Eliza Ann (Fales) Bridgham (1813 - 1895)

Born 4 Oct 1813 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Willard Bridgham — married 3 Oct 1839 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 28 Aug 1895 at age 81 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Joel Bridgham [send private message]

Biography

Eliza Ann Fales was born on October 14, 1813, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Haliburton) Fales.

Samuel W. Bridgham, Jr. of New York and Eliza Ann Fales were married at King’s Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts on October 9, 1839. Samuel Bridgham and Eliza Ann Fales were second cousins.

After living for a few years at 189 Macdougal in New York City, they moved to 24 Waverley Place, where they lived until his death in 1870, and later, her death in 1895.

Samuel and Eliza were both far ahead of their times in social reform. The New York Times carried a long, two-and-a-half column article titled “Ovation to Black Troops.” A banner was prepared by the New-York Union League Club and presented to Col. Nelson B. Bartram, commander of the Twentieth Regiment United States Colored Troops. Charles King, LL.D., read this address,

Soldiers: We, the mothers, wives, and sisters of the members of the New-York Union League Club, of whose liberality and intelligent patriotism, and under whose direct auspices, you have been organized into a body of national troops for the defence of the Union, earnestly sympathizing in the great cause of American free nationality, and desirous of testifying, by some public memorial, our profound sense of the sacred object and the holy cause, in behalf of which you have enlisted, have prepared for you this banner, at once the emblem of freedom and of faith, and the symbol of woman’s best wishes and prayers for our common country, and especially for your devotion thereto.

When you look at this flag and rush to battle, or stand at guard beneath its sublime motto; “God And Liberty!” remember that it is also an emblem of love and honor from the daughters of this great Metropolis to her brave champions in the field, and that they will anxiously watch your career, glorying in your heroism, ministering to you when wounded and ill, and honoring your martyrdom with benedictions and with tears.

[signed by nearly 200 members of the Union League Club, including Mrs. S. W. Bridgham]^[1]

Samuel Bridgham died of heart disease on December 2, 1870, in New York City. Samuel Bridgham, presumably his son, was made administrator of his estate on December 30, 1870, book number 96-149-145.

Eliza Bridgham continued to live at 24 Waverley Place in New York City until her death.

The 1880 census presents a problem. “Mrs. Bridgham,” age 45 and widowed, was head of household at 24 Waverly Place (East) in New York City. This was the property owned by the husband of Eliza Ann (Fales) Bridgham. However, Eliza Ann was 67 in 1880, not 45. Two more Bridghams are listed, their names mixed among those of the four servants. They are 30-year-old H. Bridgham, unmarried, with no occupation, and 33-year-old Saml. Bridgham, a lawyer, and married (but no wife is listed). Both were born in Ireland (as were all of the servants)! Eliza had a son Samuel, who would have been 38, not 33, and he was an engineer, not a lawyer, and was married in 1869. H. Bridgham could be Eliza’s son Henry Bridgham, born about 1848, and disappeared, presumed died young. Or it could be her son William Haliburton Bridgham, who would have been 31, and attended law school, but never graduated, and was not married until 1906. It looks like the census enumerator took the information from a servant who guessed at the information.

She was secretary and later president of the Samaritan Home for the Aged in New York City for some years and was treasurer of the Society for the Employment & Relief of the Poor in 1870.

Eliza Bridgham and her son Joseph were avid butterfly collectors. They amassed a rather famous collection that was well known in lepidoptera circles. A Canadian journal in 1875 reports,

In the Department of Queensland there was a large case, filled chiefly with Lepidoptera in a fine state of preservation, embracing many very beautiful and strange looking things; almost the only familiar objects among them were specimens of Danais archippus. In this instance, also, none of the specimens were named, which detracted greatly from the interest which should otherwise have attached to them. We learned that this collection had been sold for $150 to Mrs. Bridgham, of New York, a lady who, we believe, takes a deep interest in Entomology and who has a very large and handsome collection of Lepidoptera.^[2]

Her butterfly collection was mentioned in an 1885 issue of “Popular Science,”

I should have mentioned the ladies first, but it is not out of politeness that the conscientious historian records the services to science of Mrs. Eliza Bridgham, of New York; ... Mrs. Bridgham’s extensive collection, commenced under the eye of Agassiz himself, is a model of useful collection for scientific purposes. The species are not represented by single individuals, but the varieties of each species, and a sufficient number of duplicates to allow of the study of the structure and changes, are all carefully placed and labeled. Years of patient and careful toil have their reward in the most interesting local collections, from a scientific stand-point, I have yet seen.^[3]

Eliza (Fales) Bridgham died at East Providence on August 28, 1895 at the age of 84, and is buried at the North Burial Ground in Providence. Her gravestone is badly deteriorated and parts of it are impossible to read. After her death, her will was reported in “New York Herald,”

Wills and Bequests.

