George Washington Riggs (July 4, 1813 – August 24, 1881) was an American businessman and banker. He was known as "The President's Banker." He was a trustee of the
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...
and the
Peabody Education Fund
The Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867, after the American Civil War, for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States" except schools fo ...
.
Early life
Riggs was born in
Georgetown, D.C. (now part of Washington), the son of
Elisha Riggs
Elisha Riggs (June 13, 1779 – August 3, 1853) was an American merchant, soldier and banker who founded the Riggs National Bank.
Early life
Riggs was born on June 13, 1779, in Brookeville, Maryland. He was a son of Lt. Samuel Riggs (1740–1814 ...
and his first wife, Alice ( Lawrason) Riggs.
After his mother's death in 1817, he father remarried to Mary Ann Karrick with whom he had several more children, in 1822.
His grandfather was
silversmith
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...
Lt. Samuel Riggs, and his great-grandfather was John Riggs, who was mentioned in a will in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
, as early as 1716. George was brought up in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, to which his father removed after he took
George Peabody
George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy.
Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...
into partnership and established the firm of Riggs & Peabody there. He went to the
Round Hill School The Round Hill School for Boys was a short-lived experimental school in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell in 1823. Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort ...
kept by
George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
and
Joseph Green Cogswell at
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an acade ...
, and entered
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
in 1829, but left some time in his junior year. He traveled abroad, and, returning to America, worked for his father in the mercantile firm of Riggs, Taylor & Company in New York City.
Career
In 1840,
William W. Corcoran took him into partnership in the banking firm of Corcoran & Riggs at Washington, D.C. The firm was immediately successful; it was able to obtain a major share of the loans required by the federal government, acquired a reputation in financing the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, and made large profits. In 1848 he gave up his connection with the firm, to which, however, his younger half-brother Elisha succeeded so that the firm name remained the same. When Corcoran retired in 1854, Riggs bought his interest. Under the firm name of Riggs & Company (since 1896
Riggs Bank
Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financia ...
), he directed the business until his death.
![Riggs George Washington grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Riggs_George_Washington_grave.jpg)
From 1855 to 1862 he served on the Levy Court of Washington County. The Levy Court acted as County Commission for what was by then all of Washington, DC.
He was a member of the board of aldermen of the District of Columbia, in 1873 was chairman of a committee to present to Congress a petition asking for an investigation into the conduct of the board of public works, helped to obtain a committee report favorable to the abolition of the existing territorial form of government, and was active in the establishment of the present (1934) form of government that vests all authority in Congress. He built and owned the Riggs House, a famous hotel of his time, and was one of the organizers of the
Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. He was a trustee of the
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...
and of the
Peabody Education Fund
The Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867, after the American Civil War, for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States" except schools fo ...
. He was for many years the treasurer of the
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union. In 1864 he advanced the money to maintain
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
until the return of peace should make it possible for the society again to raise funds.
["George Washington Riggs." '']Dictionary of American Biography
The ''Dictionary of American Biography'' was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
History
The dictionary was first proposed to the Council in 1920 by h ...
Base Set.'' American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
Personal life
On June 23, 1840, he was married to Janet Madeleine Cecilia Shedden,
the daughter of Thomas Shedden of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland. They had nine children, including:
* Alice Lawrason Riggs (1841–1927), who died unmarried.
* Catherine Shedden Riggs (1842–1881), who married
Louis de Geofroy, French Ambassador to China and French Minister to Japan.
* Cecilia Dowdall Riggs (1844–1907), who married the British diplomat
Sir Henry Howard in 1867.
* Janet Madeleine Riggs (1845–1861), who died young.
* Mary Griffith Riggs (1847–1849), who died young.
* George Shedden Riggs (1849–1856), who died young.
* Elisha Francis Riggs (1851–1910), who married Medora Thayer, a daughter of James Smith Thayer, in 1879.
* Jane Agnes Riggs (1853–1930), who died unmarried.
*
Thomas Lawrason Riggs (1858–1888), who became a Catholic priest.
Riggs died at his home, Green Hill, in
Prince George's County, Maryland
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...
.
The Green Hill estate included much of the nearby Maryland suburbs northeast of Washington including
Adelphi,
Chillum, and
Lewisdale. Although a Episcopal Protestant in early life, he received the
last rites
The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He is buried at
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stre ...
, near Riggs Road in Washington, D.C.
Relations and descendants
His grandniece, Kate Cheeseman Riggs, married Edward Newton Perkins, the grandson of U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator
William M. Evarts
William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...
and the brother of famed editor
Maxwell Perkins
William Maxwell Evarts "Max" Perkins (September 20, 1884 – June 17, 1947) was an American book editor, best remembered for discovering authors Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Thomas Wolfe.
Early life and ...
; uncles of
Watergate
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
Scandal special prosecutor
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was ...
.
In fiction
George Riggs is a character in the historical novel Forty-Ninth
by Boris Pronsky and Craig Britton.
References
Further reading
A few letters in the Lib. of Cong.; information from his son, the Rev. T. Lawrason Riggs, New Haven, Conn., and from the Riggs National Bank, Washington; Third Record of the Class of 1833 in Yale College (1870); Report of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1866, 1882; Grace King, Mount Vernon (1929); A Hist. of . . . Washington . . . by ''The Washington Post'' (1903), ed. by A. B. Slauson; W. B. Bryan, ''A Hist. of the National Capital'', vol. II (1916); H. W. Crew, ''Centennial Hist. of . . . Washington, D. C.'' (1892); J. H. Wallace, ''Geneal. of the Riggs Family'', vol. II (1901); ''Evening Star'' (Washington), Aug. 24, 1881.
External links
''Guide to the Riggs family papers, 1839-1959 and undated''''through the''
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, George Washington
1813 births
1881 deaths
American bankers
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
Businesspeople from Washington, D.C.
People from Prince George's County, Maryland
Yale College alumni
American Roman Catholics
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
19th-century American businesspeople
Riggs family