Mary Eliza Battle was born 1844 in Edgecombe Co, NC, the 7th of 8 known children born to planters, Joseph Sumner Battle & Mary Ann "Marianna" Horne/Horne.
She was the paternal grandchild of Jethro Battle & Martha Lane (daughter of Raleigh "founder", Joel Lane); and the maternal grandchild of Josiah Ruth Horn/Horne & Frances "Fannie" Thorp/Thorpe of Edgecombe. Her family roots in Edgecombe can be traced back on both sides of the family to Nansemond, VA where her early ancestors came first from England, and eventually to North Carolina in the early 1700's.
Her father died in 1847 when she was just 3 years old, and her mother soon married wealthy Edgecombe County planter, Jesse Harrison Powell, as his 4th wife. She and her brother George Cullen Battle (1841-1891), and younger sister, Martha Lane Battle (1846-1888) were then raised by Powell.
Mary Eliza was 28 years old when she married the 46-year old widowed Civil War hero and attorney, John L. Bridgers, on April 4, 1867. She instantly became mother to his 3 children, and moved into his gracious home "The Grove", in Tarboro, NC.
She soon became mother to 4 known children: Marcus Milton (1868), Loulie (1870), Whitney Luther (1873) and Mary Horne Bridgers (1882).
By the late 1870's, John's fortunes began to change, and his was forced to sell off parcels of the "The Grove" plantation (originally 296 acres), and new homes sprouted up around the homestead, gradually changing the plantation from rural to an urban setting. The family finally left the homestead around 1881 and they built a Victorian Cottage nearby, that still stands today (2007), and was later inhabited by her two unmarried daughters (Loulie & Mary).
Mary Eliza was left a widow at age 40 in 1884, when her husband of 17 years died at age 62. She never remarried, and she and her descendants remained in the now historic "Bridgers House" at 1201 St. Andrew Street, where she died in 1918 at age 74.
She was the paternal grandchild of Jethro Battle & Martha Lane (daughter of Raleigh "founder", Joel Lane); and the maternal grandchild of Josiah Ruth Horn/Horne & Frances "Fannie" Thorp/Thorpe of Edgecombe. Her family roots in Edgecombe can be traced back on both sides of the family to Nansemond, VA where her early ancestors came first from England, and eventually to North Carolina in the early 1700's.
Her father died in 1847 when she was just 3 years old, and her mother soon married wealthy Edgecombe County planter, Jesse Harrison Powell, as his 4th wife. She and her brother George Cullen Battle (1841-1891), and younger sister, Martha Lane Battle (1846-1888) were then raised by Powell.
Mary Eliza was 28 years old when she married the 46-year old widowed Civil War hero and attorney, John L. Bridgers, on April 4, 1867. She instantly became mother to his 3 children, and moved into his gracious home "The Grove", in Tarboro, NC.
She soon became mother to 4 known children: Marcus Milton (1868), Loulie (1870), Whitney Luther (1873) and Mary Horne Bridgers (1882).
By the late 1870's, John's fortunes began to change, and his was forced to sell off parcels of the "The Grove" plantation (originally 296 acres), and new homes sprouted up around the homestead, gradually changing the plantation from rural to an urban setting. The family finally left the homestead around 1881 and they built a Victorian Cottage nearby, that still stands today (2007), and was later inhabited by her two unmarried daughters (Loulie & Mary).
Mary Eliza was left a widow at age 40 in 1884, when her husband of 17 years died at age 62. She never remarried, and she and her descendants remained in the now historic "Bridgers House" at 1201 St. Andrew Street, where she died in 1918 at age 74.
Mary Eliza Battle was born 1844 in Edgecombe Co, NC, the 7th of 8 known children born to planters, Joseph Sumner Battle & Mary Ann "Marianna" Horne/Horne.
She was the paternal grandchild of Jethro Battle & Martha Lane (daughter of Raleigh "founder", Joel Lane); and the maternal grandchild of Josiah Ruth Horn/Horne & Frances "Fannie" Thorp/Thorpe of Edgecombe. Her family roots in Edgecombe can be traced back on both sides of the family to Nansemond, VA where her early ancestors came first from England, and eventually to North Carolina in the early 1700's.
Her father died in 1847 when she was just 3 years old, and her mother soon married wealthy Edgecombe County planter, Jesse Harrison Powell, as his 4th wife. She and her brother George Cullen Battle (1841-1891), and younger sister, Martha Lane Battle (1846-1888) were then raised by Powell.
Mary Eliza was 28 years old when she married the 46-year old widowed Civil War hero and attorney, John L. Bridgers, on April 4, 1867. She instantly became mother to his 3 children, and moved into his gracious home "The Grove", in Tarboro, NC.
She soon became mother to 4 known children: Marcus Milton (1868), Loulie (1870), Whitney Luther (1873) and Mary Horne Bridgers (1882).
By the late 1870's, John's fortunes began to change, and his was forced to sell off parcels of the "The Grove" plantation (originally 296 acres), and new homes sprouted up around the homestead, gradually changing the plantation from rural to an urban setting. The family finally left the homestead around 1881 and they built a Victorian Cottage nearby, that still stands today (2007), and was later inhabited by her two unmarried daughters (Loulie & Mary).
Mary Eliza was left a widow at age 40 in 1884, when her husband of 17 years died at age 62. She never remarried, and she and her descendants remained in the now historic "Bridgers House" at 1201 St. Andrew Street, where she died in 1918 at age 74.
She was the paternal grandchild of Jethro Battle & Martha Lane (daughter of Raleigh "founder", Joel Lane); and the maternal grandchild of Josiah Ruth Horn/Horne & Frances "Fannie" Thorp/Thorpe of Edgecombe. Her family roots in Edgecombe can be traced back on both sides of the family to Nansemond, VA where her early ancestors came first from England, and eventually to North Carolina in the early 1700's.
Her father died in 1847 when she was just 3 years old, and her mother soon married wealthy Edgecombe County planter, Jesse Harrison Powell, as his 4th wife. She and her brother George Cullen Battle (1841-1891), and younger sister, Martha Lane Battle (1846-1888) were then raised by Powell.
Mary Eliza was 28 years old when she married the 46-year old widowed Civil War hero and attorney, John L. Bridgers, on April 4, 1867. She instantly became mother to his 3 children, and moved into his gracious home "The Grove", in Tarboro, NC.
She soon became mother to 4 known children: Marcus Milton (1868), Loulie (1870), Whitney Luther (1873) and Mary Horne Bridgers (1882).
By the late 1870's, John's fortunes began to change, and his was forced to sell off parcels of the "The Grove" plantation (originally 296 acres), and new homes sprouted up around the homestead, gradually changing the plantation from rural to an urban setting. The family finally left the homestead around 1881 and they built a Victorian Cottage nearby, that still stands today (2007), and was later inhabited by her two unmarried daughters (Loulie & Mary).
Mary Eliza was left a widow at age 40 in 1884, when her husband of 17 years died at age 62. She never remarried, and she and her descendants remained in the now historic "Bridgers House" at 1201 St. Andrew Street, where she died in 1918 at age 74.
Gravesite Details
2nd Wife of Col. John Luther Bridgers, Sr.
Family Members
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