Theodore Foster Riggs, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 425-426 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				THEODORE FOSTER RIGGS, M. D.  

	Thorough preparation for the profession, keen appreciation of its 
possibilities and a conscientious regard for its duties and obligations 
have placed Theodore Foster Riggs in the foremost rank among the 
practitioners of medicine and surgery in the capital city of South 
Dakota. While this state was still under territorial rule the family 
home was established at Hope Station in what is now Stanley county and 
there Dr. Riggs was born on the 7th of July, 1874, a son of Thomas 
Lawrence and Cornelia Margaret (Foster) Riggs. The father is a son of 
Stephen R. and Mary Ann (Longley) Riggs. The former, born in 
Steubenville, Ohio, March 23, 1812, was a missionary to the Sioux 
Indians in the northwest and died at Beloit, Wisconsin, August 24, 
1883. His wife, who was born at Hawley, Massachusetts, November 10, 
1813, passed away in Beloit, March 22, 1869. The maternal grandparents 
of Dr. Riggs were John Burt and Catherine (McGaw) Foster. The former 
was born in Petersham, Massachusetts, June 5, 1819, and the hatter at 
Bangor, Maine, January 10, 1819. Both passed away in the city of 
Bangor. Their daughter, Mrs. Riggs, was born March 19, 1848, and died 
on the 5th of August, 1878. She became the wife of Thomas Lawrence 
Riggs, who was born at Lac qui Parle, Minnesota, June 3, 1847, and in 
1868 was graduated from Beloit College of Beloit, Wisconsin, with the 
Bachelor of Arts degree. He prepared for the ministry in the Chicago 
Theological Seminary, completing his course in 1872 and has been a 
Congregational missionary among the Dakota Sioux since then. It was on 
the 26th of December, 1872, that he wedded Cornelia Margaret Foster. 
Extended mention of him is made elsewhere in this work.  

	Their son, Dr. Theodore Foster Riggs, was a student at Beloit 
College, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898. Upon the 
foundation of a broad classical course he built the superstructure of 
professional knowledge, winning his M. D. degree in 1903, on graduation 
from the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, Maryland. He entered 
upon the practice of surgery in Pierre after having served as resident 
house officer in the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1903-4. He was also 
assistant resident and resident surgeon in the Union Protestant 
Infirmary of Baltimore from 1904 until 1907. The following year he went 
abroad and did graduate student work in the line of his profession in 
Berlin and in Berne, Switzerland. In 1908 he acted as private assistant 
to Dr. A. W. Elting at Albany, New York, subsequent to which time he 
came to Pierre, where he has since practiced, making a specialty of 
surgery. He has been a member of the attending staff of St. Mary's 
Hospital since 1909 and has done much important hospital work along 
surgical lines. Studying in this great department of the profession, he 
has gained proficiency that ranks him with the ablest surgeons of the 
state. Dr. Riggs is a Fellow of American College of Surgeons and is 
also a member of the Western Surgical Association. He keeps abreast 
with the best thinking men of the age, with the latest scientific 
investigations and improvements in the methods of surgical work and 
displays notable skill in this chosen branch of his profession. He has 
few outside business interests, save that he is president of the Riggs 
Irrigation Company at Oahe. South Dakota. 

	Dr. Riggs is a republican but has never been an aspirant for 
office. He has attained high rank in Masonry, holding membership in the 
lodge, chapter and commandery at Pierre and in El Riad Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls. He became a charter member of the 
Bachelor Club of Pierre in 1909 and his religious belief is evidenced 
in his connection with the Congregational church. He is well known in 
social circles, where his many sterling qualities and genial 
disposition have gained him a host of warm friends.  

	Dr. Riggs was married January 1, 1914, to Miss Ida Rudolph Smith, 
who was born April 2, 1883, at Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, a daughter 
of Edward Curren and Annie Frances (Crosskill) Smith. Her father is 
deceased but her mother still resides in Chester. Nova Scotia. Mrs. 
Riggs died February 5, 1915.