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2024 Week 19: Preserve #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 A few years ago, I came into the possession of a family bible. It was the family bible of my paternal grandparents, John McAra and Christina Walker. Until her death in 2018, the bible had been in the hands of my Aunt Inez, widow of my Uncle Will McAra. When I started enquiring as to its whereabouts, I found that it was her grandson, John, who now had it. John himself had no real interest in it at all, so he was quite happy to hand it over to me. However, it was, to say the least, in a bit of a state. The front cover was completely detached and there were many loose pages as the spine of the book was also damaged and detached. I had no choice but to take it to a book repairer in Glasgow, where it was repaired as best it could be.

The bible itself had been originally published in Glasgow in the late 19th century. In Victorian times it was common for Christian families to have such a large bible in which they could record events such as births, marriages and deaths. The one I have also has pages for family portraits, but they, unfortunately, are empty. 

The 'family' pages are found between the the Old and the New Testaments. Although originally filled in by my grandmother, other people have added information over the years, some of which is inaccurate. Bibles such as this can often be a great find for a family genealogist, but in my case, there was no new information. 

I have no idea if the bible was ever used by the family in their home at prayer. It must have been beautiful when it was new. The cover is leather, it has metal clasps to lock it, each page has a commentary about the content/story and there are both black and white and colour illustrations throughout.

Although the bible now has a home on one of my bookshelves and is rarely looked at, I felt the need to preserve it. It is part of my family's story. It was in my grandparents' possession during the portion of their lives when they were having and losing children. It may have been a great comfort to them to have it in their home. I don't know how many other homes it may have been through on its way to me, but for now, it is here with me as I attempt to preserve it for the next generation.



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  1. Marian B. WoodMay 7, 2024 at 5:38 AM

    A very elegant Bible, worthy of being preserved for the next generation and beyond.

    ReplyDelete

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