Albertus Theodore Briggs

Albertus T. Briggs
Born (1862-03-03)March 3, 1862
Findlay, Ohio
Died September 12, 1937(1937-09-12) (aged 75)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nationality American
Alma mater DePauw University
Occupation Minister
Religion Methodism
Spouse(s) Lenore Alleman (m. 1893)
Children Genevieve, Margaret, Mildred, Ruth, Mary

Albertus Theodore Briggs (March 3, 1862 – September 12, 1937) was an American Methodist minister.

Early life and education

He was the second of six children, born in Findlay, Ohio, to William W. Briggs and Sarah B. Briggs. William was a prominent merchant and the postmaster of Geneva, Ohio His father, William H.H. Briggs was raised a farmer but became a carpenter and contractor, serving as an important member of his community. He also enlisted in the Union Army and married Catherine (Harmel) Briggs. His father was Andrew Briggs, a merchant in Rockville, Ohio and a farmer in Hancock County, Ohio. William's grandfather, John Briggs, served in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.[1][2]

A.T. Briggs attended the Fort Wayne Methodist College and in 1890 graduated from DePauw University, located in Greencastle, Indiana. At DePauw, he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an A.B. (1890), A.M. (1893), and D.D. (1910).[3]

Career

He joined the Northwest Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1889. He served churches in this conference for 40 years.[4]

He was the first student pastor at Simpson M.E. Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was also a student pastor at Carpentersville, Indiana and Knightsville, Indiana[5] Briggs was associate pastor at Centenary Church, Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1892 to 1894; Grace Church, Rochester, Indiana, from 1894 to 1896; Kentland, Monticello, Attica, Indiana and LaPorte, Indiana. 1908 to 1914.

He is credited with being the founder of the Maple Avenue Church in Terre Haute.[6] He then served as superintendent for the Hammond District from 1908-1914, living in Valparaiso, Indiana. He served at the West Lafayette, Indiana, Methodist Episcopal Church from 1914 to 1916.[7][8]

He was Superintendent of the Greencastle District from 1925-1931. He retired in 1931 to give more younger ministers the chance to serve. He still served part-time where needed, including at the Gobin Memorial Church in Greencastle, Indiana. [9]

Briggs was President of the Preachers Aid Society for 12 or 14 years and was active in the Battle Ground Camp Meetings.

Personal life

Briggs married Lenore Alleman on June 14, 1890. She earned a Ph B. and an A.M. from DePauw University where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and treasurer of the Y.M.C.A. She served as a high school principal at Waterloo High School (Ohio) in Atwater, Ohio in 1891 and at Celina High School in Celina, Ohio in 1892. They had five daughters; Genevieve, Margaret, Mildred, Ruth, and Mary Briggs, all of whom went to college.

He died at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.[10] Briggs and his wife are buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle.[11]

Genealogy

See also

References

  1. "William H. H. Briggs" (PDF).
  2. Standard history of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country. Chicago. 1918.
  3. Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi.
  4. "Albertus Theodore Briggs photograph album". DePauw University Libraries.
  5. "Rev. Albertus T. Briggs, Retired M.E. Minister, Dies After Long Illness; Rites Here Wednesday". The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County. 1937.
  6. "Rev. Albertus T. Briggs, Retired M.E. Minister, Dies After Long Illness; Rites Here Wednesday". The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County. 1937.
  7. Alumnal Record, De Pauw University.
  8. "Who Could Perform Marriages in Tippecanoe County Indiana 1825-1925".
  9. "The Monticello Circuit of the Methodist Church A Hundred Years of Methodist Progress". Indiana Magazine of History.
  10. "Rev. Albertus T. Briggs, Retired M.E. Minister, Dies After Long Illness; Rites Here Wednesday". The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County. 1937.
  11. "Rev Albertus Theodore Briggs". Find a Grave.
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