Robert Henry Riker (1824-1883)

Robert Henry Riker was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1824, and died in Santarém, Pará, Brazil, on September 2, 1883. He was a descendant of Abraham Rijcken van Lent, a Dutchman who settled in New Amsterdam in 1638. He was the son of Abraham Riker and Eleanor Riker (née Dicks), and the brother of David Riker. His grandfather, Henry Riker, settled in Beaufort, South Carolina. After the death of Abraham Riker in 1826, the family moved from Savannah to New Jersey and, in 1833, settled in Charleston, South Carolina.

On October 5, 1848, Robert Henry Riker married Sarah Elizabeth Happoldt in a ceremony officiated by Reverend John Bachman, a prominent American Lutheran minister and world-renowned naturalist. Sarah was born in 1830, the daughter of Christian David Happoldt, a Lutheran from Württemberg, and Sarah Elizabeth Happoldt (née Marlen). Her maternal grandfather, Francis Marlen, died in Sierra Leone in October 1806. He was the son of Edward Marlen, a port inspector in Charleston.

In Charleston, the Riker family was prominent and had numerous business interests. They were the founders of Rikersville, a prosperous industrial village on the outskirts of Charleston, where they built a large factory for the manufacturing of railroad cars and wagons. Unfortunately, this factory was destroyed by a fire in 1865.

In 1867, Robert Henry Riker visited Brazil and was received by Emperor Dom Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro. He later traveled to Minas Gerais, where he was received by the Provincial Governor. Finally, he visited Santarém in the Province of Pará. Finding the region highly promising, he decided to immigrate with his family to the Amazon. In December of that year, he and his family arrived in Santarém. The family settled on a property called Diamantino in the Amazonas Valley.

Robert Henry Riker passed away on his farm in September 1883 as a result of a stroke. He was buried there, as was his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Riker (who passed away in 1877), and his eldest son, Robert Henry Riker Jr.