🏠 » Collection » 1890 New Bedford, Massachusetts photo album
Compiled and written by Kimberli Faulkner Hull © Cool Adventures
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Elizabeth “Lizzie” Maria Briggs was born 31 January 1872 in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, and adopted by Stephen H. Briggs and Elizabeth B. Demoranville as an infant.1 Lizzie spent her childhood with her parents and sister, Lillian, in New Bedford and attended Fifth Street Grammar School. Lizzie’s brother, George, died at the age of 5 when Lizzie was an infant.2
[Open Endnotes in separate tab]
Lizzie graduated from New Bedford High School in 1890 and became a teacher, working first for the Fifth Street Evening Elementary School, where she earned $4.12 per week in 1891.3
In June 1892, Lizzie graduated from The Training School for Teachers in New Bedford with several others from the 1890 New Bedford High School graduating class.4
In 1893, Lizzie was appointed to the I. W. Benjamin School in New Bedford, then transferred to the Thompson Street School, where she earned $475 teaching in 1894.5
Lizzie took some time out to relax, spending a week with friends at Horse Neck in August 1895.6
Lizzie, who used her full name of Elizabeth after 1900, lived and worked in education in Bristol County, Massachusetts her entire life.7 Her friend, Alice J. Lawrence, also a teacher and principal, lived with Elizabeth the majority of the time from 1900 until the 1940s.8
Elizabeth’s father, Stephen H. Briggs, died at the age of 63 in 1904 in New Bedford.9
Elizabeth’s mother, Elizabeth Bennett “Lizzie” Demoranville Briggs, died at the age of 71 in New Bedford on 27 April 1915. Both are buried in the family plot in Rural Cemetery in New Bedford.10
Elizabeth attended her 45th High School reunion in 1935; she is pictured in the third row, fifth from the left.11
In 1940, Elizabeth and Alice were living with two other females at 58 Prospect Street in Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Elizabeth was principal of the R. C. Ingraham School and the Thomas Donaghy School in Dartmouth and Alice was principal at the Clark Street School.12
Elizabeth’s friend, Alice, died in Dartmouth in 1947 and is buried in Graniteville Cemetery in Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.13 Elizabeth’s sister, Lillian M. Briggs Browning, died in 1952 and is buried in Rural Cemetry in New Bedford.14
It is unknown when and where Elizabeth died.15
Endnotes
1. There is a birth record for Lizzie Briggs in the 1873 register listing her 1872 birth and her adopted parents, Stephen H. Briggs and Elizabeth B. Demoranville, as her parents. In 1900, her mother listed her as adopted on the U.S. census. When her mother died in 1915, the will was contested and Lizzie was noted as adopted in the filings.
New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Births Register 1873, p. 131, no. 337, Lizzie M. A. Briggs, 31 Jan 1872. Recorded: 23 Jan 1874. Place of birth: New Bedford. Parents: Stephen H. Briggs, born in New Bedford, and Elizabeth B. Demoranville, born in Fairhaven. Father’s occupation: Machinist.
First name of Elizabeth listed in “Superintendent’s Report,” Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of New Bedford for the Year 1894, (New Bedford : E. Anthony and Sons, 1895), p. 107, List of Teachers, Thompson Street Grammar and Primary, Elizabeth M. Briggs.
Use of “Lizzie” and middle name listed with graduating class, Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of New Bedford, with the Superintendent’s Annual Report, for the Year 1890, (New Bedford : Mercury Publishing Company, 1891), p. 23, New Bedford High School Graduating Class of 1890, Lizzie Maria Briggs.
“Briggs Will Contest,” newspaper article, The Evening Standard (New Bedford, Massachusetts), 28 July 1915, p. 1, col. 8.
“The petition sets forth that the heirs at law, to her known, are Lillian M. Browning of New Bedford, a daughter, and Elizabeth M. Briggs of South Dartmouth, a daughter by adoption.”
2. 1880 U.S. census, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 115, p. 9 (penned) 225 (stamped) dwelling 83, family 93, Stephen H Briggs household.
Address: 77 County Street.
– Stephen H. Briggs, age 38, machinist, born in Massachusetts
– Lizzie B., age 36, wife, born in Massachusetts
– Lizzie M., age 8, daughter, born in Massachusetts
– Lillian M. W., age 2, daughter, born in Massachusetts
Also, “Admission to the High School,” newspaper article, The Evening Standard (New Bedford, Massachusetts), 10 July 1886, p. 5, col. 3.
