Briggs
   The name "Briggs" is Northern English form of the word 'Bridge', from Old Norse word bryggja. The family Coat of Arms, at right, features a silver shield with three red inescutcheons, each with a bend vair, all within a blue border engrailed. The Crest is a gold pelican vulning herself on the gold stump of a tree, sprouting. The family motto, "Fortiter et Fideliter," translates as: "Boldly and faithfully."
   The family was first found in Yorkshire, where they held a family seat from early times.
   Our lineage to this family can be traced back to JOHN BRIGGS, who was born @ 1595 in England. He married ANNE THAYER on the 11th of November, 1633, in England. The Thayer family (today it's usually spelled "Sayers") were originally from Essex, where they were seated after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. But Anne's direct lineage has yet to be determined.
   John and Anne then came to America during the time of the great Puritan Migration, according to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Oct 1971). And they brought three sons:

CHILDREN OF JOHN BRIGGS AND ANNE THAYER

  • RICHARD BRIGGS was born on 8 Jan 1644 in England. He came to America with his parents and married Rebecca Hoskins (1643 - 1720) on 15 Aug 1662 in Taunton, Massachusetts. They had the following children: William, Rebecca, Reaka, Richard Jr., John, Joseph, Benjamin, Deacon Richard, Hannah, Samuel, Mary and Mehitable. Richard died on 13 Dec 1692 in Taunton, MA.
  • WILLIAM BRIGGS (b: @ 1649 in England). He came to America with his parents. Family listed below. He died on 3 Jan 1727/8 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). He's buried in Oakland Cemetery in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts.
  • HUGH BRIGGS (b: in England). He came to America with his parents and married Martha Everson on 1 Mar 1682/83 in Taunton, Massachusetts. They had the following children: Barsheba, John and Mehitable.

  • Thayer
       The name of John Briggs, Senior, appears on a list of 'names of such in Taunton as have taken the Oath of Fidelity in 1657' (Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed. 'Records of the Colony of New Plymouth', 8:186).
       The Proprietors' Records list the land owned by John Briggs, Senior, in 1661: six acres granted to him by William Parker, John Bryant, and Timothy Holloway 'lying at the head of the meadow, at the head of three men's lots on condition that said John Briggs, Senior, his heirs and successors Maintain a sufficient fence forever to the heads of the lots of the above mentioned'...'six acres of land where his house standith on lying against the way that goeth to the Weir to the Meeting-house, purchased from James Burt'....'four acres of swamp' (granted 1657) ... 'twelve acres next to the small brook next to Widow Parker' (probably also purchased from James Burt). "On March 1, 1663/4 John Briggs, Senior, was fined ten shillings for breaking the Sabbath."
       In 1665, it looks like John might have had trouble with the in-laws: "Sidrack Thayer of Brantrey complained against John Briggs of Taunton, in an action of the case, to the damage of thirty pounds, for the non-payment of eighteen pounds which hee refuseth to satisfy. This action was taken up by agreement of both parties before jury verdict came in."
       No birth or death dates exist for John Briggs, Senior, of Taunton, but
    he died before 1687 in Taunton, Massachusetts. The following deed¹ executed by his son, Hugh Briggs, shows his relationship to Hugh, as well as Richard and William Briggs, all of Taunton:

    Christian people: To whom these presents shall Com: Hugh Briggs [torn] Taunton in ye Coll of New Plymouth in New England [torn] sendeth greeting in our [torn] only KNOW YE ALL ... We yee said Hugh and Martha Briggs for & in consideration of a [torn] hand done made payd & Satisfied before y...ons [torn] presents by Richard Brigs of ye same Taunton [torn] ye receipt whereof we acknowledge doe acquit [torn] said Richard Briggs his heirs executors & Asministrators ... assigned all y .. my ... be it more or less which was given unto us by our father John Briggs deceased. Cituate lying and being in the township of Taunton, a foresaid Southmost from ye meeting house of ye said Taunton ye said lot is butted and bounded as follows. Vis by ye land of Jonas Austin, Jun. ... to ye westward by land of Peter Pitts Sen. to ye eastward by ye comon to ye north by a plain that is a comon to ye southward and lies neare a meadow called Jonas Austin's meadow ... ye said Hugh Briggs and Matha his wife shall and will and doth promise and grant in ye behalf of themselves their heirs executors and Administrators that they shall and will give ye said Richard Briggs or to his heirs executors and Administrators all so further conveyances and assurances ... in WITNESS whear of and for ye further confirmation of those presents we ye said Hugh and Matha Briggs his wife have hearunto sett ... our hands and sealed it with our seals this sixteenth day of February Anno Domini one thousand six hundred eighty-five eighty and six. Signed, sealed and delivered in yee presents of us his marke Samuel Haskins Bar: heugh briggs, Marth Briggs "Hugh Briggs and Matha Briggs his wife appeared and acknowledged this ... to be ... word act and deed this Seventh of June 1686. Before John Walle, Ass't (The original deed is in the Hattie Briggs Church collection at Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Conn.)' "

