Stanley Kingston Briggs – We Are Family Briggs

Since starting on my genealogy research pathway, there have been a lot of photos I have come across both old and new. It was very difficult to think about which one would be my favourite (there are a lot of favourites!!). Over the past couple of days, I’ve been scrolling through all the photos and this one kept coming back to me.

I look at this picture quite a bit as it tells a story of one family at a very difficult time – four brothers all coming home from WWI and sitting for a photo in their uniforms. This photo was posted in the local newspaper with a wonderful article that summarizes their WWI story:

Briggs Family Has Fine Record For War Service

NEW WESTMINSTER, May 1 – There was a great reunion at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Briggs, 302 Royal avenue, when the four sons of this pioneer New Westminster Family returned from overseas all physically fit after long months of active service.

Major John A. Briggs, M.D.C.M., went overseas as medical officer with the 48^th Victoria Battalion. He was transferred to the 3^rd Canadian Pioneers in France, then served with No. 10 Canadian Field Ambulance. It was in this unit that he won the Military Cross and his majority. He is seated at the lower right of the picture.

Seated opposite is Capt. Stanley K. Briggs who went overseas with Vancouver’s famous 29^th Battalion as a non-commissioned officer and won his commission as lieutenant and later caption, on the battlefield.

Corp. T. A. Briggs, standing behind Major Briggs, enlisted in the 239^th Railway Construction Company and saw considerable active service. He returned home some months ago and is a fireman at No. 1 hall.

Corp. Errol C. Briggs, the youngest of the four, was studying electrical engineering at the University of Washington when the United States declared war and he immediately joined the 93^rd Aero Squadron. He is now in Portland, Oregon.

All four are native sons of British Columbia. Major Briggs was born in Victoria and the others at the family home on Royal avenue. Mr. Briggs, the father, has ben retired for some years. In earlier days he was a well-known figure in business circles as superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, which for years operated a line of river and gulf steamers from this city.

http://www.newspapers.com/image/498234647 The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Wed, Apr 30, 1919, Page 20

The article pretty much sums up where they were and what they did. What it doesn’t tell are the hardships they endured after coming back. As with most stories of war veterans, there are many that we do not hear about. Some I have heard, but there are still more questions than answers.

Corp T. A. Briggs is my great-grandfather. He had a very tough tour during WWI starting in a hospital in England, going onto France, back in a hospital in England and then being sent home medically unfit and discharged February 1919. I have his military records – they tell of his hardships during his time overseas. One day I’ll document all in a blog post (hopefully later this year).

I’m very proud to be part of this family and to carry the Briggs name. There are family members on my mother’s side as well that have joined and served our country with pride and dedication – thank you.

In the meantime, I love this picture for the story it tells but also for the stories it doesn’t tell.

If you have a favourite photo, please share telling us why – I look forward to seeing your photos!

October is upon us, Fall is in the air and Summer is behind us, although the weather does not indicate it as it is still unseasonably warm. Well, we’ll just have to make do – who could say no to a little bit more sun in our lives, of course!

In the meantime, let’s begin by congratulating those family members with birthdays this month. We’ll start with my mother, Jeannette and my son, Jeremy. Also celebrating are Amanda, Lauren, Shia, Elodie and Moiya. Special birthday wishes to my dearly departed cousin, Donna.

Let’s see who shares your birthday! Last October, we featured my great grandfather, Thomas Albert Briggs. There is so much more to his story than what we have seen so far and I’m still working on it. In the meantime, let’s highlight another family member – Stanley Kingston Briggs.

Stanley Kingston Briggs, born October 25, 1888, in New Westminster, BC, to Thomas Lasher Briggs & Mary Irving. Stanley is a younger brother of my great grandfather, Thomas Albert Briggs, which makes him my great granduncle.

Stanley is listed in the 1891, 1901 and 1911 Canada Census as a son in the home of Thomas Lasher Briggs located at 302 Royal Avenue, New Westminster. In the 1911 Canada Census specifically, his occupation is listed as “salesman” at a “grocer” earning $900 per year (at the age of 23.

In a newspaper article (Oregon Daily Journal) dated June 11, 1908, it indicates Stanley Kingston Briggs graduated from Hill Military Academy (Newspapers.com). This was not a surprise to me as several of the children of Capt William and Elizabeth Irving (parents of Mary Irving, Stanley’s mother) did go to Washington, Oregon and California schools for their education. It seems the Briggs family carried on that tradition.

Stanley enlisted in WWI – another interesting item as noted in his Attestation papers, is that he had been in the military for the prior three years in the 6^th D. C.O.R. I have yet to figure out what it means – another mystery to delve into! He enlisted November 13, 1914, and discharged January 23, 1919. I do have copies of his military records which I’m still transcribing – another story for another time.

This following picture is of Stanley Kingston Briggs (lower left), along with his brothers, Errol, Thomas (standing), and John. Not sure when the picture was taken but can be assumed it was late 1918 or early 1919 as that is when they had all returned from overseas and it was in a newspaper article in The Province, April 30, 1919 (Newspapers.com):

Upon returning to Canada, it is unsure as to where he lived. I’m sure he stayed with his parents for a period of time.

On June 1, 1920, Stanley married Laura Victoria Towns in Vernon, British Columbia. There is a lot of information in the Marriage Certificate the most interesting that the marriage took place in Vernon, and his occupation is listed as “Engineer”:

Laura was from Edmonton, Alberta and it seems they may have returned there as their first son, Stanley Kingston Jr. was born May 1921 in Edmonton. They had a daughter, Mary Louise, born in 1924 in New Westminster, BC – It seems they had returned to his Stanley’s hometown. Their next and last child, Thomas Irving was born in 1926 in Woodfibre, BC (located northwest of Squamish).

Noting the birth places of Stanley and Laura’s three children, it seems they did move around to different areas between Alberta and BC – could be because of work – not sure. I have been unable to locate any of Stanley, Laura or Stanley Jr in the 1921 Canada Census so not sure if they were still in Alberta or not. I would assume that they were as the Census was taken as of June 1, 1921, which would have been shortly after Stanley Jr. was born.

The is another document I have found dated 1949 which shows Stanley’s occupation as “Storekeeper” and still living in Woodfibre (#49 & 50). It also shows a Thomas (#72) living and working in Woodfibre (millhand), which could be his son but unable to verify:

Another document I found shows Stanley and Laura living in North Vancouver. The document is rather large so I will not show it here. It is from the 1954 BC City Directories for Vancouver, BC.

Sadly, just a little over a year after retiring as a grocery store manager, Stanley passed away November 10, 1954:

I’m not sure who the brother, Earl (Portland) is but I’m going to hazard a guess that it may be “Beryl”, who is a sister of Stanley’s, living in Portland, Oregon at that time with her husband, Walter Edmonds. It is common to see these kinds of errors in newspaper reporting so we can’t always assume that the information is correct. The information is the same in the funeral home record. I have been told by other genealogists that some of the information in the funeral home record is taken from the newspaper obituary.

Another interesting item to note, my grandfather, S.L. Briggs (Stanley Leonard) is shown as one of the pallbearers. S. Briggs could be Stanley Kingston Jr.

This is just a little peak into Stanley Kingston Briggs’ life as there is a lot of information still to be found, including what is contained in the military records. In the meantime, it seems he was quite the photogenic young man as evidenced in these pictures – enjoy!

(All pictures are between 1891 & 1894 – the young girl is his sister, Manuella)