Biography - Stephen Briggs
Stephen R. BRIGGS, deceased, was born near Zanesville, Ohio, in 1812, and, when twelve months old, his father moved to Illinois, making his home at Edwardsville over two years, when he moved to the territory of this county in the spring of 1816. Our subject lived in this county until his death, on May 13, 1872; he entered several tracts of land in North Litchfield; his original home was eighty acres three and a half miles from the present city of Litchfield; he was in the ranger service, and crossed the Western plains, being over sixty days on the way, and a portion of that time was fed on half rations. At one time, Mr. BRIGGS was the owner of 500 acres of land; he wasconsidered a very successful farmer, being unfortunate only in giving his name to friends as surety, and in consequence being obliged to liquidate the debts of others during the latter part of his life. For eleven years, he was Associate Judge of his county, acting with the Democratic party until the war, when he joined the Republican ranks, holding that the Democratic party had drifted away from him. In 1839, he married Miss Paulina W. WOOD, daughter of James WOOD, of Sangamon County, Ill.; she was born in Virginia in 1823, and died on May 18, 1881; they had a family of ten children, seven of whom are living. James M. BRIGGS is the oldest living child, born in Montgomery County, Ill., on October 4, 1842; he obtained a fair common-school education by attending school in the winters, after the corn was gathered in. On attaining his majority, he began farming on the homestead, and, after the war, owned land in that vicinity. In 1876, he came to his present place, and here engaged in the ice trade, erecting in that year a building with a capacity of 2,000 tons, being eighty-four by sixty feet, twenty feet high, and located on the reservoir; this ice building is to be connected by a side-track with the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. Since his commencement, he has done an excellent retail business in the city of Litchfield. In 1877, he married Miss Crilla BRANDLE, who bore him one son.
Extracted 19 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1882 History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 2 Biographical Department, pages 130-131.
