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Miles Riggs I

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Miles Riggs I

Birth
Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, USA
Death
24 Dec 1754 (aged 48–49)
New York, New York County, New York, USA
Burial
Burial Details Unknown Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
It is "said" that Miles Riggs died Abt. 1754 in a "watery" grave, at New York Harbor.
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Suggested by another contributor: he may have died in New Jersey as his will was dated 1 Jan 1754 in Newark, Essex, NJ - the will in New York is dated 1875
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He married Elizabeth Whitney on 26-Jun-1735 in Norwalk, Conn., daughter of Joseph Whitney and Hannah Hoyt. Elizabeth Whitney, b. in Norwalk, Conn., 1717; married, 26 June 1735, at Norwalk, Miles Riggs, of Stamford, Conn., where they dwelt till four of their eight children were born.
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Grandson, Miles Riggs, had an old manuscript book, in which was recorded the fact that "he was of Irish extraction, born in the Isle of Wight, 07-Jun-1687; followed the sea till late in life; then settled at Norwalk, Conn., where his son Miles was born 20 May 1748."

Unfortunately, this book fell into the hands of a woman who had no love for "old things," and she burned it, within a few years past. Another tradition says that he was from Newark, N.J., and this seems to be supported by Mr. Samuel H. Congar's Genealogical Notices of the First Settlers of Newark, in Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. 6, Supplement, p. 131, which makes him traditionally the son of that Joseph Riggs, who died 11 Sept. 1744, aged 69, and was buried at Orange, N.J. His grandparents were, possibly, Edward and Mary Riggs, of Newark; and his great-grandparents may have been Edward and Elizabeth Riggs, of Milford and Derby, Conn. No record of his death has been found, but a deed in the Norwalk land records, Vol. XI, p. 185, shows that "Elizabeth Wriggs, widow, or Norwalk," joined her brothers and sisters, 5 Aug. 1754, in conveying land at the upper end of Clapboard Hills, to Ebenezer Benedict. One tradition affirms that he lived in Newark, N.J.; another says that he was a mariner, master of a vessel, and that, at the time of his death, he dwelt in New Jersey, near New York City; and that he was "supposed to have died in New York Harbor, and to have found a watery grave, about 1754."

She married (2d) Ensign David Rockwell, whose first wife, Elizabeth (Hyatt) Rockwell, died in Ridgefield, Conn., 13 Feb. 1758. He was born in Norwalk, 8 Oct. 1708, son of Jonathan and Abigail (Canfield) Rockwell, of Norwalk and Ridgefield, g. son of John Rockwell, Jr., of Stamford, Conn., and g. g. son of John Rockwell, Sen., one of the early settlers of Stamford in Dec. 1641. They settled at Ridgebury, in Ridgefield, where he died, 30 May 1788, in his 80th year, and was buried in Ridgebury Cemetery. She married (3d), about 1791, being then 74 years old, Agur Fairchild, who was her senior by six years. He died in 1797, after which she lived with her daughter, Mrs. Esther (Riggs) Rockwell, in Ridgebury, till she was 94 years old, then went to live with her son, Miles Riggs, at Norfolk, Litchfield Co., Conn., where she died in Aug. 1815, aged 98 years.

SOURCE: "The Whitney Family of Connecticut" by S. Whitney Phoenix. Page 23.