       The second record of importance is an exchange of property between Robert Crossman, Junr., of Taunton and Hugh Briggs on the 22nd of August, 1692. The deed from Crossman to Briggs was not recorded until 1713 (Bristol County Deeds, 7:602).It contains the following information (Bristol County, Mass., Land Records, Bk2, p.229):

    Know yee that I Hugh Briggs of Taunton ... weaver for and in consideration of twelve hundred of Marchantable Barr Iron to me secured to be payed ... together with six acres of land lyeing within said Taunton in the Great Plain lyeing westerly from Town, and Southerly from the Pine Swamp, to me granted and Confirmed in a deed bearing the same date with these presents, signed by Robert Crossman, Junr of said Taunton & Hannah his wife, wherewith I the said Hugh Briggs am fully satisfied ... confirm to him said Robert Crossman Junr on tract or parcel of land lyeing within the bounds of said Taunton contayning five acres more or less called by the name of Pumly Hill, Part thereof is upland, some part of it meadow and some part of it swampy land on which land standeth the now dwelling house of the abovesaid Hugh Briggs, and is bounded as followth, the country road to Bristol westerly, on the other side & points by the lands of the persons following (viz) partly by Mr. Nathaniel Shoves land, partly by land of Peter Pitts, Deceased, partly by land of John Briant, partly by land of said Samuel William, partly by land of Mary Streeter, partly by land of Eliazar Gilbert, partly by land of Thomas Gilbert, two accres of the above mentioned five acres of land was sold to Hugh Briggs by Eliezer Gilbert in a deed dated July ye eighteenth sixteen hundred ninty and one, the rest of said land sold to said Hugh Briggs by his brother William Briggs in a deed dated May the 7th 1695 to have and to hold ... In witness here of I the said Hugh Briggs & Martha my wife (in token of her full consent to this my act and deed) have hereunto sett our hands and seals this twenty second day of August Anno Domini sixteen hundred ninety two Anno Que R R S & Mariae Quarto. Hugh Briggs (his mark H) Martha Briggs (her mark O) Signed sealed & delivered by ye said Hugh Briggs who being under bodyly distempers, yet according to our best judgement was of sufficient understanding & memory to sell & dispose of his estate in the presence of us John Richmond Thomas Richmond' "The signatures of both Hugh and Martha were made on the same date before Thomas Leonard, J. P., and the deed was recorded, 7 June 1698, by John Cary, Recorder.

       John's second son, WILLIAM BRIGGS, came to America with his father, and married SARAH MACUMBER or MACOMBER (b: 1645) on the sixth of November, 1666, in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Macombers were from Dorchester, Devonshire, England—by way of the Pilgrim colony in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts. William Briggs and his wife, Sarah, had the following children:

