Ruby M. Cusack
 

Today grade five is a milestone in children's lives as it means saying good bye to the days of elementary school and entering the world of middle school.

Grade five was a milestone of another type when I was in that grade many years ago. It was the year we were all given a small pocket Gideon Bible.

The day I received mine, Cliff and I hurried home to show it to Mum.

It certainly was tiny compared to the big Family Bible that was in the parlor at Grampie's. I asked Mum what was in the big Bible that wasn't in mine.

Therefore on our next trip to Grampie's, Mum took the large heavy Bible from its resting place on the parlor table and showed us the pictures in it and read us all the names that had been written on the Family Record pages between the New and Old Testaments. She said they had probably used a quill to do the recording.

The information, written in the Family Bible often provides us with a glimpse into the vital statistic events of the family members. Their life is like a mountain railroad as they travel from the cradle to the grave.

The Library and Archives of the New Brunswick Museum has 274 records in a database of Bibles titled ‘Sacred'.

At the Kings County Museum, Hampton there are several Bibles with information on the families of Akerley, Andrews, Armstrong, Barnes, Bell, Britney, Brown, Carpenter, Colwell, Cox, Davis, DeMill, Dykeman, Fairweather, Fowler, Gray, Harricks, Harris, Hart, Hatfield, Herritt, Hill, Hogan, Howk,  Jenner, Kelley, Kierstead, Knapton, Leonard, McFee, Monahan, Monteith, Saunders, Sherwood, Smith, Spragg, Sprague, Tabor, Thompson, Titus, Trueworthy and Vanwart.

Whenever you are visiting an institution or a family member, always inquire about a Family Bible. Information can often be found in this Holy Book that is documented in no other place.

Many Bibles were also a depository for newspaper clippings of births, marriages and deaths.

If your family has a Bible, I suggest you photocopy the family record pages and donate them to a research facility thus making this information available to future generations as well as long lost cousins who may come searching for their roots.
 

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff. Send your queries to her at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those who do not have access to E-mail.