He was the captain of the merchant ship Mary Celeste, which was discovered unmanned and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean midway between the Azores and the coast of Portugal on December 4, 1872.

Briggs, his wife Sarah and their two-year-old daughter Sophia Matilda were never found and were presumed lost, along with the crew of Mary Celeste.

The following year, the family travelled to Marseilles, France, returning in time for the birth of their daughter Sophia Matilda on October 31, 1870.

However, in 1872, he purchased a share in the brigantine Mary Celeste, owned by James Winchester, and modified the cabin to house his family.

Briggs' son Arthur stayed with his grandmother at Rose Cottage in Marion, Massachusetts in order to attend school.