Elias (Burtigam), Bridegam
3rd great-grandfather of Rebecca Nesbitt
Elias was initially with the 89th Indiana Volunteers, July 1863 before making his move to Cavalry.
The 89th Indiana was formed at Camp Morton on August 28, 1862, in Indianapolis, Indiana, under the command of Colonel Charles D. Murray, Lieutenant Colonel Hervey Craven, Major George Cubberly, Major Samuel Henry and Major Joseph P. Winters.
It was disestablished in Mobile, Alabama, on July 19, 1865. The regiment lost 6 officers and 55 enlisted men killed during service and 3 officers and 188 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 252 casualties.
Elias married Susana Moyer, great-granddaughter of a Revolutionary War Patriot. They had at least seven children:
Mary Ann Heintzelman (1853-1937) (my 2nd great-grandmother)
Henry Bridegam (1855-1892)
Matilda Richards (1857-1898)
Jonathon Bridegam (1859-1939)
Sarah Ellen Bridegam (1863-1942)
Elizabeth Walter (1866-1941)
John Bridegam (1868-1945)
His oldest daughter, Mary Ann Heintzelman, eventually moved to Michigan and was the wife of Edward Heintzelman, Postmaster of Samson, now known as Dutton, Michigan.
Family stories say he loved his children and grandchildren and played and joked as much as possible.
He was paralyzed. He lived to the year 1900 and is buried in Albright Cemetery, Ossian, Wells County, Indiana.
GRAVESITE: Albright Cemetery, Ossian, Wells County, IN
ELIAS BRIDEGAM
Died June 11, 1900
Aged 72 years, 23 days