Source [link]: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/k/i/l/Crystal-K-Kilbury/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-1148.html
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See also [link]: http://www.dkdonovan.com/familygroup.php?familyID=F13835&tree=Main
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CHILDREN:
- Elizabeth, d. Miles & Elizabeth, b. Dec. 17, 1742
- Joseph [FAG #24996520], s. Miles & Elizabeth, b. May 18, 1738
- Josiah, s. Miles & Elizabeth, b. May 18, 1736
- Miles [FAG #35943214] m. Elizabeth Whitney June 26, 1735, in Norwalk, by Rev. Mr. Buckingham
- Sarah, d. Miles & Elizabeth, b. Oct. 22, 1740
- William L. m. Julia Ann Bishop Nov. 27, 1828
- 7 & 8?
It is "said" that Miles Riggs died Abt. 1754 in a "watery" grave, at New York Harbor.
---
Suggested by another contributor: he may have died in New Jersey as his will was dated 1 Jan 1754 in Newark, Essex, NJ - the will in New York is dated 1875
---
He married Elizabeth Whitney on 26-Jun-1735 in Norwalk, Conn., daughter of Joseph Whitney and Hannah Hoyt. Elizabeth Whitney, b. in Norwalk, Conn., 1717; married, 26 June 1735, at Norwalk, Miles Riggs, of Stamford, Conn., where they dwelt till four of their eight children were born.
-
Grandson, Miles Riggs, had an old manuscript book, in which was recorded the fact that "he was of Irish extraction, born in the Isle of Wight, 07-Jun-1687; followed the sea till late in life; then settled at Norwalk, Conn., where his son Miles was born 20 May 1748."

Unfortunately, this book fell into the hands of a woman who had no love for "old things," and she burned it, within a few years past. Another tradition says that he was from Newark, N.J., and this seems to be supported by Mr. Samuel H. Congar's Genealogical Notices of the First Settlers of Newark, in Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. 6, Supplement, p. 131, which makes him traditionally the son of that Joseph Riggs, who died 11 Sept. 1744, aged 69, and was buried at Orange, N.J. His grandparents were, possibly, Edward and Mary Riggs, of Newark; and his great-grandparents may have been Edward and Elizabeth Riggs, of Milford and Derby, Conn. No record of his death has been found, but a deed in the Norwalk land records, Vol. XI, p. 185, shows that "Elizabeth Wriggs, widow, or Norwalk," joined her brothers and sisters, 5 Aug. 1754, in conveying land at the upper end of Clapboard Hills, to Ebenezer Benedict. One tradition affirms that he lived in Newark, N.J.; another says that he was a mariner, master of a vessel, and that, at the time of his death, he dwelt in New Jersey, near New York City; and that he was "supposed to have died in New York Harbor, and to have found a watery grave, about 1754."

She married (2d) Ensign David Rockwell, whose first wife, Elizabeth (Hyatt) Rockwell, died in Ridgefield, Conn., 13 Feb. 1758. He was born in Norwalk, 8 Oct. 1708, son of Jonathan and Abigail (Canfield) Rockwell, of Norwalk and Ridgefield, g. son of John Rockwell, Jr., of Stamford, Conn., and g. g. son of John Rockwell, Sen., one of the early settlers of Stamford in Dec. 1641. They settled at Ridgebury, in Ridgefield, where he died, 30 May 1788, in his 80th year, and was buried in Ridgebury Cemetery. She married (3d), about 1791, being then 74 years old, Agur Fairchild, who was her senior by six years. He died in 1797, after which she lived with her daughter, Mrs. Esther (Riggs) Rockwell, in Ridgebury, till she was 94 years old, then went to live with her son, Miles Riggs, at Norfolk, Litchfield Co., Conn., where she died in Aug. 1815, aged 98 years.

SOURCE: "The Whitney Family of Connecticut" by S. Whitney Phoenix. Page 23.

Source [link]: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/k/i/l/Crystal-K-Kilbury/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-1148.html
---
See also [link]: http://www.dkdonovan.com/familygroup.php?familyID=F13835&tree=Main
---
CHILDREN:
- Elizabeth, d. Miles & Elizabeth, b. Dec. 17, 1742
- Joseph [FAG #24996520], s. Miles & Elizabeth, b. May 18, 1738
- Josiah, s. Miles & Elizabeth, b. May 18, 1736
- Miles [FAG #35943214] m. Elizabeth Whitney June 26, 1735, in Norwalk, by Rev. Mr. Buckingham
- Sarah, d. Miles & Elizabeth, b. Oct. 22, 1740
- William L. m. Julia Ann Bishop Nov. 27, 1828
- 7 & 8?


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