Gilmon Riggs
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
May be copied for non-profit purposes.
USGENWEB Montana Archives

Gilmon Riggs, one of the founders of the town of East 
Helena Montana was born in Meigs County Ohio, February 
5, 1836.His ancestors were English people, one of whom 
settled in Maryland long before the Revolutionary War. 
His great-grandfather, Molan Riggs, resided in 
Washington County Pennsylvania and there his son 
George, grandfather of Gilmon was born. George 
Riggs was married in Washington County, Pennsylvania 
to Miss Mary Kelly, a native of thatstate and about 
the year 1800 they removed to Ohio and settled in 
Meigs County, being among its earliest settlers and 
there spending the rest of their lives, his death 
occurring in his fifty seventh year and hers in 1864. 
They had a family of ten children, five sons and five 
daughters. Jeremiah D. Riggs, their fourth son, and 
the father of our subject, was born in Meigs County 
Ohio in 1811 and in 1832 was married there to Miss 
Isabelle Gillsbie, also a nativeof Ohio, born in 1816. 
They continued to reside on the farm on which he was 
born and there reared their family of eleven children, 
of whom five are still living and on the old farm 
they spent the rest of their lives and died. He died 
in 1875 and she in 1884.The subject of our sketch 
was the second born in his father's large family. 
He was reared at the old homestead and was educated 
in the public schools, the Pomeroy Academy and the 
DeCamp Institute at Downington. After completing 
his studies, he began teaching and was thus occupied 
in the schools of Ohio util 1863. August 15 of that 
year he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-second Ohio 
Volunteer and with his company was in the campaign 
in Monroe and GreenbrierCounty, West Virginia under 
General George Cook. They joined the main army of 
Murfreesborough--or the Fourteenth ArmyCorps--and 
served with it until the close of the war. He 
participated in the battles at Chickamauga and 
Chattanooga and took part in the great charge 
which captured Missionary Ridge. He also participated 
in the series of battles that led up to the battle 
and capture of Atlanta and was with Sherman on his 
march to the sea and back to Washington,where it 
was his good fortune to take part in the grand 
review of the victorious army. During all his 
service in thewar he never received a scratch. 
He enlisted as a private and was mustered out a 
first sergeant.The war over, he returned to Ohio 
and at Downington was engaged in merchandising 
until 1869. That winter he came toMontana, 
landing here February 22, 1870. After working 
for some time in the vicinity of where East 
Helena is nowlocated, he bought 160 acres of 
land, for which he paid $1600 and on this 
tract he farmed until 1888. That year in 
connection with Mr. Clark, he platted the 
town of East Helena. The first season he s
old $40,000 worth of lots. In platting this 
tract he reserved fifty acres on which his 
residence is located and where he is raising 
small fruits and vegetables and besides this 
he still owns other property here. He has a 
perpetual water right of sixty-seveninches of 
water which supplies him abundantly.Mr. Riggs 
was married in 1860 to Miss Julia Stuart, who 
died in 1888, leaving one son, Francis Marion 
Riggs, who lives in East Helena. In 1889 Mr. 
Riggs married for his second wife, Miss Mary C. 
Woodyard, a native of West Virginia, their marriage 
occurring in Downington Ohio. They have one 
daughter, Mary Louise.

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