Elisha Riggs

Elisha Riggs (June 13, 1779 – August 3, 1853) was an American merchant, soldier and banker who founded the Riggs National Bank.

Elisha Riggs
Born(1779-06-13)June 13, 1779
Brookeville, Maryland, US
DiedAugust 3, 1853(1853-08-03) (aged 74)
New York, New York, US
Spouses
Alice Lawrason
​
​
(m. 1812; died 1817)​
    Mary Ann Karrick
    ​
    (m. 1822)​
    ChildrenGeorge Washington Riggs
    RelativesT. Lawrason Riggs (grandson)
    Lawrason Riggs (grandson)

    Early life

    Riggs was born on June 13, 1779, in Brookeville, Maryland.[1] He was a son of Lt. Samuel Riggs (1740–1814), a silversmith,[2] and Amelia (née Dorsey) Riggs (1749–1807).[3]

    He was a descendant of John Riggs of London who emigrated to the America and married Mary Davis, a daughter of Thomas Davis, one of the original settlers on Herring Creek and who was in the Virginia General Assembly.[4]

    Career

    After his education, Riggs moved to Georgetown, DC, where he was employed as a merchant. He fought in the War of 1812 as an ensign in Capt. Thomas Owings's 32nd Regiment of the Militia of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Before that, he had established himself as a dry goods merchant and hired George Peabody as his office boy.

    By 1815, Riggs and Peabody entered into a partnership under the firm name of Riggs & Peabody, dry goods merchant. Business flourished and soon they expanded to Baltimore in 1816. By 1821, they had offices in New York City and Philadelphia. In 1822 the firm's name was changed to Riggs, Peabody & Co. with the main office in Baltimore. In 1829 the partnership was dissolved and Riggs retired to New York City. His estate is now part of the United States Custom House in New York.

    Banking

    Riggs and Peabody continued their business ventures and engaged in international finance. They were mainly concerned with restoring the credit of Maryland abroad after the depression of 1841 to 1842 and disposed a bond issue of $8 million. Before moving to New York, Elisha established the bank of Corcoran & Riggs in Washington, D.C., which was organized by William Wilson Corcoran and Riggs' son, George, and financed by Elisha. When the United States sought a loan to finance the Mexican–American War, the Riggs bank was the only institution to bid for the full amount and lent the government $34 million in 1847 and 1848. After the retirement of Corcoran, Elisha's son George Washington Riggs and his grandson Elisha Francis Riggs took over the business as Riggs & Co. in Washington. It was successfully run as such until July 1896 when it assumed its present name as the Riggs National Bank. The bank still stands at its original location as PNC Bank (Riggs was acquired by PNC Financial Services in 2005).[5]

    Personal life

    On September 17, 1812, Riggs was married to Alice Lawrason (1791–1817), a daughter of James Lawrason and Alice (née Levering) Lawrason. Before her death on April 16, 1817, they were the parents of several children, including two surviving sons:[1]

    • George Washington Riggs (1813–1881), who married Janet Madeleine Cecilia Shedden and had nine children.[1][6]
    • Lawrason Riggs (1814–1884), who married three times, including to Mary Turpin Bright (a daughter of Sen. Jesse D. Bright) and had thirteen children.[1]

    On July 16, 1822, Riggs married Mary Ann Karrick (1798–1870), a daughter of Joseph Karrick and Rebecca (née Ord) Karrick of Philadelphia. Together, they were the parents of several children who lived abroad in Paris, including:[7]

    • Elisha Riggs Jr. (1826–1881), who married Mary Boswell of Philadelphia in 1849.[8]
    • Joseph Karrick Riggs (1828–1883), who married Rosalie Van Zandt in 1853 and lived in Paris.[9][10] After his death, she married Prince Paolo Ruspoli in 1888.[11][12]
    • William Henry Riggs (1837–1924), who dedicated his life to armor collecting.[13]
    • Mary Alice Riggs (1839–1870), who married Samuel Wilkins Cragg.[14]

    Riggs died on August 3, 1853, in New York City,[15] where he was buried.[1] His widow died in Paris in February 1870.

    References
    1. Wallace, John Hankins (1901). Genealogy of the Riggs Family: With a Number of Cognate Branches Descended from the Original Edward Through Female Lines and Many Biographical Outlines. The Author. pp. 112–120. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    2. "Samuel Riggs". www.americansilversmiths.org. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    3. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1914). Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 22. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    4. Baltimore, Colonial Dames of America Chapter I. (1910). Ancestral Records and Portraits: A Compilation from the Archives of Chapter I, the Colonial Dames of America. Grafton Press. p. 607. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    5. "PNC Reaches Revised Deal to Buy Riggs Bank". The New York Times. 10 February 2005. ProQuest 2227739341. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    6. "ALICE LAWRASON RIGGS.; One of Last Survivors of Noted Washington Family Dies at 87". The New York Times. 4 September 1927. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 104108190. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    7. Warfield, Joshua Dorsey (1905). The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland: A Genealogical and Biographical Review from Wills, Deeds and Church Records. Kohn & Pollock. p. 359. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    8. Kohler, Sue A.; Carson, Jeffrey R.; Arts, United States Commission of Fine (1978). Sixteenth Street Architecture. Commission of Fine Arts. p. 64. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    9. Walsh, Jane MacLaren; Topping, Brett (29 November 2018). The Man Who Invented Aztec Crystal Skulls: The Adventures of Eugène Boban. Berghahn Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-78920-096-6. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    10. Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States: transmitted to Congress with the Annual message of the President. 1871. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1871. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    11. "Almanach Hachette" (in French). 1907: 326. Retrieved 16 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
    12. "KARRICK VAN ZANDT RIGGS.; Member of Noted Pioneer New York and Maryland Families". The New York Times. 27 March 1935. p. 21. ProQuest 101550528. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    13. Pyhrr, Stuart W. (1 July 2012). Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan 1912–2012. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-58839-483-5. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    14. "DIED. -- CRAGG". The New York Times. 21 March 1870. p. 5. ProQuest 92630305. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
    15. "The late Elisha Riggs". The New York Times. 5 August 1853. p. 3. ProQuest 95800420. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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