    CHILDREN OF WILLIAM BRIGGS AND SARAH MACOMBER

  • WILLIAM BRIGGS b: 25 Jan 1667/68 in Taunton, Ma. He married Elizabeth Lincoln (b: 24 Apr 1669) on 13 Oct 1693 in Taunton, Ma. They had a daughter, Sarah Briggs, on 5 Jul 1694 in Taunton, Ma. He then married Mehitable Blake (b: 2 Apr 1673) on 16 June 1696 in Milton. Children were Agnes (b: @ 1697), Nathaniel (b: 1698), Mehitable (b: 1703), Eliphalet (b: 1706) and Seth (b: 1709) in Tauton, Ma. He died on 20 Feb 1730/31 in Taunton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook)
  • THOMAS BRIGGS b: 9 Sep 1669 in Taunton, Ma. He married Abigail Thayer on 24 Oct 1689 in Taunton, Ma. Children: Thomas (b: 9 Oct 1690), Sarah (b: 10 Dec 1693), Nathaniel (b: 18 June 1695), Abiel (b: @ 1700), James, Abigail, Jemima, and Mary. He died on 1 July 1746 in Taunton, Ma.
  • SARAH BRIGGS b: 10 Sep 1669 in Taunton, Ma. No further information.
  • ELIZABETH BRIGGS b: 14 Mar 1670/71 in Taunton, Ma. No further information.
  • HANNAH BRIGGS b: 4 Nov 1672 in Taunton, Ma. No further information.
  • MARY BRIGGS b: 14 Aug 1674 in Taunton, Ma. No further information.
  • MATTHEW BRIGGS b: 5 Feb 1676/77 in Taunton, Ma. He married Abigail Burt (b: 28 Jan 1676/77) in Taunton, Ma. Children: Elizabeth, Lydia, Matthew Jr. (b: @ 1710), Daniel (b: @ 1712), James (b: @ 1713), Josiah (b: 1715). He died on 8 March 1764 in Dighton, Ma.
  • JOHN BRIGGS was born on 19 Mar 1679/80 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). Family listed below. Deacon John died on 26 Jan 1750 (or 1756) in Taunton, Bristol, MA "in 81st year" (SOURCE: Vital Records of Norton, MA Gravestone Record). He's buried in Norton Center Cemetery in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts.
  • Rockett
       Sarah died following the birth of their son John, on the 20th of March, 1681, in Taunton. Then William married again, to ABIGAIL MASON on the second of July, 1680, in Dedham, Massachusetts, but we have no record of any children from that union. William died on the third of January, 1727/28, in Taunton, Massachusetts, and is buried at Oakland Cemetery.
       His son, JOHN BRIGGS (1680 - 1750), became a Deacon and married HANNAH ROCKETT, who was probably the daughter of JOSEPH ROCKETT (or ROCKWOOD) of the Plymouth Colony, but sketchy records of that colony make her precise lineage hard to uncover. Times were very hard in that area, and the death rate was high, so figuring out which kid was born to which parent gets extremely tricky. Especially with a poor family, like the Rocketts.
       Fortunately the Briggs genealogy is fairly complete, so that we can be pretty sure that John and Hannah had the following children:

    CHILDREN OF JOHN BRIGGS AND HANNAH ROCHET

  • RACHEL BRIGGS was born on 21 Aug 1713 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) She married Jonathan Burt on 24 May 1739 in Norton, Ma.
  • PHINEHAS BRIGGS, b: 1710-1715 in Taunton, Ma. He married ESTHER FINNEY on 27 Dec 1739 in a ceremony performed by Joseph Avery (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). Family listed below. He died on 22 Apr 1754 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts.
  • BATHSHEBA BRIGGS was born on 30 Dec 1717 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  • JOHN BRIGGS was born on 15 Jul 1720 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) He married Lydia Finney (b: 1 Oct 1722 in Norton, Ma) on 12 Mar 1740/41 in Norton, Ma. They had the following children: Nathaniel, John, Rufus, another Rufus, Lydia and Chiloe.
  • JABEZ BRIGGS was born on 29 Jun 1723 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) On 11 Nov 1761 he was endowed as a deacon in Norton Church. Married Tabitha Babbitt (b: 29 Oct 1728 in Easton, Ma) on 21 Sep 1751 in Norton, Ma. He fought in 1777 in the American Revolution under Capt Silas Cobb. They had the following children: Timothy, Mary, Sarah, Tabitha, Jabez Jr., Timothy, Sela and Rachel.
  • HANNAH BRIGGS died on 4 Nov 1724 (guess: the death date would be sometime in the 1720's the last number on the year is unreadable).
  • THANKFUL BRIGGS married William Bassett on 25 Aug 1739. No further information.
  • MERCY BRIGGS was born in 1711 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. She married Timothy Briggs (grandson of Richard Briggs; They were both great-grandchildren to John, the first Briggs in America; Timothy was b: 3 Jan 1712/13 in Norton, Ma to Richard Briggs, Jr., [b: 12 Jan 1678/79 in Taunton, Ma] and Mercy Kingsbury) on 13 Jul 1738 in Norton, Ma. They had the following children: Deborah, Timothy Jr., Marcey, Susannah and Jonathan. She died on 17 Oct 1781 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook).
  • Finney
       On the 27th of December in 1739, their eldest son, Phinehas, married ESTHER FINNEY (b. 24 Aug 1719) in Plymouth, Massachusetts, according to the Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families by William T. Davis (1895). She had been married once before, to a man named Amos Newland.
       Phinehas and his wife were somewhat radical in their religious views, and they were suspended from the Church in Norton in January of 1747/48, for an undisclosed reason.² After that, they were among the first founders of a new congregation, which in 1761 became the Baptist Church. The Baptists were extremely controversial in their views and practices, such as banning infant immersion, believing that only consenting adults could be baptized. Phinehas and James Briggs were the first deacons of the church.
       Phineas and Esther took enough time out from there heretical ways to have the following children:

