Saved my family bible from the 1600s!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Just two weeks ago, I sat beside the grave of my 10x great-grandfather Thomas Bolles (1644-1727) for the first time. He was my immigrant ancestor who first came to America in about 1668 and is the founder of the Bolles family line here. He is buried in Ye Antientist Cemetery aka Ancient Cemetery in New London CT and I took the photos below. Then today I check my Ebay search alerts and...

Oh... my... god...

It was his family bible, an old Geneva bible from 1615, so old that it pre-dates his entry, which says "Tho Bolles 1696, his book" It had been deaccessioned from the Washington Cathedral Library's rare book collection in 2010 and tucked into the pages was a four page letter, written in 1909 explaining how his father, the author of The Genealogy of the Bolles Family in America, had obtained the book in 1860 for $5 and a promise that it would always stay in the Bolles family. He wrote the genealogy from it and other sources.

It is in rough shape with serious condition issues. I paid through the nose for it, $999. I had to. How could I not? It would have haunted me the rest of my life if I had not come to its rescue. I don't expect to recoup that money, it was a lot, but I did it to save an incredible relic, that has been a part of my family for almost 400 years. I know next to nothing about buying rare books.

So now I have some big decisions to make about how to keep it physically safe and to make it accessible to the Bolles family. For starters I am thinking a fire-safe, climate controlled safe deposit box. I'm a member of the Bolles Family Association and have already sent an email to the organization's president to let him know.

So tonight I'm feeling a little shell-shocked, I've only once paid that much for anything non-essential. My husband, God bless him, has officially earned sainthood for being fully supportive. But like my son said "Just relax, have a good night and know that now it is safe."

Me at Thomas' grave two weeks ago:


View from his grave:



Pics of the bible from the seller







Two pages of the 1909 letter

[Kevin_Bones]

You always have the coolest stories!, that's awesome!!!

[sapphire]

Totally in awe!  While most of us can only hope to find mention, at best scant information about ancestors from that long ago......... you my dear have hit the genealogical jackpot!  So happy for you and for the entire Bolles family.

[Ipcress]

Absolutely amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Have you checked Genesis 3,7 ? Where it reads " breeches " instead of " aprons " ?

I don't think you have paid through the nose for it. Worth hundreds of dollars without the family connection, and what price do you place on that ?!!

There are ways to store this and it should only be touched using suitable gloves

Another incredible story.

[sugarcube5419]

Tales--pls contact teresa on that tv show--want to know what she would find with you!!

[mariok54]

Worth every penny!
Great story

[greenacres]

Tales you never cease to amaze me! Great find at any cost.

[Rauville]

Tales;
Looking at eBay, I see your bible has had an interesting history just in the last few weeks. I'm glad you found it...or it found you! History can never be valued in dollars.

(BTW: I had a classmate with the name Bolles. Her Mom worked at the drug store and made the best cherry cokes at the soda fountain. )

[mariok54]

Tales, in 2 years it will be 400 years old, that is just a little over $2 for each year it has existed ...Doesn't sound much when you put it like that.

I wonder how much $5 was worth in today's terms back in 1860? If it was a week's salary, then not much has changed 

It's just another one of those things that 'was meant to happen'

[KevinM]

Great story! I would call it destiny on how it made it's way back to you, was meant to be!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Good morning all, thanks for all the enthusiastic replies! Yeah it was a lot of money to shell out on a 'non-essential' kind of item, but you all make wonderful points. I'm glad no one said "what the heck were you thinking?!!!" LOL!

I think of it this way. In a year, or ten years or one hundred years that thousand dollars will matter very little. What will matter is that Thomas Bolles' bible was saved and made available to his descendants and researchers. My son sent a text message this morning, he and his fiancee said they wanted to be a part of this and sent over $100 and my mom said the same thing. So I now have partners in this venture.

Here is the completed Ebay auction as Rauville mentioned. As I said there are major condition issues, but it is what it is and this is what remains after almost 400 years is the passage of time. From my point of view it is priceless in any condition. I'm still in shock over the whole thing this morning. I hardly slept last night and kept waking up and my first thoughts were that I could hardly believe this happened and that such a thing existed, let alone wound up on Ebay a matter of days after I visited Thomas' grave.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOLY-BIBLE-1615-GENEVA-American-Provenance-BOLLES-Family-CT-ME-LEATHER-Antique-/171120425936?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=cud6xrw%252F9sZonbZAuj%252BFNFeIrDM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Hey look... I think he's smiling!

[Rauville]

Tales;
I was referring to the fact that it was offered and sold back in July from a dealer in California.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1615-GENEVA-BIBLE-and-CONCORDANCE-BOLLES-FAMILY-EARLY-AMERICAN-PROVENANCE-/271246193799?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item3f27887487

I think the amazing thing is that it reappeared on the market once again in order for it to come back home to you. Stranger than fiction!

[talesofthesevenseas]

How strange that I did not catch it on the first go-round, I might have saved 50%! It must have been one of the rare days when I didn't check my alerts or I somehow missed it. I'm glad it came up again too! I will see if the seller has any provenance from the Washington Chapel Library.

I've been thinking about the issue of storage. I know it has to be in an acid-free environment and that a archival box with acid-free tissue in a deep dark drawer are about ideal conditions and I do have that. I am guessing that a fire safe would not allow the air circulation that it needs, and neither would a safe deposit box. Any thoughts on this?

[Rauville]

...I've been thinking about the issue of storage. I know it has to be in an acid-free environment and that a archival box with acid-free tissue in a deep dark drawer are about ideal conditions and I do have that. I am guessing that a fire safe would not allow the air circulation that it needs, and neither would a safe deposit box. Any thoughts on this?

If it was mine, I wouldn't worry about it. Other than theft or natural disaster, what could happen? Find an appropriate display case and enjoy it for what it is. Books and bibles were never intended to be locked away out of sight in a vault. It looks like it has survived a rather robust life up to now, and with common sense precautions it will be around generations from now.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Living in a redwood forest in California, fire is always a danger, but I looked online to see if there was a bank or some kind of company that had safe deposit boxes in a fireproof vault, but it looks like safe deposit boxes are just as vulnerable as any other structure. It looks like it will have a comfortable home in an acid free box in a deep dark drawer, at least to start.