Briggs, Willis G. (Willis Grandy), 1875-1954

Willis Grandy Briggs (1875-1954) was a Raleigh, N.C., lawyer and postmaster, and served as Republican Party chair for Wake County, N.C.

Willis Grandy Briggs (1875-1954) was born in Raleigh, N.C., the son of Thomas Henry and Sarah Grandy Briggs. He was educated at the Raleigh Male Academy, run by Charles C. Holden, and at Wake Forest College, from which he graduated cum laud in 1896. After graduating, Briggs became the city editor of the Raleigh Evening Times .

Briggs, a Republican, was appointed postmaster in Raleigh by President Theodore Roosevelt, and he continued to serve in this capacity until 1914, when he returned to Wake Forest to study law. Admitted to the bar in 1915, Briggs was promptly chosen city court prosecutor, in which capacity he served until 1921. He was the assistant U.S. attorney of the Eastern District from 1921 until 1930, when he resigned to resume his private practice. In 1928 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Briggs was deeply interested in the history of North Carolina, especially that of Raleigh and Wake County. Briggs devoted much of his time to research and writing, and some of his published works include a history of the First Baptist Church in Raleigh and a biography of Henry Potter (1766-1857).

Briggs married Beulah Sanderlin on 16 February 1910, and they became the parents of two daughters, Sarah Wooten and Eliza Sanderlin. Briggs died on 24 February 1954 in Raleigh.