Margaret Virginia Briggs was born on July 1, 1911, to John Kelley and Nellie Fortune Waters Briggs near Hope, Hempstead County, Arkansas. She graduated from Hope High School, Arkansas, in 1930 and studied for a year at the Evanston Art Institute in Illinois and later at the Dayton Art Institute, Ohio. Not being able to secure a job as an artist, Briggs began working for Frigidaire Company, Dayton, Ohio, in 1931. She joined the WAVES in the United States Navy Reserve in May 1945 and kept a very detailed record of her service in her scrapbooks. Following her discharge, she married Richard Shively, a savings & loan officer in Gem City Bank, Dayton, Ohio. She taught ceramic classes and china-painting of reproduction dolls. In 1974, she created and copyrighted two dolls with porcelain heads--Gemima and Gigi. Briggs and her husband served as officers in the International Doll Society for a number of years. Both of them were also ardent travelers and photographers. Margaret Virginia Briggs died in May 1991.
From the description of Margaret Virginia Briggs collection : albums/scrapbooks and publications, 1945-1946. (University of Arkansas - Fayetteville). WorldCat record id: 34972496
