Maria “Marie” J. Riggs was born Maria Jane McCord on June 23, 1842 to John S. McCord (1814 – 1881) and Sarah B. Watt McCord (1819 – 1896) in Mount Pleasant, Illinois. She was the second of four children born to the couple. John was a farmer, born in Tennessee. When Marie was 18, she married Samuel R. Riggs, also a farmer. Two years later, they had their only child, a boy named John who lived only a year. The baby was born while Samuel was serving in the 116th Illinois Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War. His Army record says that he mustered in on September 6, 1862 and served until his discharge in December, 1864. Samuel entered the war as a private and was promoted to second lieutenant and later first lieutenant by the time he mustered out. He shows to have been wounded on August 18, 1864 near Atlanta, Georgia and was home on furlough when the war ended.
Twenty-one years after her death, the Midland Reporter-Telegram of Midland, Texas posted a long article about her on August 24, 1941. It repeated the term she became known for, “The Cattle Queen of the West.” Marie and her husband had lived in Illinois where Samuel was first engaged as a farmer/stock raiser before entering the banking business. His medical issue was not fully described, but after about twenty years of marriage, the couple moved to Texas in 1880, on account of his failing health.
Their time in Texas as a couple was unfortunately not to be long. The article said that they lived in Palo Pinto County and operated a ranch in Colorado City. Shortly afterward, they relocated to Colorado City. While in Mineral Wells, Samuel succumbed to consumption, quite likely a reference to tuberculosis, a disease that impairs respiration, in 1883. His obituary was posted in the Weekly Paragraph out of Bloomington, Illinois on June 15, 1883, stating that his remains were brought home to be interred in a new cemetery there. Services were held locally, pointing out Mr. Riggs’ service in the Grand Army of the Republic (the Union Army), his membership in the Masons and his long association with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Before his passing, Mr. Riggs had engaged a Mr. Nesbitt to run his cattle operation for a period of ten years. However soon after Mr. Riggs died, Mrs. Riggs decided to terminate the management arrangement and buy out Mr. Nesbitt’s interest. As of 1885, she assumed management of the operation. She moved her herds numbering about 1,200 to the well known Mallet ranch on the Texas-New Mexico Territory border for several years beginning in 1886 under the eyes of D. B. Atwood and N. B. Brown. The arrangement was successful and her number of animals more than doubled in size. She resettled in Midland and was locally involved in Methodist work and her other activities.
This is a description of her cattle brands, per the article, though no known images of the brands are available.
Mrs. Riggs’s brand was an O on the jaw, RR on the hip, M on the shoulder and other markings.
The article also noted that she was consulted on ranch management matters, but that she did not do any of the physical ranch work. It also added that she was one of the early members of the Cattle Raisers Association (a reference to the organization now known as the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association) and one of the few females to be a member. However, she was not a charter member, since the organization was formed at Graham, Texas in 1877 just a few years before she and Samuel had moved to Texas. The Cattle Raisers Association was created by forty cattlemen who wanted to put a stop to wide spread rustling in the area. In 1893, its name was changed to Cattle Raisers of Texas and in 1921, it became known by its current name.
Marie was a long time resident of Midland, Texas, making her home there for twenty-eight years. Her residence is no longer standing, but it was located in Midland’s central business district. Mrs. Riggs was known to be a stylish dresser, but had the reputation of being pleasant, likeable and approachable. Her demeanor, her capabilities as a ranch manager and her manner of dress likely contributed to her being known as the “Cattle Queen of the West.”
Mrs. Riggs never remarried. She died from complications of appendicitis on October 20, 1920 in a hospital in Mineral Wells. Her remains were transported by a nephew of her late husband named Samuel Riggs McKinney. Samuel’s mother Olive Riggs McKinney and Mr. Riggs were brother and sister. Samuel R. McKinney had also moved to Texas from the same town in Illinois as the Riggs. He and his wife were considered pioneer residents of Odessa. His wife was the former Ada Earl Estes and was a distant cousin to Robert E. Lee. The couple had married in 1908. Samuel R. McKinney and his family were well known in Ector County and he had also served as the first mayor of Odessa. The McKinneys had been residing in Odessa when Mrs. Riggs died. Mr. McKinney accompanied Mrs. Riggs body her back to their former home town of Saybrook, Illinois where she was buried alongside her husband.
Sources include the named newspaper articles, James Cox’s “Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas and Adjacent Territory.” For more images and details about her personal life, please see https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/history/the-cattle-queen-of-the-west-marie-riggs/513-9d741636-3a54-43b5-8a03-216f0b11a987
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