Jesse Briggs and Anne Banley (Bardsley)

Plymouth Five Corners, Vermont.

Jesse Briggs, my 5th great grandfather and father of Franklin Briggs was born July 1, 1788 in Brattleborough, VT.  Jesse cleared land for a farm in Plymouth 5 Corners, VT (which is essentially a Ghost town today), and then moved to Bridgewater, built a Sawmill & served in the War of 1812.  From the earliest settlement of New England it was customary to determine the geographical center of a new town, and Bridgewater Center is in the middle of the town of Bridgewater.  H. B. Thompson on his 1868 map labels it simply "Town Center". Toward the latter part of the 1800 's Bridgewater Center began to be called “Briggs” and it became so well known by this name that when a post office was established here Dec 13, 1898 it was called “Briggs”.  The first postmaster was Judson Younglove Briggs, youngest son of Jesse Briggs.  Their farm was located in Bridgewater on Chateauguay Road almost to the Sherburne line.

Jesse Briggs married Anne Banley (or Bardsley) on May 7, 1813.  She was born in Bridgewater in 1794. They lived in Plymouth -  5 Corners and had at least 5 children before Anne died on June 7, 1831.  Their children were Franklin Benjamin, George, Rudolphus, Mahala, and Fernando.

On Aug 8, 1831 Jesse married Rebecca Bixby daughter of Younglove and Rebecca (Boyden) Bixby and two more sons were born, James and Judson.

During the War of 1812 the Northern Division of the American Army was based at Plattsburg, NY, and the first action occurred in Sept 1812.   Jesse Briggs pension papers give this local account:

Jesse Briggs enlisted into Daniel L. Phelps Company in Colonel Jonathan Williams Regt in the Vermont Militia in 1812 and was mustered and marched from Woodstock to Burlington about the 12th day of September.  The company spent a few weeks in Burlington and was ordered to Plattsburg.  Bateaux were used and after many hard hours of rowing and bailing in wind and rain they were forced to stop on an island.  At midnight, in pouring rain, the men managed to boil a few potatoes for their supper.  After a wet cold night the Militia continued rowing up the lake and at Plattsburg they were stationed beside the Saranac River.

Jesse died in Bridgewater August 25, 1878.  His gravesite is unknown.