More on William Bridge

I'm addicted to genealogy! After I posted all the information I could find on William Bridge, I kept looking and found more. If you'll remember, I wondered if Jane Bridge, William's wife, died after giving birth to a fourth child. It turns out she did. The child's name was Louisa, and she died at birth or soon after. I have sent for her death certificate.

One day last week I stayed in my pajamas until 3:00 PM and looked at census records for Bolton. I started with 1841 and wrote down every Bridge family I could find. Then I tried to find those same families ten years later on the 1851 census. I was looking for relatives, specifically the parents, of William Bridge. I found some interesting things. Just down the street from William and Jane in 1841 was a woman named Mary Bridge, along with a son, Richard, Richard's wife Ann, and an older gentleman named Samuel Marsh. I got to wondering if Mary could be the widow of William's father, Richard, since she lived so close and had a son by that name. Then I found a christening record for William Bridge with the birthdate of April 1813, which matches the death certificate of William Bridge that I ordered, listing him as 57 years old at his death in early 1871. That christening record lists his parents as Richard and Mary Bridge. So I think I've found William's parents. I'll update this blog when I receive the death certificates for William, Richard, and Mary Bridge, which I have ordered.

Samuel Marsh, the lodger living with Mary Bridge and son Richard, confused me for a while, but later I found a marriage record (1700-something) for an Ann Bridge and Samuel Marsh. I believe Samuel was a widower in 1841 living with his sister-in-law, who had also been widowed.

I also found a Joseph Bridge, age 70 in 1841, who could be a brother to Richard Bridge. His family lived very near Mary Bridge and William Bridge, and the name Joseph is very prominent in the family history. When I figure out all the pieces to the puzzle, I'll let you all know.