Jeremiah Briggs letters received

1832-1852

Jeremiah Briggs (1791 or 1792-1876) was a New York City sea captain and shipping merchant who served in the U.S. Flotilla during the War of 1812. He was born on Block Island to John and Mary Briggs and resided in New York City and Sag Harbor, Long Island. In 1829 he married Jane Hedges of Sag Harbor. Briggs ran a freight service in New York with sailing vessels serving Philadelphia and Baltimore. He eventually formed the partnership of J. & N. Briggs with his cousin Nathaniel Briggs, and founded the Swiftsure Line. Jeremiah Briggs retired to a farm in Richmond Hills, Queens County, where he died on May 28, 1876. Letters received by Captain Jeremiah Briggs at New York, Philadelphia, and Suffolk County, Long Island, 1832, 1846-1852, are written by sea captains N. Willis, E.C. (Eathon C.) Briggs and Nathaniel Briggs; other business associates such as his Philadelphia agents Jackson & Israel; and close family members. The bulk of the letters date from 1832 and largely concern sailing and freight details for vessels leaving or returning to New York, such as the Diana, the Waterloo, and the Valiant. Letters from W.A. Jones and E.C. Briggs,1849-1852, pertain to their experiences settling as farmers in Kinsman, Ohio. The collection also includes an 1846 letter from C.L. Briggs at Newport to Captain B. Briggs at Baltimore, Maryland.