Andrew J. Briscoe, merchant, patriot, captain, judge, railroad promoter, banker, and broker, was born on November 25, 1810, in Mississippi.. He was the eldest of twelve children born to General Parmenas and Polly Montgomery Briscoe. After studying law at Kentucky State University, he immigrated to Anahuac, Texas, in 1833 and opened a mercantile business there. He publicly opposed the irregular collection of customs' dues by Mexican authorities. When he attempted to trade with unpaid duties, he was arrested by Mexican officials and wasn't released until W.B. Travis and his volunteers drove Antonio Tenorio out of office.
In 1835, Andrew Briscoe moved to Harrisburg, Harris County and, as a captain in the Liberty Volunteers, he participated in the Battle of Concepcion and the Siege of Bexar. In 1836, Sam Houston appointed him the first Chief Justice of Harrisburg, Harris County. As a delegate to the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos, he was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He left the convention to rejoin the army, serving as a company commander int he Battle of San Jacinto.
Briscoe Junior High is located on land that was part of the land grant given by Mexico to the Briscoe family in 1835. Briscoe's descendants have lived, worked, farmed, and ranched on land "North of the Brazos" in Fort Bend County since 1839. Twelve descendants are LCISD graduates and several are currently enrolled. Members of the family have served as educators in LCISD from 1948 until the present. Many of them were involved in the ground-breaking of Briscoe Junior High, which opened in the Fall of 2001, and the family continues to take active roles at Briscoe Junior High.