We’re on a roll with the interviews! A lot of planning and scheduling goes into setting up and completing the interview but once done, it’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment for all parties involved.
The next interview will be with my Uncle Rich, also known as Stanley Richard Briggs. He is the youngest child of Stanley and Irene Briggs, and father of three great kids, Michael, Shannon and Dennis.
I was very excited to do this interview because honestly, I really don’t know my Uncle Rich that well. Yep, I know, hard to believe! Being the youngest, I have to say his memory is phenomenal – I’m amazed at some of his stories and the clarity with which he relates those memories. When he starts to answer a question, another story pops into his head – it’s wonderful! I will definitely have to do another video or two so get ready, Uncle Rich – we’re going to get to know each other very well!
One question Uncle Rich had for my dad’s (Grant Briggs) video interview was, “When do I get the $50 you got for selling my car?” My dad’s answer was, “Is he that hard up he needs the money now?” Well, let’s see if we have a response from Uncle Rich – I love sibling rivalry!
In the meantime, to get prepared for Uncle Rich’s interview, I did a short interview with my dad, talking about his brother, Richard.
Enjoy this short interview with my dad, Grant – and get ready for Richard’s interview next weekend.
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.
Irving House ca 1880
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.
1891 – Thomas sitting on floor
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 – 10th 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!!
1915
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 – 10th Avenue and finished with 1414 – 10th Avenue. Not sure why that is but interesting to note.
Thomas, Stanley Leonard, Elizabeth Irving & Mary Briggs (standing)
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.
1934
1921 Census records places the Briggs family at 1123 – 8th 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!
Date Unknown
Look for a special post on the We Are Family Briggs blog by the end of next week.
Well, it’s finally here! The next video interview of a member of the Briggs family – Evelyn Layton (nee Briggs, formerly Murray). Evelyn is the middle child and only daughter of Stanley and Irene Briggs, and my aunt.
Richard, Evelyn & Grant Briggs (c 1946)
Aunt Ev was very nervous about doing the interview by video and at first had said she wanted to do just an audio recording. I get it, I’m not a person who likes to be out front with a “camera” in my face. However, she did not want to be left out and not wanting my dad, Grant, to have his interview done by video, she had to make sure he wasn’t going to outdo her! Grant and Ev have always had that type of relationship – trying to outdo the other. Especially so when it comes to birthdays – Aunt Ev will always let Dad and everyone know, he will always be the oldest, and she will always be younger. Trust me, you’ll see that during my chat with her.
I wanted to help my Aunt Ev to feel a bit more comfortable during the interview, so I decided to sit beside her and have us both in front of the camera. I wanted to do a “fireside” chat, but with my laptop being a little old, and as my son Jeremy let me know, the camera really “sucked”, and it wasn’t going to work. Note, to self, listen to my son and start looking for a better way to record these interviews! We’re working on it! A huge thanks to Jeremy for coming out with me to help set up.
At the beginning of the video, I had explained to Aunt Ev that I was going to start recording so we had a little extra time to edit the front end, and we continued to chat. I did say that I would edit so that part didn’t show but after reviewing the video and showing Jeremy, we decided that her reaction was truly who she was, so I left it in – sorry, Aunt Ev! It’s priceless and shows her personality to a tee! Aunt Ev did a wonderful job so much so that Jeremy (being in the background and trying to be very quiet) was stifling his laughter at some points during the interview.
One other thing I wanted to mention. Near the end, I had asked Ev a question that my Uncle Rich (her youngest brother) had given me to ask her. As we were discussing that question, Jeremy was googling how to make Angel Food cake (he has a huge interest in cooking). I kindly reminded him that someone’s birthday was coming up and it would be wonderful (hint, hint!) if my son would, for the first time, make a cake. Needless to say, he’s been doing a lot of research – I can’t wait!
I hope you enjoy this little window into getting to know my Aunt Ev – she truly is a strong woman and has many insights into her life and how she has learned from them, passing those onto the next generation and future generations to come. Any questions or comments for myself or Aunt Ev, please post them, I would love to hear from you!
