Honoring Our Ancestors
Finding Bibles Online
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
From time to time, I write about orphan heirloom rescues--that is, returning stray items to their families of origin--and many of these have been Bibles. And it seems that whenever I cover a rescued Bible, I get e-mails from folks wondering how they might find Bibles associated with their own families.
There's no one neat and tidy response to this, as assorted societies (e.g., DAR, LVA, NGS, NEHGS, etc.) have Bible preservation programs, but the Bibles that interest you might be forgotten in some fourth cousin's attic, for sale on eBay, or no longer in existence. But, if you happen to be one of the many Bible-seekers, there is one website you'll definitely want to check out and bookmark: www.biblerecords.com
How It All Started
Tracy St. Claire is not your average genealogist, but her introduction into the world of Bible collecting and record-sharing began with an experience many of us can relate to. According to Tracy, it all started innocently enough:
“I was searching for the surname Wolverton on eBay and noticed a listing for “Wolverton Family Bible” that grabbed my interest. When I opened the listing, I realized that it was not just any Wolverton Bible, but MY Wolverton Bible. Without going into too much detail, it tied together the Reed, Kennedy and Wolverton lines I had been working on and uncovered a lot of intermarrying. I immediately put in a bid and ended up buying it for $163. I couldn't wait to get it. I stayed home the day it arrived, and my whole family oooohed and aaaahed about it.
“This had the effect of a gambler hitting the jackpot on his first pull. It gave me a sense that finding my other family Bibles would be way easier than it really is. I have purchased over 1,100 Bibles, and read descriptions for maybe 20 times that number, and have yet to find another direct relation. But I keep trying, like a gambler with an addiction.
“I would buy Bibles with my surnames, hoping to get lucky, and those in the areas where my family had settled. Later, I would buy Bibles if they looked like they were going cheap. I soon had what I thought was a large collection, about 30 Bibles, and figured that I ought to transcribe them and reunite them. I did this for a while, selling them at cost, and it was satisfying. I then pulled them together on a website. I investigated other sources and agreed to merge with The Bible Archives, and that merger is nearly finished.”
1,200 Bibles and Counting
Tracy now has approximately 1,200 Bibles--over a thousand of which are online at her website, representing over 3,000 surnames. They fill seven standard bookshelves, four large storage shelves, several closets and boxes, and even her under-the-stairs space. How does she acquire them? Any way she can, including eBay, antique stores, used bookstores, online used bookstores, and garage and yard sales.
Her process is to buy a Bible and tuck it aside if it looks like a lot of work. If it's a simple, half-hour Bible, she usually turns her attention to it within a week or so. Tracy starts by transcribing it to the best of her ability. This is often followed by some online research on the family in order to attach the appropriate location to the Bible. Next, she scans or photographs the Bible, as well as any clippings and photos included. Finally, she posts these images to her website and rebuilds the index for the search engine. She also usually submits the transcript to the appropriate RootsWeb message board (http://boards.rootsweb.com). In all, the transcription and posting process for a typical Bible takes about two hours.
More detailed or foreign-language Bibles generally have a longer wait until Tracy can devote the necessary time. Among the Bibles Tracy owns, but has not had time to transcribe yet are:
- The ancestral Perkins Bible of actor Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in Psycho)
- A large and tattered 1872 Bible belonging to former slave Zachariah Reid
- A large 1846 Harpers's Illuminated Bible that details one family until the Civil War, and another afterwards. It says inside that the book was picked up “on the battlefield” during the war by a Wisconsin soldier.
Tracy's Strategy
An obvious question that has probably come to mind is whether Tracy returns these Bibles to families of origin. The answer is yes, but that's not her main objective. She's given this a lot of thought and explains, “My primary goal is to preserve the images for digital eternity. Whatever separated the Bible from the family could happen again, and it might be orphaned again 20 minutes, days or years from now. Also, if there are many descendants (one family from the late 1700s whose Bible I have, had a dozen children live to adulthood--how many descend from them?), only the lucky descendant gets the Bible and the rest don't have the information or know of the Bible's existence. And if the Bible is destroyed somehow, it is as if that Bible never existed. Therefore, my main passion is to digitize the contents of as many family Bibles as possible.”
She estimates that she has returned 30-40 Bibles, but she doesn't proactively seek to reunite them. And while she used to return them at cost, she now charges the going retail rate (which she refers to as “microwave oven range”--from $50 for a cheap one to about $600 for a very nice one) for a Bible if it is requested. This pricing is the result of an experience she had when she returned an 1828 Bible to a descendant only to see it for sale on eBay for many times the amount she had requested.
While some people may find the prices of the Bibles offensive, Tracy remarks, “It remains the only means I have to pay for the storage and bandwidth of the Bibles, and to obtain additional ones to post. It's also a litmus test for the suitability of the placement. If a descendant is not willing to pay a certain amount for a priceless family heirloom, then it's probably the wrong placement. I didn't want to start peppering the site with ads or start charging for content, so the logical way to fund the site is through the people who benefit from it the most--those who find a family heirloom.”
Go Explore!
If you're reading about this website for the first time, you'll definitely want to take a few minutes to poke around Tracy's site. Of course, you'll want to search and see if there are any Bibles pertaining to your own family, but it's fun just to browse through the assorted Bibles, including the specialized collection of foreign ones. Also worth a look are the links to other related sites and the recently added forum where you can post a message about any Bibles you're seeking. Here's hoping a few of you find some fresh family details in this wonderful site!
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of Honoring Our Ancestors (HOA), In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection in Rediscovering Our Family History, and They Came to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors, can be contacted through: www.honoringourancestors.com
Upcoming Events
- Heritage Education Commission Family History Workshop XXIX (2 October 2004, Moorhead, Minn.)
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Ancestry Quick Tip
I go to Salt Lake City's Family History Library or other large genealogical libraries where patrons have to or want to lock up their valuables. Over the years, I have developed personal habits and tools to help ensure a successful, efficient trip. I used to make sure that I wore clothing with pockets so that my library copier card, key to the locker with my valuables, and a little cash were always handy. Well, clothes wear out, it's too hot or too cold for the sweater with the pockets, etc. My solution: I now use my passport holder (the kind with the string around your neck and the 5" x 6" pocket to hide under your clothes) for these items, wearing it over one shoulder and neck on the outside. This passport holder is very convenient and handy: it's always with me, and I can wear comfortable clothes in the library, not only those that have pockets!
Patty Milich
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