welcome to the ancestral findings podcast one source of birth records that you might
not have considered is the family bible these were popular in the 1700s and 1800s and were
bibles with blank pages for recording birth death and marriage information in a family they were
usually handed down from generation to generation this is what you need to know about family bibles
[Music]
an important source of birth records that you might not think about are family bibles these were
extremely popular in the 1700s and 1800s in both europe and the united states these were typically
large bibles that had interior pages on which you could record births deaths and marriages in
your family over the generations the larger than average size of the bibles made them sturdy and
durable which was perfect for handing them down from generation to generation as was often done
you will often find three or more generations recorded in a family bible often in different
handwriting as different people in different generations took over the job of recording events
in it when family bibles were in vogue they were sold in stores by catalog and even by door-to-door
salesmen their primary attraction were the blank pages for recording family information
these pages were usually located between the old and new testaments but could be found at the front
or back of the bible depending on the publisher in addition to recording vital statistic information
on a family the people who kept family bibles sometimes pasted newspaper clippings photographs
or other two-dimensional memorabilia into them you will find a treasure trove of information
in most family bibles the full names of individuals were usually used and you will be able
to discover a woman's maiden name in the marriage records for women who married into the family
keeping the bible full dates of events month day and year are included in the recordings which is
incredibly useful if you've only been able to find a partial date a guess at a date or no date at all
if any extra information is recorded that is just icing on the genealogical cake the information in
family bibles is considered to be primary source information in most instances as the information
recorded in them almost always occurred as the event happened only if it is clear that
the information was recorded by a later generation is the information considered a secondary source
if you cannot find any official documentation on an ancestor a family bible will work perfectly
as it is usually kept in the same regard as an official document the family bibles were usually
handed down to the oldest or only girl in a family as women were considered the record keepers of
family information in generations from the 1700s and 1800s if there were no daughters the bible
may have been left to the eldest granddaughter of a son or to the eldest son sometimes the family
bible was left to whoever was the most interested in having it and keeping information in it if
you have a family bible you're lucky as the information is already there at your fingertips
if you are looking for a family bible for another branch or any branch of your family there are many
that have been digitized and recorded on a variety of genealogy sites online you can also try tracing
a family through the people most likely to have inherited the bible and inquire of them if they
have it while not every family kept a family bible looking for one is well worth the time and effort
for the information it can give you especially concerning birth dates and even the names and
birth dates of previously unknown children on that branch of your family tree [Music]
well thanks for listening to the ancestral findings podcast visit ancestralfindings.com
and download a free ebook and sign up for the historical postcard giveaway
hey i hope you have a wonderful day happy searching
you