An Easter Discovery

For Easter, I went to the family dinner at my Aunt June Albea's house. She's recently moved into a small, but very cute, shotgun house in Atlanta and has had to downsize her possession. Those possession she kept but didn't have a place for were sitting out in bins, which she invited us to go through. She pulled out a Bible from among a box of photos and handed it to me, asking if I wanted to look at it. Of course I did!

Opening the cover, I saw that it had been

"presented to my

wife

Mrs Louise Waters

Dec-1945

By-husband L. E. Waters.

------------------------------------

presented to my daughter

Mrs. Alma Underwood

by mother

Mrs. Louise Waters

May-1946"

In the back of the Bible are a few pages for recording family information. The first page lists information for Leverett and Louise (Smith) Waters. Their wedding date is given as Jan 1902 in Atlanta. I actually know this to be incorrect, though somewhat close to the actual Dec 1900 date found on their marriage record. I'm not truly surprised by this error though. The Bible was given to Louise in 1945 - that's 45 years after the event.

The next page in the Bible lists the couple's children. This page is written in at least two different handwritings and with multiple pens. I believe that more of this information was written at the time of each event (after 1945).

One very interesting fact on this page is for Ruby Lee Waters, my Great-Grandmother. Ruby was married three times, twice to the same man. I had a vague idea of when the re-marriage occurred, but now I have a date: 20 Dec 1947. This date is consistent with city directory information.

Also, her birthplace is given as Shawmut, AL. I'd seen her birthplace listed as "Scharmont, AL" on her daughters birth certificate, but had been frustrated because that wasn't a real place. With this new spelling, I've been able to locate the city of her birth: an Alabama / Georgia border town near I-85.

This Bible stands as a great example of how documents like these aren't always correct. Many of the "facts" were written long after the event occurred. On the other hand, there are many facts listed that were likely written at the time of the event (or at least around the same time). I'll have to judge each listing individually to decide on its validity.