Robert Rufus Bridgers

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Robert Rufus Bridgers (born November 28, 1819 in Tarboro , North Carolina , † December 10, 1888 in Columbia , South Carolina ) was an American lawyer , railroad clerk and Confederate politician . He belonged to the Democratic Party . The Colonel John Luther Bridger senior (1821-1884) was his brother.

Career

Robert Rufus Bridgers, eldest son of Elizabeth Kettlewells Routh and John Bridgers, was born on a farm in Edgecombe County about four years after the end of the British-American War . He attended Town Creek Academy , founded and directed by Baptist minister Elder Mark Bennett in 1834, but failed and was sent back to work on the farm at the age of 14.

Two years later he went to the Stony Hill Academy in Nash County . He graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina in 1841 and gave an address to university graduates on law . His student days were overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 . He remained a loyal friend and sponsor of the university throughout his life. When the Alumni Association was founded in 1843, he was one of the founding members. He was a frequent university donor and University Trustee from 1858 to 1868 from Edgecombe County and from 1879 to 1888 from New Hanover County .

Bridgers began practicing as a lawyer in Tarboro, but was soon active in business and politics. He represented Edgecombe County in the House of Representatives from North Carolina in 1844 and from 1856 to 1860 . His keen interest in agriculture led him to purchase extensive land in Edgecombe Counties, Halifax Counties and Florida . On December 11, 1849, he married Margaret Elizabeth Johnston (1832-1907), daughter of Emily Norfleet and Henry Johnston from Tarboro. The couple had nine children: Emily (1851–1940), Henry (1852–1872), Robert Rufus II (1854–1901), Preston Louis (1856–1902), Mark (1859–1875), Luther (1861–1883 ), George Jones (1868–1912), Mary (1871–1910) and Frank Walters (1874–1897). Margaret and Robert were Episcopalists and major donors to Calvary Church in Tarboro and St. James Church in Wilmington, New Hanover County. Bridgers co-founded the Bank of North Carolina branch in Tarboro and its first president in 1859 - a post he held until 1865 when the bank was forced to close. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Tarboro junction of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and became its president in 1865. In 1860 he took part as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston .

He was often called as a Colonel, but there are no military records pertaining to his service during the Civil War . His poor health precluded such service. However, his contribution to the Confederate States was substantial. Bridgers served in both the First and Second Confederate Congresses between 1862 and 1865 , where he represented North Carolina's second constituency. During that time he served on the Military Affairs Committee and Special Finance Committee. He also ran the iron-melting furnace in High Shoals ( Gaston County ), the second most important in the south for the production of nails and rolled.

The Bridgers family moved to Wilmington around 1871 as he became president of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad . The attention to detail and a thorough knowledge of civil engineering served him well. Under his leadership it came to a merger of railway lines under the name Atlantic Coast Line. The railway company with this name was not founded until several years after his death. He was an ardent advocate of standardizing time . In this regard, he was President of the Southern Railways Time Convention. Bridgers suffered a fatal stroke in Columbia, Richland County in 1888 while certifying railroad affairs before the South Carolina Legislature. Both he and his wife were buried in Oakdale Cemetery , Wilmington.

Honors

A portrait of Robert Rufus Bridger hangs in the Philanthropic Society of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and another in the White House of the Confederacy in Richmond ( Virginia ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Luther Bridgers, Sr. on the ancestry.com website
  2. ↑ Turner, Joseph Kelly: History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.forgottenbooks.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , London: Forgotten Books, 1920, pp. 366f.
  3. ↑ Margaret Elizabeth Johnston Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ Emily Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Henry Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  6. ^ Robert Rufus Bridgers II in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Preston Louis Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Mark Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Luther Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ George Jones Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Mary Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Frank Walters Bridgers in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Bridgers, Robert Rufus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer, railroad clerk, and Confederate politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 28, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Tarboro , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1888
Place of death Columbia , South Carolina