Briggs, Alexander and Anne (McKay)
Page by Paul McNulty with contributions from Bob Leathers
Alexander Briggs was the Superintendent of all the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mines in Hanna, Wyoming at the time of the March 28, 1908 explosions that killed 59 men. Alexander was in the mine at the time of the first explosion. His body was not found after the explosion and remains at the bottom of the No. 1 mine in Hanna.
Alexander, Anne, Jennie, Stairs, Joseph and William Briggs (McNulty Collection)
Alexander Briggs and Daughters Jennie, Margaret and Annie (McNulty Collection)
Life Story
1858 March 17: Anna "Annie" McKay was born in Scotland.
1860 February 17: Alexander Riddle Briggs was born in Scotland to Stairs and Margaret Briggs
1885 September 4: Alexander "Alex" Briggs and Anna "Annie" McKay married in Scotland.
1900: Alexander and Annie were living in Carbon, Wyoming.
1908 March 28: Alexander Riddle Briggs, age 48, was killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's No.1 Mine explosion in Hanna, Wyoming. His body was not recovered and remains at the Botton of the Hanna No. 1 Mine. (BL)
1927 December 29: Anna Briggs died in Evanston, Wyoming at the age of 67. She was buried in the Rock Springs, Wyoming Cemetery. A memorial stone for Alexander is in the Rock Springs Cemetery. His body was not recovered from the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna.
Alexander Briggs and his wife Anne (McKay) Briggs had six children together:
- Stairs Dixon Briggs (1887 - 1939)
- Janet "Jennie" Briggs (1888 - ?)
- Joseph McKay Briggs (1890 - 1979)
- William Alexander Briggs (1891 - 1954)
- Margaret "Maggie" Briggs 1893 - ?)
- Annie Briggs (1895 - 1966)
Hanna Basin Death and Burial Records
Briggs, Alex (Inquest); Aka: Briggs, Alexander (MIR), Aka: Briggs, A. (MM)
Hanna Monument: At the top of Hanna Hill stands a Memorial Monument dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. The Monument also marks the area where 28 of the men - like Alexander Briggs - were killed, but not recovered and their bodies remain at the bottom of the mine.
Born: Feb. 17, 1860
Died: Mar. 28, 1908
Age: 48 y's, 1 mo., 11 d's
Note: Alexander, Superintendent for all Union Pacific Coal Company mines in Hanna, was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. His body was not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Alexander Briggs worked as the Superintendent for all the Union Pacific Coal Company Hanna mines. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men lead by Alexander Briggs entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening and 41 additional miners were killed. Alexander's remains were not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Alex Briggs was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)
More at: Miners' Monument
More at: Hanna Mine Explosion Monument on Hanna No. 1 Hill
Hanna Monument: At the top of Hanna Hill stands a Memorial Monument dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. The Monument also marks the area where 28 of the men - like Alexander Briggs - were killed, but not recovered and their bodies remain at the bottom of the mine.
Born: Feb. 17, 1860
Died: Mar. 28, 1908
Age: 48 y's, 1 mo., 11 d's
Note: Alexander, Superintendent for all Union Pacific Coal Company mines in Hanna, was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. His body was not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Alexander Briggs worked as the Superintendent for all the Union Pacific Coal Company Hanna mines. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men lead by Alexander Briggs entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening and 41 additional miners were killed. Alexander's remains were not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Alex Briggs was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)
More at: Miners' Monument
More at: Hanna Mine Explosion Monument on Hanna No. 1 Hill
Hanna Mine Explosion Monuments on Hanna No. 1 Hill. (Image by Bob Leathers. Sept. 2023)
Memorial Monument to Mine Explosion Victims (Image by Bob Leathers)
Memorial Headstone for Alexander Briggs in Rock Springs, Wyoming
Annie Briggs Headstone in Rock Springs. (Ancestry)