Your message on Samuel Riggs is very timely - as I just received this message (below) on the Riggs list. I wonder if it is the same Riggs family. He could be father of the Samuel below: Samuel Riggs and Rachel Martin's daughter, Abigail Riggs, married Allen (Bethel) Geiger from whom I descend. Felix Geiger (Sr.) b. 3 Sept 1763 Bryan Co, GA md. Mary Margaret Martin about 1790. Felix died 17 Feb 1827 in Wayne Co, GA. Felix's son - Allen Bethel Geiger b. 26 Oct 1802 md. (1) Abigail Riggs 17 June 1826 in Wayne Co, GA, d. 7 June 1873. Abigail was b. 12 Sept 1803 d. 4 July 1840. Message from Riggs List: I read this pay voucher Number 1092 as saying the following: =========================================================================== STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA No. 1092 The Auditors of the County of Washington and Sullivan do certify that Samuel RIGGS is allowed Six Pounds Nineteen Shillings & Six Pence as per/pay? Voucher 12th June? 1783. 6.19.6 (I read this as: 6 Pounds, 19 Shillings, 6 Pence) 2.9 7.2.5 Total Pay???? ? CARTERET ? WILLIAMS ======================================================================= I do not know why Edward RIGGS (father of Samuel) would have to co-sign this Pay Voucher with Samuel since Samuel was age 23 in 1783; having been born on 04 June 1760........... If someone has a conversion chart which will convert 6 Pounds, 19 Shillings, 6 Pence from 1783 NC Currency to 2004 DOLLARS, would you please inform this Forum how much Samuel was paid in Voucher No. 1092 in todays US Currency. Bobby G. Carwile ==== RIGGS Mailing List ==== *************************RIGGS ARCHIVE SEARCH************************** To search the archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl Mary W Phillips

The American colonies based their currency systems on the British one (12 pence to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound), but the rates-of-exchange differed a great deal from year to year and across provinces. The common denominator was the British pound sterling, although the coin actually used in most New World transactions was the Spanish peso/piece-of-eight. By 1774, the rate of exchange was 1.75 North Carolina pounds per British pound (also equal to 7 South Carolina pounds). So Riggs received roughly £4 sterling. There's no good way to convert that to 21st-century purchasing-power, since money didn't have the same meanings in an 18th-century agricultural economy. The Quit Rent (property) tax rate in SC was 3 or 4 shillings per 100 acres. Some people felt that was so high that they never got around to paying them. The estimate of £4 sterling happens to be the usual cost of a one-way transatlantic passage for an adult in the 1700's, although people who took the £6 voyages had a better chance of getting enough food and water en route. The cost of passage was equal to two month's salary for a manual laborer in Europe. In the US in 2000-2004, that would be around $4000-$5000. So the 6.19.6 in NC money that Riggs got as payment for militia services would have been a lot of money, but not enough to retire on. ----- Original Message ----- From: <Maryp5243@aol.com> To: <GEIGER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 8:32 AM Subject: [GEIGER] Samuel Riggs...and daughter Abigail Riggs > Your message on Samuel Riggs is very timely - as I just received this message (below) on the Riggs list. I wonder if it is the same Riggs family. He could be father of the Samuel below: > > Samuel Riggs and Rachel Martin's daughter, Abigail Riggs, married Allen (Bethel) Geiger from whom I descend. > > Felix Geiger (Sr.) b. 3 Sept 1763 Bryan Co, GA md. Mary Margaret Martin about 1790. Felix died 17 Feb 1827 in Wayne Co, GA. > > Felix's son - Allen Bethel Geiger b. 26 Oct 1802 md. (1) Abigail Riggs 17 June 1826 in Wayne Co, GA, d. 7 June 1873. Abigail was b. 12 Sept 1803 d. 4 July 1840. > > Message from Riggs List: > > I read this pay voucher Number 1092 as saying the following: > =========================================================================== > STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA No. 1092 > > The Auditors of the County of Washington and Sullivan do certify that Samuel RIGGS is allowed Six Pounds Nineteen Shillings & Six Pence as per/pay? > Voucher 12th June? 1783. > > 6.19.6 (I read this as: 6 Pounds, 19 Shillings, 6 Pence) > 2.9 > 7.2.5 Total Pay???? I do not know why Edward RIGGS (father of Samuel) would have to co-sign this Pay Voucher with Samuel since Samuel was age 23 in 1783; having been born on 04 June 1760........... If someone has a conversion chart which will convert 6 Pounds, 19 Shillings, 6 Pence from 1783 NC Currency to 2004 DOLLARS, would you please inform this Forum how much Samuel was paid in Voucher No. 1092 in todays US Currency. > > Bobby G. Carwile Mary W Phillips