Revising Our History
is Dirty Work
The Search for Joseph Bridger: The Anne Randall Project – Phase 3 of 3
Donate today to support our women’s history project:
The Anne Randall Project
This exciting project will help us complete the archaeological investigations in the chancel of the church building and create a better understanding of who Anne Randall was. This is a very unique opportunity to conduct forensic research on a known woman from the late – 17th century Chesapeake Region. The resulting analysis and documentary will help us share this story with patrons from all over the world.
Thank you for your charitable support in helping us advance the mission of St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum.
Phase 1:
Exhumation of Joseph Bridger
2007 – 2014
Mrs. Jean Tomes of the Bridger Family Association looking into the tomb of her grandfather, Colonel Joseph Bridger with Dr. Doug Owsley of The Smithsonian Institutions.
Phase 2:
The Whitemarsh Plantation Dig
2018 – 2022
Alain Outlaw’s firm Archaeological & Cultural Solutions, Inc. undertaking the three-year excavation at nearby homesite of Joseph Bridger, Whitemarsh Plantation.
Phase 3:
The Anne Randall Project
2023 – 2024
Below Anne Randall’s 1696 stone, moved here in 1894 with her remains, lies a brick vault within which is a small brick crypt, all constructed in
1894. In 2023, she was temporarily moved to the Smithsonian Institution for detailed study, to be followed by reburial here in 2024.
Archaeologists, Alain Outlaw and Matt Tuttle, examine the space below Anne Randall’s ledger stone and the crypt from which her remains were exhumed.
St. Luke’s wishes to gratefully recognize and appreciate the generous charitable support of the TowneBank Foundation, the Bridger Family Association, and scores of other donors who have remained dedicated to the pursuit and preservation of history in advancing the mission of St. Luke’s. We wish to also recognize the valuable partnerships and services provided by Archaeological & Cultural Solutions, Inc., Hogg Funeral Home, The Smithsonian Institutions, Isle of Wight County, Isle of Wight Museum, Isle of Wight Historical Society, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
