Effie Elizabeth Webb Bridgers
11 Nov 1899 - 236 Jun 1980
Effie Webb Bridgers
Effie Elizabeth Webb was my Great Aunt (Grandma Rosa Webb Varnell's sister). She was born in 1904 to Thomas Ruffin and Martha "Weedie" Varnell Webb.
I remember Aunt Effie. She would visit Grandma Rosa from time to time and be there when we visited her. I especially remember seeing her at Grandma Rosa's (and son Doc Varnell) house in Little Easonburg, a crossroads just outside of Rocky Mount on Hwy 64. (between Rocky Mount and Nashville NC). Aunt Effie was someone who terrified me, as she was fiesty and she would admonish you (not her child) in a heartbeat. She definitely marched to the beat of her own drum. She was a short woman and at some point in her life had weighed over 300 pounds. By the time I remember seeing her, she'd lost down to probably 180 pounds. It was especially obvious that she had lived a hard life. Widowed at a young age with many children. I know she had a temper, so I stayed clear of her. My memories of her are sitting at Grandma Rosa's house on one of the two sofas in the small living room, visiting. She had to be the most unique member of Grandma's siblings.
I found out much later that she had lived a hard life, and her children had lived a hard life and all of her children died very young. They were all dead by the 1990s, and Jodie Bridgers Jr lived the longest. He was 64 when he died.
Jodie Bridgers Sr
11 Apr 1897 - 13 Feb 1950
Joseph Jodie Bridgers Sr died in 1950 and Effie was left to raise the boys alone. She was a force to be reckoned with and gave as good as she got with them. I am sharing any stories I've heard about Jodie Sr, but I don't know much about him.
Children:
1) Willie Jasper BridgersPFC WWII 26 Oct 1919 - 22 Dec 1995 (53)
Didn't have much to do with family.
Buried at Macclesfield Cemetery, Macclesfield NC.
married Edith Marie Brantley Wilkinson 1925 - 2008
Children of Willie and Edith:
*Willie Jasper Bridgers Jr b 1948
*Donald Ray Bridgers SSGT Vietnam Veteran 17 Jan 1950 - 14 Feb 2012
Buried at Bowen Family Cemetery Ormondsville, NC
*Michael Lane Bridgers 4 Sep 1951 - 12 May 1973
Never married
Buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Wilson NC.
(Daughter *Carolyn Bridgers - Living in Greenville NC)
married Lottie Virginia Pittman (1929 - 1985) (dau of Mark Bennett Pittman)
2) Dora Lee Bridgers 10 Jun 1920 - 18 Mar 1944 (24)
(Dora Lee is on the left, Mary Ella on the right)
married Melvin Hulon
Born at Wilson County, NC.
Lived at Pinetops NC.
Died at Tarboro NC from Mycarditis due to toxemia of pregnancy. (24)
Children:
*Mack Daniel Hulon - Mom and son died after childbirth. Heart attack and preeclampsia.
3) Mary Ella Bridgers 30 Mar 1923 - 13 Aug 1960 (37)
married Woodrow Hulon
Mary Ella died in a house fire. Mary Ella's son Joseph Hulon woke her up when he smelled and saw smoke in the house. She instructed him to get their boarder, and get out of the house.
Buried at Macclesfield Cemetery, Macclesfield NC.
married Edith Marie Brantley Wilkinson 1925 - 2008
Children of Willie and Edith:
*Willie Jasper Bridgers Jr b 1948
*Donald Ray Bridgers SSGT Vietnam Veteran 17 Jan 1950 - 14 Feb 2012
Buried at Bowen Family Cemetery Ormondsville, NC
*Michael Lane Bridgers 4 Sep 1951 - 12 May 1973
Never married
Buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Wilson NC.
(Daughter *Carolyn Bridgers - Living in Greenville NC)
married Lottie Virginia Pittman (1929 - 1985) (dau of Mark Bennett Pittman)
2) Dora Lee Bridgers 10 Jun 1920 - 18 Mar 1944 (24)
(Dora Lee is on the left, Mary Ella on the right)
married Melvin Hulon
Born at Wilson County, NC.
