Family:John Briggs and Agnes Thayer (1)

link See also Thayer Origins NEHGR 60:282-91; Richard^A Briggs b c1565 buried Thornbury, Gloucester 30 Apr 1620 married there 19 Oct 1590 Agnes Wingod left a will...
children:...

2) John¹ Briggs bp Thornbury 1 May 1595 named in his father's will married there 11 Nov 1633 Agnes Thayer bp 15 Mar 1607 dau of Richard Thayer of Thornbury sister of Richard¹ Thayer and Thomas¹ Thayer who came to New England in 1640. John and Agnes lived in Thornbury in 1644. He was in Taunton by 1657 and was alive in 1665 when his wife's nephew Shadrach Thayer of Braintree filed a complaint [Shurtleff 7:126]. He died by 1675. Children bp in Thornbury:

In this article, Mr. Richardson gives the following children for John and Agnes:
1. John bp 27 Sept 1634, Thornbury
2. Katherine bp 6 Jan 1636/7; nfr
3. Richard bp 17 Mar 1638/9; d Taunton bef. 13 Dec 1692;
4. poss. Joanna [mentioned in prenuptial agreement as being of Taunton]
5. William b. ca 1645; d 3 Jan 1728 aged 83;
6. Hugh [year of birth unknow] mar. 1 Mar 1682/3; d bet. 22 Aug 1692 and 1698;

From Marcia Briggs:
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1629374&id=I74468770

The marriage of John Briggs to Agnes Thayer and his family line are presented because it as information that is widely accepted as being factual. However, there is no documentation that has been found to establish Agnes as the wife of John of Taunton, nor is there any proof that the John Bridges found in the Gloucestershire records is the same John Briggs that appeared in Taunton MA 1657. The information is based on research published in THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST vol 59, 1983 by Douglas Richardson, M.A [Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists].

[Children listed by Author moved to article notes above. Marcia notes that children John "suggests without any proof that this is the younger John of Taunton" and child Richard "again speculative-no proof that Richard of Thornbury is the same man as Richard of Taunton:]

It is proven through land records and deeds that John of Taunton was the father of Richard, William and Hugh; based on the fact this was the only Briggs family in Taunton, Joanna (Briggs)Tallman of Taunton, is placed in this family speculatively.

More from Marcia Briggs (on BRIGGS message board 25 Jan 2002):
Of note: There was a prior query about a look up for "Briggs" in the records of Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Descendants of John Briggs of Taunton are interested in these records because they have long been told that the records and ancestors of John and his suppossed wife, Agnes Thayer, can be found in them. In fact, these are the records of the Braintree/Taunton Thayer family. However, the name of the family in the records is "Bridge/Bridges" not Briggs. These records are also on-line at the GenUK site at Rootsweb. There is not one document in existence that connects John Briggs of Taunton to the Gloucestershire family, nor is there any evidence that his wife was Agnes Thayer.
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/message/rw/surnames.briggs/1493.1.1.2.1.1

This article was published long before Richardson published his article on the English Origins of the family. In it the author carefully gives evidence that John¹ Briggs of Taunton was father to John, Richard, William and Hugh. Joanna is questionable.