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From: <>
Subject: [BOZEMAN-L] The Wild West
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 02:30:34 EDT

Hi, Emma, and thanks for the nice note copied below, which I feel sure that
you would not mind if I copied, added to a bit, and sent out to the Bozeman
group, as it is rather interesting to me. Actually, I did not know that John
M. Bozeman had opened a trail through Wyoming's Powder River Basin in 1862 and
was killed by Indians. Indeed, I would like to hear more about that. I had
written you about my Bridges relatives in Clark Co., AR, as you will recall,
and you wrote me the note below in response. I don't believe that my Bridges
line has any connection to mountainman Jim Bridger whom you mention, but I
will tell you of his association with a Bullock whom I have thought might be
related to my line.
---------------

Ron, in reading some more of my old info, I came upon a little bit about John
M. Bozeman, who as you probably know, opened a trail in 1862 from Colorado to
Monatana through Wyoming's Powder River Basin It happened to be the hunting
ground for the Sioux, Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians and probably was
instrumental in his being killed by Indians.
What I'm leading up to here is that you mentioned some Bridges in your line.
Any possibility they could have been Bridger ?? There was a mountain man
named Jim Bridger (March 17 1804-d 1880) who supposedly discovered the Great
Salt Lake.
He was, according to legend, married to three different Indian women, one at a
time. The Bridger Trail, which was longer but safer than the Bozeman trail,
was opened in 1864, by Jim Bridger. There is more info here if you should find
that there were some BRIDGERS in your Bridges. However, there were no children
attributed to him. Just a thought. Best regards, Emma
------------------
Emma, it is interesting that you should mention Jim Bridger, as I believe
that he might go back to the prominent Bridger family of Isle of Wight. The
background on Jim Bridger is a little murky in regard to the name of his
father, as I recall. I believe that he was born in Richmond, VA, but I seem to
remember that his mother was said to be from Isle of Wight.

Old Colonel Joseph Bridger came to VA from England in 1652, and he became one
of the wealthiest men in Isle of Wight, owning more than 10,000 acres there.
He was called Captain Bridger until his land holdings reached about 5,000
acres, at which time he became a Colonel. He left many descendants in Isle of
Wight, with a couple of the Bridger women marrying into the Bullock family
there.

My gg-grandfather Bullock (great-grandnephew of Ralph & Samuel Bozeman) was
married in Vicksburg, MS, in 1834. About the only other Bullock in Vicksburg
at that time was a William G. Bullock (1812 VA-1896), whom I have thought
might be related. This William G. Bullock began to run the sutler store in
Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in 1858. He was there when Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild
Bill Hickock stopped over on their pony express rides.

Bullock became good friends with Jim Bridger, and some thought thay might be
related. Jim Bridger spent the entire winter of 1867-68 in a spare room at the
store. Bullock also became a friend to the Indians, who called him "Chief
White Hair." In May of 1870, Chief Red Cloud asked and received permission
from the Government to have William G. Bullock accompany him to Washington D.
C. and act as an interpreter when he signed a treaty with the Government.

Now you tell me that John M. Bozeman fits right in with this same Wyoming
crowd, and had opened a trail through there before Bridger did. Wouldn't it
be something if John M. Bozeman, Jim Bridger, and William G. Bullock all had
their origins back in Isle of Wight, VA, and might have had some common
distant relatives. If all three of those folks ever happened to meet up at the
sutler's store in Fort Laramie, I would like to know what they had to say
about their old Virginia homeland, wouldn't you? My best regards, Ron Bullock

P.S. to the Group - I have kept only very early Bozeman information in my
computer data base, which is now full to overflowing. In reviewing some
material on another family line a few days ago, I noticed that in 1794
Montgomery Co., NC, the neighbor of my ancestor was BOZAMAN ADARE. At one time
this same land was in Anson Co., and my recollection is that a part of Anson
was in Bladen Co. at one time. Isn't this where Samuel Bozeman, Jr, was found
at one time. Does someone with a better Bozeman data base (Steve, Henry, et
al.?) have any information on an Adare/Adair family with connections to the
Bozemans?

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