Lived at Pinetops NC.
Died at Tarboro NC from Mycarditis due to toxemia of pregnancy. (24)
Children:
*Mack Daniel Hulon - Mom and son died after childbirth. Heart attack and preeclampsia.
3) Mary Ella Bridgers 30 Mar 1923 - 13 Aug 1960 (37)
married Woodrow Hulon
Mary Ella died in a house fire. Mary Ella's son Joseph Hulon woke her up when he smelled and saw smoke in the house. She instructed him to get their boarder, and get out of the house.
She got out of the house, and then went back in. I don't know what she was after, whether she didn't see the boarder or her son or what.
The boarder was staring at the house fire and understandably upset when he realized she was not coming back out. Mary Ella succumbed to the smoke and burned to death.
Children:
Joseph Hulon
4) Joseph Clayton "Staton" Bridgers 10 Nov 1924 - 4 jan 1958
Served during WWII.
Cause of Death: Pulmonary Edema due to rheumatic heart disease (34 years old)
Died at Woodard Herring Hospital, Wilson NC.
married Dorothy Leigh Gilbert
Children:
*Staton Bridgers jr 1952 - 2005
*Clayton Bridgers
*Johnny Bridgers
5) Barley Thomas Bridgers 1927 - 1989 (62) *Death massive heart attack.
married Daisy Lee Hulon
Children:
*Barley Thomas Bridgers 1953 - 2022.
Children:
Joseph Hulon
4) Joseph Clayton "Staton" Bridgers 10 Nov 1924 - 4 jan 1958
Served during WWII.
Cause of Death: Pulmonary Edema due to rheumatic heart disease (34 years old)
Died at Woodard Herring Hospital, Wilson NC.
married Dorothy Leigh Gilbert
Children:
*Staton Bridgers jr 1952 - 2005
*Clayton Bridgers
*Johnny Bridgers
5) Barley Thomas Bridgers 1927 - 1989 (62) *Death massive heart attack.
married Daisy Lee Hulon
Children:
*Barley Thomas Bridgers 1953 - 2022.
*Jodie Bridgers Jr - 1955 - 1975.
*Willie Earl Bridgers 1956 - 2018
*Toby Bridgers 1956 -
*Becky Lynn Bridgers 1957 -
*Danny Bridgers 1959 -
*Peggy Jean Bridgers 1959 - 2017
*Randy Allen Bridgers 1966 - 1993
*Claudie Ann Bridgers 1972 - 1972
6) Melvin Barber Bridgers 29 Apr 1927 - 11 Dec 1989 (57)
*Toby Bridgers 1956 -
*Becky Lynn Bridgers 1957 -
*Danny Bridgers 1959 -
*Peggy Jean Bridgers 1959 - 2017
*Randy Allen Bridgers 1966 - 1993
*Claudie Ann Bridgers 1972 - 1972
6) Melvin Barber Bridgers 29 Apr 1927 - 11 Dec 1989 (57)
Had one lung removed due to cancer or lung disease. Also had a very bad car wreck. Lived with some of his brothers last few years.
married Corinda Sue Hulon 1937 - 1985
Children:
Brenda Lee Bridgers 1958 - 2012
7) Joseph "Jodie" Bridgers Jr 1930 - 1994 (64)
married Corinda Sue Hulon 1937 - 1985
Children:
Brenda Lee Bridgers 1958 - 2012
7) Joseph "Jodie" Bridgers Jr 1930 - 1994 (64)
This is his Military Air Force picture.
married unknown
Children: unknown
8) Thomas Ruffin "TR" Bridgers 11 Oct 1932 - 22 Aug 1995 (63)
married Janice ULN
Children:
*Linda Bridgers
*Tony Bridgers
*Vickie Bridgers
9) John Henry Bridgers 23 Apr 1934 - 17 Jun 1994 (60)
married Hilda Pope
Children:
*UFN Bridgers 1955 -
married Ruth Gilbert
Children:
*John Bridgers 1958 -
10) Mack Daniel Bridgers 1936 - 1993 (57) pronounced MackDan-el
married unknown
Children:
*Jenny Bridgers -
*UFN (4 boys)
Stories about Effie:
Tough and proven tough
Effie was tough, and lived tough. An old wives tale is that if you ripped a beating heart out of a turtle, and ate it, you were a tough person. She did this twice in her life, on a dare.
