Briggs, Thomas

Person

Briggs, Thomas

1812-1900

Thomas Briggs was born in 1812 at Armley near Leeds, England, the son of Thomas (known as Thomas the Elder) and Sarah Briggs. In 1827 the family moved to the United States and in 1832 they came to Canada. Thomas the younger appears to have had three sisters: Emily, who married a Mr. Bettes and moved to Texas; Sarah, who married a Mr. Latimore and lived in northern New York State; and a third who married a Mr. Hill and resided in Montreal. There was also a brother James, who, with his wife Anne, made his home in Napanee, Ontario.After James' death in 1892, Anne's niece, Fanny Hurst, nursed her aunt until her death and lived at their home, Hazelbeck, until it was sold to Mr. McCabe in 1903.
Thomas married his first wife, Cynthia Eliza, sometime in the 1830's and in 1840 their first son, Thomas Lasher, was born. Albert James was born seven years later and in 1853, Alfred Penner arrived. The birth date of their daughter Louise is unknown. The family were members of the Church of England and worshipped at St. George's Church in Kingston. By 1857, the family was living at Hedge Lawn in Williamsville and by 1865, Thomas was the Manager of the Frontenac Loan and Investment Company, a post he was to retain until his death. Thomas' first wife died and he remarried Emma Florence.
Thomas appeared to have taken some interest and played a minor role in local politics, he appears to have stood for elected office in 1872 though the outcome of the election in unkown. He also had an active interest in the stock market and his holdings, particularly in mining, were quite extensive. In addition to these activities he appears to have had a sizeable real estate portfolio, besides his Kingston properties he owned a large area of land which was subdivided and annexed to Napanee. At some point in the 1870's the family moved to a King Street property and it was there, at 167 King Street, that Thomas died in March of 1900.

Draft

• English