Biographies B
George I. Briggs
George I. Briggs, Muhlenberg County, was born June 18, 1847, in Williamson County, Tenn., and is the fifth of six children born to Isaac W. and Dorothy M. (Bennett) Briggs, natives of North Carolina, and of Scotch-Irish descent. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Dr. John Bennett, of North Carolina. Isaac W. Briggs was a merchant and school teacher in his early days.
George I. Briggs' education was received at the Franklin Male and Female Academy, at Franklin, Tenn., until the war broke out, when he enlisted in September, 1862, in the Eleventh Tennessee Confederate Cavalry; took part in the battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn., before enlisting, while in the quartermaster's service; was at the battle of Thompson Station; campaigns of Chattanooga and Atlanta; Hood's campaign of Tennessee; battles of Franklin and Nashville, and surrendered April, 1865, at Washington, Ga.; returned home and farmed on year, when he engaged in mercantile business, at Franklin, Tenn., for ten years.
In 1876, he engaged in the manufacture of staves and lumber in Logan County, Ky. In 1880, he located in Muhlenberg County, at Briggsville, engaged in the stave and lumber trade and also in the mercantile business. He and his brother, J.B. Briggs, own three or four thousand acres of timber land.
Mr. Briggs was married November, 1870, to Tillie Harrison, of Williamson County, Tenn., a daughter of William and Mary (Hughes) Harrison, of English descent. To this union four children were born: Anna James, Willie May, Tillie and Bettie B. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are members of the Methodist Church, and he is a member of the K. of P.
Source: Battle, J.H., W.H. Perrin, and G.C. Kniffen. Kentucky: A History of the State. Louisville, KY: F.A. Battey, 1885. Page 898-899.
Updated July 6, 2018