Thomas was the son of Mary Ann (Longley) and Stephen R. Riggs. He was born at the Lac Qui Parle Mission in Chippewa County, MN. He spent his early childhood at the mission where his family worked as Christian missionaries among the Dakota Indians. In 1854, most of the mission buildings were destroyed by fire. His father then organized the Hazelwood Mission in Yellow Medicine County, MN, and the family continued their mission work among the Dakotas.
Thomas was with his family when they and others fled the Hazelwood Mission in the early morning of August 19, 1862, the second day of the Dakota uprising. The group traveled across the prairie in an easterly direction, and, after a week of hardships and danger, they found safety at Henderson, MN. Following a short stay with friends in Shakopee, the family moved to St. Anthony, MN, were there for three years, and then moved to Beloit, WI in 1866. Thomas finished his high school studies at St. Anthony and received his college education at Beloit College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1868.
After graduation he went to Mississippi for a year to teach freed slaves, and then entered the Theological Seminary in Chicago. Here he met his future wife, Nina Foster, of Bangor, Maine. She was in the area visiting her sister, Katie. They were eventually married at her home in Bangor on December 26, 1872. By this time, Thomas had received his ordination in Beloit, and was establishing a mission on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Following the wedding, he returned to work at the mission, while Nina stayed with her sister in Chicago. She joined Thomas in the spring when travel conditions improved, arriving at the mission in May 1873. Thomas and Nina established the Oahe Mission to serve Dakota Indians in central South Dakota. Students were given Bible lessons and were taught to read and write in the Dakota language.
In the summer of 1874, the couple's first child, Theodore Foster Riggs, was born. In August 1878, Nina died from complications during child birth in her second pregnancy. On March 31, 1885, Thomas married Louisa Irvine, a teacher at the mission. They eventually had four children: Cornelia, Robert, Lawrence, and Muriel. Cornelia died in infancy and Muriel died when only nine years old.
Thomas developed some business interests outside of his missionary work. In 1889, he started livestock ranching, raising a herd of registered Hereford cattle. He was vice president of the Stock Growers Bank of Fort Pierre, and was director of the Riggs Irrigation Company. He was also an organizer and first president of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
He received three honorary degrees: The LL.D. degree from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion, SD), the D.D. degree from Yankton College (Yankton, SD), and the D.D. degree from Beloit College (Beloit, WI).
He continued directing the work of the mission until health issues forced him to resign in 1918. In retirement, he kept a close association with the mission field and church affairs. Changing attitudes and opinions about Indian missions led to a gradual closing of the Oahe Mission. Thomas died in his sleep on July 6, 1940. He was survived by Louisa who died in 1951. Both were buried in the small Riggs family plot near their mission residence. Family members referred to the plot as the "Little Enclosure". The graves and the mission buildings now lie beneath the Oahe Dam reservoir.
Thomas was with his family when they and others fled the Hazelwood Mission in the early morning of August 19, 1862, the second day of the Dakota uprising. The group traveled across the prairie in an easterly direction, and, after a week of hardships and danger, they found safety at Henderson, MN. Following a short stay with friends in Shakopee, the family moved to St. Anthony, MN, were there for three years, and then moved to Beloit, WI in 1866. Thomas finished his high school studies at St. Anthony and received his college education at Beloit College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1868.
After graduation he went to Mississippi for a year to teach freed slaves, and then entered the Theological Seminary in Chicago. Here he met his future wife, Nina Foster, of Bangor, Maine. She was in the area visiting her sister, Katie. They were eventually married at her home in Bangor on December 26, 1872. By this time, Thomas had received his ordination in Beloit, and was establishing a mission on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Following the wedding, he returned to work at the mission, while Nina stayed with her sister in Chicago. She joined Thomas in the spring when travel conditions improved, arriving at the mission in May 1873. Thomas and Nina established the Oahe Mission to serve Dakota Indians in central South Dakota. Students were given Bible lessons and were taught to read and write in the Dakota language.
In the summer of 1874, the couple's first child, Theodore Foster Riggs, was born. In August 1878, Nina died from complications during child birth in her second pregnancy. On March 31, 1885, Thomas married Louisa Irvine, a teacher at the mission. They eventually had four children: Cornelia, Robert, Lawrence, and Muriel. Cornelia died in infancy and Muriel died when only nine years old.
Thomas developed some business interests outside of his missionary work. In 1889, he started livestock ranching, raising a herd of registered Hereford cattle. He was vice president of the Stock Growers Bank of Fort Pierre, and was director of the Riggs Irrigation Company. He was also an organizer and first president of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
He received three honorary degrees: The LL.D. degree from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion, SD), the D.D. degree from Yankton College (Yankton, SD), and the D.D. degree from Beloit College (Beloit, WI).
He continued directing the work of the mission until health issues forced him to resign in 1918. In retirement, he kept a close association with the mission field and church affairs. Changing attitudes and opinions about Indian missions led to a gradual closing of the Oahe Mission. Thomas died in his sleep on July 6, 1940. He was survived by Louisa who died in 1951. Both were buried in the small Riggs family plot near their mission residence. Family members referred to the plot as the "Little Enclosure". The graves and the mission buildings now lie beneath the Oahe Dam reservoir.
