Charles H. Bridges, Jr. missionary diaries and correspondence, 1891-1894

Charles Henry Bridges, Jr. was born February 25, 1865 in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory the son of Charles Henry and Frances Elizabeth Pearson Bridges. In 1866 the Bridges family was called by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to move north and settle the remote Bear Lake Valley. They settled in modern day Dingle, Idaho, where Charles Sr. worked as a farmer and schoolteacher and Frances worked as a midwife.

Charles Bridges, Jr. received his basic education from his father and spent his youth working the family farm. In 1887 Bridges met Mary Ellen Nate from nearby Paris, Idaho. After a yearlong courtship, the couple was married in the Logan Temple on October 4, 1888. They settled in Dingle to farm and later had eight children who lived to adulthood.

In 1891 Bridges was called by The Church of Latter-day Saints to serve as a missionary in the recently opened Samoa Islands Mission, Pacific Ocean. Bridges was one of the first missionaries to proselyte in the Samoa Mission after it was opened in 1888 and he labored there for three years.

The first Latter-day Saint missionaries were sent to Samoa in 1862, but no other missionaries were sent to Samoa until 1888. After the mission was opened, the Church continued to send missionaries to Samoa during the 1890s, even though in 1888 and 1892-1894 various political and tribal wars erupted on the islands as natives fought for independence from western powers such as Germany, France, and the United States. Also during this time, a number of missionaries in Samoa died of various diseases, such as typhoid, because of the tropical conditions and the lack of available medical facilities. Beginning in the 1890s, the Church opened schools and established various work projects in attempt to win public support for the Church and to improve living conditions on the local islands.

During Bridges' time in Samoa, he proselyted on the Savai'i and Upolu islands of Samoa. He made regular trips to remote areas to proselyte and baptized numerous people. He also taught English to the local natives and took part in various work projects designed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the summer of 189, Bridges' work slowed when he became ill, but he recovered within a month. Although Bridges recovered from his illness, he was left temporarily visually impaired. He struggled to see clearly and accomplish basic tasks for a period of two months before his eyesight was fully recovered.

In March 1894,Bridges was released from his missionary service and set sail for the United States. One month later, he arrived home in Dingle and resumed farming. In 1894 Bridges was called to be ward historian for his Latter-day Saints' ward. Bridges lived in Dingle until his death on February 8, 1925.

Sources:

Britsch, R. Lanier, Unto the Islands of the Sea, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1986, 349-430 (USU Special Collections and Archives call # 289.351 B777).

Daughters of Utah Pioneers, History of Bear Lake Pioneers, Utah Printing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1968, 88-90 (USU Special Collections and Archives call # 979.2091 H117).