For our first reunion in over two years, the family gathered on May 17, 2022, to hold a memorial service for the 23 souls moved from the cemetery at Whitemarsh in September 2021. Their remains now repose at St. Luke’s Church in a beautiful crypt donated by a Bridger family member. Some bricks from their Whitemarsh home were interred with them.
At the dinner meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Suffolk, Virginia, on May 18, we welcomed several new cousins who joined us for the first time. Dr. Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution spoke about the result of DNA testing on Joseph Bridger’s femur bone, and Elaine Powell discussed how the test result correlated to DNA testing by Bridger descendants.
Archaeologist Matt Tuttle gave a report about the Whitemarsh survey ending its on-site work and focusing on the continuing analysis of the 60,000 artifacts found. Bill Hodsden reported on future plans for St. Luke’s Church.
The Cousin Who Showed Us The Way
by Bill Hodsden
Read the story of how the Whitemarsh cemetery was discovered.