Also, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Deaths Register 1872, p. 163, no. 399, George S. W. Briggs, 6 Oct 1872. Age 5 years, 1 month, 23 days. Parents: Stephen H., born in Westport, and Eliza B., born in Fairhaven.
Also, headstone reads: Georgie / Briggs.
Find A Grave, memorial 148546219, George S. W. “Georgie” Briggs (1867–1872), Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts with headstone photo.
3. Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of New Bedford, with the Superintendent’s Annual Report, for the Year 1890, (New Bedford : Mercury Publishing Company, 1891), p. 21-23, New Bedford High School Graduating Exercise, 27 June 1890, Lizzie M. Briggs.
Also, “New Bedford High School Class of 1890”; photograph held by the New Bedford Free Public Library photograph collection, New Bedford, Massachusetts; published online at Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collection Online.
Also, “Superintendent’s Report,” Annual Report of the Public Schools of New Bedford, Mass. 1891, (New Bedford : E. Anthony and Sons, City Printers, 1892), p. 93, Lizzie M. Briggs.
4. “Superintendent’s Report,” Annual Report of the Public Schools of New Bedford, Mass. 1892, (New Bedford : Mercury Publishing Company, 1893), p. 76, June 1892 graduating class of the Training School for Teachers.
– Charlotte May Allen, Lizzie Maria Briggs, Harriet Love Cornell, Ethel Washburn Denham, Dora Amanda DeWolf, Julia Crocker Gifford, Mary Luther Hillman, Harriet Newton Hyatt, Annie May King, Ruth Emma Pease, Julia Mason Pilling, Fannie Matthews Spooner.
5. “Superintendent’s Report,” Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of New Bedford for the Year 1893, (New Bedford : Evening Journal Company, 1894), p. 53-54, Appointments and Teacher Transfers, Lizzie M. Briggs.
– Lizzie M. Briggs from I. W. Benjamin to Thompson Street.
Also, “Superintendent’s Report,” Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of New Bedford for the Year 1894, (New Bedford : E. Anthony and Sons, 1895), p. 107, List of Teachers, Thompson Street Grammar and Primary, Elizabeth M. Briggs.
– 6, Elizabeth M. Briggs, assistant, 51 County street, $475
6. “New Bedford, Group Vacations at Horse Neck for a Week,” newspaper article, Fall River Evening News (Fall River, Massachusetts), 8 Aug 1895, p. 4, col. 4.
7. 1900 U.S. census, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 197, sheet 9 A, family 178, Stephen H Briggs household.
Address: 351 Allen Street
– Stephen Briggs, age 55, born Aug 1844 in Massachusetts, married 32 years, foreman Twist Drill Co.
– Lydia, wife, age 47, born Nov 1852 in Massachusetts, married 32 years, 1 child born, 1 living
– Lillian M, daughter, age 22, single, born Dec 1877 in Massachusetts, milliner
– Lizzie M., adopted daughter, age 26, single, born Jan 1874 in Massachusetts, school teacher
– Alice Lawrence, boarder, age 28, single, born Jan 1871 in New Hampshire, school teacher
Also, 1910 U.S. census, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 206, sheet 14B, family 327, Elizabeth M. Briggs household.
– Elizabeth M. Briggs, age 60, widow, born in Massachusetts, 3 children born, 2 children living
– Elizabeth M., age 38, daughter, single, born in Massachusetts, teacher
– Arthur Browning, age 42, son-in-law, born in Massachusetts, married 4 years
– Lillian Browning, age 25, daughter, born in Massachusetts, married 4 years, 1 child born, 1 child living
– Frederick Browning, age 3, grandson, born in Massachusetts
Also, 1920 U.S. census, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 19, sheet 37A, family 772, Elizabeth Briggs household.
Address: 631 Dartmouth Street.
– Alice J. Laurence, age 48, head, single, born in New Hampshire, teacher
– Elizabeth Briggs, age 48, head, single, born in Massachusetts, teacher
Also, 1930 U.S. census, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 16, sheet 8A, family 148, Elizabeth M. Briggs household.
Address: Dartmouth Street.
– Alice J. Lawrence, age 58, head, single, born in New Hampshire, elementary school principal
– Elizabeth M. Briggs, age 59, head, single, born in Massachusetts, elementary school principal
Also, 1940 U.S. census, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 3-35, sheet 62A, family 148, Elizabeth Briggs household.
