William was raised as a farmer, but became a carpenter and contractor, building the Methodist Church and multiple houses in Geneva, Indiana.
[2][3] A.T. Briggs attended the Fort Wayne Methodist College and in 1890 graduated from DePauw University, located in Greencastle, Indiana.
He still served part-time where needed, including at acting pastor in Thornton, Lentland, Attica, and at the Gobin Memorial Church in Greencastle, Indiana in 1935.
[9] In 1911, as district Superintendent, he dedicated the new Trinity Methodist Church in Kentland, along with DePauw President Francis John McConnell.
[10] Briggs was President of the Preachers Aid Society for 12 or 14 years and was active in the Battle Ground Camp Meetings of the Northwest Indiana Conference.
[11] They had five daughters; Genevieve, Margaret, Mildred, Ruth Lenore, and Mary Elizabeth Briggs, all of whom went to college.
He died at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, and his funeral was held at the Gobin Memorial Church in Greencastle.