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It has been well-known for many generations that if you wish to keep your family records in a safe place, you should write it into your family Bible. It is somehow assumed that that is one treasure that will always remain in the family and be easy to find.
That proves not to always be the case anymore. More often now we have old Bibles and rare books come into our MHSS Archives. Often these are steered to us by a second-hand shop that has received these old Bibles as a cast-off donation, but the staff recognize that these volumes may have great historical value.
It has occurred to our archives staff that we need to let people know of these family heirlooms. Those individuals especially, who are doing family genealogy research may be thrilled to discover names and dates that are vital proof for missing links in their searches. Of course, we need to get this information out there where you can learn about it.
In May of 2018 Peter Adsten, a volunteer at the archives prepared a 26 page document listing Rare Old Books. Most of these are German; a few are in English. About a shelf and a half of these rare old books are big family Bibles with some pages of family records in the front. Although Peter has recorded the names of the heads of the families in each Bible, he has not entered every name given in the individual Bibles.
Therefore, we recommend that you open or download and read the latest Rare Books List, keeping alert for names that could be part of your family tree. Then you need to call the Archives and make arrangements to visit when Peter is working there, so you may - with his help - examine these books, for clues that apply to your family records.
Please note that once books are in the archives they cannot be removed again. They are permanently kept in the archives, and these rare books are kept in a specially locked room. However, you may visit and look at these books for your research.