Benjamin Briggs
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Benjamin Spooner Briggs (24 April 1835 -1872) was an American sailor and the captain of the Mary Celeste when she was discovered, apparently abandoned, on 4 December 1872. He, his wife Sarah and daughter Sophia Matilda, along with the crew, were lost.
Briggs had previously captained the brigantine Sea Foam, and was captain of the three-masted schooner Forest King in 1862 when he married Sarah E Cobb, daughter of the Rev Leander Cobb. It was on this ship that he and Sarah took their honeymoon trip to Europe. In 1865, when he took command of the bark Arthur, Benjamin gave command of the Forest King to his brother, Oliver.
His son, Arthur S. Briggs, was born in 1865 at Rose Cottage, Marion, Massachusetts. The next year, the family travelled to Marseilles, France, and returned in time for their daughter to be born on 31 October 1870 at Rose Cottage.
In 1871 Benjamin and his brother were considering giving up the sea and buying a hardware store in New Bedford, but apparently decided against this. In 1872 Benjamin bought a share in the brig Mary Celeste, and made modifications to the cabin to house his family. Sarah and Sophia accompanied him on a voyage to Genoa, while Arthur was left with his grandmother at Rose Cottage to attend school.
For the circumstances of their disappearance, see Mary Celeste.
