Ansel Briggs
| Ansel Briggs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Governor of Iowa | |
|
In office December 28, 1846 – December 4, 1850 |
|
| Preceded by |
James Clarke as Territorial Governor of Iowa |
| Succeeded by | Stephen P. Hempstead |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 3, 1806 Shoreham, Vermont |
| Died | May 5, 1881 (age 75) Omaha, Nebraska |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Carpenter (briefly) Nancy M. Dunlap (died 1847) |
| Children | six died in infancy Ansel Jr. (died age 15) John |
| Alma mater | Norwich Academy |
| Profession | Entrepreneur Businessman |
Ansel Briggs (February 3, 1806 – May 5, 1881) was an American pioneer who rose from a stagecoach driver to a member of the Iowa Territorial House of Representatives (1842-1846) and the first Governor of Iowa (1846-1850).
Ansel Briggs was born in Shoreham, Vermont to farmer Benjamin Ingley Briggs and Electa Trippman Briggs. Briggs's education started in the common schools of Vermont and continued at the Norwich Academy in Connecticut.
While still a young man, Briggs moved with his parents to Guernsey County, Ohio, where his father farmed in 1821-1825. After Benjamin Briggs died in an accident, his widow relocated to Cambridge, Ohio, and Ansel lived there for the next six years, entering a stagecoach business. He married Nancy M. Dunlap on November 11, 1830. Ansel served as Township Constable, Deputy Sheriff, and Jailor of Guernsey County; he ran, as a Whig party candidate, unsuccessfully for the office of County Auditor for the Guernsey County, Ohio.
After hearing of all the opportunities, Briggs traveled in 1839 to what was called Andrew Jackson County in the Territory of Iowa which was shortened to Jackson County soon after. Once settled he resumed his stagecoach business, starting by driving the coaches himself much of the time. The opportunities to expand in the new territory were immense. He soon secured contracts with the Post Office Department transporting mail between Dubuque and the cities of Davenport and Iowa City, this led to more routes, expanding his business. In 1839, Briggs moved to Andrew, Iowa, a recently mapped-out town, purchasing many of the empty lots and then reselling them. He was considered a good citizen making many town improvements, building roads and commercial buildings. His stone house, on N Johnson St. in Andrew, is still inhabited to this day. His family used to have a home and mill near Brush Creek north of Andrew at a place known as Bluff Mills, which is a popular public fishing area now, even though the house and mill are now gone.
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