Hey everyone, So I've been searching all over the internet for ways to possibly find an old family bible. According to my grandmother it dates back to the 1600s. But when her Grandfather died it went to her cousin. Her cousin is dead now and my grandmother can't remember the names to any of her children.
I've searched on Ebay, a few bible sites, and through ancestry. I really want to try to find it. Does anyone have any more suggestions?
The bible includes three families- the Ginters, Craders, and Postons from around Cape Girardeau Mo
Help?
shortgilly2013-04-22T21:12:12Z
Favorite Answer
Almost all family bibles are in some relatives attic. The key is to find the relative that has it, then beg and plead for copies. Only a few of these relatives are really into genealogy enough to share with the world on the internets. The big problem with family Bibles is that the person that started it usually has tens or thousands of descendants, so they can end up just about anywhere. Keep looking for the cousin's kids. One of them might know what happened to it.
A few places that might have digitized copies or help you find transcriptions Family History Library in Salt Lake City has some on microfilm The Family History Center or genealogical society near Cape Girardeau might have copies State and county archives might have it, copies, or transcriptions Rootsweb and ancestry.com message boards, post an inquiry and if the relative or someone that knows its whereabouts may come across it.
What you need to do is start researching your family history. Find the cousin, determine who her children were and possibly their children. Living relatives can often be found through social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Find her obituary. Local libraries often have newspapers archived on microfilm and will do an obituary lookup for a small fee. Children are almost always listed.
This is one time when the 14 day free subscription to Ancestry would be a good idea. Create a basic tree including the cousin's information and see if anyone else has her on their tree. Document her life using the census records, birth marriage and death records, old newspapers etc. and find her children's names that way. There is a pretty good chance at least some of them will be on the 1940 census. Contact every person with her on their tree to see if they are related and might know of the Bible or names of other siblings.
Also look for her on group family tree sites such as Geni and We relate..
Post to the Surname message boards your quest. Rootsweb.com, GenForum.com are two I know of, there may be more. Also do a search in each message board for first names of other family members as they or their descendants may have posted before you.
How long ago did the "cousin" die? Have you looked for an obituary? The Grandfather's obituary? Was she married with children for the 1930 0r 1940 censuses? Was she in MO and died before 1963? Mo State Gov website has scanned online death certificates 1905-1963 and you can look her last address and informant's name. If her grave site or any family member's grave sites (with the surnames you posted) are on Find-A-Grave then post a message there about looking for the Bible.