Katherine Douglas (Smith) Riggs (1856 - 1923)

Born 28 Sep 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Wife of George Christopher Riggs — married 30 Mar 1895 in New York City, New York, United States

Died 24 Aug 1923 at age 66 in Harrow, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Kate (Smith) Riggs is Notable.

Katherine Douglas Smith was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 28 Sep 1856, the daughter of Robert Noah Smith and Helen Elizabeth Dyer; died at Harrow, England, 24 Aug 1923, ^{[1] [2]} and is buried in the South Buxton Cemetery, Buxton, Maine. ^[3] She married (1) 1880, Samuel Bradley Wiggin, who died in New York City, 6 Sep 1889; ^[4] married (2) in Manhattan, 30 Mar 1895, George Christopher Riggs ^[5] (d. post-1923).

Biography from The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Vol. 9, p. 117:

RIGGS, Kate Douglas Wiggin, author, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sept. 28, 1856, daughter of Robert Noah Smith and Helen Elizabeth Dyer; granddaughter of Jones Dyer, Jr., and Lydia Knight and of Noah Smith, Jr., and Hannah Draper Wheaton, all of Maine. She spent her childhood in Hollis, Maine; attended Abbot Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, and in 1876 removed to Los Angeles, California, where she studied kindergartening, and after teaching in Santa Barbara College for a year, she organized in San Francisco the first free kindergartens for poor children on the Pacific coast in 1878, and in 1880, with her sister, Nora Archibald Smith, started a training school in connection with them. She was married in 1880 to Samuel Bradley Wiggin of San Francisco and, in 1888, moved to New York City, where Mr. Wiggin died the following year. In 1895, she was married to George Christopher Riggs, but continued to write under the name of Kate Douglas Wiggin. Her published works include; The Birds' Christmas Carol (1886); ; Kindergarten Chimes; (1888); A Summer on a Canon (1889); \The Story of Patsy (1889); Timothy's Quest (1890) ; Polly Oliver's Problem (1893); A Cathedral Courtship and Penelope's English Experiences (1893); Village Watch-Tower (1895); Penelope's Progress (1890); Penelope's Experiences in Ireland (1901); The Diary of a Goose-Girl (1902); and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903). She also wrote with her sister, The Story Hour (1890); Marm Lisa (1890); Children's Rights (1892); and The Republic of Childhood (3 vols., 1895-6); and edited with her two volumes of poetry for children and young people: Golden Numbers and the Posy Ring (1902). She also set to music Nine Love Songs and a Carol (1896).

Her autobiographical work, My Garden of Memory (1923), recounts many details about the life of her mother (Helen E. Dyer) and her grandfather (Jones Dyer Jr.; P7; 1776-1860).

Lived after 1888 at New York City ^{[6] [7]} and Hollis, Maine. ^[8]

Research Notes

Alternate birthdates: 28 Sep 1852; ^[9] 28 Sep 1855; ^[10] 28 Sep 1857. ^[11]

See notes on her mother (Helen Elizabeth Dyer), who was given custody of child, Katie D. Smith, aged 3 years in 1858. Her sister, Nora Archibald Smith, was born at Portland, Maine, 21 Feb 1859. ^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPL8-87YQ : 17 September 2018), Kate Douglas Riggs, 13 May 1924; citing Probate, United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Great Britain.; FHL microfilm.
2. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPB7-GHKD : 18 July 2020), Kate Douglas Wiggin Smith, 1923.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 26 June 2021), memorial page for Kate Douglas Wiggin (28 Sep 1856–24 Aug 1923), Find A Grave: Memorial #4145, citing South Buxton Cemetery, Buxton, York County, Maine, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 26 June 2021), memorial page for Samuel Bradley Wiggin (22 Nov 1854–6 Sep 1889), Find A Grave: Memorial #166703143, citing Laurel Hill Cemetery, Saco, York County, Maine, USA ; Maintained by pMcP (contributor 48680380).
5. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24CF-9L5 : 10 February 2018), George Riggs and Kate Wiggin, 30 Mar 1895; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,493,190.
6. ↑ "New York State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPFB-LBN : 20 July 2018), Kate D Riggs in household of George C Riggs, Manhattan, A.D. 29, E.D. 02, New York, New York; citing p. 52, line 9, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 1,433,110.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJBL-GF6 : 2 February 2021), Kate D Riggs, 1920.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMG7-BZN : accessed 26 June 2021), Kate Riggs, Hollis town, York, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 235, sheet 1A, family 10, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,602.
9. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5B-2V5Z : 16 March 2018), Kate Douglas Wiggin Wiggin Riggs, 1919; citing Passport Application, Maine, United States, source certificate #104321, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 862, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
10. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24F-HRF3 : 16 March 2018), Kate D Wiggin, 1890; citing Passport Application, California, United States, source certificate #, Passport Applications, 1795-1905., 349, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24F-DV6W : 16 March 2018), Kate Douglas Wiggin, 1892; citing Passport Application, California, United States, source certificate #, Passport Applications, 1795-1905., 385, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
12. ↑ "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9S-SRMK : 2 March 2021), Nora A Smith, 21 Feb 1859; citing Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States, multiple sources, Maine; FHL microfilm.

See also:

• Encyclopedia Britannica, Kate Douglas Wiggin

• Wikipedia contributors, "Kate Douglas Wiggin," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kate_Douglas_Wiggin&oldid=919271070 (accessed January 28, 2020).