Death Certificate
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Joseph Briggs was born Mar 8, 1852 in Accrington, Lancashire, England. Accrington is a borough in Lancashire situated about twenty-two miles from Manchester, England. The City lies in a rich coal-mining region and is an important industrial center. At this time in England, very few children had the privilege of attending school for more than two or three years. Many children beginning at age eight, worked in factories. Joseph work in a brickyard. When Joseph was nineteen years old he Married Mary Ann Want June 20, 1871. First Child, James Alfred Briggs, born and Died in December 1872. In 1873 Joseph and Mary Ann joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and left England and Sailed on the Ship "Nevada", arriving in Utah on June 4, 1873. Joseph and Mary Ann lived in Salt Lake City for a short time where Joseph worked as a sheepherder. Two Children were born to them in Salt Lake, in 1874 (child: William Died) and 1876. In 1877 the family was asked to settle Beaver, Utah. The Beaver valley was a cold and unpleasant place. The surface was covered with sagebrush and much of the soil was alkali. Joseph left alone to get situated. When Joseph had made the necessary arrangements, Mary Ann and her new Baby made the journey to Beaver from Salt Lake by horse and buggy. The trip took two weeks, traveling through new territory in a strange land. Joseph began working as a sheepherder. He eventually became the owner of his own herd. Ten more children were born to Joseph and Mary Ann. All together so far thirteen children. Six children died in infancy, one died as a young adult, and six lived to raise families. One lived in Salt Lake and the others in Beaver, Utah. In 1893 the Family moved to Frisco, Beaver County, Utah, where Joseph worked in the Horn Silver Mine, owned by James Robert Lindsay. Joseph soon became an assayer of the ore. The Saints in Frisco were anxious for an organization and a small branch was organized, with Joseph as the Presiding Elder. After 18 years Joseph moved his family back to Beaver. In Beaver they purchased a grocery and confectionery store. The back part of the store served as their living quarters. Eventually they built a theater where they operated, a 'picture show'. One day as Joseph was helping to unload some bricks he suffered a sunstroke, and as a result, a blod clot formed on his brain. He never fully recovered. He died December 12, 1922.