    CHILDREN OF PHINEHAS BRIGGS AND ESTHER FINNEY

  • HANNAH BRIGGS was born on 3 Sep 1740 in Norton, Bristol co., Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) She died on 2 May 1742 in Norton, Ma. No further information.
  • EASTHER BRIGGS was born on 25 Sep 1741 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) She married Josiah Newland (b: 27 Dec 1740) on 16 Feb 1758 in Norton, Ma. No further information.
  • PHINEHAS BRIGGS was born on 30 Sep 1743 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) He died 15 June 1749 (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook).
  • STEPHEN BRIGGS was born on 9 Apr 1745 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) He married SARAH PRATT and was a "shopjoiner" in Norton. They had Fanny (b. 17 Oct 1766), Shepard, and Otis (possibly others).
  • HANNAH BRIGGS was born on 13 Aug 1746 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) She married Joseph Palmer 1767 in Little Compton, Newport, Rhode Island (SOURCE: Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636-1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts). She died on 4 March 1835 in Little Compton, Newport, Rhode Island and is buried in Little Compton.
  • EUNICE BRIGGS was born on 14 Apr 1748 in Norton, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  • PHINEHAS BRIGGS was born on 15 Apr 1750 in Norton, Ma (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). He married SARAH HALL and then RHODA WATTLES (b: 1759) of Sharon, Litchfield Co., Connecticut. Phinehas died on 10 Feb 1843 at Cold Brook Village, Herkimer, NY, USA. Rhoda died on 20 Feb 1842 in Cold Brook Village, Herkimer, NY, USA. Family listed below. Click o the image, at right, to read an SAR application (SOURCE: Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls).
  • ABIGAIL BRIGGS was born on 4 Feb 1751/52 in Norton, Bristol, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  • DANIEL BRIGGS was born on 15 Jan 1754 in Norton, Bristol, Ma. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  • Personal Information
    War Record Image
    Name:  Phinehas Briggs
    County:  Herkimer
    State:  New York
    Year:  10/08/1832
    Number:  S 12328

    View image (PDF)
       Phinehas Jr. left Norton to serve in the Revolutionary War,³ enlisting in April of 1775 under Captain Silas Cobb, where he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He then served as a "Minute Man," where with each alarm he was called to fight in places like Rhode Island and New York, as reported in his petition for a pension at age 83 in the 1830's (at right).
       The Battle of Bunker Hill began with a British assault on a collection of unproven continental regiments on June 17, 1775. About 2500 redcoats crossed the Charles River by ferry to march on the hills of Charleston, where resistance was to have been weakened by gunfire from the navy ships at the mouth of the river. The battle plan seemed sound, but it resulted in disaster for the British side. At first the well-ordered redcoat columns "advanced with confidence," one officer recalled. The patriots, low on ammunition, waited with grim resolve from their position on Breed's Hill, just below Bunker Hill. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," a patriot officer was said to have instructed his men. The British troops did ultimately take the hill, but not without a staggering loss of life. On the third assault, the redcoats took the hill as the militiamen ran out of gunpowder and retreated. With more than 1000 British killed or wounded, General Henry Clinton called the battle: "A dear bought victory. Another such would have ruined us."
       Phinehas Jr. married a woman named SARAH HALL of Attleborough, Mass., on 29 Feb 1772. They had the following children (recorded in Norton, Mass.):

