ANOTHER VV BIBLE FOUND
--Florence VV Davis
Did you know that eBay, the Internet auction site, has a Genealogy category? I didn't -
I've never gotten beyond the Collectibles department! But in early June a posting on the Van Valkenburg Family Genealogy Forum alerted me to the fact. That very week a VV family Bible was being listed in the Genealogy auction.
I hurried to the eBay site as fast as my computer would take me. The description of the Bible was fascinating but the photos were even more compelling. The old leather cover was badly worn and half of the brass clasp was missing. But the name, George Van Valkenburg, inscribed on the cover was still readable.
There were also pictures of a beautifully colored marriage certificate and pages of family births and deaths. Clearly this was a Bible that belonged in the NAVVF.
A quick consultation with other board members confirmed my conclusion-they all encouraged me to bid for it. But there was only one problem -I was due to leave in a couple of days for our summer place. I would take my laptop computer with me but I had no Internet connection set up there. Would I be able to get back online before the auction ended at 9:50 AM Monday?
Happily, I was able to get back on line over the weekend, and get a winning bid in place before the auction closed. In two weeks, the George VV Bible arrived in the mail and is now owned by the NAVVF. After this year's reunion it will be sent to the VV repository in the Greene County Historical Society in Coxsackie, NY.
The family history recorded in the Bible offers information not found to date in the VV Family database. Names, events, and dates include:
Marriage certificate: George Van Valkenburg of Schenectady, NY, married to Mary Perrine of Root, NY, 1/1/1849 at Yatesville by H. Warner. Witnesses were Andrew Vrooman and Jacob VV.
Other marriages: Olivia E. VV to Isaac Conover (no date); Harold P. VV to Gertrude S. Conover;11/19/1884; May VV to Dean R. Woods 10/20/1886; Frank VV to Rosa E. Meade 5/18/1887; Florence VV to Will G. Keller 1/1/1890.
Births: George VV 1/23/1828 at Schenectady, NY; Mary Perrine VV 11/26/1826 at Randall, NY; Infant son 9/14/1851; Genevra VV 11/25/1852; Olivia E.VV 12/19/1855; Harold P.VV 4/28/1858; Anabel VV 2/16/1961; Frank G. VV 8/12/1863; May VV 4/16/1866; Florence VV 9/19/1868. (All children born at Randall, NY.)
Deaths: Genevra VV 10/23/1880; infant son 10/5/1851; Frank VV 7/13/1922; Harold VV 6/16/1925; Anabel VV 1/10/1936; Olivia E.VV Conover 3/18/1939.
Memoranda: Emmet H. Conover born 5/16/1880; Helen V. VV born 1/29/1886; George Dean Woods born 8/7/1887; Will Egbert Woods born 12/31/1889; Mary Elizabeth Keller born 4/16/1891; Harry Richmond Woods 1/30/1892; Vann Daouglas Keller 8/19/1896.
The Bible itself is filled with additional information: a Bible dictionary, concordance, the Psalms in metre; a history of religious denominations of the world, etc. Included are many beautiful steel engravings illustrating Bible stories. It was published about 1875, suggesting that this may have commemorated George and Mary's 25th wedding anniversary. Many of the entries were written in after the events occurred. Nevertheless, this Bible is a great asset to the NAVVF collection of records.