Briggs Sr., Richard

Born: 1753-XX-XX Massachusetts

Died: 1835-04-11 Massachusetts

Flourished: Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Richard Briggs, Sr., was a physician and Revolutionary War veteran. Born in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Briggs lived and studied medicine in Braintree, Massachusetts, until the commencement of the American Revolution. In October 1778, he joined the crew of a small privateer to raid British ships off Rhode Island, and the British captured him. Taken to England, Briggs remained a prisoner of war until his escape. He made his way to Paris, where he received aid from Benjamin Franklin. In August 1780, he became surgeon first mate aboard the frigate South Carolina, serving in that capacity until discharged from service in June 1782. Returning to Massachusetts, he moved to Abington, where he opened a medical practice. In August 1784, Briggs married Huldah Reed, with whom he would have several children, including Charles, Richard, Jr., Henry, and Mary. He continued practicing medicine in Abington until 1807, when he moved to Worthington in Hampshire County, where he resided until his death. In addition to his medical practice in Worthington, Briggs also practiced in nearby Chesterfield.

Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Gillespie; Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850, 12 August 1784, Plymouth County (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2004); Benjamin Hobart, History of the Town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts (Boston: T. H. Carter and Son, 1866), 136; Affidavit by Richard Briggs, 11 September 1832, U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900, NARA Microfilm Publication M804, 2,670 rolls, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15. National Archives, Washington, DC; Gravestone, Worthington Center Cemetery, Worthington, MA.