Greetings to the Marlboro County list: My ancestors there are: Bridges, Hargrove, Cottingham, Ammons, and Conner, for sure, and Beverly, almost certainly. I am new to the list, but will send this message in a form from which any part wanted can be posted on the Marlboro Web Page by the List Coordinator, with the remainder being omitted. My best regards, Ron Bullock, descended from the Bridges of Marlboro County. =========================== Posted by Ronald Bullock (RBUL1865@aol.com) Will of William Bridges The State of South Carolina In the name of God, Amen. I William Bridges of the District of Marlborough and State Aforesaid, do make, ordain and constitute this My Last Will and Testament, revoking all others heretofore made by me - In manner & form following, that is to say First. I give and devise to my beloved son Thomas Bridges, all the tract of land on which I now live (except one hundred and twenty acres to be laid off on the North West side of said tract) to him and his heirs forever. Second. I give and devise to my beloved son Alfred Bridges, one hundred & twenty acres of land to be laid off on the North West side of land on which I now reside, being the same excepted in the first clause, to him and his heirs forever. Third. I will and devise that all of my Negroes be sold after my death, on a credit of two equal annual installments, and the money arising from the sales of such Negroes be divided in the following manner, viz. To my daughter Harriet Covington, wife of John Covington, two hundred dollars; To my daughter Charlotte Beverly, wife of William Beverly, two hundred dollars; To my daughter Ann Cottingham, wife of James Cottingham, two hundred dollars; and one hundred dollars each to my sons James Bridges, William D. Bridges, and Wiley Bridges. Fourth. I will and devise that all the rest and residue of my estate of what kind soever be equally divided, share and share alike, among all my children, viz James Bridges, Ira Bridges, William D. Bridges, John Bridges, Wiley Bridges, Alfred Bridges, Thomas Bridges, Harriet Covington, Charlotte Beverly, and Ann Cottingham. Fifth. I nominate, constitute, and appoint John Bridges, John Covington & Ira Bridges my lawful executors of this My Last Will and Testament. Signed by: William Bridges Signed & Acknowledged, Published & Declared by William Bridges to be My Last Will & Testament in the presence of us & we sub- scribe the same as witness in the presence of each other this 7th Nov. A. D. 1845. William Munnerlyn Alexander Sutherland William R. Long Proven 6 Aug. 1849 --------------- Notes: The wife of William Bridges had died by 7 Nov. 1845. She was Charlotte Cottingham, daughter of Charles Cottingham, whose will made in 1817 has been posted on this Marlboro site. The given names in this will are of interest. The wife of Charles Cottingham was Nancy Ann Conner. She was almost certainly the daughter of Thomas and Ann Beverly Conner. One Bridges daughter was named Charlotte (for her mother), a son was named William D. Bridges (for his father), and Thomas and Ann Bridges were likely named for the grandparents of Charlotte Cottingham Bridges (Thomas and Ann Beverly Conner, parents of Nancy Ann Conner Cottingham). Son John Bridges was named for the father of William Bridges. The mother of William Bridges is unknown, but Harriet might not be a bad guess. Son-in-laws William Beverly and James Cottingham were no doubt related to the family of Charlotte Cottingham Bridges, but exactly how is unknown. Son-in-law John Covington is the person quoted at length as Col. John Covington in the book by Rev. J. A. W. Thomas on "A History of Marlboro County." According to this book, the mother of John Covington was Nancy Bridges (a sister of William Bridges), who had earlier been married to a Mr. Conner and had children named Ira and Nancy Conner. It could be that a grandparent of William Bridges had the name Ira, because William also had a son by this name. Rev. Thomas also related how Mary Bridges had first married John Stubbs and later became the fifth wife of John David. She was said to be 46 and Mr. David 62 when their daughter Eliza David was born, and we are told that she later married William D. Bridges (named above as a son of William Bridges). They can be found in the census of 1860 Marlboro, where it can be seen that Eliza Bridges was 54 and her husband 58. Some arithmetic reveals that the mother Mary Bridges of Eliza David Bridges was born in about 1764. Mary was the daughter of John Bridges, Sr, though, not of William, so Rev. Thomas was incorrect in one of the places where she was mentioned. However, it is wonderful to have such early recollections of Marlboro