The Will of Mrs. Eliza A. Bridgham

The will of Mrs. Eliza Ann Bridgham, who died on August 28 last at East Providence, R. I., was filed for probate yesterday in the office of the Surrogate. The value of her estate is place at $100,000. Mrs. Bridgham executed her will on February 13, 1889, and appoints her two sons, Samuel W. and William H. Bridgham, executors. She leaves all her estate to these two sons and her son Joseph, the share of the latter being held in trust for him, and upon his death it is to go to his children.^[4]

Two letters of condolence to her sons provide insight into her standing,

Look upon your mother’s life and see what a useful, active life it always was. Born of an old and respected New England family, well educated, well read, a good musician with cultivated tastes, which never forsook her, even to the last day of her life--pure in thought and action, she always had an elevating effect upon those around her, and took part eagerly in every good work that presented itself. She had a strong personality which through life made for her firm and lasting friendships. Think of her work in her younger days in the Employment Society for the relief of poor sewing women. Then remember the untiring and active way she worked for the soldiers during the Civil War, giving up herself, heart and soul, to the cause of the Union, and laboring continually with her husband in the Women’s Central Relief Association, the New York Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission. Even during her odd minutes of leisure at home, with all her various duties to her household and children she found time to knit over two hundred pairs of socks for the troops. Her entomological collections alone, well known at the time both in this country and in Europe, would have been a life work for some people, and yet, with all these various employments, she found time to help originate and be one of the founders of the New York Samaritan Home for the Aged. In this charity she always took a lively interest and regularly for years visited the Home weekly until age forced her to withdraw. With all these different interests and pursuits what a charming home she made for herself and husband and children, surrounding them continually with books and music, and throwing them in contact with refined, cultivated and literary companions. Her hospitable home and delightful companionship will long be remembered.

Your mother’s death was almost idyllic. Surrounded by her devoted children and her old servants, at the quiet old homestead, which she loved so dearly, a home that had been in the Bridgham family for nearly two hundred years--the quaintest, loveliest spot that could be imagined, where nothing was ever changed or altered, yet always kept up in perfect order, where it has always been a joy to her to spend her summers midst the old family heirlooms that have come down to her from generation after generation, and where every room and article of furniture has its own history--surrounded by flowers, many of which, in past years, she had herself transplanted from her father’s home in Boston. What greater blessing would she have asked than to die, when the time came, as she did, a perfectly peaceful, painless death, amidst such surroundings? Everything seemed to have taken place just as she would have desired. The short and simple, yet most impressive, funeral service which was held in the old house before she was carried out on that most perfect morning beneath the flowering shrubs, in the full bloom of their early autumn foliage, and the old trees, planted by her forefathers, trees which had always been her pride and delight; followed by her children and a few close friends, and her faithful servants who had grown old in her service, to be laid at rest beside her husband in the North Burying Ground amid those whom she had loved best in life.

Even as late as 1967, her collection was still making news.

Garden Club Hears Hawkes

Jamestown Garden Club attended a lecture by Raymond Hawkes, director of the R. I. Audubon Society at the headquarters in Providence this week.

His topic was the butterfly collection of Mrs. Pickett M. Greig’s great-grandmother Mrs. Samuel Bridgham, and of her son Joseph Bridgham, which was given to the society. The species were viewed by the members, which were collected from all parts of the world, and is rated the second-largest butterfly collection in the United States.^[5]

Facts

NAME
Eliza Ann Fales ^[6]
Eliza Ann ^[7]
Elizabeth Fales ^{[8] [9]}

SEX
Female

BIRTH
ABT 1808; Massachusetts, United States ^[10]
4 OCT 1813; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States ^{[11] [12] [13]}
ABT 1816; Massachusetts, United States ^[9]
ABT 1820; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States ^[8]

BAPTISM
31 OCT 1813; King's Chapel, Boston, Massachusetts, United States ^[14]

DEATH
1894; East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; At the old Bridgham Farm ^[13]
28 AUG 1895; East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States ^{[11] [12] [15]}

BURIAL
North Burial Ground, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States ^{[12] [7]}

RESIDENCE
1850; New York, New York, United States ^[10]
1860; New York, New York, United States ^[8]
1870; New York, New York, United States ^[9]
1888; East Providence Centre, East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; with her son, Joseph ^[16]

FAMILY
Husband
Samuel Willard Bridgham
Wife
Eliza Ann Fales
Marriage
3 OCT 1839; King's Chapel, Boston, Massachusetts, United States ^{[14] [13] [17] [11] [6]}

Minister
Rev. Francis W. P. Greenwood ^[17]

NOTES

Daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Haliburton) Fales.