    CHILDREN OF PHINEHAS BRIGGS AND SARAH HALL

  • LEMUEL (SAMUEL) BRIGGS was born on 23 May 1773 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). He filed an Intention to Marry with CONTENT COTTEN of Adams on 29 Oct 1797 (SOURCE: Savoy Marriage Records, Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). He went with his father to Russia, Herkimer, New York, United States.
  • CHARLOTTE BRIGGS was born on 27 Aug 1775 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook). She married Amos Carpenter (1765-1835) and moved to Russia, Herkimer, NY, where they had the following children: Samuel (b. 1800), Daniel (1802-1881), Lemuel (1804-1862), Saphronia (1805-1901), and Fanny Carpenter (1810-1877). Charlotte died on 31 Aug 1853 in Cold Brook, Herkimer, New York. See an SAR application for Phinehas through her son, Daniel, at right.
  • ESTHER BRIGGS was born on 1 Oct 1777 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  • PHINEHAS BRIGGS was born on 26 Mar 1780 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) He died in Norton, on 17 Dec 1784.
  • NANCY BRIGGS was born on 1 Mar 1782 in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts. (SOURCE: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute: Jay and Delene Holbrook) No further information.
  •    Phinehas' experiences away from home must have caused some wanderlust, because after the war he returned to Norton for a couple of years, but then he started to move around quite a bit. In 1785 he removed to Rehobotten, Massachusetts, for about six years, then to Savoy, Massachusetts, for another six. He bought 50 acres of land there from a cordwainer named Nathaniel Carpener, Jr., on Bullock's Grant on 17 Oct 1794 (Berkshire County Deeds 5, 326). Then on the first Tuesday in October, 1798, he sold 17 acres, 4 rods of land to a trader named Joseph Williams of Lennox, for $85.66, and this may have had something to do with a lawsuit for debt ordered by the General Court on 22 Oct 1798. It was around this time that he relocated to Russia, Herkimer Co., New York.
       Meanwhile, in 1800, Lemuel was living in Norway township, Herkimer Co., New York, near his father, appearing on the same census page (below):

    Personal Information
    Census Image
    Name:  Lemuel & Phinehas Briggs
    Tsp:  Norway
    Co:  Herkimer
    State:  New York
    Year:  1800
    Roll:  M32_21
    Page:  596
    View image
    View blank 1800 census form
    Personal Info
    Census Image
    Name: Phinehas Briggs
    Tsp: Russia
    Co: Herkimer
    State: NewYork
    Year: 1830
    Roll: 91
    Page: 31
    View image
    View blank 1830 census form
    SOURCE INFORMATION: Index created from United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Data imaged from National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, DC.


    Cotton
       Sarah Hall Briggs died in 1810 at Cold Brook, Herkimer, New York. Phinehas then married Rhoda Wattles (b. 1759, d. 20 Feb 1842 at Cold Brook, New York). Her first husband, Philo Bradley, was another veteran of the Revolutionary War, and had died in 1811. Phinehas died on 10 Feb 1843 in Cold Brook, New York. (From the book Russia Union Church, 110th Anniversary, 1820-1930, written by Rev. Roger F. Williams.)
       Lemuel married CONTENT COTTON and they had several children together in Russia township, Herkimer county, according to the 1810 census (Roll M252_27, Page 400). The small Town of Russia is on the western half of Herkimer County and borders the Towns of Deerfield, Trenton and Remson in neighboring Oneida County and the Towns of Ohio, Newport and Norway within Herkimer County.
       In 1815, a Lemuel Briggs was listed as a general laborer in the town of Orange in The Annual Register, and Albany Directory, by Joseph Fry, printed in Albany by H.C. Southwick, Packard & Van Benthuysen, and Churchill & Abbey, June 13, 1815. By the time of the 1820 census, Phinehas was still living in Russia township (Series: M33 Roll: 67 Page: 46) and Lemuel was either mistakenly listed as Samuel (Series: M33 Roll: 67 Page: 30), or was gone.
       We have no idea what happened to Lemuel and Content, but the land records of Herkimer County show that in 1829, Phinehas ("guardian") sold Lemuel's land for heirs Esther, John, Stephen, Nancy, and Polly.
       Using that information and other sparse records, here is the best listing we have of their children:

