A Guide to the Family Bible Records, 1747-2001 Family Bible Records 1693 THL

A Guide to the Family Bible Records, 1747-2001

A Collection in
Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library
Accession number 1693 THL


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Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library

Stewart Bell Jr. Archives Room
The Handley Regional Library
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society
P.O. Box 58
Winchester, VA 22604
Phone: (540) 662-9041, ext.17
Email: archives@handleyregional.org
URL: http://www.handleyregional.org

© 2018 By Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library

Processed by: Archives Staff

Repository
Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library
Accession number
1693 THL
Title
Family Bible Records, 1747-2001
Physical Characteristics
1.04 linear feet, plus 10 complete family Bibles .
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to all researchers.

Use Restrictions

Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

Preferred Citation

Family Bible Records, Collection # 1693 THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.

Acquisition Information

Acquired as a gift

Alternative Form Available

The Genealogical Society of Utah digitized many of the materials in this collection in 2007. Digital copies of these materials are available in the Archives Reading Room. Selected images from this collection are also available via the Stewart Bell Jr. Digitial Collections. Links to these digitized materials are also provided in the container list of this guide.

Biographical Information

The Family Bible Records collection contains a number of miscellaneous files with manuscript and photocopy excerpts from family Bibles belonging to individuals and families from the Winchester-Frederick County area. The excerpts generally record birth, death, and marriage dates and sometimes other personal and family information. In some cases the family Bible records include newspaper clippings, obituaries, funeral cards, and other ephemera which was originally held between the pages of the Bible. The collection also includes complete Bibles. The family record information from these Bibles has been photocopied.

Scope and Content

The practice of recording family information in a Bible has a long history, but became increasingly common as printing technology improved and Bible became cheaper to purchase. In the late 1700s a printer in Massachusetts became the first to offer a Bible for sale with a section for recording births, deaths, and marriages. Bibles with these blank register pages were popular during the nineteenth century and often given as gifts to newly married couples.

For family history researchers these family Bible records are important sources of genealogical information, especially where vital statistics do not exist. Virginia did not begin to record vital statistics until 1853, and even then the information was not conistently reported to the state. Bible records may help uncover family information when the record of vital statistics is absent or imcomplete.

Researchers should pay close attention to the date of publication of the Bible and the penmanship of the entries. In some cases people copied information into a Bible record from another source or from memory well after an event had occurred and the information may be inaccurate.