Address: 58 Prospect Street, rented
– Elizabeth M. Briggs, age 69, head, single, born in Massachusetts, elementary school principal
– Alice J. Lawrence, age 68, friend, single, born in New Hampshire, elementary school principal
– Mary MacIntosh, age 57, friend, single, born in Canada, stenographer
– Johanna C. Snyder, age 60, married, born in Westport, housekeeper
8. Ibid. Also, Find A Grave, memorial 22412250, Alice Julia Lawrence (1871–1947), Graniteville Cemetery, Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire with headstone photo.
9. New Bedford, Bristol County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Return of a Death, no. 1140, Stephen H Briggs, 28 Sept 1904. Age: 63 years, 2 months. Married. Birthplace: New Bedford. Parents: Charlies Briggs, born in Dartmouth, and Hannah Wilber, born in Dartmouth. Burial: 1 Oct 1904, Rural Cemetery.
Also, “Stephen H. Briggs,” obituary, The Evening Standard (New Bedford, Massachusetts), 29 Sept 1904, p. 7, col. 2.
Also, headstone reads: Stephen H. Briggs / His Wife / Lizzie Bennett. 2nd stone: [Front] S.H.B. [Back] 1842-1904.
Find A Grave, memorial 144763070, Stephen H. Briggs (1841–1904), Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts with headstone photo.
10. New Bedford, Bristol County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Standard Certificate of a Death, no. 152, Eliza B. Briggs, 27 Apr 1915. Widowed. Birth: 17 Nov 1843, Massachusetts. Age: 71 years, 5 months, 10 days. Parents: Denis Demoranvil, born in Freetown, and Annie M. Hackett, born in Lanesboro. Burial: 30 Apr 1915, Rural Cemetery.
Also, “Briggs Will Contest,” newspaper article, The Evening Standard (New Bedford, Massachusetts), 28 July 1915, p. 1, col. 8.
Also, headstone reads: Stephen H. Briggs / His Wife / Lizzie Bennett.
Find A Grave, memorial 144763039, Eliza Bennett “Lizzie” Demoranville Briggs (1843–1915), Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts with headstone photo.
11. “New Bedford High School Class of 1890 at their 45th Reunion,” New Bedford, MA, 1935; held by New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, Massachusetts; published at Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collection Online.
12. H. A. Manning Company, complier, Manning’s New Bedford and Fairhaven (Massachusetts) Directory, vol. 68 (Boston, Massachusetts : H. A. Manning Company, 1940), p. 151, Eliz M Briggs.
– Briggs, Eliz M prin R C Ingraham School and prin Thos Donaghy School res SD.
Also, H. A. Manning Company, complier, Manning’s New Bedford and Fairhaven (Massachusetts) Directory, vol. 68 (Boston, Massachusetts : H. A. Manning Company, 1940), p. 400, Alice J. Lawrence.
– Lawrence, Alice J prin Clark st sch res SD
Also, 1940 U.S. census, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 3-35, sheet 62A, family 148, Elizabeth Briggs household.
13. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Death Index, 1946-1950, Alice J. Lawrence, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1947, vol. 38, p. 65.
Also, Find A Grave, memorial 22412250, Alice Julia Lawrence (1871–1947), Graniteville Cemetery, Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire with headstone photo.
14. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Death Index, 1951-1955, New Bedford, Bristol County, Lillian (Briggs) Browning, 1952, vol. 70, p. 353.
Also, headstone reads: Mother / L. M. W. B. / 1877 -1952
Find A Grave, memorial 144809749, Lillian M. W. Briggs Browning (1877–1952), Section C, Lot 15, Grave 10, Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts with headstone photo.
15. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980, search for “Elizabeth Briggs,” 1940-1960; none found for Elizabeth Briggs of Bristol County.
Also, Fall River Public Library Obituary Index, searched all Briggs, 1940-1960; none was found for Elizabeth M. Briggs.
Also, an obituary was not found with searches for “Elizabeth Briggs,” “Elizabeth M. Briggs,” and “Lizzie Briggs” in Massachusetts on Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and Genealogy Bank.
Citing this page: Kimberli Faulkner Hull, author, “Elizabeth M. “Lizzie” Briggs (1872 – Unknown),” Cool Adventures (https://cooladventures.com/collection/elizabeth-m-lizzie-briggs/ : posted 2021).