On the 321st anniversary of the death of Gen. Joseph Bridger, more than 200 of his descendants from 16 States gathered to celebrate his life at St. Luke’s Church on April 15, 2007. The Rev. Gary Barker, Rector of Newport Parish (Christ Episcopal Church, Smithfield, Virginia, as well as Vicar of St. Luke’s Church, Smithfield, Virginia) used the Liturgy of the Dead from the Anglican Church’s 1662 Book of Common Prayer in the service.
Descendants were involved in all aspects of this service. A truly memorable rendition of The Lord’s Prayer was sung in metre by Miss Abbey Outlaw, Williamsburg, Virginia, an eighth-great-granddaughter of Gen. Bridger. Her flawless voice filled every inch of St. Luke’s Church. Scripture readings were by Jean Birdsong Tomes, eighth-great-granddaughter, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and Donald Bridgers, tenth-great- grandson, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Joseph Bridger, tenth-great-grandson, Raleigh, North Carolina, carried the processional cross. and William Hodsden, tenth-great-grandson, Suffolk, Virginia, was the Lector, carrying the same 17th-century Hodsden bible used at Joseph Bridger’s funeral in 1686.
An interesting and informative eulogy was presented by William P. Carrell II, tenth- great-grandson, Louisville, Kentucky, Vice President and co-founder of the Bridger Family Association.
Appropriate music was presented by the Choir of Christ Church, directed by Miss Heidi Block, who is also the Organist.
Following the service, the Second Annual Meeting of the Association was held in the church. Dr. Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution gave a presentation about the exhumation of Gen. Joseph Bridger’s remains from the church on January 29, 2007, and discussed his work in studying the remains of our Grandfather. Since only about one-fourth of his remains were interred in the church in 1894, he discussed the possibility that the rest of the remains were still at Whitemarsh. He has been back to Whitemarsh two times to search for gravesites, even using ground-penetrating radar, but has not found the family graveyard.
Archaeologist Alain Outlaw, Williamsburg, Virginia, was recognized for his work on behalf of the Association. Alain is a member of our family through his wife, Merry, but no man could have ever given more to his own blood family than Alain has given to us. He worked many hours behind the scenes to get things ready for Dr. Owsley and the January 29 exhumation. Alain continues to spend hours working for the Bridger family in many ways.