Thomas was the son of Mary Ann (Longley) and Stephen R. Riggs. He was born at the Lac Qui Parle Mission in Chippewa County, MN. He spent his early childhood at the mission where his family worked as Christian missionaries among the Dakota Indians. In 1854, most of the mission buildings were destroyed by fire. His father then organized the Hazelwood Mission in Yellow Medicine County, MN, and the family continued their mission work among the Dakotas.
Thomas was with his family when they and others fled the Hazelwood Mission in the early morning of August 19, 1862, the second day of the Dakota uprising. The group traveled across the prairie in an easterly direction, and, after a week of hardships and danger, they found safety at Henderson, MN. Following a short stay with friends in Shakopee, the family moved to St. Anthony, MN, were there for three years, and then moved to Beloit, WI in 1866. Thomas finished his high school studies at St. Anthony and received his college education at Beloit College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1868.
After graduation he went to Mississippi for a year to teach freed slaves, and then entered the Theological Seminary in Chicago. Here he met his future wife, Nina Foster, of Bangor, Maine. She was in the area visiting her sister, Katie. They were eventually married at her home in Bangor on December 26, 1872. By this time, Thomas had received his ordination in Beloit, and was establishing a mission on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Following the wedding, he returned to work at the mission, while Nina stayed with her sister in Chicago. She joined Thomas in the spring when travel conditions improved, arriving at the mission in May 1873. Thomas and Nina established the Oahe Mission to serve Dakota Indians in central South Dakota. Students were given Bible lessons and were taught to read and write in the Dakota language.
In the summer of 1874, the couple's first child, Theodore Foster Riggs, was born. In August 1878, Nina died from complications during child birth in her second pregnancy. On March 31, 1885, Thomas married Louisa Irvine, a teacher at the mission. They eventually had four children: Cornelia, Robert, Lawrence, and Muriel. Cornelia died in infancy and Muriel died when only nine years old.
Thomas developed some business interests outside of his missionary work. In 1889, he started livestock ranching, raising a herd of registered Hereford cattle. He was vice president of the Stock Growers Bank of Fort Pierre, and was director of the Riggs Irrigation Company. He was also an organizer and first president of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
He received three honorary degrees: The LL.D. degree from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion, SD), the D.D. degree from Yankton College (Yankton, SD), and the D.D. degree from Beloit College (Beloit, WI).
He continued directing the work of the mission until health issues forced him to resign in 1918. In retirement, he kept a close association with the mission field and church affairs. Changing attitudes and opinions about Indian missions led to a gradual closing of the Oahe Mission. Thomas died in his sleep on July 6, 1940. He was survived by Louisa who died in 1951. Both were buried in the small Riggs family plot near their mission residence. Family members referred to the plot as the "Little Enclosure". The graves and the mission buildings now lie beneath the Oahe Dam reservoir.
Thomas was with his family when they and others fled the Hazelwood Mission in the early morning of August 19, 1862, the second day of the Dakota uprising. The group traveled across the prairie in an easterly direction, and, after a week of hardships and danger, they found safety at Henderson, MN. Following a short stay with friends in Shakopee, the family moved to St. Anthony, MN, were there for three years, and then moved to Beloit, WI in 1866. Thomas finished his high school studies at St. Anthony and received his college education at Beloit College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1868.
After graduation he went to Mississippi for a year to teach freed slaves, and then entered the Theological Seminary in Chicago. Here he met his future wife, Nina Foster, of Bangor, Maine. She was in the area visiting her sister, Katie. They were eventually married at her home in Bangor on December 26, 1872. By this time, Thomas had received his ordination in Beloit, and was establishing a mission on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Following the wedding, he returned to work at the mission, while Nina stayed with her sister in Chicago. She joined Thomas in the spring when travel conditions improved, arriving at the mission in May 1873. Thomas and Nina established the Oahe Mission to serve Dakota Indians in central South Dakota. Students were given Bible lessons and were taught to read and write in the Dakota language.
In the summer of 1874, the couple's first child, Theodore Foster Riggs, was born. In August 1878, Nina died from complications during child birth in her second pregnancy. On March 31, 1885, Thomas married Louisa Irvine, a teacher at the mission. They eventually had four children: Cornelia, Robert, Lawrence, and Muriel. Cornelia died in infancy and Muriel died when only nine years old.
Thomas developed some business interests outside of his missionary work. In 1889, he started livestock ranching, raising a herd of registered Hereford cattle. He was vice president of the Stock Growers Bank of Fort Pierre, and was director of the Riggs Irrigation Company. He was also an organizer and first president of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
He received three honorary degrees: The LL.D. degree from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion, SD), the D.D. degree from Yankton College (Yankton, SD), and the D.D. degree from Beloit College (Beloit, WI).
He continued directing the work of the mission until health issues forced him to resign in 1918. In retirement, he kept a close association with the mission field and church affairs. Changing attitudes and opinions about Indian missions led to a gradual closing of the Oahe Mission. Thomas died in his sleep on July 6, 1940. He was survived by Louisa who died in 1951. Both were buried in the small Riggs family plot near their mission residence. Family members referred to the plot as the "Little Enclosure". The graves and the mission buildings now lie beneath the Oahe Dam reservoir.
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