Briggs, Robert W.

Born: 1815-XX-XX Kentucky

Flourished: Tremont, Illinois

Briggs began purchasing public land in Tazewell County, Illinois, in 1835. Between 1835 and 1853, he bought over 1,300 acres in various portions of the county. Briggs was Tazewell County sheriff from 1844 to 1848 and served on the County Board of Supervisors in 1850. He also served in 1850 as an assessor for Tremont Township. In addition to his county and town offices, Briggs was a farmer and landowner; in 1850, he owned real estate valued at $5,000. In 1860, he was a retired gentleman living in Pekin with real estate valued at $5,000 and a personal estate of $500. He was also a county assessor.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Tazewell County, 59:48, 49, 53, 68:251, 69:11, 103, 111, 818:107, 825:25, 43, 44, 61, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Tremont, Tazewell County, IL, 136; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Pekin, Tazewell County, IL, 86; History of Tazewell County Illinois (Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman, 1879), 304, 616, 661, 713.