• Excerpted from Genealogical History of Maine by George Thomas Little:
Joseph, the fourth son of Henry and Elizabeth (Harding) Bridgham. In 1674 was a member of the artillery company, in 1678 was made freeman, was representative in 1697, also for Northampton in 1690. He was deacon and ruling elder in the First Church of Christ, was often moderator of the Boston town meetings, and often on various town committees. His will was probated in Suffolk county, and provided a sum of twenty pounds to be spent by the deacons of the church for plate for the communion table. He was a tanner, probably carrying on his business in the same location as his father before him.

Elmer Bridgham adds:
He was an ordained elder of the First Church of Boston. He joined the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company in 1674. Rev. Cotton Mather officiated at his wedding to Mercy Wensley, April 17, 1700. The First Church in Boston still has the communion plate. It consists of three communion cups made by Jeremiah Dummer. ‘The Gift of Joseph Bridgham.’ These cups are kept at the Boston Art Museum on Huntington Avenue for exhibition purposes. They are in a case marked, ‘First Church Silver.’

A contemporary friend of Joseph, Samuel Sewell wrote to Thomas Cockerill in New York as follows:
I am in pain for the loss of my good friend, Mr. Bridgham. He was a publick Spirited Man, very pious and charitable to the poor; and will be much missed. We have a Treacherous mortal Fever with which he was seis’d on Friday and died the Wednesday following.3027