_Levi Bradley BRIDGHAM _+
| (1814 - 1887) m 1837
_Levi BRIDGHAM ___________|
| (1841 - 1895) m 1877 |
| |_Lucinda KILTON ________
| (1814 - 1870) m 1837
_John Merrill BRIDGHAM _|
| (1882 - 1967) m 1910 |
| | ________________________
| | |
| |_Fannie Morrill BRADBURY _|
| (1856 - 1922) m 1877 |
| |________________________
|
|
|--John Francis BRIDGHAM
| (1915 - 1984)
| ________________________
| |
| __________________________|
| | |
| | |________________________
| |
|_Rella Miriam LOW ______|
(1884 - 1965) m 1910 |
| ________________________
| |
|__________________________|
|
|________________________
[NI0005]
Paul E. Bridgham writes about his brother:
"John met his 'intended' on the college campus, mistook her for an incoming freshman, when in fact she was newly arrived to become an instructor in the Art department. She was Josephine Roberts. They were married in 1939.
"John was his father's son. He took eight years of Latin - four H.S. and four college from father John (the rest of us took the required four H.S. years - required by Dad). And of course he spent 36 years, teaching H.S. Latin, all but one of which were at Benton Harbor H.S., in Michigan. Dad loved tennis (and volley ball) and was pretty good at the former. We all learned under his tutelage, with John F. becoming the best at it. He went on to win his Honor G. in tennis. It was inevitable that he would become coach of the H.S. tennis team, which won the Michigan State Championship one year. His athletic ability directed itself also into some demanding gymnastic routines, in tandem with Morris E. "Many" Brown, '36. These routines were presented as half-time features during quite a few basketball games.
"John also played very fine flute, as well as drums (better for use in a band!) This musical inheritance led him not only into becoming the best flute teacher in the area, but also, he was asked to become director of a large choir in the beautiful First Congregational Church of Benton Harbor. I sang with him on special occasions, and know how hard he work at that. He attracted new members, enlarging the choir to 35 men and women, and he introduced to them the best in choir music, building an inadequate music library into a very good one.
"He introduced to them, and rehearsed them to quite professional performances of the finest Requiems, Masses, and Sacred Oratorios. A fine record was made from the Brahms Requiem, with some of the better Christmas Carols and anthems on the second side. John was his father's son."