William Henry Rigg was born on January 19, 1875 to Thomas Townley Rigg and Miranda Gambrel Rigg. He was their third son and their first child born after moving from Illinois to Butler County Kansas. He was born and raised on the Rigg farm at Quito, Kansas. His parents and grandparents, two brothers and his aunt and uncle and their children had traveled by covered wagon to begin a new chapter in their lives. What a joy it must have been to welcome a new little son into the family at such a time as this. Although winters must have been challenging back then before the advent of central heat and electric stoves, mother and son must have been strong and healthy for they survived. Henry was the last of four boys born to Thomas and Miranda to die from Typhoid Fever. His death occured on Wednesday September 18, 1895. He would have been 21 on this next birthday. At the time of Henry's death, a family friend, Frank Dilts had been summoned by Thomas to help care for his family. They had suffered so much and lost so much and must have been very tired and in need of assistance. There were still more children gravely ill at the farm. Frank had been warned that to come to their aid might surely mean his own death! The bible says that "No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for a friend." Frank Dilts must have been a deeply religious and faithful servant of God for he said that his life was irrelevant and he would come and help them. What a man he must have been. By the time that Henry died Frank too was suffering from the dreaded Typhoid Fever and soon he too would die from this disease. His last work on this earth was to care for his friends family and so, along with Henry, I would like to take this opportunity to pay homage to Frank Dilts and his tireless and selfless duty to the Rigg family in their time of need.

Henry Rigg