New York City Directory, www.footnote.com:

Eliza A B. 1872, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC, p. 135. (footnote)

Eliza A B. 1873, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC, p. 139.(footnote)

Eliza A B. 1876, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC, p. 148.(footnote)

Eliza A B. 1877, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC, p. 151.(footnote)

Eliza A B.(wid. Samuel W) 1878, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 155

Eliza A B.(wid. Samuel W) 1880, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 167

Eliza A B.(wid. Samuel W) 1882, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 180

Eliza A B.(wid. Samuel W) 1883, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 182

Eliza B. 1886, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 210.(footnote)

Eliza B. 1887, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 218.(footnote)

Eliza B. 1888, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 218.(footnote)

Eliza B. 1889, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 222.(footnote)

Eliza B.(wid. Samuel W) 1890, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 218

Eliza B.(wid. Samuel W) 1891, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 150

Eliza B. 1892, wid. Sam'l W, h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 157.(footnote)

Eliza B. 1893, wid. Samuel W., h 24 Waverley pl., NYC. p. 162.(footnote)

Eliza B.(wid. Samuel W) 1894, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 160

Eliza M B.(wid. Sam'l W) 1895, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 160

Eliza M B.(wid. Sam'l W) 1896, h 24 Waverley pl, p. 165

Samaritan Home for the Aged, 414 W. 22d. Mrs Eliza Bridgham, Pres; ... p. 15

Samaritan Home for the Aged, 1868, 259 W. 37th, ... Mrs. S. W. Bridgham, Sec; ...p. 7. (footnote)

Samaritan Home for the Aged, 1883, 414 W. 22d. Mrs. Eliza Bridgham, Pres.; Mrs. Frank P. Kinnicutt, Sec.; Mrs. J. Sykes, Matron, R. B. Dean, Supt. p. 15, (footnote)

Samaritan Home for the Aged, 1885, 414 W. 22d. Mrs. Eliza Bridgham, Pres.; Mrs. Francis P. Kinnicutt, Sec.; Mrs. J. Sykes, Matron. p. 15, (footnote)

Soc. for the Employment & Relief of the Poor, 1870, 143 E. 13th:---Caroline Lane, Pres.; Mrs. S. W. Bridgham, Treas. p. 44.(footnote)

East Providence RI city directory (ancestry.com),

Eliza A B 1894, widow, house East Providence Centre, p. 21.

From "New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, Series 2", p. 958:

She was born in Boston, October 4, 1813, fourth child of Samuel Fales, of Boston, and his wife, Abigail (Haliburton) Fales, of Windsor, Nova Scotia. Samuel Fales, who married Abigail Haliburton on August 23, 1801, was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Bradford) Fales, who were married in 1773, the latter being a direct descendant in the fifth generation from Governor William Bradford, of the "Mayflower" company. Abigail (Haliburton) Fales' line of ancestry runs back through the English and Scotch lines of the Haliburton blood, as far as A. D. 1207. Abigail Haliburton's grandmother, of four generations before her own grandmother, was the celebrated "Barbara Bruce," of about the year 1600; from there the blood runs back through David Haliburton, of Dryburgh Abbey in Scotland, and William Haliburton, lord of Mertoun, whose father was Sir Walter Haliburton, who married Isabella Stewart (Stuart?), daughter of Robert, duke of Albany, regent; then it continues back through the Haliburtons of Dirleton (at about A. D. 1400) to 1207.

This Haliburton pedigree and family tree was made out in England at the Heraldry Office, and a copy was brought over here and given by Tom Haliburton, author of "Sam Slick," to his cousin, Abigail (Haliburton) Fales, in Boston, he telling her that all she had to do was to place her name under her father's, William Haliburton's, and she would have the whole family genealogy as it was in Europe. The whole subject was thoroughly investigated by Sir Walter Scott, whose grandmother was Barbara Haliburton. The title of Haliburton was forfeited to the crown of England.