Yes – it’s time for another video interview! I’m sooooo excited!! The interview with my dad, Grant, was the first one I’ve ever done and now I have another one done. A lot of planning and scheduling goes into setting up and completing the interview but once done, it’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment for all parties involved.
The next interview will be with my Aunt Ev, also known as Irene “Evelyn” Layton (nee Briggs & previously Murray). She is the middle child and only daughter of Stanley and Irene Briggs.
I’m hoping everyone will get to know and love Ev as much as I do – I mean, she is one of my favourite aunts (along with my Aunt Bea)! She is an amazing lady and a wonderful mother, and raised three loving and caring daughters, my cousins Sandy, Lynda and Donna.
In the meantime, to get prepared for Ev’s interview, I did a short interview with my dad, talking about his sister Evelyn. If anyone knows either of these two, you will know that they have a teasing, fun relationship that occurs a couple of times a year around each of their birthdays!
As I mentioned in earlier blog posts, I’m hoping to travel to the United Kingdom in about two to three years with the hopes of trying to verify more information that I have found.
Again, if anyone is interested in going through the Briggs ancestry research with me, I would be ecstatic to have someone beside me discovering more about our family! So please send me a message if you are interested and we’ll get together for a chat. Maybe we can travel together as well!
Enjoy this short interview with my dad, Grant. I can’t wait to post Evelyn’s interview – look for it next week!
Yes, it has been a while since my last post. In my defence, life has thrown a couple of curveballs making it very difficult to get together to do video interviews. The interviews could have been done by video conference call but what fun is that!
The first person I wanted to interview I was not able to visit in person for over a year. As COVID-19 restrictions in BC were lifted during the past month or so, I decided to plan a visit with my parents in 100 Mile House, BC. Once there, the first of three interviews were done but then 100 Mile House received an evacuation alert. As both my parents are of an age to have concerns with the forest fire situations, concerns were raised. If ordered to evacuate, they would have been told to go North which they did not want to do. So, we packed up within an hour and headed South to safety and less smoke in the air.
I was able to complete the other two interviews before my parents returned to their home (hopefully not to be warned to possibly evacuate again).
Next week, the first of the three interviews with my dad, Grant, will be posted. Grant is the oldest of three to Stanley and Irene Briggs. The other interviews will be posted at a later date. I hope the interview will give everyone a chance to get to know my dad a little bit more than they did before and may help to start conversations or inspire more questions which I’m more than happy to ask in future interviews or call him up and ask him yourself!
In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the Briggs Family Tree. Below is a snapshot of the Briggs line going back as far as 1583. I have found earlier dates, but they have yet to be confirmed and authenticated. Although some of the dates have not been confirmed, they are pretty close to the majority of the information I was able to find.
As you can see, there are many duplicate names, and some names that are in our family today. I’m still doing research on more information of the family line. As you can imagine, there are a lot of documents to go through to verify the information is accurate and pertains to our line. From Thomas Briggs (1775 – 1840) and onwards, the Briggs’ settled in Canada. Those before, were from England (so far!).
Interesting to note, sometime in the early 1600s, the spelling of the Briggs name changed from Brigge. Historical documents show the Brigge name had descendants as early as 1250 in the Yorkshire area of England. The majority of the descendants found from 1583 to the early 1800s, lived in the Yorkshire area.
As I am able to garner more information and verification of documents, more will be posted on the We Are Family Briggs blog.
As I mentioned in earlier blog posts, I’m hoping to travel to the United Kingdom in about two to three years with the hopes of trying to verify more information that I have found.
Again, if anyone is interested in going through the Briggs ancestry research with me, I would be ecstatic to have someone beside me discovering more about our family! So please let me know if you are interested. Maybe we can travel together as well!
Enjoy and I hope there are some comments regarding the family tree.
We Are Family Briggs 