CIVIL WAR VETERAN
Freeman D. Briggs
Freeman D. Briggs
Freeman D. Briggs’ grave stone records his birth and death years and notes his service in the U. S. Navy.
photo: QHGS
To find genealogical information about Freeman—date of birth, date of death—several online databases were visited in the following order:
1. To establish the fact that Freeman D. Briggs served in the Union Navy, we consulted U.S., Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
This source provided the following information:
“Freeman D. Briggs, age 26, a farmer born in Pennsylvania and now living in Wisconsin, enlisted in the Union Navy as a Landsman during the week of August 27th, 1864, at Chicago, Illinois.”
2. To find out if Freeman was a Civil War pensioner, we looked for him in the U.S. Navy Pensions Index, 1861-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
This index-only source provided the following information:
“Freeman D. Briggs’ pensions application—file number 58115, certificate number 18923—was approved.”
3. A photo of Freeman titled, “Landsman Freeman D. Briggs, U. S. Navy,” is on the Oshkosh Public Museum website http://oshkosh.pastperfect-online.com/20004cgi/mweb.exe?request=record&id=DFBEA0AE-F651-461E-AC54-535412244081&type=102, and notes say that, “Freeman served onboard the Osage.” Wikipedia tells us that “the USS Osage was a single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.” More information about this vessel is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Osage_(1863).
3. A photo of Freeman titled, “Landsman Freeman D. Briggs, U. S. Navy,” is on the Oshkosh Public Museum website http://oshkosh.pastperfect-online.com/20004cgi/mweb.exe?request=record&id=DFBEA0AE-F651-461E-AC54-535412244081&type=102, and notes say that, “Freeman served onboard the Osage.” Wikipedia tells us that “the USS Osage was a single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.” More information about this vessel is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Osage_(1863).
4. We examined the California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, and found the following information:
“Freeman D. Briggs, born about 1837, died on 24 November 1920, in Los Angeles county.”
5. And, using information from source four, we located a digitized image of Freeman’s death certificate on the FamilySearch® website at California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994, index and images, FamilySearch, Los Angeles, Long Beach > Death certificates 1920 nos. 400-790 > image 327 of 424.
This source provided the following information:
“Freeman D. Briggs was born on 29 August 1831 [sic S/B 1837], in Pennsylvania. His father, Henry Briggs, was born in Vermont, and his mother, Louise Freeman, had an “unknown” birthplace. Freeman died, aged 83 years, 2 months, and 25 days, on 24 November 1920, at his home in Long Beach at 416 E. Hill Street. He had resided in California for 15 years and lived in Long Beach for 8 years. Freeman was buried on 26 November 1920 in Sunnyside Cemetery, and the mortuary in charge of his interment was Byrum, Brunscher & Baker. The death certificate informant was Freeman’s widow, Emma L. Briggs.”
RESEARCH TIP: Tombstones don’t always tell the full story (and even when we think they do, they are often incorrect!). Dig creatively in many sources to reconstruct a simple life chronology for any relative whose stone records only the years of birth and death.
“Freeman D. Briggs was born on 29 August 1831 [sic S/B 1837], in Pennsylvania. His father, Henry Briggs, was born in Vermont, and his mother, Louise Freeman, had an “unknown” birthplace. Freeman died, aged 83 years, 2 months, and 25 days, on 24 November 1920, at his home in Long Beach at 416 E. Hill Street. He had resided in California for 15 years and lived in Long Beach for 8 years. Freeman was buried on 26 November 1920 in Sunnyside Cemetery, and the mortuary in charge of his interment was Byrum, Brunscher & Baker. The death certificate informant was Freeman’s widow, Emma L. Briggs.”
RESEARCH TIP: Tombstones don’t always tell the full story (and even when we think they do, they are often incorrect!). Dig creatively in many sources to reconstruct a simple life chronology for any relative whose stone records only the years of birth and death.
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