Edwin Rice Wiggin was born on 30 May 1849 at Oddington, Gloucestershire. He was the son of
The Rev. William Wiggin and
Frances Emma Rice. Edwin Rice Wiggin was baptized on 27 June 1849 at Oddington. He appeared in the household of
The Hon. & Very Rev. Dr. Edward Rice DD in the 1851 census at The Deanery, Gloucester. Edwin Rice Wiggin appeared in the household of
The Hon. & Very Rev. Dr. Edward Rice DD in the 1861 census at Oddington. Edwin Rice Wiggin was associated with
Catherine Wiggin proprietor or lessee (ER Wiggin: manager) in 1883 at Queenwood, Ceylon. Edwin Rice Wiggin was Dascan Maitland was CAD's godfather. He owned and ran the 207-acre Melton estate, in Lindula, the heart of Ceylon tea land, from the '20s to the late '60s. Originally a coffee estate, it was planted with tea c1880, when the owner was a Mrs Busche, and the Superintendent a PH Maitland, possibly Dascan's father. In 1899 it was owned by a Mrs Wiggin, and superintended by ER Wiggin. In 1899 at Melton Estate, Lindula, Ceylon. He From the Dimbulla Desk Book: "When I came up here (Dimbula) and 'bought in with my brother, it was a rough life we led in all its forms - food, work, hours etc. Some of us lived in thatched wigwams 'conical buildings' - some in apologies for bungalows and O the discomfort of it all; imagine the cigarette youth of to day eating and drinking at 6.00 o'clock, meal composed of bitter beer, beefsteak (O' so tough), spring onions - and we could grow these - and rice rotis, when the bread ran out. For all this we lived a life of enjoyment and goodfellowship unknown in these days......Whisky we knew not, brandy was a medicine, and tea and coffee a treat......Hunts on the Bo-pats were one of our chief relaxations. I had at one time 15 couple of hounds in my godowns, belonging partly to myself and partly to the district pack, which was maintained by subscription." In 1909.