Joseph Bridger

Joseph Bridger I
Member of the Virginia Governor's Council
In office
1673-1686
Member of the House of Burgesses for Isle of Wight County, Colony of Virginia
In office
1662-1670
Preceded byRobert Pitt
Succeeded byposition vacant
In office
1658
Preceded byNicholas Smith
Succeeded byRobert Pitt
Personal details
Bornc. February 1632
Woodmancote Manor, Dursley Parish, Gloucestershire, England
DiedApril 15, 1686
White Marsh Plantation, Isle of Wight County Colony of Virginia
Resting placeSt. Luke's Church, Smithfield, Isle of Wight County
SpouseHester Pitt
Children7 including sons Samuel, William and Joseph II (disinherited)
Parent(s)Samuel and Mary Bridger
Occupationmilitary officer, merchant, planter, politician

Joseph Bridger (baptized February 28, 1632– April 15, 1686) emigrated to the Virginia colony from England where he became wealthy and known for supporting Governor William Berkeley and his successors. As would his namesake grandson and several other descendants, Bridger served in the House of Burgesses representing Isle of Wight County. Bridger also served in the legislature's upper house, the Virginia Governor's Council, and led troops against the rebels during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 as well as in 1682, when he helped suppress the tobacco cutters (although he had sympathetized with a similar solution nearly two decades earlier).[1][2][3]

  1. ^ Morgan, Timothy E, ed. (2001). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. II. Richmond: Library of Virginia. p. 224-226. ISBN 0-88490-199-8.
  2. ^ McCartney, Martha W. (2012). Jamestown people to 1800 : landowners, public officials, minorities, and native leaders. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-8063-1872-1. OCLC 812189309.
  3. ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. I. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 131-132.