I know where my family bible is - how do I get it!

[Tracey Joy Kelly]

Lizzie i didnt know my family had a family bible until a person rang me up this afternoon and told me i was welcome to view it.  sooo shocked.
i dont know if all families had one. to be honest lower classes couldnt read or write so i dont think that everyone did.

[Rena]

My husband's brother has their family bible that lists names, places and dates going back to Wales in 1839, which is fortunate as the 1841 census for that particular area is missing.   He gave me the dates over the phone so I haven't seen the handwriting but I do know that the groom was the son of an Irish migrant.

The brothers didn't know of its existence until my brother-in-law answered his door one day and saw an old spinster aunt on his doorstep who had arrived unannounced.   She'd travelled a long way by train and bus to give him "something" because, as she said, his was the only branch left with the family surname.

[LizzieW]

Some of my ancestors could write, I've seen their signatures on wills - and judging by the writing, it was more than just being able to sign their names.  However, if there was a family bible, in any tree, it wouldn't have come to me as I'm not descended from the first male in any family.

[Tracey Joy Kelly]

wow Rena thats amazing. it was really thoughtful of her to come all that way to give him the bible.

Lizzie i am sure they were well versed with reading and writing i didnt mean to offend. i am just saying that not every family has one or it has gotten lost along the way.  I hope that u find urs though   keep looking and dont give up.

[Finley 1]

I love it when you see an actual really real signature on any document... really special...

xin

[Redroger]

From the little I have seen on the subject it would appear that Family Bibles were passed down to the oldest child in each generation. Perhaps someone on this thread can confirm this or not?If this is the case, then at least it would give a slight clue to where to start looking.

[Tracey Joy Kelly]

it may be the case in some families.  not in mine.  my great great grandfather had the family bible because his father migrated with him to Victoria.  the older brother remained in Tasmania.  he passed it down to his second oldest daughter, who then passed it on to her daughter. i will be seeing her this weekend hopefully

[LizzieW]

i am sure they were well versed with reading and writing i didnt mean to offend

I wasn't offended.  I did have some ancestors who couldn't write - so I presume they couldn't read either - but for the ones who were literate, I just haven't seen or heard about a bible.  Like Roger says, they were probably passed down to the eldest child in each generation, which tended not to be my ancestors.

Lizzie

[Rena]

The spinster aunt who had the family bible was the oldest child of several sisters and two brothers.

My father-in-law was the oldest son but didn't even get his father's pocket watch which he'd inherited from his father before him.  The pocket watch was given to the younger brother who actually carried the name of the boys' grandfather because, as was often the case in those days, the oldest son who had originally been baptised with grandfather's given name had died as a child.