Message | Hello! My grandfather was brother to Edna Hannibal, one of the sources you referenced. I've done a little further research on Zadock Briggs, and unfortunately was unable to make the connection my great aunt had hoped for... that we're descended from Clement Briggs. The Line of Zadock goes back to John Briggs, of Portsmouth, Newport, RI, which appears wasn't researched by my aunt. From there I was able to trace all the way back to William Brygge, also known as William Atte Brigge, William de Ponte de Salle and William de Pontibus de Salle. He was lord of the lands of Salle, Norfolk, England, and carried the first Briggs/Brygge name. My aunt had really hoped to connect Zadock to Clement... it became an obsession with her, which is why she was able to publish so much about Clement's line, and also probably why researched the wrong John Briggs, the one who was Clement's son, in Massachusetts, rather than the Rhode Island one.
My mother is going to give one of her cousins the URL for your website. He is still of this same direct Briggs line and carries the Briggs name, so if he's willing, he should be a good subject for your DNA project, carrying the Y chromosome of this direct line. |