County, as information is given here that could be learned in no other way. From the information above, it can be seen that it was not unknown for cousins to marry in these families. That leads to some interest in the full name of William David Bridges, where David is not usually thought of as a possible surname, but considering his marriage to Eliza David does make one wonder about who the wife of John Bridges, Sr, might have been. John Bridges, son of William, was my gg-grandfather. He and brothers Ira, Alfred, and James had moved to Clark Co, AR, by 1860. John married Elizabeth Hargrove, daughter of Newell Hargrove and Levica Ammons, who was the daughter of Joshua Ammons. Rev. Thomas gave high praise to the service of Joshua Ammons in the Revolutionary War, going so far as to say that he carried General Marquis LaFayette to safety after he had been wounded. My grandmother (granddaughter of John Bridges and Elizabeth Hargrove) was named Levia for her great grandmother, Levica/Levia Ammons. Ira Bridges married Margaret Jane Stubbs, likely a distant cousin as the sister Rebecca of Thomas Conner married John Stubbs, Sr, and it was John Stubbs, Jr, to whom Mary Bridges had been married before she married John David. Margaret Jane Stubbs (born 26 June 1815) wrote in a fine hand in her family Bible in which she listed the names of her parents as David Stubbs (born 1 April 1785) and Ann McDaniel (born 23 Jan. 1793). She mentioned one son, Joel C. Bridges (born 14 May 1844), who smothered to death in cotton on 27 Oct. 1851. They were still in Marlboro Co. at that time, so it could be that they grew cotton and had a large tank for its storage. The Bridges families came to Arkansas with many items that were brought from Marlboro. One such item was a violin that was called "Old Charleston," so perhaps that is from where it came. Another item was a clock with all wooden works inside that had printed on the back: "Made by Seth Thomas." Perhaps that was a clock company or maybe it was made by a local person from the same family from which Rev. Thomas of the Marlboro history came. It is of some interest that William Munnerlyn witnessed the wills of: James Cook in 1826 (who was the father of Mary Ann Conner, wife of Wilson Conner, the son of Thomas Conner and Ann Beverly); Lewis Stubbs in 1844 (another son of John Stubbs, Sr, and Rebecca Conner, and the husband of the sister Elizabeth of William Bridges); and William Bridges in 1845. He must have had some connection to the Bridges, Conner, and Stubbs families. These wills and the Bible record of Mary Ann Cook Conner are all found on this Marlboro County site. It is from that Bible bought in Savanna, GA, on 8 Feb. 1804 for $4 that much of the information known about the Conner family comes. Would we not all wish that our ancestors had spent their money so well? The wife of Charles Cottingham was known to be Nancy Ann Conner, and they had a son named Conner Cottingham. A married daughter named in the 1817 will of Charles Cottingham was Nancy C. Cook, and the "C" in her name was very likely to have been Conner - not Cottingham, since none of the other married daughters had a middle initial. Also, in 1803, the eldest son of Charles Cottingham, Jonathan (who was married to the sister Sarah of William Bridges), gave a son the name Wilson Conner Cottingham. Wilson Conner was the son of Thomas Conner and Ann Beverly, and it seems very likely that he was given this name in honor of the only brother of his mother's left alive at this time. I go into all of this detail, because one can look on the Internet and find that others have claimed the daughter Nancy Ann of Thomas Conner and Ann Beverly as their ancestor, but this Nancy was married to Charles Cottingham. I have to smile as I write this, because of thinking about what our ancestors might think about their names floating around in cyberspace in the year of 2002 during a big tug of war to keep them from being snatched away by others. These families had earlier associations in Dobbs Co, NC, as on the tax rolls there in 1769 were John Bridges (father of William), and Thomas Conner. John Beverly (father of Ann Beverly Conner) was in Johnston Co. as early as 1745, with that being the parent county from which Dobbs was taken in 1758. It seems likely that this was the area in which Thomas Conner and Ann Beverly married.

Ronald- I am also researching BRIDGES in Marlboro County-Benjamin Bridges m. Rebecca Stubbs. I will be happy to share what I have-I think it has already been posted on this list, so I won't tire everyone with another posting-but will send to your email address. Probably our two BRIDGES were brothers. Mildred Brady Venitucci