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Subject: Re: [APG] Origin of Practice of Keeping Family Records in Bibles
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:23:22 EDT



The extensive Bible collection of the American Bible Society in New York
City whould make it relatively easy to determine from original sources how early
the practice of keepig family records in bibles has prevailed, as well as the
practice of including printed family record pages for them. The collection
is large enough to provide for a thorough quantitative study by anyone who
could devote a year or so to analyzing the whole collection--or even just the
American portion of it.

In my experience, there was no denominational difference in the practice of
recording family data in bibles, except to the extent that economics and
literacy may have impacted bible ownership. The first Catholic bible printed in
the U.S., by Matthew Carey in Philaldelphia in 1790, had family record pages,
and I have seen pre-1850 Catholic bibles with records completed in various
handwritings, owned by families whose adult members are known to have been
illiterate from the census and legal documents they executed by mark.

Donn Devine, CG, CGL

Archivist, Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware, USA

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are
service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license
by board certificants after periodic evaluation, and the board name is
registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.



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