Financial agent, realtor.
Born at Montreal, Quebec on 10 December 1872, son of John Edward Briggs (1846-1917) and Mary Ann Stephenson (1845-1929), he came to Winnipeg with his family in 1883 and was educated at St. John’s College. He worked for the land department of the Canadian Pacific Railway at Winnipeg (1888-1901) and was later a financial agent in the investment firm of Oldfield, Kirby and Gardner, 234 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg.
He was married three times, first on 5 December 1894 to Mary Jane Switzer (1874-1907) with whom he had three children: Allan Guelph Briggs (1898-1899), Mary Constance Briggs (1902-1972), and Doris Marguerite Briggs (1907-1980, wife of Jonathan West Hill). On 29 September 1909, he married Eva Elizabeth Stewart (1883-1912) of Winnipeg. She died of complications from the birth of a child who died shortly afterward. On 3 January 1914, he married Elsie Gordon Clearihue (1877-1958) with whom he had a son, John Gordon Briggs (1918-1958). The family lived at 182 Mayfair Avenue, Winnipeg. He was a member of the Canadian Club, Adanac Club, St. Charles Country Club, Winnipeg Board of Trade, and AF & AM. His recreation was farming.
He died at Winnipeg on 11 February 1942 and was buried in the St. John's Cathedral Cemetery.
1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“In society,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 October 1909, page 5.
Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.
Death registration [Eva Elizabeth Briggs], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Deaths and funerals,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 December 1912, page 3.
“John Wilson Briggs, realtor, aged 70, dies on Wednesday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 February 1942, page 9.
Obituary [Mary Constance Briggs], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 October 1972, page 27.
Obituary [Doris Marguerite Hill], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 December 1980, page 40.
John Wilson Briggs, Ancestry.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 November 2021
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