We held our annual gathering at the Sheraton Waterside in Norfolk from May 9 to 12, 2013. At our dinner meeting of Friday, Merry Outlaw, senior curator at the Jamestowne Rediscovery Foundation and BFA member, spoke about artifacts that had been found during a previous amateur archaeological dig at Whitemarsh, the home of our ancestor Joseph Bridger. These artifacts were never catalogued until last year when Alain Outlaw retrieved them from the Isle of Wight Museum in Smithfield. He and Merry cleaned and catalogued each item and returned them to the Museum.
Merry retrieved some of the artifacts to discuss at our meeting, comparing them to artifacts found at other archaeology sites, and showed either actual items or photos of intact items, so that we could view items used by Joseph and Hester and their family at Whitemarsh. She explained what the item was used for, where it was made, and provided any story that might be connected with the item. How fortunate that descendants of the people who actually used those articles had the opportunity to touch and feel the same things their ancestors owned.
On Saturday, the family had a dinner cruise aboard the American Rover sailing ship around Norfolk harbor.
Benediction
given by
Betty Bridgers Cullen
We are a continuum. Just as we reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that legacy, must reach ahead to our children and their children. And we do so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching — Paul Tsongas
Our Father, hear our prayer —
God bless the Bridger Family and all the families represented here tonight. From our German/Austrian entrepreneurial spirit to our Flemish flair and creativity to our English sensibility and fortitude — we celebrate our gifts and give thanks. We appreciate the many blessings and opportunities afforded our grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, and mothers and offer a deep respect for their accomplishments. With knowledge that high adventure is often fraught with failures that try men’s souls, we pray that our ancestors have found redemption and peace in Your presence.
Through your grace — the descendants of Henry, Richard, Lawrence, Samuel, and General Joseph Bridger share not only a biological connection but a historical perspective. A narrative of our familial bond and place on the continuum is expounded in archaeological finds, genealogical research, and scholarly review. Our children and their children will inherit from us the knowledge that their ancestors were explorers, farmers, soldiers, and ministers; and, they sailed oceans, braved new worlds, and served kings and queens. Our grandfathers were visionaries in architecture and ahead of their times as stewards of the environment. They were men for all seasons, and times, as they made bequests to the poor and less fortunate when life had run its course.
From the power of their own testaments to you, Lord, we sense their commitment to family, community, and nation. In recorded word and deed, they were distinguished by their honesty, fairness, and loyalty and known for streaks of rebelliousness, fits of pique, and fastidious protection of their coffers. Our ancestors loved their mothers and sometimes clashed with their fathers. They sued their own brothers and, yet, served as guardians for their orphaned children when death preempted life. Our ancestors were special men and women but every man and woman of the past, present, and future.
Finally, we praise you, Lord, for endowing the officers of the Bridger Family Association and organizing committee with head, heart, and soul as they gather all “cousins” in a warm embrace and reach out to the community-at-large in their quest for truths. We support their leadership and appreciate their efforts of behalf of our Family. As we pass the flame, let us not forget to teach our children to rejoice in the subtle and profound beauty of our world and to show them how to live with dignity and grace in the face of trial and tribulation. We ask our children to join with us in prayer for the conservators of our ancestral lands and homes as the sounds of Bridger laughter and sorrow still echo within and without. Last, and not least, Lord — we ask that you bless the United States of America and England and all who serve.
Amen
