Briggs, James

Briggs, James a Congregationial minister, was born at Newton, Massachusetts, January 18, 1746. He graduated at Yale in 1775; was ordained pastor of the Church in Cummington, in 1779, where he had been preaching for several years previous; and died December 7, 1825. "When he was settled, the town vowed to give him 200 acres of good land and £60 (estimated by rye at 3s. 4d. a bushel), for 'settlement,' and £50 salary, to be increased by £5 a year until it reached £60, estimated by rye, as above; by beef at 20d. a pound, and flax at 8d. a pound." See Cong. Quarterly, 1859, page 44; Sprague, Annals of the Amer. Pulpit, 2:408.