    CHILDREN OF LEMUEL BRIGGS AND CONTENT COTTON

  • THOMAS BRIGGS. No further information.
  • LELAND BRIGGS b. 1800 in Russia, Herkimer Co., New York. He married REBECCA GOUGE. No further information.
  • JOHN SLADE BRIGGS married CATHERINE LUCINDA TRIPP (1811-1847) and they had the following children: Leonard (b. 1829), Helen (b. 1830), Melissa (b. 1834), Oscar (b. 1836), Sarah Jane (b. 1838), David C (1841-1917), Charles W (1844-1896) and Catherine L Briggs (1846-1867). A Briggs Family Bible names wives: 1st wife: Catherine L Tripp; 2nd Wife: Maria Lucinda Burlison; and 3rd wife: Almira Smith (Sholes).
  • SALLY BRIGGS b. 1801 in Russia, Herkimer Co., New York. She married LEONARD SPERRY (1802 - 1893) and they had the following children: Henry Willis (1826 - 1896), Mary Amelia (1829 - 1899) and Charlotte Sperry (b. 1829), Sally died in Waupun, Dodge, Wisconsin.
  • ADA BRIGGS b. in Russia, Herkimer Co., New York. She married JOSEPH HALL. No further information.
  • STEPHEN BRIGGS b. 10 Jan 1808 in Russia, Herkimer, New York. He married ROSETTA LUCRETIA BATES (1828 - 1906) and they had the following children: Leland Hurcules (1845 - 1901), Elmer (1850 - 1935), and Dell Adell Briggs (b. 1853). Stephen died on 13 Mar 1884 in Lapeer, and is buried with Rosetta at Hough Cemetery, in Almont, Lapeer County, Michigan.
  • POLLY BRIGGS was born in 1811 in Russia, Herkimer, New York. She married DAVID SANDERSON (28 Apr 1804 - 24 Jan 1884) in 23 Feb 1831 in Russia, Herkimer, New York. (SOURCE: "Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records. FHL Film Number: 976874). She's buried at the Memphis Cemetery in Memphis, Macomb County, Michigan.
  • ESTHER BRIGGS (b. 1814) married JOSEPH TERRY (1760 - 1849). They had the following children: Silas M (1840 - 1858), Joseph B (1846 - 1915), Mary (b. 1854), and Chauncey Terry (1855 - 1904).
  • NANCY BRIGGS was born abt. 1814 in Russia, Herkimer, New York. She married ELIHU McCUMBER (b. 1805), and they lived in Russia, NY with the following children: Amanda (b.1842), Caroline (b. 1844), Rosa Rosena McCumber (b. 1850). Nancy died before 1880, when Elihu was still living with daughter Rose, unmarried.

  • Sanderson
        Lemuel and Content had a daughter, POLLY BRIGGS, on 5 Aug 1811 in Russia township in Herkimer county, New York. She married DAVID SANDERSON (1804 - 1884), of Russia township on February 23, 1831, where Polly was staying with the family of 80-year-old Phinehas. David and Polly had their first son, Edward (named after David's brother), in that state.
       But David and Polly eventually moved to Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio, sometime in the early 1830's, where David apparently worked as a yeoman along with his brother, Edward. Finally, David moved the family to Riley Center, Michigan, sometime between 1850 and 1860. They bought a nice piece of real estate, worth $4000 in 1860, and had a personal estate of $1879, as well. David and Polly had five children, as follows:

