We gathered in Suffolk and Smithfield, Virginia, from May 18 to 21, 2017. On Friday, we visited Whitemarsh, 10 acres of which the Bridger Family Association purchased on February 23, 2017, to see the foundation of Joseph and Hester Bridger’s 21-room home. Archaeological research will take place this year, and we’re hoping to find graves and artifacts. On Friday evening we had a barbeque dinner in the “barn” at the farm of members Lynn and Charlie Rose in Suffolk.
On Saturday, St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum welcomed us for a special reception to honor donors and volunteers in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Historic St. Luke’s Restoration. We had the most people we’ve ever had at this gathering of Bridger cousins, with 80 signed up for our Saturday night banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn in Suffolk.
We gathered Sunday at St. Luke’s Church to participate in a Book of Common Prayer service led by David Carrington, the warden of St. John the Evangelist Church in Slimbridge, England, where Lawrence Bridger was Rector for 50 years.
