Martha Celinda (Utley) Bridgess

was born to Charles and Charity Utley in Pulaski County, Virginia. Her father was a Methodist pastor and at the age of 13 she too joined the Methodist faith. In 1866, she married Albert Anderson Bridgess in Hillsville, Virginia. Shortly after marriage, the new Bridgess family moved to Kentucky, then Pellonia, IL, and then moved to Fort Smith, AR. Mr. Bridges was a builder of fine homes and hotels.

In 1871, Mr. Bridgess came to Fort Worth. Martha soon followed in a covered wagon with a driver and her 2 small children, Fannie and Utley, from Fort Smith, AR. Upon arriving in Fort Worth, Martha described what she saw as “... hardly a village when I came here.”[1] Daughter Fannie also wrote about her memories of growing up in Fort Worth in the 1880’s. “ Fannie stated she “was a fascinated spectator of the weekly sales of livestock held on the courthouse square. Injured and stray animals from the big herds that thundered through town en route to northern markets were nursed back to health by farmers along the route and sold at auction.” She also recounted that vendors delivered water from the Trinity River to barrels on front porches for drinking and that water “was always hot”.[2]

Evidently, Albert would own the St. Charles Hotel, which was located at 7th and Rusk St. (present day Commerce St.). Even before her husband’s death in 1905, Martha would become the proprietor of the hotel.[3] Like many others buried in Pioneers Rest, the Bridgess family were members of the first organized church in Fort Worth, the First Christian Church, which met in 1872 on Fifth St. between Main and Houston streets. Later, members of the family were founders of the Magnolia Ave. Christian Church, and subsequent generations were members of University Christian Church adjacent to the TCU campus.[4]  

Albert and Martha would have a total of 9 children, but sadly 4 children would not live to adulthood. Five of their children are buried in Pioneers Rest Cemetery.[5] On Nov. 23, 1928, at the age of 82, Martha passed away at her home in Fort Worth after being ill for years.[6]

[1] “Mrs. Bridges Here Since ‘71 Is Dead.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Friday, 23 Nov. 1928, Page 35.
[2] “1880’s Folks Drank Trinity Water.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Two Star ed., 30 Oct. 1949, p. 181. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current, Accessed 16 Aug. 2023.
[3]  “St. Charles Hotel.” Fort Worth Gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 125, Ed. 1, Thursday, April 23, 1896 Page: 3 of 8. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth110503/m1/3/?q=St.+Charles+Hotel+fort+worth+texas.
[4] “Bridgess History Sketch.” Smith, Melanie email to Shelley Gayler-Smith. 13 June 2023.
[5]  Hudson, Weldon and Barbara Knox. Pioneers Rest Cemetery, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. Fort Worth Genealogical Society. 2001. Pg 29.
[6] “Mrs. Bridges Here Since ‘71 Is Dead.” Page 35.