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Archiver > NEW-ZEALAND > 2007-02 > 1171440041


From: "Stephen Donald" <>
Subject: Re: [NZ] Dating Family Bible
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:00:41 +1300
References: <002601c74efd$dc2c4650$0200a8c0@OPTIMACFEF5CD5><45D104E1.4030109@clear.net.nz>


A few years ago someone in England bought a battered bible in a charity shop
in England, looked up an internet forum to see who was searching for the
family whose details were entered in the front, tracked me down here in NZ
within the hour (my great grandfather and two of my grandmother's sisters
were named, along with four generations back to late 1700s), and he sent me
scanned copies of the pages the next day. I suggested that the purchaser
track down the donor of the bible, who it turned out was also a descendant
of my gt gt grandparents, but did not know anything beyond her own
grandparents. We made contact and she ended up paying the bloke the five
pounds he had bought it for and kept the bible in her family (I had already
offered to take it off his hands for ten plus postage costs to NZ)

It turned out the bible was a printing of the 1820s, but the page with the
oldest dates and details (all pre-1820) was on a different paper and of a
style of writing consistent with the 1700s and had been pasted in from
either an earlier bible or some other book - so probably was contemporary
with these earlier events.

So I now have family details I didn't know before, and my relation in
England has family she did not even know existed.

Happy ending all round
Stephen

> As you surmise, it was very common to enter events retrospectively. Most
> family Bibles I have seen have the first items in the owners hand then
> by descendants who usually recorded events as they occurred. One of our
> Bibles helpfully mentioned their farm names though some dates did not
> quite match those in the parish register.
>
> Adrian Verry
> Turakina
>
> Jenny & Gwylym Baldwin wrote:
>> I am trying to date the bible that I have recently obtained containing
>> names back to my gggg grandfather. I can account for all the names, the
>> bible has connections to the Nelson region. The writing for all the
>> entries of family names appears to be in a similar handwriting

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