeth Riggs Gutch and Maida Leonard Riggs, 1832-1869. 1 volume.
COPYRIGHT RESERVED.

Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:
Dakota Indians -- Missions.
Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865.
Dakota language.
Education.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota.
Indians of North America -- Government relations.
Presbyterian Church -- Minnesota.
Prices.
Religion.
Sully Expeditions, 1863-1865.
Persons:
Adams, Moses N. (Moses Newton), 1822-1902.
Amrud, Anna.
Brown, Joseph Renshaw, 1805-1870.
Chute, Samuel Hewes, 1830-1913.
Crocker, George D.
Day, George E. H.
Dole, William P., approximately 1818-1889.
Drake, Lucy Spooner.
Dulles, John W. (John Welsh), 1823-1887.
Dwight, Theodore, 1796-1866.
Ebell, Adrian J. (Adrian John), 1840-1877.
Frenier, A. D.
Galbraith, Thomas J.
Gilfillan, Charles Duncan, 1831-1902.
Harlan, James, 1820-1899.
Hill, A. J. (Alfred James), 1833-1895.
Holtsclaw, James W., 1828-1864.
Holtsclaw, Jane Sloan Huggins, 1834-1920.
Hopkins, Robert, 1816-1851.
Huggins, Amos, 1833-1862.
Huggins, Eliza Wilson, 1837-1873.
Laframboise, Julia Ann, 1842-1871.
Langley family.
Lawrence, Lorenzo, approximately 1820-1898.
Le Duc, Mary C.
Longley, Joseph.
Longley, Moses.
Lynd, James W. (James William), 1830-1862.
Marshall, William Rainey, 1825-1896.
McCullough, John L.
McGill, A. R. (Andrew Ryan), 1840-1905.
Miller, Stephen, 1816-1881.
Moore, D. Wilson.
Morris, Martha Riggs, 1842-1910.
Morris, Martha Riggs, 1842-1910.
Pettijohn, Fannie Huggins, 1812-1894.
Pettijohn, Jonas, 1813-1896.
Poage, George G.
Pond, Gideon H. (Gideon Hollister), 1810-1878.
Pond, Samuel W. (Samuel William), 1808-1891.
Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903.
Renville, Angelique, 1845-
Renville, Antoine.
Renville, John B. (John Baptiste), 1832?-1903.
Renville, Mary A.
Renville, Michael.
Rice, Edmund, 1819-1889.
Riggs, Joseph.
Riggs, Mary Ann Clark Longley, 1813-1869.
Riggs, Thomas Lawrence, 1847-1940.
Riggs family.
Sewall, Alfred L.
Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891.
Stevens, John H. (John Harrington), 1820-1900.
Sully, Alfred, 1821-1879.
Swift, Henry A., 1823-1869.
Treat, Selah Burr, 1804-1877.
Wales, William Winford, 1818-1902.
Welles, H. T. (Henry Titus), 1821-1898.
Williams, Isabella Riggs, 1840-1897.
Williams, J. Fletcher (John Fletcher), 1834-1895.
Williamson, Andrew Woods, 1838-1906.
Williamson, Jane Smith, 1803-
Williamson, Thomas S. (Thomas Smith), 1800-1879.
Williamson family.
Willliamson, John Poage, 1835-1917.
Windom, William, 1827-1891.
Organizations:
American Bible Society.
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
American Tract Society.
Hazelwood Mission (Minn.).
Rockford Female Seminary.
Western Female Seminary.
Places:
Beloit (Wis.)
Dakota Territory.
Lac qui Parle (Minn.).
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Document Types:
Genealogies.
Letterheads.
Occupations:
Missionaries.

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