Biography - Gus H. Bridges
Gus H. BRIDGES. One of the substantial business men of Vienna who has
been prominently identified with the city's commercial interests for many
years is Mr. Gus H. Bridges, who is connected with one of the leading
financial institutions here, the Drovers State Bank, in the capacity of
assistant cashier.
Mr. Bridges is a member of the fourth generation of his family to have been
residents of Johnson county, his great-grandfather having been one of the
earliest pioneer settlers in this section, coming to Southern Illinois from
North Carolina. One of his sons, Alfred, who was born in North Carolina and
was brought with the family to Illinois, was the grandfather of the present
representative of the family, Gus H. Bridges.
Gus H. Bridges was born July 14, 1859. in Vienna, the son of James J. and
Elizabeth E. (Gibbs) Bridges. His father was born on a farm near Vienna in
1830 but after the death of the mother of the family, when James J. was an
infant, removal was made to town and he subsequently made his home with his
uncle, Colonel Bridges. James worked in a Vienna store until the outbreak of
the Civil war, when he enlisted in the army and entered service under arms
for his country as second lieutenant of Company D, Thirty-first Regiment of
Illinois Infantry. After several months campaign with that company Mr.
Bridges returned home and organized Company I, One Hundred and Twentieth
Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and went into the field at the head
of that company, serving as its commander. The company took active part in
several important campaigns and battles, among them being the engagements at
Port Donelson, Shiloh and Guntown, Mississippi. Mr. Bridges later became a
provost guard at Memphis and after long years of patriotic and honorable
service was mustered out of the army in 1865. Upon returning home to take up
the pursuits of peace he decided to engage in mercantile endeavors and
continued to be so employed throughout the remainder of his life, his death
occurring in 1880.
On the maternal side of his family Gus H. Bridges comes of illustrious
pioneer stock. His mother, Elizabeth E. Gibbs, was born and reared in
Southern Illinois, and was the daughter of Dr. Worthington J. Gibbs, the
first practicing physician to locate at Vienna and one of the first in
Southern Illinois. Dr. Gibbs was a native of Virginia and a graduate of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Philadelphia. When migrating to
Illinois he in company with several other families journeyed by way of the
Ohio river on a flat boat from Wheeling, Virginia, landing without mishap in
due course of time at Metropolis, Illinois. After his marriage to Sebrina
Renfraw he located at Vienna, where he built a house on the site now
occupied by the Vienna Public Library building. His practice extended over a
wide territory and the necessities of the pioneer times compelled him to
make many of his journeys on horseback over trails, penetrating the country
as far distant as Jonesboro. He was a great figure in his day, well known
and greatly beloved, and his death in 1858 removed from the field of action
in this world one of the most interesting men of this section of the state.
His family consisted of four children. Dr. J. A. Gibbs, now of Alexandria
county; W. J. Gibbs, deceased, who was prosecuting attorney of Johnson
county for many years; Mrs. Maria Benson; and Mrs. Bridges, the mother of
our subject.
Gus H. Bridges was an only child, and after completing his education in the
public school of Vienna, at the age of seventeen years, he became a clerk in
his father's store. Later he was given a partnership in the business and
co-operated with his father in its conduct until the death of the latter in
1880. The son continued the business independently for several years but
subsequently disposed of the store in order to turn his attention to other
matters. In 1897 he became connected with the Johnson County Bank, and two
years later accepted the position of assistant cashier of the Drovers State
Bank, the duties of which office he still discharges. In connection with his
other activities he also transacts a large fire insurance business and has
represented nine of the leading companies since 1904.
This briefly covers a history of the commercial life of Mr. Bridges,
embracing his private activities, but he has also been a public official of
prominence during a considerable portion of the past years. For eight years
he proved his just title to the reputation of a man of marked financial
ability and unimpeachable personal integrity by acting as city treasurer of
Vienna for eight years, and he has also filled the office of treasurer of
Vienna township since 1901. He is a man of broad interests and takes an
active part in social and religious affairs of the community. The
Congregational church numbers him as among its most liberal and influential
members. In fraternal circles he is held in high esteem, holding membership
in the A. F. & A. M., belonging both to the Blue Lodge and the Chapter, and
in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In every department of life which
holds his attention he manifests enthusiasm and to whatever he puts his mind
and hand applies intelligence and energy that compel success. He has a large
circle of friends and acquaintances and is highly esteemed by all.
The marriage of Mr. Bridges and Miss Zora Wise, a daughter of John Wise, of
Johnson county, occurred on October 20, 1880. Two children blessed this
union, James J., who lives in Vienna, and Charles A., who is a tonsorial
artist and also resides in this city.
Extracted 14 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 2, pages 699-701.
