Thomas Bridges

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Thomas Bridges (1842-1898) was an Anglican missionary and sheep rancher in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Bridges was born in Lenton, Nottingham, England in 1842. He was adopted by the Rev. George P. Despard, Pastor of Lenton, and came with the Despards to Keppel Island in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in 1856 at the age of 13. He learned the native Yaghan or Yamanah language, and in September 1871 settled on Tierra del Fuego with his wife Mary Varder and infant daughter Mary (1870-1922) at what is now the city of Ushuaia. Three more children were born there: Thomas (1872-1935), Esteban Lucas (1874-1949), and Bertha (1879-1968). Over his lifetime, he established a church and school and compiled a 32,000-word dictionary of the Yaghan language.

In 1886 the government of Argentina established a presence in Ushuaia. Bridges left the community and was granted lands at Estancia Harberton, where he raised sheep. He died in Buenos Aires on July 15, 1898.

[edit] References

• Thomas Bridges
• Bridges, E L (1948) The Uttermost Part of the Earth Republished 2008, Overlook Press ISBN 978-1585679560