From "An Illustrated Essay on the Noctuidæ of North America; With 'A Colony of Butterflies'," by Augustus Radcliffe Grote, 2009, p. 22,

... From Rhode Island the collections of my friend of long standing, Mrs. S.W. Bridgham, have allowed me to examine most of the species occurring near the seaboard of the Eastern States. No collection that I have seen has been brought together with more care; and by the gathering of many specimens of a species, Mrs. Bridgham has given me important data for studying variation in this group. ...

p. 49,

3. Harrisimemma Trisignats.

This handsome Moth is found in many localities in the Eastern and Middle States. The curious larva has been reared by my kind friend Mrs. Bridgham at their country residence, Seekonk, Rhode Island. The figure is taken from a specimen presented to me by Mrs. Bridgham. ...

On Oct. 15, 1845, Georgianna Haliburton (Eliza's sister) wrote a letter to her uncle, Samuel Fales, (http://www.fales.org/ffan/FFANv10i1.pdf)

My Dear Uncle.

I hasten to give you the earliest intelligence as I promised, about half an hour ago our dear Eliza presented us with a fine Boy [Joseph Bridgham]. They are both at this moment considered as doing well tho' I will write a few lines on this tomorrow morning. The dear little fellow has a fine pair of lungs tho' of course I have not yet seen him. What a comfort it is to have him safe into the world and Eliza over her hours of trial.. She began to complain about 3 o'clock A. M. and has gone on slowly all day.

From "A Record of the Metropolitan Fair in Aid of the United States Sanitary Commission, Held at New York in April 1864," by J. S. F., 2009, p. 251,

Leather, Boots and Shoes, Canes and Umbrellas.

... Mrs. Samuel Bridgham, Mrs. H. Fales, ...

From "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. [Correspondence, orders, reports, and returns of the Union authorities from January 1, 1864 to April 30, 1865; Series 3, Vol. 4]," Jan. 1, 1900, pp. 10,11, (www.GenealogyBank.com), this is an attachment to a letter from George Bliss, Jr. to Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Jan. 4, 1864,

You are respectfully invited to attend a meeting of ladies at the Union League Club House on Tuesday, January 5, at 2 p. m., for the purpose of appointing a committee to procure a stand of colors for presentation to the Twentieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, which regiment is raised by special authority of the War Department, under the patronage of our friends of the Union League Club: ...Mrs. Samuel Bridgham, ...

[Mrs. Bridgham's was one of 14 names listed.]

From "The New York Times," New York, New York, Jan. 4, 1876,

Charity For The Aged.

The eighth annual report of the Samaritan Home for the Aged presents some interesting facts relative to the operations of that institution during the past year. ...

... Subjoined is a list of its officers: ... Secretary, Mrs. Bridgham; ...

From "The New York Times," Aug. 31, 1895,

Died.

Bridgham -- At East Providence Centre, R. I., Wednesday, Aug. 28, Eliza A. Bridgham, in the 82nd year of her age.

Funeral private.

From the "New-York Herald-Tribune," Sept. 14, 1895, p. 7,

The Sill of Mrs. E. A. Bridgham.

An Estate of $100,000 Bequeathed to Three Sons.

Mrs. Eliza Ann Bridgham, who died at a son's home in East Providence, R. I., left an estate of about $100,000 in personal property. By her will, which was filed in the Surrogate's Office yesterday, one-third of the estate is given to her son Samuel W. Bridgham, of No. 49 West Twenty-third-st., one-third to her son William H. Bridgham, of No. 24 Waverly Place, and the other third to the sons Samuel and William in trust for the remaining son, Joseph Bridgham, of East Providence. On the death of Joseph Bridgham his third of the estate is to be divided among his children. The will was made in February, 1889, and the witnesses were members of the firm of Lee & Lee, by whom the will was filed yesterday.

Her tombstone is nearly illegible. It is engraved "w/o Samuel; m/o Joseph & Samuel W."

She wrote her Last Will and Testament on Feb. 13, 1889. It was recorded in Rhode Island on January 10, 1898, nearly two and a half years after Eliza's death:

Estate of Eliza Ann Bridgham

I, Eliza Ann Bridgham, of the City, County and State of New York being of sound, disposing mind, mind, [sic] and understanding do make, publish, and declare my last Will and testament as follows:

First I give, devise, and bequeath one third part of all my estate, both real and personal to my son Samuel W. Bridgham of said City of New York to have, and to hold to him his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns forever.

