Braddish Billings
Braddish Billings (September 23, 1783 – April 8, 1864) was an early settler in the Ottawa area, for whom the community of Billings Bridge was named. He was born in Ware, Massachusetts in 1783, but moved to the Brockville area with his family when he was 9. He later worked cutting down white pine trees along the Ottawa River and transporting the logs down river. He also served on the Bytown Mechanics' Institute executive. In 1812, Billings moved to the Ottawa area and settled on a farm south of the Rideau River in what was then the Township of Gloucester. In 1830, a bridge was built over the Rideau River near the Billings Farm to make it easier to transport produce into town. Family He married Lamira Dow of Merrickville in 1813. The couple had nine children: Sabra, Cynthia, Lamira, Braddish II, Elkanah, Samuel, Sarah (Sally), Charles, Hiram, two of whom died: Cynthia and Hiram. The couple's oldest son, Major Bradish Billings II (1847–1891), a pupil of architect Henry A. Sims in Philadelphia from 1863–1866, opened an architecture office in Ottawa in 1870 and later worked as a public servant with the Interior Department 1872-1885. Bradish Billings Jr. served in