What's that, you say? It's a Bible, sitting on the table at my grandma's family reunion a couple of weeks ago. (I say it's my grandma's family reunion because Grandma is my mother's stepmother, and I've never known her extended family all that well. But she's still my grandma.) The date on the title page indicates that it was published in 1814, but it includes handwritten birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates that go back to the 1780's. It's beautiful. I wish I could claim the Crandalls within as my direct ancestors!
And yes, that's a small child hovering over it--probably a very nice, very sweet little girl. She was one of a half dozen children running wildly around the American Legion hall that day... right past the family Bible. And here's what nearly drove me to a panic attack: The Bible was left there for a good part of the afternoon, so that family members could peruse it, with their LEMONADE and COFFEE on the table right next to it!!!
Oh, I had to share this with you, geneabloggers, because you're the only ones who understand why I was developing a nervous tick while sitting at the next table. Nobody else around me seemed to get it.
Eventually the Bible was packed up and Grandma's sister took it home again, unscathed, but that was just a matter of luck. I took as many pictures as possible to add to Ancestry.com and share with other branches of Grandma's family who might be interested in seeing it, and I'll be saying little prayers that nobody tips a glass of lemonade!
