Bridges, James Burney

The following data is extracted from Biography and Genealogy of Western Massachusetts, 1639-1925.

JAMES BURNEY BRIDGES - The family of Bridges is a very old one, the first representative of it to come to this country being Edmond Bridges, who came from London, England, in 1635, at the age of twentyfive years, and settled at Lynn. He died at Ipswich on January 13, 1685. He married Alice.

The second generation is represented by Edmond Bridges, who lived from 1637 to 1682, and married Sarah Towne, of Salem. They had five children.

The line was carried down in the third generation by Caleb Bridges, born in 1677. He settled in Framingham and married Sarah Brown. They had nine children.

Their son, Caleb Bridges, was born in 1708, was dean of the church in Spencer in 1768. He married Elizabeth Stanhope, and they had six children.

Their son, Isaac Bridges, lived from 1734 to 1821, was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and was wounded at Crown Point. He lived at Spencer, Brookfield, Barre, Oakham, New Braintree and Deerfield, in which latter place he died. He married Mary Mixter, who died in 1816. They had nine children.

Their son, Isaac Bridges, of the sixth generation, was born in 1771, and died at Moriah, New York, in ,860. He lived in Hardwick, Massachusetts, and Craftsbury, Vermont, prior to 1812, and was at Deerfield in 1817. He married Deborah Cobb, who died in 1860. They had six children.

The seventh generation was represented by Benjamin Franklin Bridges, born April 14, 1797, at Hardwick, and died at Deerfield, in 1892, at the age of ninety-five years. He was a clothier by trade, and owned and operated a mill at Sunderland for many years; he disposed of this mill and bought a farm in Deerfield, where he lived the remainder of his life. He attended the Baptist church. He married (first), December 27, 1821, Eunice Clark, who died in November, 1831. He married (second), December 4, 1832, Harriet Hubbard. By the first marriage there were the following children: Jonathan, born 1822; Marcia Ann, born 1824; Jonathan(2), born 1826; Mary Mixter, born 1827; and Elizabeth, born 1831. The children by the second marriage were: 1. Martin K. 2. Benjamin F., born in 1836, who was warden in the Massachusetts State Prison for twenty-four years, and who died in 1923; he was a general in the Massachusetts Militia 3. Harriet, born in 1838, married Edward Clary. 4. A son, born in 184o, who died when three days old. 5. Josephine, born in 1844, married William Thayer. 6-7. Marcellus and Pharcellus Dean (twins) born in 1846. 8. Hubbard C., born in 1849, died in 1872. 9. Elizabeth E., born in 1851, died in 1865. 10. James B., of whom further. 11. Rose E., born in 1856. 12. A son, born in 1861, died when five days old.
James Burney Bridges, of the eighth generation in direct descent from the first American forebear of the name, was born September 10, 1854, at Deerfield, son of Benjamin Franklin and Harriet (Hubbard) Bridges. He was educated in the public schools of Deerfield, and on the completion of his education at the age of eighteen years, he entered the pocket-book shop of Hamilton & Bridges, where he worked for a year. He then went into the hay and grain business, in company with his brother, General Benjamin Franklin Bridges, under the firm name of B. F. Bridges, Jr. and Brother. They later handled lumber and coal, and the partnership continued until General Bridges was appointed Warden of the States Prison by Governor Russell at which time Mr. James Burney Bridges took in Eugene F. Bridges, son of General Bridges, as a partner, and from that time until 1920 the business was carried on under the name of J. B. Bridges & Company. In 1920 he sold out this business and since then has handled coal only. Mr. Bridges was made deputy sheriff of Franklin County in 1893, and served as deputy and special sheriff for twenty-three years. In 1916, he was appointed by Governor McCall to fill out the unexpired term of Edson J. Pratt. The following fall he was elected to the office of high sheriff of Franklin County, to which office he has been repeatedly reelected. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bridges had the hearty endorsement of Chief Justice John A. Aiken, of Greenfield, and members of Franklin County bar, and of the great Corporation of deputy sheriffs with whom he has served. Sheriff Bridges is vice-president and director of the Produce National Bank of South Deerfield, of which he was one of the organizers; and he has been chairman of the Board of Water Commissioners for twelve years. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in his religious affiliation belongs to the Congregational Church.
James Burney Bridges married Ida M. Brooks, of Leyden, Massachusetts, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Adeline (Carpenter) Brooks.

Source: Biography and Genealogy of Western Massachusetts, 1639-1925

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