COMMENTS MADE BY PREVIOUS VISITORS

I have to dedicate considerable time and effort to researching and documenting the RIGGS SURNAME STUDY. But I am more than amply rewarded by your continued interest in this web site and by the kind words contained in the many comments that have been made from all over the world:-


	"RIGGS SURNAME STUDY IS AN INSPIRATIONAL WEBSITE; IT SETS A LEVEL OF RIGOR THAT I HOPE OTHERS WILL EMULATE." I received this invaluable comment in a personal e-mail from Dr Alvy Ray Smith. He is renowned as a leader in the field of computer graphics, and was Executive VP and co-founder of the multi-billion-dollar computer graphics film company Pixar. Pixar was behind the blockbusters Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Finding Nemo, and Dr Smith (on the left of the picture) won two Oscars.

		However, he is also acknowledged as an eminent genealogist, and is a Trustee of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. He was awarded the National Genealogical Society's 2004 Award for Excellence for his book on "Dr.John Durand of Derby, Connecticut and His Family". And the Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists conferred on him the 2007 Donald Lines Jacobus Award for his book on "Elder Bethuel Riggs of Morris County, New Jersey", the first of several projected volumes by Alvy on the Riggs family.

		His own web site includes a section detailing those later generations of Edward of Roxbury from which Alvy is himself descended, expanding extensively on my own researches of Edward. And a separate section documents the Riggs DNA Surname Study that he has initiated to help distinguish the descendants of Edward of Roxbury from descendants of other Riggs families in the United States. His DNA researches, coupled with documentary research undertaken in conjunction with Dr Charles Anderson, has led to the discovery of an (almost indisputable) 'revolutionary' linkage between the ancestors of Edward of Roxbury and those of Thomas of Gloucester! 'Praise from Caesar is praise indeed' !

This web site was unexpectedly featured in RootsWeb Review, Vol. 5, No. 14 on 3APR2002 (not having been solicited by me in any way). It was one of three sites commended in section 2d: "Spotlight on some distinctive web pages at RootsWeb". Afterwards, Myra Vanderpool Gormley (the Editor of RootsWeb Review) e-mailed me saying "Keep up the good work."

"Hurrah for Geoff!!! And a transatlantic thank you. You have done more for Riggs research in 5 years than has been done in the preceding 100." - James P. Robinson III, USA [RIGGS-L Jan2002, after I published details of the marriage of Edward of Roxbury's parents]

"Wonderful site. You have done a great service in dispelling many of the mistakes and myths pertaining to the American Riggs family. This is the only place on the web where I have found a discussion of the evidence and the facts. You have saved me countless hours trying to sort all this out. Congratulations, and thank you very much." - Ron Bloch, USA [Jan2001]

"If you use the Riggs Surname Study as one of your authorities, then the whole thing becomes very clear because the documentation is excellent. In my opinion, this is the most convincing source because the application of research data is very thorough, logical, and well explained." - Robin Riggs Williams, Nashville, TN, USA [RIGGS-L May2005]

"Geoff is indeed a great bloke - he is well known and respected in UK genealogy circles and everyone speaks highly of him. He goes out of his way to help people and if you are looking for Riggs, his website (linked from the look up exchange!) is your first port of call." - Helen Jones, Listowner DORSET-L, DOR, ENG [DORSET-L March 2002]

"The online site by Geoff Riggs is an incredible collection of information and I lean toward his information more than any other I have seen online." - Rod Murrow, OK, USA [RIGGS-L Aug2000]

"I would suggest that you have a look at the Edward of Roxbury portion of Geoff Riggs' Riggs One Name Study site and the sources discussed there. It is certainly the best, most up to date information on this family currently available." - James P. Robinson III, USA [RIGGS-L Aug2000]