    CHILDREN OF DAVID SANDERSON AND POLLY BRIGGS

  • EDWARD R. SANDERSON was born on 21 Nov 1831 in Russia, Herkimer, New York. He was living with his parents in 1850 at age 19, but appears on his own in the 1860 Census. He served in the Michigan Infantry during the Civil War until he was honorably discharged on 6 Sep 1865. Edward married JULIA EDGETT (20 Mar 1837 - 10 Aug 1927) and in the 1880 census they were raising his brother George's daughter, ORPHA SANDERSON, after the death of her mother, Mary Almina Simpson-Sanderson. Edward died on 14 Feb 1907 in Romeo, Macomb, Michigan. He and Julia are buried at Romeo Cemetery, Romeo, Macomb County, Michigan.)
  • MARY CORDILIA SANDERSON was born on 21 Jul 1835 in Ohio. Around 1860, she married JAMES PINCOMBE (1833 - 1912). He was a stone and brick mason, a trade he learned from his father. In 1865, 32-year-old James enlisted for service of 1 yr in the Union Army. He was assigned to Co. B, 29th Regiment, then transferred to Co B 22nd Regiment. Mary died on 22 Feb 1903 in Riley, St Clair, Michigan, United States.
  • Click photo at right to access the Pincombe family Genealogy.
  • MELISSA SANDERSON was born on 09 Oct 1839 in Bainbridge, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. She became a schoolteacher in Memphis, Michigan, at age 15. She then married the family's neighbor, LABAN HAUSE. They had four children, Alice, Sarah, Frank and Edith, listed below. Melissa died in Memphis, St. Clair Co., Michigan, on 25 Nov 1921 and is buried at the Memphis Cemetery in Memphis, Macomb County, Michigan.
  • Read a Hause genealogy by Melissa here.
  • Read a letter written by Melissa to her grandson Ray here.
  • ESTHER D. SANDERSON was born on January 6, 1842, in Ohio. At the age of 19, she married ALLEN LUSK, 24, of Riley, on 17 Dec 1862. Laban "Haws" & James Picombe were witnesses, and William T. Russell, Minister. She then married a man named ALFRED PURDY (born 1838 in Canada), a farmer. In 1870, they lived in Riley, St. Clair Co., with their 2-year-old daughter, EMMA E. PURDY (15 Sep 1868 - 24 Jul 1903), who married James Davis, a 23-year-old Canadian engineer, on 23 Oct 1888, in Port Huron. By 1880, the family had moved to Moore, Sanilac, Michigan, but Esther and Alfred were living separately by 1900, although still married. At that time, Esther lived with her daughter and grandchildren, TACY DAVIS (7 Jul 1890 - 2 Jan 1982), and VERNON L DAVIS (b. 10 May 1892), in Marlette. In 1910, Esther had moved back to Riley with her grandchildren, living near sister Melissa (Emma had died in 1903). By 1920, Alfred 83, was a widower residing in the "poor farm." while Tacy was living with cousin Orpha and her second husband.
  • GEORGE WILLIS SANDERSON was born in 1848 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. On 10 Jul 1867, 19-year-old George married MARY A. SIMPSON (b. 1851 in Canada); Their daughter ORPHA was born on 10 Sep 1868 in Riley, St Clair, MI. (In 1880, Orpha is in the household of uncle Edward, and there is also a young hired man of 16 named Joseph B. Simpson, who could be mom's brother). In 1880, George was farming in Riley with his 2nd wife, JESSIE ANN SCHUMAN (Aug 1854 - 1 Apr 1930) who had immigrated from Canada in 1870. They had the following children: DAVID WILLIAM (19 Feb 1876 - 1954), BERTHA F. (b. 29 Apr 1877), GEORGE JR. (28 Feb 1879 - 28 Feb 1879), IDA ELIZABETH (b. 3 Feb 1880), ADRON J. (22 Jan 1882 - 16 Jan 1939), and ALICE MAUDE SANDERSON (b. 26 Aug 1883). By 1910, George and Jessie were living in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was working as a carpenter. In 1920 Jessie is listed as a widow, still in Florida, living with daughter Alice and her husband Fred Johnson. George and Jessie are buried in the "Sanderson" plot in Woodlawn Cemetery in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Deed at right from 8 Mar 1894; 160 Acres in Tallahassee, township 29-S, Brevard, FLA.)
  • GENEALOGY

    JOHN BRIGGS (b. @1595) married ANNE THAYER and begat...

    WILLIAM BRIGGS (b: @1649), who married SARAH MACUMBER (1645 - 1681) and begat...

    JOHN BRIGGS (1680 - 1750), who married HANNAH ROCHET and begat...

    PHINEHAS BRIGGS (1710 - 1754) who married ESTHER FINNEY, and begat...

    PHINEHAS BRIGGS JR. (1750 - 1835) who married SARAH or RHODA WATTLES (1759 - 1845) and begat...

    LEMUEL BRIGGS (b. 1773), who married CONTENT CLINTON and begat...

    POLLY BRIGGS (1811 - 1867) who married DAVID SANDERSON (1804 - 1884) and begat...

    MELISSA SANDERSON (1839 - 1921) who married LABAN HAUSE (1831 - 1906) and begat...

    FRANK HAUSE (1867 - 1951) who married FLADELLA RAYMOND (1869 - 1961) and begat...

    CARLISLE HAUSE (1891 - 1972) who married MARJORIE MARCHANT (1892 - 1939) who begat...

    CARLETON MARCHANT HAUSE, SR. (1917 - 1983) who married JEANNE BRUNNER (1918 - 2000) and begat...

    CARLETON MARCHANT HAUSE, JR. (1939 - 2014) who married MARTHA WENK (b. 1940) and begat...

    JEFF (who married LORI ANN DOTSON), KATHY (who married HAL LARSEN), ERIC (who married MARY MOONSAMMY), and MICHELE HAUSE (who married JOHN SCOTT HOUSTON).


