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Susannah Rigg (circa 1744 - 1774) Charles Co., MD
Susannah Rigg was the daughter of the Thomas Rigg, Sr.
who died in Charles Co., MD in 1761. An account of Thomas Rigg's estate
filed 19 Mar 1770 lists Susannah, who was "at age" at the time. Given three
younger sibblings were also over 21 in 1770 and three others were under 21
at the time, Susannah was likely 25 to 27 years old in 1770, and would
have been born ca. 1743-1745.
Susannah was a housekeeper for Benjamin Douglas, Sr. of Charles Co., MD.
She was mentioned at some length in his will of 9 Feb 1772. This bequest
became the bulk of her estate (and proved difficult to collect).
In her will of 7 Aug 1773 Susannah Rigg left
her young son, Townley, under the care of her brother, and nominated the
aforesaid brother, Thomas Rigg, Jr., to be executor of her estate.
The will was recorded in two places and there are some differences between the
two. One refers to "Susannah Rigg the testatrix," as expected.
The other refers "John Rigg the testatrix," which
is puzzling.
Some have assumed that the Susannah Rigg of the 1773 will was a Susannah
Philpott, who married a Rigg. The Philpott assumption is based on David
Philpott and John Philpott witnessing her will. No relationship to the
Philpotts is stated in the will or other documents related to her estate.
The Philpott assumption encounters a problem with Susannah's nominating
her brother, Thomas Rigg, as executor of her estate. This leads to
additional conjecture as to what she really meant when she said "brother."
The straightforward interpretation is that she meant "brother."
Susannah Rigg was related to David and John Philpott: they were 3rd cousins.
The common ancestor was John Posey who died between 30 Nov 1684 and
03 Jul 1689 in Charles Co., MD. John's son, Benjamin was the father of
Susannah Posey. Susannah Posey was the mother of Thomas Rigg. Thomas
Rigg was the father of Susannah Rigg. John Posey's daughter, Susannah
Posey, married Edward Philpott. Edward's son, Charles, was the father of
John Philpott. David and John Philpott were sons of John Philpott.
David and John Philpott received a tract of land, "Walker's Run" from
their father, Charles Philpott. Charles received the tract as a gift from
his father, John Philpott, recorded 5 Jul 1749. Walker's Run was on the west side
of Allen's Fresh and was bounded by the land of Francis Posey. The 1749
transaction was witnessed by Robert Yates and Sarah Yates. Francis Posey
was listed as nearest of kin in the inventory of Thomas Rigg's
estate.
Sarah Yates was the widow of John Bruce. Thomas Rigg, Sr.
rented land from the Bruce family. (See Townley Bruce's Final Account,
Charles Bruce's Final Account,
and Thomas Rigg's Account of 19 Mar 1770,
reflecting a payment of 1274 pounds of tobacco to Jane Bruce, widow of
Charles Bruce.)
After the death of Benjamin Douglas, Sr. in 1772, Susannah needed a place
to live. That was likely near (or with) her brother, Thomas, close to (or
on) the land that had been their family home and the Philpotts were likely
her neighbors.
This is supported by depositions regarding the
boundaries of the tract Walker's Run made by Susannah's father, Thomas Rigg,
and her grandmother, Susanah McNeale on 20 Aug 1753.
An inventory of Susannah Rigg's estate was taken on 18 Feb 1774.
The Charles County Orphan's Court Proceedings for 23 Feb 1778 directs Thomas Rigg
to show cause why he has not passed final account as executor of Susanah Rigg.
On 22 May 1779 Thomas Rigg filed Susannah Rigg's first account. He requested
further time to pass an additional account by reason of a legacy left the
deceased by Benjamin Douglass Sr. of £25, not yet received.
In 1775 Thomas Rigg, Jr. married Sarah, widow of Alexander Hannah of Charles
Co., MD. In 1784 they moved to Henry Co., VA, bringing Susannah's son,
Townley, with them. Townley Rigg married Charity Guilliams in Franklin Co.,
VA on 04 Feb 1799 (Franklin Co. borders Henry Co.) Townley
and Charity eventually moved to Meigs Co., TN, and lived there until they
died.
When Thomas Rigg, Jr. purchased 100 acres of land in Stokes Co., NC on
03 Feb 1795 Townly Rigg witnessed the transaction.
The question of who was the father of Susannah's son, Townley, remains
unanswered.
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