Manuscripts Collection
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,
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.
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.
Original materials that have been digitized are closed to general use.
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.
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 numbers: 2905; 3220; 3431; 3485; 4427; 4461a; 4548; 5423; 6064; 9664; 9695; 10,981; 11,337; 15,839; 16,415.
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant
awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 001733689
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
Digital version
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.
Digital version
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."
By Maida L. Riggs. Compiled circa 1980.
Manuscript copied by Riggs.
Relate to the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and the Sully expedition.
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.
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.