Treasure Chest Thursday~Mattie's New Testament

Old Testament owned by Mattie Baker

One of the pleasures of seeking out ancestors is finding items they once held dear. Items that then become a treasure to you.
This New Testament was owned by my paternal great -great grandmother, Martha "Mattie" Victoria (Bradford) Baker (1862-1947).
It was discovered by my father in a box of items going to the trashcan after Mattie's daughter, my great aunt Kathryn Louise (Baker) Ryan passed away (1898-1987).

While Mattie used this book for worship, she also used it to keep things to save and remember. 

She signed her name, the date, and her location

Inside Cover

Included newspaper clippings

Poem about America

Pressed flowers                                               

Violet from a friend.

Flower picked at music teacher's house

Inserted obituaries

Obituaries of son George and sister- in- law Mary

Saved a Valentine from her granddaughter Ellen  

Front of Valentine

                          

                                       

                                                 

and the wedding announcement of grandaughter Lola.

Mattie dedicated her New Testament on the last page to her sister Esther who died in 1919. 

Family or personal Bibles are sought out for any information they may contain on vital statistics. They often are the only place where birth, marriage, and deaths are recorded. If you come across one belonging to your ancestor, don't make the mistake of only looking at the family register. Turn each page to uncover any hidden keepsakes. You never know what you may find.

What have you found in a family or personal book of scripture?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,

Sympathy Saturday~"My Best Friends Are Gone"

  Bibles, personal or family, are such a wonderful things to discover.They can be a great resource for Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Sometimes they are filled with newspaper clippings and other items saved by the owners.
 A few months ago, while conducting a page by page search of a Bible given to my Great Aunt, Kate Baker Ryan (1898-1987) in 1923,  I discovered  handwritten information about her father, Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940), mother, Martha Victoria Bradford Baker (1862-1947) and husband, James "Jim" Patrick Ryan (1893-1950) on the back of the New Testament page.

 Page from Kate Baker Ryan Bible
© Cheri Hudson Passey

  Kate wrote:
                    "Father taken to hospital June 22- 1940"
                    "Father was taken back to hospital Oct. 25-1940
                    "Father died  Mon 6am  Oct. 28 '-40 Buried Tues. 11am Oct. 29
 
                   "Mother was taken sick April 9, 1947 (Wed) and died Sat. am 2 o'clock April 19
                    buried Sun-April 20-1947 Sumter Cemetery

                     " My best friends are gone"

                  "Jim was taken sick Sat. Oct 30th 1948
                  died at veteran's Hospital Dec. 21-1950-"

               
               
"My best friends are gone"
 What a sad statement! Reading it broke my heart.
 Kate's sentiment seems to originally be for her beloved parents and then, later in 1950, her husband of 29 years.

 I am grateful that "Auntie Kate" took the time to document how she felt about the deaths of her loved ones in her Bible. To call her parents "best friends" says something about the paternal Great Great Grandparents I never knew.

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Treasure Chest Thursday-Pop's WWII New Testament

      A few weeks ago, my kids and I took on the task of cleaning out my parent's attic. My Mom has been asking us for quite a while to get it done before "the ceiling caved in."
 My Dad was in the Air Force and we had moved many times while I was growing up. I figured that since it wasn't like they had lived there all their lives  genealogy treasures wouldn't be found and that the stuff up there was just old clothes and other dusty junk. Most of it would be thrown away or donated.
 That is exactly what we found-until my Mom discovered this buried in a box full of old papers that she was planning on shredding.

Metal Front of WWII New Testament
"May the Lord be with you"
Original Owner: Benjamin Allen Hudson
©Cheri Hudson Passey

 Inside Front Cover WWII New Testament
Original Owner: Benjamin Allen Hudson
©Cheri Hudson Passey

  This is the New Testament that my Paternal Grandfather, Benjamin Allen Hudson (1918-1976), better known to his grandchildren as "Pop", took with him when he left to go overseas and serve during WWII.
The front of this small New Testament is metal, to place in his breast pocket to protect him from being shot.
 Inside the front cover there is a place to fill out the soldiers name, who gave the book and next of kin information.
  Pop's New Testament was given to him by "Mother Baker", who would have been Martha "Mattie" Victoria Baker (1862-1947). Mattie was the maternal Grandmother of  Mary Baker Hudson (1920-2010). 
Mary Hudson, Ben's wife and my Paternal Grandmother, is named as next of kin.

Benjamin Allen Hudson (1918-1976)

What a find! Goes to show that you never know what you might find cleaning out your parents attic!

©Cheri Hudson Passey