Second, I give, devise, and bequeath, one third part of all my estate both real and personal to my son, William Haliburton Bridgham of said City of New York, to have, and to hold to him, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns forever.

Third, I give, devise, and bequeath, one third part of all my estate both real and personal to my said sons, Samuel W. Bridgham, and William Haliburton Bridgham their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns to have and to hold in trust nevertheless to receive the rents, income, dividends and profits of the same, and apply them to the use of my son Joseph Bridgham, during his natural life. On, the death, of said Joseph Bridgham, I give, devise and bequeath said one third part of my estate to his children to have and to hold to them their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns forever, issue of a deceased child to take by representation, the share the parent would have taken if living. In case my said son Joseph should leave no issue living at the time of his decease, I give, devise, and bequeath said one third part of my estate to my said sons Samuel W. Bridgham and William Haliburton Bridgham, to have and to hold to them, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns forever; issue of either of them, that may be deceased to take by representation, the share, the parent would have taken if living.

Fourth. If either of said Trustees should die, I authorize, and empower the surviving trustee with the assent in writing of my son Joseph Bridgham, to appoint another trustee if both trustees should die, I authorize and empower my son Joseph Bridgham by an instrument in writing to nominate and appoint one or two trustees. Trustees appointed in accordance with this fourth clause of my will are to have all the power and authority of the original trustees.

Fifth. I authorize and empower said trustees to retain any property I may leave in the same securities and investments as at the time of my decease; and I authorize and empower said trustees with the assent in writing of said Joseph Bridgham to invest the whole or any part of said trust estate in such property, stocks, bonds, or other securities, as they may see fit, although the same may be investments that trustees are not authorized by law to make.

Sixth. I authorize, and empower the Executors of this my will to sell the whole, or, any part of my real estate, at public, or private sale, on such terms as to them shall seem meet and to execute sufficient deeds or the same and I authorize said trustees to sell in like manner any real estate that may at any time form part of the trust estate in their hands.

Seventh. It is my intent in this will to dispose of all property of which I am seized or possessed or concerning which I have an power of appointment.

Eighth. I nominate constitute and appoint my sons Samuel W. Bridgham and William Haliburton Bridgham to be the executors of this, my will.

In Witness where I have hereunto set my hand and seal this thirteenth day of February in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty nine.

Sources

1. ↑ The New York Times, March 6, 1864, p. 8.
2. ↑ "The Canadian Entomologist, Vol. VII", edited by M. Saunders, London, 1875, p. 213.
3. ↑ "The Popular Science Monthly," 1885, p. 387.
4. ↑ New York Herald (New York, New York), Sept. 14, 1895, p. 6.
5. ↑ "Newport Daily News," Newport, Rhode Island, Oct. 6, 1967.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Source: Title: "Boston evening Transcript," Boston, Massachusetts , Page: Saturday, Oct 05, 1839, Page: 2 , Repository name: www.GenealogyBank.com
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Source: Title: FindaGrave , Page: Find A Grave: Memorial #13390490
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Source: Title: "1860 Census" , Page: New York, New York City ward 15 district 1, Roll M653_805, p. 639 , Repository name: www.ancestry.com
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Source: Title: "1870 Census" , Page: New York, New York City ward 15 district 7, Roll M593_994, p. 577 , Repository name: www.ancestry.com
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Source: Title: "1850 Census" , Page: New York, New York City Ward 15, Roll M432_552, p. 253 , Repository name: www.ancestry.com
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Source: Title: "Descendants of Ensign William Hallyburton" , Publication: Name: Name: www.geopages.com;;
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} Source: Title: "The Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project Index"
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Source: Title: "New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: Series 2" , Page: p. 958 , Author: William Richard Cutter , Publication: Name: Name: Clearfield Company;;
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Source: Title: "The Fales Family of Bristol, Rhode Island" , Author: DeCoursey Fales , Publication: Name: Name: 1919;; , Call number: R929.2 F18 , Repository name: www.familytreemaker.com
15. ↑ Source: Title: FindaGrave , Page: Find A Grave: Memorial #13390490
16. ↑ Source: Title: "NeHGS City Directories, 1890 Census Substitute" , Page: Rhode Island, East Providence, 1888, p. 188 , Repository name: www.ancestry.com
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Source: Title: "New England"