Charles Brigham was born in 1827 in Monroe County, New York. He was the sixth of eight children born to John Brigham (1792-1863) and Susan Moore (1797-1848). Since at least 1840, the family lived in Ogden, where they were farmers.
Sometime between 1854 and 1861, Charles married Hannah E. She had been born in 1836 in Connecticut. They had three children – William A. (born 1861), Alletta M. (born 1864), and Harriet E. (born 1866). Harriet married Charles H. Geer / Gear.
Charles Brigham stayed with his farming roots in Ogden. He worked as a produce manager and a fruit grower. The family had a home in the village of Spencerport. From 1861 to 1867, Charles served as the Postmaster for the Spencerport Post Office. His certificate is part of the collection at the Ogden Historical Society. Over twenty years later, his son would be Spencerport’s Postmaster (1889 to 1891). Charles is listed in the 1869 Ogden Directory as having a flour, feed, and grain business on Union Street. He was also listed as a police Justice that same year.
Charles died on October 20, 1907, after suffering a stroke. He was 80 years old.
Hannah buried Charles in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester with their only son William, who had died in Wisconsin of pneumonia in 1900.
After Charles’ death, Hannah lived with their daughter Hattie on her farm in Covington, Wayne County, New York.
In February 1920, their daughter Alletta died from pneumonia and the flu. One month later, in March 1920, Hannah died from heart disease. She joined Charles, William, and Aletta in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Hattie died in 1939 and is buried in Naples, Ontario County.
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