Spare the rod, spoil the child
Effie truly believed in not spoiling the child. Once, when staying or visiting Grandma Rosa at Kingsboro, where She and Papa Oscar Bolden Varnell lived (and where my father was born), my Aunt Nell Varnell (Hagans) talked back to Grandma Rosa. Nell was a teenager and was getting ready to go and had her pants in hand. Whatever she said to Grandma must have sounded like 'sassy talk' to Effie, as Effie charged after Nell as though she would spank her. Nell was in the process of putting her pants on, and was struggling to put them on before she went out the door to get away from Effie. She was stumbling out the door. She and her siblings had reason to fear Effie.
Stories about Jodie Bridgers:
*The All Day Fight
Papa Oscar Bolden Varnell recalled this story to S. Paul Varnell (my Dad). Jodie Bridgers and Mark Bennett Pittman were in-laws as Jodie's oldest son Willie was married to Virginia Pittman. One day at the house in Macclesfield, an argument ensued. Both Jodie and Mark were strapping big stong men. They started to fight in the front yard of the Varnell honeplace on 124 Hwy W. Both men would fight until they were 'give out' and then one would sit down and rest on the porch, the other somewhere on ditch bank until they felt rested, and the fight would resume. Oscar Varnell watched the fight. It went on for hours. I don't think there was a winner and I'm pretty sure they had been drinking or were drinking. Who knows if they even remembered what they were fighting about?
Mark Bennett Pittman seated in front (family behind him)
married unknown
Children: unknown
8) Thomas Ruffin "TR" Bridgers 11 Oct 1932 - 22 Aug 1995 (63)
married Janice ULN
Children:
*Linda Bridgers
*Tony Bridgers
*Vickie Bridgers
9) John Henry Bridgers 23 Apr 1934 - 17 Jun 1994 (60)
married Hilda Pope
Children:
*UFN Bridgers 1955 -
married Ruth Gilbert
Children:
*John Bridgers 1958 -
10) Mack Daniel Bridgers 1936 - 1993 (57) pronounced MackDan-el
married unknown
Children:
*Jenny Bridgers -
*UFN (4 boys)
Stories about Effie:
Tough and proven tough
Effie was tough, and lived tough. An old wives tale is that if you ripped a beating heart out of a turtle, and ate it, you were a tough person. She did this twice in her life, on a dare.
Spare the rod, spoil the child
Effie truly believed in not spoiling the child. Once, when staying or visiting Grandma Rosa at Kingsboro, where She and Papa Oscar Bolden Varnell lived (and where my father was born), my Aunt Nell Varnell (Hagans) talked back to Grandma Rosa. Nell was a teenager and was getting ready to go and had her pants in hand. Whatever she said to Grandma must have sounded like 'sassy talk' to Effie, as Effie charged after Nell as though she would spank her. Nell was in the process of putting her pants on, and was struggling to put them on before she went out the door to get away from Effie. She was stumbling out the door. She and her siblings had reason to fear Effie.
Stories about Jodie Bridgers:
*The All Day Fight
Papa Oscar Bolden Varnell recalled this story to S. Paul Varnell (my Dad). Jodie Bridgers and Mark Bennett Pittman were in-laws as Jodie's oldest son Willie was married to Virginia Pittman. One day at the house in Macclesfield, an argument ensued. Both Jodie and Mark were strapping big stong men. They started to fight in the front yard of the Varnell honeplace on 124 Hwy W. Both men would fight until they were 'give out' and then one would sit down and rest on the porch, the other somewhere on ditch bank until they felt rested, and the fight would resume. Oscar Varnell watched the fight. It went on for hours. I don't think there was a winner and I'm pretty sure they had been drinking or were drinking. Who knows if they even remembered what they were fighting about?
Mark Bennett Pittman seated in front (family behind him)
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