| John D. BRIDGES, proprietor of a livery
stable at Vienna, is a young man of much business ability and
enterprise, who bids fair to become one of the solid, substantial
business men of this, his native county. He is of the old pioneer stock
of Johnson County, and was bom on the old family homestead August
16,1865. His paternal grandfather was a prominent man in Johnson County
in his day. He was possessed of considerable wealth, which he acquired
by farming and in the mercantile business, having a store in Elvira
Township for the sale of general merchandise. He died on the farm that
was the birthplace of the father of our subject, and where his family
now resides.
John Bridges, the father of our
subject, was reared to the life of a farmer on the farm where he was
born, and early in life formed habits of industry. He obtained a fair
education in the schools of the time, and added to his knowledge by
observation and experience as he grew older. When about twenty-one
years of age he was married to Miss Caroline Gore, who is also a native
of this county. He had a good start in life, having had the wherewithal
to buy a farm four miles west of Vienna, which was unimproved when it
came into his possession. He lived on it four years and then exchanged
it for another in Elvira Township, which was a good place, but had been
run down. By careful cultivation and judicious improvement he brought
it back to its former condition, and then disposed of it at an advanced
price. His next purchase was known as the Russ Farm, and comprised one
hundred and sixty acres of land. He added to its improvements, and at
length traded it for the Weaver Farm, in the same township. He tilled
its one hundred and eighty acres of fertile soil with success until he
exchanged it for the Russ Farm, for which he had previously traded it.
He took up his residence on that, bought adjoining land, built
additional houses, making many substantial improvements, and had a fine
place of three hundred and twelve acres, which was his home until death
closed his career December 28,1883, and the township and county lost a
citizen of much enterprise and a practical, wide-awake farmer.
Mr. Bridges was twice married. His
first wife, from whom he was divorced, is living in Moscow, Union
County. By that marriage there were born three children, viz: Melinda
J., who is deceased; John D., our subject; and Ida, wife of B. M.
Adams, a farmer of Elvira Township. Mr. Bridges' second marriage, which
occurred November 10, 1868, was to Sarah Ragans, who was born in Elvira
Township October 21, 1854. Her paternal grandfather was one of the
pioneers of Union County, where he had a farm, but his last days were
spent in Johnson County. Her father, Joseph Ragans, was born in
Saratoga, Union County, and was brought up on a farm. In early manhood
he bought a tract of timbered land in this county, upon which he built
a log house, the same in which Mrs. Bridges was born, and worked hard
to reclaim a good farm. His last years were passed in Bloomfield
Township.
The mother of
Mrs. Bridges bore the maiden name of Mary McGinnis, and she was born in
one of the pioneer homes of Union County, a daughter of Rich and
Melvina McGinnis. Mrs. Bridges remained with her parents until her
marriage, and has always lived in her native county. She attended the
district schools in her girlhood, and the first that she went to was a
typical pioneer schoolhouse, with rough, home-made furniture—benches without backs, and no desks
in front. Her mother carded, spun and wove all the clothes worn by her
children, and was an adept at cooking before an open fireplace. Mrs.
Bridges has five children living: David G., Josephine, Laura, Narvisa
and Sudua Belle.
The subject of this sketch was the
second child born to his parents. He was a bright, energetic boy, and
managed to obtain a very good education in the common schools,
remaining with his father until his removal by death. He was then
nineteen years of age, and the next year he spent in Tennessee, working
on a farm. Returning to Johnson County, he hired out by the year on a
farm, and was found to be an active, steady trusty workman. During the
two years that he was so employed he saved some money, which was
encouraging, as he had but fifty cents to his name when he left home.
His next venture was to engage in buying cattle with an uncle and
driving them to market, and he made that business pay, too. He then
rented a farm, cultivating it for one year, and after that rented
another farm for a like length of time. He subsequently moved onto the
old homestead, repairing a log house to live in, and reaped a good
harvest at the end of the season. He continued to till the soil, and
also worked for his stepmother.
In 1890 our
subject went to Tennessee again, remained there a year and then
returned to the old place. He next rented a farm and engaged in
agricultural pursuits for a while, and finally rented a small place to
live on and engaged in hauling ties, etc. Not long after he bought a
farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Elvira Township. It was in a
bad condition, and he moved onto it and energetically set about the
work of repair and improvement. He so increased its value that he was
enabled to sell it at the end of seven months for $1,160, having paid
$1,000 for it and having secured a good crop from it besides. Renting a
large farm of three hundred aĞres, he raised a good crop of corn and
hay, and then came to Vienna to engage in the livery business. He has a
well-ordered and well-conducted establishment, supplied with a good
class of horses and turnouts, and, as he is reasonable in his
charges, fair and square in his dealings, is building up a good
business, and is worthy of a liberal patronage. He is a genial,
whole-souled young man, gentlemanly and accommodating, and stands well
with the people among whom his life has been principally passed. In
politics he is a loyal supporter of the Republican party. Our subject
and his estimable wife are the parents of two children, Bessie Ellen
and Emily Pearl.
|
