#52Ancestors52Weeks....Week 2...Origins..........Beginning With the Crawford Family Bible (The Crawford Family Part 1)

 The Crawford Family Bible (possession of Patti Alden) 

    This week's theme is Origins.  I thought I'd open the Crawford Family Bible that has been sitting in a box since 2012 when I brought it home from Auntie Claire's house so I could continue her research.  I have been putting off blogging about this branch of the family for quite some time, mostly due to the fact that I know some history of the family after they came to California in the 1850's, but I know very little of their life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before that and I know nothing of their origins beyond that.  My Auntie, who was the "keeper of the stuff" and family historian at the time, had an inkling that the Crawfords were originally from Scotland but did not get any further than that.  That was before DNA estimates of ethnicity and cousin matches that we are all blessed with nowadays.  I do have matches to Crawford relatives which might shed some light on origins further back in time.  And yes, we do share quite a bit of Scottish DNA!

   This week I thought I would  take a look at the Bible itself,  crack it open just a bit, and see what I could learn.  Because you have to start somewhere. 

 

 Title page 

    Let's start with the origins of the bible itself. The Crawford Family bible was published in Philadelphia by John B. Perry in 1849.  It could be purchased on either  North Fourth Street or North Second Street in Philadelphia.  It was probably purchased by or given to  John Washington Crawford, my third great grandfather.  He and his new family were listed as living in the First Ward (Moyamensing) of Philadelphia on the 1850 Census. In fact, the very first entry in the Family Record section is for the marriage of John Washington Crawford and Sarah Byerly, both of Philadelphia.  They were joined in Holy Matrimony on the twenty third of February, 1848.  The bible may have been a late wedding gift, or purchased after their marriage.  

The Family Record section is located in the middle of the bible. This section is for marriages. 

  The bible is still in remarkable shape; the cover unfortunately has separated from the spine. It is very large and heavy (it weighs 8 pounds!), and smells very musty. It measures 9 1/2" X 11 1/2" x 3 3/4' thick.  It has beautiful engravings protected by thin, brittle tissue paper.  I found a similar condition bible on ebay selling for $275!  

This page had color added. 

"Christ Stillith the Tempest" 

The bible is interspersed with engravings of key moments.  It must have been exciting to read these bible stories and come upon beautiful engravings with such detail. 

  The most remarkable thing about this bible (many families have similar family bibles; what is so special about this one?) is that the middle section contains recorded family births, marriages and deaths of the Crawford, Byerly, Thompson, and Hayes families dating from 1848  up to 1969. Locations recorded began in Philadelphia, and continued on to Sacramento City (founded in 1848 after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill) and then on to San Francisco.  A literal treasure trove of family history.  I just marvel that this record is still in our family. 

 Births 

Deaths

  How did this bible get into my possession?  Well, the Crawford family treasured this bible so much that they took it with them by wagon train to California sometime between 1850 and 1856.  My great great grandmother Sarah Elizabeth Crawford was born on the 17th day of October, 1856 at Sacramento City. 

 The Crawford child's tea set, brought to California on the wagon train around 1850.  The bible came along too. 

In the possession of Stephanie Efstratis.

 It then moved with the family from the city of Sacramento to the  city of San Francisco where it was preserved and written in up until 1940.  It was kept in the Hayes family and the last entry written was for Sarah E. Hayes (Sarah Crawford, my great great grandmother) who died in 1940.  There are added records for the Hayes children and the marriage of Lester Hayes to Emma King  which were written in blue ball point pen in what looks like my Auntie Dot's handwriting. The last entry she wrote was for Lester Franklin Hayes (her father) who passed away on April 5, 1969. She included a small newspaper snippet of his obituary inside the front cover. I don't know if she made these notations while the bible was in San Francisco, or after the bible moved to her home in Sacramento.  It was relocated to Grass Valley when she and Uncle Willie moved back in the 70's.  In any event,  my Auntie Claire eventually inherited boxes and boxes of family records including the bible and other Hayes family records.   She lived in Angels Camp, California which is where I picked it up while helping to clean out her home in 2012.  The bible now resides in Reno, Nevada with me. That is quite a story! 

   The Crawford Family Bible has now been digitally documented, and  it will finally make its way into an archival box for future generations. In my next several posts I will add more pictures of the records pages and share my  working tree for the Crawford family.  This family bible has started me on the way forward (or should I say backward)....possibly all the way to Scotland!

 Relationship Reference:

Me:--Margaret Hansen Boothby--Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen--

The parents of Margaret Hayes Hansen were Emma Lavinia King Hayes VanDuzer  and Lester Franklin Hayes.

(they had three daughters: Dorothy, Francis and Margaret)

The parents of Lester Hayes were Sarah (Sallie) Elizabeth Crawford and Franklin Hayes

The parents of Sallie Crawford were John Washington Crawford and Sarah Byerly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, married in 1848.