Herbert Bridges
Herbert Ottoway Bridges was born on April 4, 1900 in the Maple Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the youngest child of Ghent Alford (Alfred) Bridges and Nettie Linden Cunningham Bridges. His father was a teacher who was the longest serving active teacher in the county at the time of his death. His father also managed a farm and was a genealogist who recorded the first history of the Thomas and Bridges family. His mother, Nettie, was a descendant of William Cunningham and Nancy Carr Cunningham, who were the original Cunningham settlers in Trigg County in 1818.
Herbert had three siblings, Alvin Ghent Bridges, who was born in 1892 and married Bertha Major; Ivy Lorene Bridges, born in 1894 and married John Hughes and Peyton Thomas Bridges, born in 1898 and married Ida Light.
Herbert grew up on Beechy Fork Creek along with his siblings in the Maple Grove community and attended the one–room Maple Grove School where his father was the teacher. After reaching the eighth grade, Herbert left school and worked as a farm laborer on his father’s farm.
On June 18, 1929, he married Annie Porthena Francis, who was born on January 7, 1908 in Trigg County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Eura Filmore Francis and Daisy Lancaster Francis. Eura was a grandson of Simco Bridges, the third child of William Bridges.
Herbert left the farm and worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Gilbertsville, Kentucky where he trained as a carpenter. He and Annie moved to Paducah in 1940 where he continued to work as a carpenter. He became actively involved in the carpenters’ union and was known as a respected and accomplished carpenter.
One of Herbert’s favorite jobs as a carpenter was in 1961 when Hollywood came to Paducah to film the movie, “How the West Was Won.” Herbert worked with the Hollywood crew helping to build the numerous sets for the movie. He was especially proud of his work on a replica of a 1800s homesteader’s home built near the Cumberland River which met the specifications of the original home. He also enjoyed working on building large “rocks” made from wood but painted to look like real rocks and used in the cave scenes in the movie.
Herbert and Annie were the parents of one child, a daughter, Laverne Bridges, born in 1933 and married Richard Paul Hess.
Herbert and Annie lived in Paducah for most of their lives. Herbert died on October 23, 1972 in Paducah at the age of 72. He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky. Annie died on June 15, 1993 in a nursing home in Indianapolis, Indiana at the age of 85. She was buried in the East End Cemetery next to her husband.
Annie Francis Bridges
Herbert and his father Ghent after a fishing trip
Herbert and Annie tombstone
LINEAGE: (Herbert Ottoway Bridges was the son of Ghent Alford (Alfred) and Nettie Cunningham Bridges and the grandson of Cullen Thomas and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges. Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)
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