{"id":17853,"date":"2016-11-08T11:30:01","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T16:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=17853"},"modified":"2021-04-19T14:55:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T18:55:29","slug":"genealogy-101-4-the-family-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-101-4-the-family-bible.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy 101: #4 The Family Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article \u2013 part of an ongoing \u201cIntroduction to Genealogy\u201d series \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega discusses how helpful family Bibles can be for your family history research, and suggests places where family Bibles can be found. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.<\/span>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The family Bible: it can be the holy grail of family history research, but its promise of information isn\u2019t always what it seems to be. Why are Bible records so sought after? What do they tell us? And if you weren\u2019t lucky enough to inherit the family Bible, is there any hope for finding it?<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: family Bible in the possession of the author. Credit: Gena Philibert-Ortega.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Family Bibles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the first facts family historians try to find are the date and place for their ancestor\u2019s birth, marriage, and death. In previous generations, old family Bibles were used to record vital record events in the life of a family. They were also used by families to \u201cprove\u201d these events in trying to secure benefits like military pensions. For the years before vital records registration was mandatory nationwide, the family Bible can be one of the few sources for information on these events.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: family records entered into a Bible in the possession of the author. Credit: Gena Philibert-Ortega.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prior to the 20th century, Bibles were important gifts for newly married couples. Family Bibles allowed a couple to document their marriage, births of children, family deaths, and family history information for posterity, and to use as proof when needed. Eventually, the recording of family history information in old family Bibles was superseded by mandatory vital record registration nationwide, as mentioned in this 1911 newspaper article about the growingly obsolete family Bible.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), 7 January 1911, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evaluate the Evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps you are lucky enough to have the coveted family Bible. So, you have everything you need about your ancestor\u2019s birth, marriage, and death, right?<\/p>\n

Although it can seem like a slam dunk when you find an entry for your ancestor in a family Bible, it\u2019s important to remember to evaluate the evidence. Family Bible documentation may not be accurate. For example, information on a birth may have been written years after the event occurred, making it prone to error. So, if you\u2019re lucky enough to find a family Bible, consider the following points in evaluating the accuracy of its information:<\/p>\n