Edward Riggs
and
Elizabeth Holmes
Born: Mar 1589, Roydon Essex UK
Died: 5 Mar 1672, Roxbury MA
Buried:
Born: Dec 1590, Nazeing Essex UK
Died: Oct 1634, Roxbury MA
Buried:
Married: 16 Sep 1618, All Saints Church, Nazeing Essex UK
Children: Edward, Lydia, Elizabeth, John, Mary (Twitchell)
Edward was born in Roydon, the son of Richard Riggs and Elizabeth Chamberlin, Elizabeth was born in the neighboring village of Nazeing, to George and Elizabeth Holmes. It was in Nazeing that they were married and made their home, and where all of their children were born. In 1633 they sailed for Massachusetts, one of a large group of Puritans from Nazeing, the “Nazeing Christians” who followed the young Cambridge graduate and Nazeing native, John Elliott1, to Roxbury MA, where he was the minister of the local church. Edward was one of the poorer members of the congregation; his occupation is unknown.
Their son, Edward, born in Nazeing in 1619, moved with his first wife Elizabeth Rose(?) to the new settlement of Wethersfield CT in about 1637. He took part in the Pequot War, and was recognized for a conspicuous act of bravery (what, we do not know) during the war. Probably in recognition of this service, he was given land in the new town of Milford CT in 1640. In 1655 he moved again with other Milford families to what was to become the town of Derby CT. Finally, in 1666, he, with many other citizens of the New Haven Colony, moved with several children to New Jersey, where he was one of the founders of Newark.
Edward’s descendants remained in New Jersey, slowly moving west out of Newark into what became Morris and Somerset Counties.
Trivia
Edward and Elizabeth at the 6th ggrandparents of Pres. William Howard Taft, 8th ggrandparents of Norman Rockwell, and 9th ggrandparents of Mamie Eisenhower and Sen. Robert Taft
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1- John later became famous as the “Apostle to the Indians”, who produced the first translation of the Bible into one of the Native American languages. He was the father of Joseph Elliott, minister of the Guilford CT church, and grandfather of Jared Elliott, builder of Mulberry Farm in Guilford.