James Edward Bridgman, son of  Zion J. Bridgman (1817-Oct 1850) and Justina Jarvis (1824-aft 1880), was born in Hyde Co. on Oct. 19, 1844 and died there Apr. 3, 1928. Children of Zion and Justina shown in the 1850 census were:

1. Henrietta S. Bridgman (1840-1918), married James E. Gurkins (1840-1899)
2. Lavinia E. Bridgman (Nov. 1842 - June 1910), married David Jarvis Mason (Apr. 1830 - July 14, 1896)
3. James Edward Bridgman - the Confederate Veteran
4. Nancy E. Bridgman (b. 1847)
5. Thomas G. Bridgman (1849-1874), married Sophia E. Midyette (b. 1850) on Nov. 6, 1872

After Zion’s death from illness in 1850, Justina remarried Foster Mason (Jan. 1817 - 1885) on Oct. 3, 1852. The children appear in the 1860 census with their mother and stepfather.

James Edward enlisted as a private in the Confederate army 33^rd North Carolina Regiment as a teenager in Fall 1861, along with many other men from Hyde County. His service record shows that he was wounded and captured in March 1862 at New Bern, N.C. and eventually paroled. He rejoined his regiment in late 1863. The family story is that he was treated by a Union doctor for a bullet wound in his hip near Lynchburg, Va. (his regiment fought in that area in late 1864) and that the bullet was never removed.

After the Civil War, James Edward married Mrs. Elizabeth Credle Farrow (d. bef. 1870) on May 1, 1866 and they had one daughter:

1. Lorena (May 1, 1867 - Apr. 11, 1941), married George Marshall “Marsh” Jarvis on Nov. 4, 1883.

The 1870 census shows James Edward living with his daughter Lorena, brother Thomas and Nellie Bridgman (age 50, who has not been identified). He was a farmer, but is also listed in a local business directory as a “blacksmith or wheelwright”.

He remarried Mary Ann Midyette (Feb. 23, 1849 - Jan. 31, 1926), daughter of John Midyette and Elizabeth "Betsy" Jarvis, on Nov. 9, 1873 and they had five children:

1. Riddick Gatlin Bridgman (Dec. 14, 1875 - Dec. 8, 1950), married Ruth W. Overton (Oct. 22, 1878 - Feb. 5, 1963) on Jan. 10, 1897. Gatlin was named after James Edward’s Civil War commanding officer.
2. Ellis Edward Bridgman (Jan. 25, 1881 - Oct. 23, 1952), married Fanny Blanche Berry (b. 1887) on May 9, 1909
3. Cordelia “Della” Bridgman (Aug. 26, 1883 - Mar. 28, 1938), married George Washington Brown (1873-1937) on Mar. 23, 1904
4. Thomas Green Bridgman (Dec. 22, 1887 - May 11, 1972), married Mattie Bell Cuthrell on Nov. 14, 1914
5. Mary J. “Mamie” Bridgman (Jan. 29, 1891 - Jan. 24, 1969), married Sylvester Ross Rice (Feb. 15, 1877 - May 4, 1939) on Aug. 15, 1915.

James Edward Bridgman, his wife Mary Ann, and their children Gatlin and Cordelia are buried in the private J. E. Bridgman cemetery at Tiny Oak Fork in Swan Quarter, Hyde County, N.C.