"Please accept my thanks, with all the others, for a wonderful web site. I can't imagine all the work that has gone into it. It's not only a rich source for Riggs relatives but also a fine example of how much work is really involved in putting together a reliable genealogy based on fact, not conjecture or other people's questionable work....I know the value of caution when credible data isn't available. Your explanations of how you've come to conclusions that can't be documented are very valuable...You've so nicely pinned down the nexus of the Riggs diaspora." - Linda Nevin, San Diego, USA [Oct2002]

"At last! Someone else who thinks that Elizabeth "Roosa" was really Elizabeth Rose! ... You certainly have come up with much compelling evidence ... Congratulations, and thank you." - May Tantlinger, USA [Dec2001]

"Thank you for your terrific help. It really is a great feeling when you find a Web page that is a "bulls-eye" and not a "well maybe it can help" Web site." - Ron Graham, ME, USA [Dec1999]

"Your web site is wonderful. It makes so much more sense than other research I have seen on this line. ... Thanks so much for putting the information out there for others to find. I will definitely be making corrections to my husband's files." - Vickie Beard Thompson, FamilyQuest Research Services, UT, USA [Nov2001]

"Yippee - hoorah - wow !! I don't know what else to say, I'm so excited !!! Geoff - a million thank yous. I've been searching for ancestors on-line for about 3 months now and this is the first time I've had a (very) positive response !" - Sue Powell, GLA, WLS [Sept 1999]

"... one of the best, if not the best collection of Information on the Web about the Riggs between Connecticut to New Jersey that I have seen. The man that wrote that put a great deal of study and effort into it. He knows more than I would ever hope to know." - Jim Hansird, USA [RIGGS-L Aug2003]

"Have you tried contacting Geoff Riggs, of the G.O.O.N.S? (Guild of one-name Studies) He is the absolute world-wide authority on the Riggs surname - see website for Riggs. An e-mail to him will probably bring you more info. on the Riggs's of Dorset than you could imagine, and he is always interested in adding the research of others to his data files." - Pam Riggs [Riggs Family Genealogy Forum May2002]

"Just a short note to say what an enormous help Geoff RIGGS has been. He helped me on my way when I was a newbie a year ago when I joined this list and just recently when I found another link he has taken me back 4 more generations. This mailing list together with Geoff and his RIGGS Surname Study have provided such a wealth of information, I have learned far more than I could have dreamed possible." - Pearl Blanking, BED, ENG [DORSET-L Mch 2002]

"GREAT site, if you are related to Edward Riggs. A lot of time and hard work went into the site." - Sally Rolls Pavia, USA, List Owner GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L [Mch2005]

"I wanted to compliment you on your excellent web site. Top notch, both from a design and a genealogy perspective." - Bonnie J. Riggs, CA, USA [Apr2000]

"What a great site for those of us with the name Riggs! Thank you so much for all the hard work and dedication. At this point, I am totally overwhelmed by what I have seen." - Dennis Carl Riggs [Apr2001]

"Let me compliment you on a wonderful web page. It is very easy to search and follow and I really like the lay out of the whole thing. Thank you ... for putting such a wonderful website together for all of us to share." - Peggy Swett Carr [Feb2002]

"A most beautiful site, the finest I have seen in the genealogy world" - Dan Gamber, USA [Mch2002]

"What an incredible site! Your graphics are wonderful." - Paula M. Stephens, MA, USA [MAESSEX-L Nov2000]

"Listies: Take a look at this absolutely amazing website" (then quotes details from RootsWeb Review of 3APR2002, referred to at the outset) - Mike Steer, AUS [STEER-L Apr2002]

"I'd like to tell you how fantastic it all looks. I am very excited this morning after seeing it...I have Riggs in my family tree in Tasmania in the 1800's" - Leanne Cairnduff, VIC, AUS [APR2002]


© 1999 - 2008 Geoff Riggs [the RIGGS Surname Study] and the original contributors, if any This information may be exchanged between other researchers into RIGGS families BUT must not be sold in any form whatsoever: database & intellectual property rights reserved.
	Any queries? contact: webmaster@riggs.org.uk Text in red denotes recent addition/amendment This page was last updated: 9th July 2008