    TOP ILLUSTRATION: John Trumbull, The Battle of Bunker's Hill, 1786

    NOTES ON THIS PAGE:

    ¹—"The deed is the original of 1686; it has been folded into four parts and is much worn and even torn at the joints, so that a few pieces are missing. It has been rebacked with a piece of stiff parchment, so that it remains in its full size, approximately 15 x 20 inches. The ink has faded in places. "Mrs. Barkley interpreted the statement 'our father John Briggs deceased' (see further) to mean that both Hugh and Richard were sons of John, although in no place in the deed does Hugh specifically call Richard his brother.
       The importance of finding this unrecorded deed in the Connecticut State Library by Mrs. John E. Barclay cannot be overemphasized (TAG, 33: 76-86; Bristol County Deeds, 2:229). "The dates of birth and death of John Briggs are unknown. He was certainly deceased in 1686 and probably in 1675. No mention of his wife, the mother of his three sons, has yet been found." Her list of his children shows:
       1. Richard, born about 1640;
       2. Joanna, mar. (nuptial agreement 24 July 1665) as the 2nd wife of Peter Tallman of Portsmouth, R. I., Hamburg, and Barbadoes; in this she was called 'of Taunton', but no proof of her relationship to John or the three sons has been found. There is a Joanna Briggs in the IGI, born abt 1640, Taunton, daughter John Briggs and Agnes Tayer. Another, born 1645, Taunton, daughter of ___ Briggs.; another with spouse Peter Tallman, of Warwick, Kent, RI, and another with spouse Peter Tallman.
       3. William, born about 1644.
       4. Hugh.

    ²—A History of the Town of Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, from 1669-1859, by George Faber Clark, p. 108-109. MINISTRY OF REV. JOSEPH AVERY: "At the same chh.-meeting abovesd., the chh. did, by a vote, suspend James Briggs from communion with them at ye Lord's Supper, for his unjust seperation from communion with ym, & his setting up a seperate meeting at ye house in which he dwells, in opposition to ye meeting and worship of God in this chh. and precinct. also, att ye same chh.-meeting abovesd., ye chh.did, by a vote, suspend Phinehas Briggs, and also Ester Briggs, ye wife of Phinehas Briggs; also Joshuah Campbell, and abigail his wife; also Mary ffiney, ye wife of John ffiney, senior; also John ffiney, ye 2nd;"

    ³—Revolutionary War Record: Briggs, Phineas, Norton, Mass., Private, Capt. Seth Gilbert's (2nd. Norton) Co., Col. John Daggett's Regiment, which marched on the alarm of April 19th, 1775: Service, 8 Days; Also, Capt. Silas Cobb's Co., Col. Timothy Walker's Reg't.; Muster Roll dated Aug. 1, 1775, enlisted April 29,1775; Service, 3 mos. 7 Days. Also, Company return dated Oct. 6,1775; Also, Capt. George Makepeace's Co., Col. George Williams's Reg't.; Marched To Tiverton, R.I., Oct. 13,1777, by order Of Brig. Gen. Godfrey; Service, 7 days; Also Matross, Capt. Seth Smith's (Artillery) Co., Enlisted June 3, 1778; Discharged June 9, 1778, Service 9 years, marched from Norton to Freetown by order of Brig. Gen. George Godfrey; Also, Private, Capt. Seth Smith's Co., Col. Issac Dean's (4th Bristol Co.) Regt; Enlisted Aug.1, 1780; Discharged Aug. 7, 1780; Service, 9 days, on alarm at R.I.


    Literature on the Briggs Family:

    • "A Harkrader-Hathaway (including the Briggs Family) history" by Charles Briggs Hathaway
    • "John Briggs of Sandwich, Massachusetts and His Descendants" by Edna Anne Hannibal.
    • "Richard, William, and Hugh, Sons of John Briggs of Taunton, Massachusetts", by Edna Anne Hannibal of Palo Alto, Calif., and Claude W. Barlow, of Worcester, Mass., published in NEHGR vol 125, p. 77-81.
    • "Briggs family records," by Holman, Winifred Lovering. Concord, N.H.: The Rumford Press, 1931, 125 pgs. (.PDF file).
    • Finney-Phinney Families in America by Howard Finney, Jr., Montclair, NJ 1956
    • "Richard, William, and Hugh, Sons of John Briggs of Taunton, Massachusetts", by Edna Anne Hannibal of Palo Alto, Calif., and Claude W. Barlow, of Worcester, Mass., published in NEHGR vol 125. This says he was of Dorchester and Marshfield. P. 82
    • Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families by William T. Davis 1895