My History Sheet of William and Harriet Bridges

 I recorded this information in 2016 with the information that I had then. It has grown substantially since then with the use of DNA. 

 History Sheet for Harriet Ann Springfield

(Those who knew her well called her Hattie.)

 
Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long
Date: March 24, 2013 (updated March 2016)
 
Sources: 
http://www.thegagenweb.com/gawhitfield/bios/springfield/springfield.htm
Charles C Chaney cites the following sources
1. Census. 1860. Murray. GA, Page 41. Dwelling: 275. Family: 271.
2. Allen, Johnnie F. Informant.
3. Census. 1850. Murray. GA, Page 265. Dwelling: 1626. Family: 1626.
4. Vital Records Index-North America, Marriage record of W. L. Bridges & H. A. Springfield.     Family History Library Number 339861. The date is recorded as 2 January 1870.
5. Census. 1860. Murray. GA, Page 41. Dwelling: 275. Family: 271.
6. Census. 1870. Whitfield County, Georgia, Page 160. Dwelling: 375. Family: 371.
7. Whitfield-Murray Counties, GA, Marriage Books, Whitfield County Marriages, Book B (1), shows her name as W. A. Springfield. Z. D. Clark, minister. The date is recorded as 30 Dec 1869.
8. Jr Edward E. Van Schick, SOME GEORGIA COUNTY RECORDS; Greenville, SC: Southern
      Historical Press, Inc, 1997, Volume 6.
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=llh&id=I17471
Website by Linda L Harris
 
I had already found Harriet Springfield and William Lewis Bridges in the Censuses.  These two websites confirmed my research.
 
It is interesting that there is a book about the Springfields. 
Joyce Howard Ellis and Ann Pollard, SPRINGFIELD FAMILY 1739-2001. Captain Thomas Springfield, his wife, Laodicea "Dicey" Langston including His Parents and Siblings And Their Descendants (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 2001), volume two.
 
Harriet Ann Springfield was born on 9 Oct 1845 in Murray County, Georgia, to Aaron Springfield and Emaline Rollins Springfield.  Her father, Aaron, died when she was 2 years old so her mother moved back to her parent’s home, also in Murray Co, where they are found in the 1850 census.  There were 3 daughters and Harriet was the middle daughter.  So, in 1850 Harriet, her mother, and her sisters, were living with grandparents, George and Elizabeth Rollins. 
 
Her mother, Emaline, remarried a man named Ransom Johnson who had served as a private in the 34^th Regiment of the Georgia infantry Company A in the Civil War.  Harriet was found in 1860 at the age of 15 living with her mother, Emaline, and Ransom Johnson in the Militia District 972 in Murray Co, Georgia, in the Rock Creek area.  Harriet’s oldest sister had moved away so Harriet is the oldest child, followed by her blood sister, Dorcas Elizabeth, and now there were 4 step-siblings as well.  This was a blended family. Harriet was listed as Harriet Johnson.
 
Harriet married William Lewis Bridges when she was 24 years old on 30 Dec 1869 in Whitfield Co., GA.  Prior to their marriage, William had served in the Georgia infantry so in the 1870 census they were living in the Militia District 872 in Whitfield Co. GA.  The first of 12 children was born in 1871, the last in 1890.  Unfortunately, there was a daughter born in 1872 who lived only a year and a son born in 1873 who died when he was 2 months old.  My descendent, Mattie Bell, was the 6^th child born, but due to the deaths of 2 children, she was the 4^th child listed in the 1870 census.   Mattie’s older brother Hugh had already married Nancy Jane “Janey” Jones and they were living nearby. 
 
In 1880, Harriet and William were living on a farm in Dalton, Whitfield Co., Ga, with 5 young children. Also living with them was a 13-year-old black male name Caasar Rodgers.  The census has him listed as a servant/laborer who can not read or write.
 
By 1900, Harriet and William had moved to Colin Co Texas and still had 6 children living with them, ranging in ages from 24 to 10.   They were living on a farm that was rented and all of the children were listed as farm laborers and indicated that their 24 year old daughter Mary had not been employed in 10 months.  My Mattie Bell had married Martin Harmon Jones and they were renting the farm next to Harriet and William. 
 
Harriet and William had moved to Jones Co Texas by 1910.  They only had their youngest daughter, Lucy age 19, living with them.  Their son George Ezra and his wife Minnie Ola were living on a nearby rented farm.  It appears that William was paying a mortgage to own his farm.  Other children living in Jones Co were Mary Daisy Dwiggins, James Henry Bridges, Bessie May Sims and Carrie Fay Lyles.  It appears that many of them settled in and around Jones and Collin counties, with a few moving eventually to Foard and Taylor counties.
 
The very next year, Harriet died on 25 Jan 1911 at age 65 and William died the following month on 14 Feb 1911 at age 68.  They are both buried in the Stith Cemetery in Jones Co Texas. Their gravestone is quite large.  Below their names is engraved: "They died as they lived trusting God."