Albertus Theodore Briggs

Albertus Theodore Briggs (March 3, 1862 – September 12, 1937) was a Methodist Episcopal minister for more than 40 years,[1] and a District Superintendent in the Hammond and Greencastle districts in Indiana. For years, he was the President of the Preachers Aid Society, now the United Methodist Foundation of Indiana.

Albertus T. Briggs
Born(1862-03-03)March 3, 1862
Findlay, Ohio
DiedSeptember 12, 1937(1937-09-12) (aged 75)
Indianapolis, Indiana
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDePauw University
OccupationMinister
Spouse(s)Lenore Alleman (1865-1943)
ChildrenGenevieve Briggs (1894-1994)
Margaret Briggs (1895-1991)
Mildred Briggs (1897-1970)
Ruth Lenore Briggs (1904-1958)
Mary Elizabeth Briggs (1909-2014)

Early life and education

He was the second of six children, born in Findlay, Ohio, to William Henry Harrison Briggs and Catherine (Harmel) Briggs. William was raised as a farmer, but became a carpenter and contractor, serving as an important member of his community. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War. 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 Revolution and the War of 1812.[2][3]

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 one of the four charter members of the DePauw chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an A.M. in 1893, a D.D. in 1910.[4]

Career

He joined the Northwest Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1889. He served churches in this conference for 40 years.[1]

He was a student pastor at Simpson M.E. Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana while affiliated with the Fort Wayne College. He was also a student pastor at Carpentersville, Indiana and Knightsville, Indiana while attending DePauw.[5] Briggs was associate pastor at Centenary Church, Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1892 to 1894. During this time, he is credited with being the founder of the Maple Avenue Church in Terre Haute.[6][7] He was pastor at Grace Church, Rochester, Indiana, from 1894 to 1896; Kentland, Monticello, Attica, Indiana and LaPorte, Indiana.

He then served as Superintendent for the Hammond District from 1908 to 1914, living in Valparaiso, Indiana. He served at the West Lafayette Methodist Episcopal Church from 1914 to 1916.[8][9]

He was Superintendent of the Greencastle District from 1925 to 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. [10]

Briggs was President of the Preachers Aid Society for 12 or 14 years and was active in the Battle Ground Camp Meetings of the Northwest Indiana Conference. He was a General Delegate to the 1912 General Conference in Minneapolis.

Personal life

Briggs met Lenore Alleman while they were in school at the Fort Wayne Methodist Academy. They both attended Depauw and married on June 14, 1890. She was born in 1867 in Argos, Indiana, the daughter of Jacob C. Alleman and Mary Ann Lowry. Her great grandfather, John Alleman was from Pennsylvania and served in the Revolution. 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 Lenore, and Mary Elizabeth Briggs, all of whom went to college.

He died at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, and his funeral was held at the Gobin Memorial Church in Greencastle.[11] Briggs and his wife are buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle.[12]

Genealogy
  • Albertus Theodore Briggs, son of
    • William H. H. Briggs (1836–1909), son of
      • Andrew Briggs (1786–1863), son of
      • John Briggs (1736–1802)

See also

References
  1. "Albertus Theodore Briggs photograph album". DePauw University Libraries.
  2. "William H. H. Briggs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  3. 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.
  4. Pi, Beta Theta (1905). Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi.
  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. "History". Maple Avenue United Methodist Church.
  8. Alumnal Record, De Pauw University. 1915.
  9. "Who Could Perform Marriages in Tippecanoe County Indiana 1825-1925".
  10. "The Monticello Circuit of the Methodist Church A Hundred Years of Methodist Progress". Indiana Magazine of History.
  11. "Rev. Albertus T. Briggs, Retired M.E. Minister, Dies After Long Illness; Rites Here Wednesday". The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County. 1937.
  12. "Rev Albertus Theodore Briggs". Find a Grave.
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