My Dad said... it's in the family bible

My children had that same problem. Both my husband and I have sisters named Carol. And both Carol's married men named Don. So there were two Aunty Carol's and Uncle Don's in our family.

 

I have two Uncles with the same name on the same side of the family, but different spelling... so an Uncle Geoff and an Uncle Jeff... Otherwise I have plenty of duplicate names for Aunties and Uncles, but all within different contexts.

 

My maternal grandmother had two sisters who never married but always shared a house. The were known collectively as "The Aunts". One always wore blue and the other green. I do so wish I had written down all the family stories they told!

 

I had 3 great aunts named Edith. To my sister & me they were Auntie Edie, Aunt Edith & Auntie Edgar - the only way we could distinguish the latter was to call her by husband's name!

 

My granddaughter at 5 still calls my son “aunty Graham “ . My daughter in law is Aunty Ruth so two aunties. One day she’ll get it right but it’s quite funny at the moment

Paul

 

My cousin's daughter brought me the maternal family Bible today. It is huge and has a really ornate cover and backing with clasps to close it but is in very poor condition. I have to find someone who does bookbinding to fix it up at least a bit. There is an inscription on the front page saying "M.E. Bowyer from her beloved husband for a wedding present April 15, 1877" Unfortunately, the only George Bowyer in my tree who fits the dates is my great-grandmother's brother, so I have no idea how it wound up in our family. Also, the only marriage information I can find for George and Mary Hopkins is the index from 1876.
There are pages towards the middle with names; we were amused to see where my grandmother's name is listed, the space beside has been scribbled over. Her first husband's name no doubt; apparently my grandfather hated anyone mentioning that she loved someone before him. And loved him greatly she apparently did but he died within a year or two of their marriage.
Also, this is a really different version of the Bible, by someone named John Brown.

 

If you Google 'John Brown Bible' you will find a number of hits explaining who John Brown was and the origin of his version of the Bible. Also, copies are for sale on sites such as ebay, and it seems they can fetch quite high prices. What a lovely book to have!

 

Check out this YouTube video link which explains about The John Brown Self-interpreting Bible.
The Rev John Brown was a Scottish Minister 1722-1787 and huge just about describes the size of his bible.

 

Unfortunately, the copy I now have is not even close to how the one in the video looks. But it is definitely heavy; my cousin brought it to me in a big box.

 

What is the date your copy of the Bible was printed? You should be able to find it either on the title page or on the back of the title page. Yours must be older than the copy on YouTube.

 

According to the inscription in the front it was given as a wedding gift in 1877. Probably in perfect condition then. It has been tied closed and put back into the box for now so I cannot check. The cover looks just as good as the video but the spine has come away.

 

Thank you for the photograph, Canadianbeth. It would also be interesting to know where it was printed. You're lucky to have all the family names recorded in the Bible.
I wonder whether it was usual for husbands to give their wives a family Bible as a wedding present even if not one as magnificent as yours.