It’s October!  I thought September was a busy month for birthdays in the Briggs family, but I was wrong!

So, to begin with, Happy Birthdays to Amanda, Jeremy, Lauren, Shia and Elodie!  A special happy birthday to my dearly departed cousin, Donna, who passed on October 26, 2018 – you are deeply missed.

I also wanted to add an extra special happy birthday to my mom, Jeannette – love ya!

Now, let’s find out who shares your birthday – let me introduce you to Thomas Albert Briggs.  Thomas is my paternal great-grandfather.  I have found a lot of information on Thomas up to approximately 1919.  After that, I’m still trying to put together some information.

Thomas was born October 21, 1883, in New Westminster, BC, to Thomas Lasher Briggs and Mary Irving.  He is the middle of nine children.  At the time of his birth, the young Briggs family was living at Mary Irving’s family home, the Irving House located at 302 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, BC.

Not much is known about Thomas’ childhood.  Although with three older brothers and one older sister at the time of his birth, I’m sure it was a busy household! After his birth, there were two more brothers and sisters born. Military documents show a notation of childhood medical illnesses of diphtheria and scarlet fever when young, and rheumatic fever (bedridden for over two months) at the age of 14.

1911 Census records show Thomas’ occupation for the previous 10 months was a fireman with the New Westminster Fire Department (NWFD), specifically Firehall #1, earning $960 per year!  He was 26 years of age.  At this time, I have not found records noting any other occupation before this time.  The previous census records of 1901 show him as a student in the household.

At the age of 30, Thomas married Effie Press on September 5, 1914, at First Presbyterian Church in Vancouver, BC. Minister H.W. Fraser. The church was located at the corner of Gore & Hastings, and now is the home of the First United Church.

I have not been able to locate a picture of Thomas and Effie together.  Interestingly enough, on the marriage certificate, it notes Effie’s occupation as a stenographer, and we have a picture of her at her job in 1913.  I have not been able to confirm where she was working, however, rumours are, she was working at a company owned by the Briggs family.

The young couple made their home at 1316 – 10^th Avenue, New Westminster, BC.  Their son, Stanley Leonard, was born September 24, 1915.  He was the only child of Thomas and Effie. At that time, Thomas was still working as a fireman at Firehall #1 as a “hose man”.  Below is a picture obtained from the New Westminster Archives with that notation, however, it does not let us know which one he is in the picture.  I’ve tried figuring it out with a magnifying glass but maybe my eyes are too old!!

In August 1916, Thomas enlisted in WWI and returned home November 1918.  I have lots of records for his time in the military so much so that it will take up another large post for the blog.  I would like to do it justice, so look for it soon. During that time, there were two different addresses noted for the beneficiary, Effie.  Started with 1316 – 10^th Avenue and finished with 1414 – 10^th Avenue.  Not sure why that is but interesting to note.

When Thomas came home, he returned to his former occupation as a fireman with NWFD.  Again, I have been unable to find records of his time with the NWFD and it is on my list of items to research further.  I have been able to obtain two photographs from the New Westminster Archives (one already posted above). The second one, shows the firemen standing in front of Fire Hall #1 located at Carnarvon and McNeeley Streets, and notes Capt. Thomas A. Briggs as second from left.

1921 Census records places the Briggs family at 1123 – 8^th Avenue.  Thomas retired as a Captain with the NWFD after 25 years, in 1938.

Again, no records to indicate what Thomas did between the time he retired and the time of his death in 1949 at the age of 65 on February 13, 1949.  Cause of death was Angina Pectoris with the contributing factor of high blood pressure both of which he had been suffering from for over 12 years. All of this is noted in his Registration of Death Certificate.

As I said earlier, there are many more opportunities for research with Thomas’ life including his time in the military (I have lots of interesting research for this) and his career with the NWFD (still working on it!).  These will be future stories for the blog and much more fun for me getting all the information together from researching.

In the meantime, here’s one more picture of Thomas for you to enjoy!

Look for a special post on the We Are Family Briggs blog by the end of next week.

Have a great week everyone!