Author: BRIDGE, Samuel
Biography:
BRIDGE, Samuel (1771-1848: ancestry.co.uk)
The Guild is attributed to Samuel Bridge in several contemporary sources. The background to the poem is that John Bridge, Samuel’s younger brother, served as mayor of Colchester in 1812. However, his election, managed by the previous mayor, Francis Smythies, was irregular, and he was removed to make way for William Smith in 1813. The poem, a libellous attack on Smith, was issued anonymously although the book includes the name of the printer, Isaac Marsden. On 22 Jan. 1814 Marsden, whose printing office was at 56 High Street, Colchester, was indicted and imprisoned for his role in issuing The Guild. The case went to the High Court and Marsden was not released until May 1815. Samuel Bridge was the son of Cyprian Bridge and his wife Sarah Phillips who had married at Great Dunmow, Essex, on 20 Oct. 1768. Samuel was baptised on 23 Sept. 1771 at St. Nicholas, Harwich, Essex; his brother John was baptised on 14 Feb. 1777. Both Samuel and John served in the military and some records identify Samuel as a captain. He and Harriet Whitelocke had a son, Thomas Whitelocke Bridge, who was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 13 Dec. 1799 but he died in Mar. 1809 and was buried in Harwich. Samuel and Harriet married at St. Marylebone, London, on 14 Apr. 1803; they had five other children. In the 1820s Bridge was the editor of the Colchester Gazette and ran a printing business. He died and was buried at Calais, France, in June 1848. John Bridge died in 1823. (ancestry.co.uk 27 Dec. 2024; findmypast.co.uk 27 Dec. 2024; Bury and Norwich Post 26 Jan. 1814; Star 2 May 1815; Shani D’Cruze, ed. Colchester People [2010]; The Law Journal 5 [1827], 13) SR