Luke Rigsby Genealogy

Record modified: 2023-08-10

 / Placeholder (unknown)
 / James Rigsby|
|  \
Luke Rigsby |
|  /
 \ Elizabeth Partin |
 \

Born: about 1761-00-00
Died: about 1838-00-00
Marriages:
1. (unknown) (unknown)
2. about 1791-00-00 Elizabeth Ann Edwards

Children of Luke Rigsby and (unknown) (unknown):
Russell Rigsby b. about 1780-00-00
John E Rigsby b. 1784-00-00
Oldham Rigsby b. about 1786-00-00


Children of Luke Rigsby and Elizabeth Edwards:
Markham Riggsbee b. 1792-00-00
Annie Rigsbee b. about 1794-00-00
James Rigsby b. about 1798-00-00
Isaiah Riggsby b. 1800-00-00
Ezekiel Riggsbee b. 1802-00-00
Elizabeth Riggsbee b. 1807-00-00


Notes:

[R06.2]

He was born between 1760 and 1765.
He probably died in Chatham Co NC between 1830 and 1840.

His children may have included: Jacob, Lewis,
Leann mother of John E

Many genealogy sites say he was s/o James Rigsby + Wilmot Oldham, but that must be wrong.
James was born about 1700, and Wilmot in 1707. They could not have had a child in her 60s.
More likely Luke was a grandson of James + Wilmot.

He may be a son of Drury or Jesse.

--
WARNING

I am making big guesses about this Luke. I do not have proof that he was married twice, or that he was the father of Russell and Oldham, or of his marriage date to Elizabeth Edwards. Based on the facts I do have, this is the most logical solution, but it is only a guess.

Oldham and Russell first appear on the 1810 census in Chatham Co NC. Russell is on the same page as Luke, and Oldham is 6 pages later. Russell and Oldham both later move to Union Co IN, so it seems likely they are brothers or possibly cousins.
On the 1790 census Luke is in Chatham Co, and he has sons who could be John, Russell, and Oldham. There is also a James Rigbey in Chatham Co with two sons, but he vanishes after that.
On the 1800 census Luke is still in Chatham Co, and he has a son Oldham's age. Russell is not listed, but I think he may have been in another household, based on his 1810 entry. Also in Chatham Co is Travis Rigsby. I haven't found Travis on the 1790 census, but on the 1800 he doesn't have sons the right age to be Russell or Oldham.
Luke is probably descended from Wilmot Oldham, so it makes sense he would name a son Oldham. (Though by that reasoning any of Luke's brothers also could be Oldham's father.)
It's possible Russell and Oldham were not from Chatham Co, but one of its neighbors. But there really isn't any Rigsby family that could reasonably be theirs. Assuming Russell and Oldham are not from another state, or another part of NC, Luke is really their only possible father.

Based on that, I am going to conclude Luke was the father of Russell and Oldham.

But that is a problem because Elizabeth Edwards would have been 8 when Russell was born, so can't be his mother. There was already a problem with her being 12 when John was born, but this is worse.
Luke's 1790 census entry shows 2 females. I had assumed one was Elizabeth and one was a daughter. However, on the 1800 census Luke has two daughters over 10. It now occurs to me that they were the two females in 1790, and Luke married Elizabeth after that. He thus must have had an earlier wife, who could have been old enough to be the mother of the first 6 children.

--
List of the Taxable Property in Chatham Co. for the year 1815 as per return of the Justices Appointed to
Receive them.

Capt. Flowers District:
Rigsby, Luke 0 polls, 100 acres, adjoining Thos. Cole, value $150.00

[No poll is usually because of age, but he would have been under 60.]

--
1830 census Chatham Co NC p429
Luke Rigsby 1 M <5, 1 M 15-20, 1 M 60-70, 1 F 15-20, 1 F 20-30, 1 F 30-40, 1 F 50-60
[Hawkins 1, Zimri 18, Luke, x, Elizabeth 23, Annie 36?, Elizabeth c58]

[Hawkins was Elizabeth's son, and Zimri was Annie's. They never married. I am guessing they kept living with their father. Did Annie have a daughter?]

1820 census Chatham Co NC p226
Luke Rigsby 1 M 10-16, 2 M 16-26, 1 M 45+, 1 F 10-16, 1 F 16-26, 1 F 45+
[Zimri 8?, Ezekiel 18, Isaiah 19, Luke 55-60, Elizabeth 13, Annie 26?, Elizabeth c48]

[Zimri was Annie's son, but she never married. I am guessing she was living with her father.]

1810 census Chatham Co NC p193
Luke Rigsby 3 M 10-15, 1 M 16-26, 1 M 45+, 1 F <10, 1 F 10-15, 1 F 26-44
[Ezekiel 8?, Isaiah 10, James 12, Markham 18, Luke 45-50, Elizabeth 3, Annie 16?, Elizabeth c38]

1800 census Chatham Co NC p174
Luke Rigsby 4 M <10, 1 M 10-16, 1 M 26-45, 3 F <10, 2 F 10-16, 1 F 26-45
[Isaiah <1, James 2, x, Markham 8, Oldham 14, Luke 35-40, x, x, Annie 6, x, x (Leaann 15?), Elizabeth c28]

1790 census Chatham Co NC p88
Luke Rigsbey: 1 M 16+, 4 M 0 - 15, 2 F, 7 slaves
[Luke 28ish, x, Oldham 4, John 6, Russell 10, x, x (Leeann 5?)]

Hinds Site: Genealogy of Ken Hinds -- page 7109
Name IndexSurname Index Home Page
I strive for accuracy, but I cannot guarantee this information is correct or complete. Hard references are given where I have them, but otherwise you should verify this information.
Please email me if you have any corrections, comments, or questions.
Notice: Because of spam, any email without the word "genealogy" in the subject will be deleted unread.