John Bridge & Catherine Stahl

John Bridge was a poor man who could neither read nor write. On April 29, 1831, in Blairsville, Pennsylvania he married Catherine Stahl. Between 1833 and 1842, they raised five children, Andrew, Elizabeth, Barbara, Simon Peter, and Catherine. They owned and lived on a small farm of about 50 acres in Dry Ridge near New Derry in Westmoreland County.

The soil was thin and poor and could not support an abundant crop. John also managed to keep a few head of cattle. At some time, John had his left foot split open with an axe, which left him partially crippled. In another accident, his left thumb was nearly cut off, impairing the use of the hand.

The average yearly income for the farm was only about $125 and in spite of his disabilities, John would often have to hire himself out to work to earn extra money. Many times John would cut his neighbor’s grain during the day, then harvest his own at night. His sons helped on the farm as much as they could.

In the winter of 1851, Catherine died, leaving John alone with the half-grown children. Within a few years, John had married again. His new wife was a young woman named Mary Dively. Between 1854 and 1869, John raised seven more children; Henry, James, George, Mary, Sarah, William, and Cecelia.

When the Civil War broke out, Simon Peter, John’s youngest son by his first marriage, enlisted in the 11th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers at Greensburg on March 28, 1862. Simon was soon discouraged with army life and deserted only a few months later on July 22 at Warrenton, Virginia. More than a year elapsed before he was arrested on September 27, 1863. He was court-martialed and found guilty. His sentence was to make up the time he was away and to serve an additional six months in the army. Simon did not have the time to finish he sentence. On June 20, 1864, while engaged in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, he was shot and killed by a Confederate sharpshooter.

Prior to the Civil War, John had been able to save, by strict economy, $365. This, together with the $150 veteran’s bounty and a small amount of back pay due his son, Simon Peter, was used to supplement the farm income, and was eventually used up. When the Civil War pension laws were passed in the 1880’s, John was eligible for a claim since his son had been honorably killed in action. He applied for and received a dependent father’s pension – commencing at $8 per month in 1885 and then raised to $12 per month in 1886.