BRANNICK AND MARY ELIZABETH RIGGS LEGACY

BRANNICK AND MARY ELIZABETH RIGGS LEGACY

Brannick and Mary Elizabeth Riggs left an exemplary legacy for their posterity.  No one would go wrong if they followed the example set by this couple.  Lessons were learned by their family from watching the manner in which Brannick and Mary Elizabeth conducted their lives.  They learned from their own mistakes and trials. These are some of the lessons passed down through the generations:  

Visitors were always made to feel welcome in their home, whether they were family, neighbors, friends, robbers, or the lawmen chasing the robbers, even Indians passing through.  Visitors were invited to take a meal with them or to stay overnight.

A good education is vital to success in everything else in one’s life. Becoming educated helps you learn to think clearly, evaluate a situation and determine a course of action. Brannick and Mary Elizabeth could both read and write and educating their children was very important to them.
A school was built near their home in Colorado and again at Home Ranch in Arizona and teachers hired to instruct their children.  When old enough to do so, the children went away to school.  Four of the boys (Brannick Benjamin, William Monroe, James Jay, and John Casey), two of the girls (Mary Frances and Lucy Elizabeth)and two grandsons (Edward Murray and Charles Pinckney) went to Valparaiso, Indiana, and attended college.  Some of the children attended the University of Arizona in Tucson.  Some of them went to schools in California.

Never borrow beyond your ability to pay back any day you are called on to pay.  Make do with what you have because it is necessary to stay out of debt.  In other words, be frugal.
There are times when it is necessary to go into debt, like providing a home for your family.  It is not however necessary to have a home bigger and fancier than you can afford to pay for.  Being materialistic can lead to great problems.

You will never be happy and accomplish anything good without hard work.  Don’t be afraid to use your brains, your muscles and to work hard.
Maintaining a ranch requires many hours on horseback checking cattle, riding and maintaining fence lines, branding, vaccinating and doctoring cattle, maintaining their water supplies by breaking ice on water troughs in winter, cleaning dirt tanks and maintaining windmills. No matter what the activity is, doing is the best way to learn.

In Union, there is strength.  You can’t do it all alone.  Work with others and you can accomplish more. Be a close-knit family.
One way the family accomplished this was by forming the Riggs Cattle Company. Each one of the family held his real and personal property separately, yet in the conduct of important matters they deferred to the decisions of a certain advisory body of the family. They also worked together to develop the Riggs bank in Willcox, AZ.  As their parents got older, they took their turns staying with them at Home Ranch.
  

In honesty, there is honor. Be honest with all mankind in everything you do. Honesty truly is the best policy.
They never had problems with the Indians because the family treated the Indians kindly and honestly.  They would give them food at times and occasionally gave them a beef to butcher.  
Their sons Thomas and William learned a lesson that made a lasting impression on their memories. An older man, who had been helping them stack wood to sell at Fort Bowie, showed them how to stack the wood so that by taking advantage of the crooked limbs, there would be cracks and crevasses left between the wood, giving the appearance of full cords.  Much to their dismay, the officer who received the wood examined it and discovered the “trick”, and proceeded to lecture them on dishonesty.  This was a lesson which they never forgot.
  
Always seek the truth, determine the right thing to do, then do it.  Make sure you are right.  Don’t be hard headed.  Learn all you can about a situation, make sure you are right, then make your decision and stand by it.
Three of the sons served in the Arizona State Legislature.  They gained a working  knowledge of the problems faced by the citizens and the government of a new state, then worked hard to find solutions.

Keep out of trouble and stay on the straight and narrow path.  When you do what is right you don’t ever have to apologize for who you are or how you live.
When a mistake was made, the family was there to support as the necessary corrections were made. Brannick was in court every day with his nephew, Barney Riggs (Yuma Barney), when he was on trial for murder.  

Keep your temper in check and don’t use cross words.  Maintain self-control and bridle your tongue.
You have control over only one thing in life and that is your attitude.  No one can hurt your feelings or make you angry unless you choose to let them.  

Always be available when called upon for help.  Be a friend and a good neighbor.
The Riggs boys were always available for roundups that started in the San Simon valley, then came across the mountain into the Sulphur Springs Valley. All of the ranchers and their cowboys worked together. It sometimes took a month or more to complete gathering all the cattle and branding them.
Help was often given to those in need but it was done quietly and privately, not for everyone to see.

Brannick and Mary, and their children, were well respected by all that knew them. Their influence and example were always of the highest character and were exerted upon family and friends alike.