Honoring Our Ancestors
The 111-Year Bible Rescue
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
A few months ago, when I invited readers to write to me about orphaned items they would like to return to the family of origin (click here for more articles on other orphan heirloom rescues), I received an intriguing e-mail from Connie Magee Rinaldi:
"When my great-grandparents William J. and Fannie Magee moved into a house on North Main Street in Decatur, Illinois, in 1893, they found a Bible in the attic that was inscribed, 'Peter Beck, his bibil gave to him as a present in the year of our Lord A.D. 1828.' The bible was purchased in Westfield Township, Delaware County, Ohio. The only other data was a marriage date for Peter and Mary Beck on 22 March 1827. We would be delighted to return this to his descendents if we can find them."
1893? A family Bible held by another family for over a century in the hope of one day returning it? I asked Connie about this and she replied:
"Our family has been interested in family histories for several generations. They settled in Illinois in the mid-1800s and were surrounded by a culture that seems to have felt the need to preserve the history of its residents. It was only natural, then, that we would never toss out something that documented family history, even when the family wasn't ours. My aunt, Frances Magee Breting, is almost 80 years old. Knowing that I do a good deal of genealogical research online, she asked if I might be able to locate a descendent so that this Bible could go home at last."
How could I resist a case like this?
To the Internet
I launched my search as I do all my rescue quests--by entering names in the main search fields at Ancestry.com. Given that I was searching for Peter and Mary Beck, fairly common names, I wasn't all that surprised to find several online family trees with people of these names living in the right timeframe. Could any of them be the correct family?
I turned to online census records to learn more. More specifically, I focused on the 1860, 1870, and 1880 every-name indexes, seeking Peter Becks in Macon County, Illinois, where Decatur is located. All the Peter Becks I could find in this county turned out to be related to the oldest individual of that name, who had apparently been born around 1802 in Pennsylvania. I was perplexed to find this fellow in 1860 and 1880, but not in 1870. A little creative searching (on Pet* Beck) in 1870, though, turned up "Petter Beck" in Harristown.
Compare and Contrast
1802 seemed a likely birth year for someone who married in 1827, and Harristown--all of eight miles from Decatur--seemed a likely residence. Equipped with details from three sets of census records, I returned to the online family trees and discovered that about half a dozen of them pertained to this 1802 Peter Beck from Harristown. The children matched, his wife was Mary, and they were said to have married circa 1828. Moreover, in a couple of the census records, it appears that a brother of Mary's was living with them, providing her maiden name of Carney, which appeared in the pedigrees. I also noticed that Peter and Mary's oldest children were born in Ohio, a fact that meshed with the Bible's origin in Ohio.
From there, I inspected the various trees to see which one had been most thoroughly researched and documented (it was clear some had been imported). I also googled some specific names to see what was floating out in cyberspace and was pleased to find bits and pieces that seemed to confirm details found in a particular tree.
Moving Forward in Time
Having zeroed in on a pedigree that had passed this initial inspection, I followed relevant lines forward looking for likely contenders to contact. I honed in on a couple and spot-checked them again by looking at more recent records, such as the 1920 and 1930 census. As usual, the 1930 census was key because it gave me names of people I hoped would be with us today. It appeared that the closest living generation was the couple's great-grandchildren.
From there, it was a matter of seeking youngsters from the 1930 census in phone directories today. Since the family tree I had found to be accurate so far indicated that Peter Beck died in Kansas, I concentrated on finding descendants there. With minimal effort, I located a great-grandson now in his early 80s.
Timing Is Everything
I shared this information with Connie and asked her to get back to me once she had returned the Bible. Earlier today, I received an update:
"I spoke with Mr. Beck by phone in late June, and he seemed very interested in having the Bible. I explained to him that I would send it to him after our Magee family reunion in mid-July when I would be able to obtain the Bible from my aunt. I sent it out to him on July 20 with a request that he send me a note to let me know it arrived in good order. A week later I received a wonderful letter written by his wife, saying that receiving the Bible was 'like a gift from Heaven' for her husband and his siblings. Mr. Beck has been in ill health, and 'the Bible came at a time when he needed a lift.' His sister has been doing genealogical research on the Beck family and was delighted to see the Bible.
"The graves of Peter and Mary Beck are in a cemetery just ten miles from their home. After Mr. Beck has shared the bible with his siblings, he plans to pass it on to his grandson who is active in his church and will take good care of it. Mrs. Beck ended the letter with this sentiment, 'I don't know how to really thank you enough for the compassion, time, and effort you put forth to locate my husband and send him the Bible.'
"Since receiving this letter, I made another call to let them know that their happiness in receiving this Bible was more than enough reward for my small part in this heartwarming story. I feel blessed to have been able to be the vehicle for bringing the Bible home, and I know my aunt feels the same."
Any More Orphans?
This was a classic rescue involving online family trees, census records, and phone directories--albeit one 111 years in the making!
If you've somehow come into possession of another family's Bible, photos, documents, or whatever and would like to return them, please send me a brief e-mail describing the object, how you found it, and whatever snippets (names, dates, places) of information are available. Naturally, I can't rescue all the items I learn of, but I'll make an attempt on as many as possible.
In the meantime, I wish for all of you that someone like the Magee family is lovingly protecting your family heirlooms until the day they can be returned to you!
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of Honoring Our Ancestors, In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection in Rediscovering Our Family History, They Came to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors, and Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree, can be contacted through www.honoringourancestors.com
Upcoming Events
- Heritage Education Commission Family History Workshop XXIX (2 October 2004, Moorhead, Minn.)
- Family History Fair (17 October 2004, New York, N.Y.)
- Sandusky Library (23 October 2004, Sandusky, Ohio)
- Genealogical Society of Bergen County, N.J. (25 October 2004, Ridgewood, N.J.)
- 1st International Conference on Genetic Genealogy for Family Tree DNA Group Administrators (30 October 2004, Houston, Tex.)
- Middlesex Genealogical Society (29 January 2005, Darien, Conn.)
- Lancaster Family History Conference (1-2 April 2005, Lancaster, Pa.)
- Central Jersey Genealogical Club (12 April 2005, Mercerville, N.J.)
- Ohio Genealogical Society Conference (14-16 April 2005, Akron, Ohio)
- Oklahoma Genealogical Society Spring Seminar (30 April 2005, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- Orange County Genealogical Society (14 May 2005, Goshen, N.Y.)
- Iowa Genealogical Society Annual Fall Conference (6-8 October 2005, Clive, Iowa)
Click here to find details and links to upcoming events.
Copyright 2004, MyFamily.com.
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Ancestry Quick Tip
Colored Paper Speeds Filing Process
I tend to do research and leave the filing for later, which can be a tedious task. To speed the filing process, I have assigned a different color-coded file folders and colored paper to each of four grandparents' families. While I am working, I print everything during that work session in the color that corresponds to the branch I am working on. When I organize my work, the color-coded paper is easy to file with out me having to read each sheet. I keep all colors of paper in a rack beside the printer, making it easy to manually feed a new color as needed for printing research or e-mail from fellow researchers.
Dale Jordan
Winchester, Virginia
Thanks to Dale for today's Quick Tip! If you have a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to ADNeditor@ancestry.com
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